Things look a little bit different on the North Side of Chicago than they did at the end of the 2022 season.
Despite losing catcher Willson Contreras to the rival St. Louis Cardinals, the Chicago Cubs have been quite busy and have landed some key free agents in the process.
They’ve added catcher Tucker Barnhart and sluggers Eric Hosmer, Cody Bellinger, and Dansby Swanson.
To bolster the pitching staff, they re-signed left-hander Drew Smyly and also added Jameson Taillon and Brad Boxberger.
MLB Network tweeted a graphic showing everything the Cubs have done to improve this offseason, and suggested that the team has a new look entering 2023.
A new-look on the North Side of Chicago 👀 pic.twitter.com/LXRDf7Ql0E
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 12, 2023
The Cubs won the World Series in 2016, but began to regress afterwards.
Since 2017, the Cubs have not had a deep run into October.
However, they have been busy this offseason, and appear to have closed the gap with the Cardinals in the National League Central, especially with St. Louis seemingly going off the grid after signing Contreras.
The pitching staff looks stronger, as they now have another top-level starter to go next to Marcus Stroman.
The offense certainly looks better with the additions of Bellinger, Hosmer, and Swanson.
While they may not be grabbing too many headlines, the Cubs have been quite busy and look a lot better than they did at the onset of the offseason.
Perhaps they could emerge as a dark-horse contender for a spot in the postseason.
The Cardinals may be the clear favorites right now, but you can’t sleep on the North Siders.
NEXT: Cubs Make A Depth Move To Strengthen Their Pitching Staff
