Chicago Cubs' Top Free-Agent, Trade Targets Post New Year

Fresh off a long-awaited World Series title and with a young core that rivals any in baseball, the Chicago Cubs entered the offseason with a fairly short to-do list.

Wade Davis and Koji Uehara have been added to the back of the bullpen, and veteran outfielder Jon Jay was signed to pair with Albert Almora Jr. in replacing Dexter Fowler in center field.

With those moves made, there appear to be two major areas the team may still look to address before the starting of spring training:

• Starting pitching depth: The departure of Jason Hammel will likely push Mike Montgomery into the starting rotation as the No. 5 starter behind the returning staff of Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks and John Lackey. Also, losing Travis Wood and Trevor Cahill leaves the team without much in the way of depth, so at the very least a capable arm or two that can be stashed in Triple-A seems like a must.

• Left-handed reliever: With Montgomery slated to start and Wood unlikely to be re-signed, the Cubs top lefty relief option is currently veteran Brian Duensing, who was signed to a one-year, $2 million deal. Rule 5 pick Blake Smith and waiver claims Jake Leathersich and David Rollins are also options, but the team would benefit from a better primary lefty option.

So who might the team be targeting to fill these areas of need?

Ahead is a look at five players who make sense as perhaps the finishing touch on what would be another successful offseason for the defending champions.

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