Cubs Free Agent Target: Hoby Milner |
It's no secret that the Cubs have a lot of holes to fill on their roster and are not in the best financial situation to fill them. That is unless you follow the game of baseball and the financials, which will tell you that the Cubs are a top-five market in baseball and have the money to sign anyone they want practically.
If not for the luxury tax, which Tom Ricketts treats like a salary cap, there would be no questions about the Cubs going after the top free agents in the game and giving them the biggest contracts possible. Knowing how Ricketts thinks and how he has treated this team financially, you can bet that the Cubs are out on guys like Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, and Blake Snell, which is a tough pill to swallow. Being out on Fried hurts the most as he was listed as a significant Cubs target this offseason. Unless significant changes are made in the next two months, this is nothing more than a .500 team, as they will be bringing back virtually the same exact roster for the third straight season. That can't happen in today's baseball landscape, as significant changes need to be made. While the everyday players could be the same for the third straight season, the bullpen will look different as the Cubs continue to try to piece together a competitive pen. That worked out for them in 2022 and 2023, but 2024 was a nightmare, and if the Cubs plan to be competitive in 2025, they can't afford to blow 27 saves again. Part of building up a strong bullpen would be adding some lefties, as Luke Little is the only left-hander in the Cubs' pen right now. Given that he is coming off a shoulder injury, there is no guarantee he will be ready for opening day, leaving them with no lefties. The best way to fix that is to find one and get one that Craig Counsell is familiar with in former Milwaukee Brewer Hoby Milner. The 33-year-old has bounced around the game since debuting in 2017 but has been regulated to being a left-handed specialist since the day he arrived. He is very similar to when the Cubs had Kyle Ryan, but with much better stuff, as the Cubs desperately could use his services. Milner has had a solid MLB career thus far, appearing in 294 games in his eight seasons and throwing 271 innings. From a record standpoint, Milner has been solid, posting a 10-5 record with a 3.82 ERA. Ironically, all his wins and losses have come with the Brewers after failing to record a record with the Phillies and Tampa. Although Milner's track record has had some ups and downs, there is plenty of potential for him to be a lefty specialist. His best season came in 2017, when he broke into the league and posted a 2.01 ERA across 34 games. Over the next five seasons, Milner appeared in 61 games and had an ERA of 6.06, which had him on the verge of being out of baseball completely. The Brewers took a chance on him before that happened, and it ultimately saved his career. Although this season didn't go as planned, with a 4.73 ERA over 61 games, his previous two seasons stole the show and made him one of the more trusted options out of the Brewers pen. In the 2022 and 2023 seasons combined, Milner appeared in 140 games and threw 129 innings. During that time, he posted a 5-4 record with a 2.91 ERA, including an impressive 1.82 ERA in 2023. Not only is Milner a hard thrower capable of touching 97, but he has great command, as he walked 14 batters this past season compared to 64 punchouts. Should Little come back healthy enough to pitch, you could pair him and Milner together, which gives the Cubs two solid left-handed options out of the pen to count on. Counsell could be the X-factor in this whole thing as he not only took a chance on Milner after his career went downhill but also trusted him enough to have one of the best years, if not the best year, of his career. The Cubs would kill to have that, but if he can pitch close to his career numbers, it will give the Cubs an upgrade they didn't have last season.
