The Chicago Cubs have plenty of things to worry about in 2025, and their bullpen certainly falls on the list.
Closing out games was a major problem for the Cubs in 2024, as the team shuffled closers all season. They hoped that Ryan Pressly would be the man to lock down the ninth-inning job in 2025, but so far, the early returns haven’t been ideal.
For the Cubs to truly cement themselves as playoff contenders, they’d love to have a true shutdown closer. It’s early in the season, but not too early to think about who the Cubs could pursue at the trade deadline.
Seattle Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz is by no means guaranteed to be available, but if he is, he’s a name the Cubs should be all over. The 2024 All-Star has some of the nastiest stuff in any bullpen on the planet, and he’s got a team-friendly contract to boot.
At least one baseball writer believes there’s a shot Muñoz could be available. On Friday, Athlon’s Jon Conahan named the Mexican-born fireballer as a potential trade target for Chicago at the deadline.
“For a team looking to contend in the NL Central and the NL, having more help in the bullpen is never a bad idea,” Conahan wrote. “Among the players they could show interest in (is) Andres Munoz, a right-hander who’s found plenty of success over the past few years.
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“He’s yet to allow an earned run and has struck out five in three innings pitched. In 2024, over a 59 1/3 inning sample size, he posted an impressive 2.12 ERA and struck out 77 hitters.”
Muñoz is technically in the final year of his contract, but he has club options every year from 2026 to 2028, and in total, he could earn up to $27 million between now and the end of those options. That makes him all the more attractive for the Cubs, who seem to value financial flexibility quite a bit these days.
Of course, the Mariners would likely have to fall out of the playoff race in order to consider moving Muñoz. That might not be highly probable, but it’s certainly in the realm of possibility.
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