Jameson Taillon Joins Chicago Cubs, Strengthening Their Case For The NL Central

The Cubs shouldn’t be anybody’s sleeper team for 2023, at least not yet.

But after a busy Tuesday at the winter meetings, they are getting close. According to multiple reports late Tuesday night, Chicago added veteran starter Jameson Taillon on a four-year, $68 million deal.

Taillon, 31, has a career 3.84 ERA over six years in the majors with the Pirates and Yankees. Last season was arguably one of his strongest, second only to the numbers he put up with Pittsburgh in 2018. For the Yankees in 2022, Taillon threw 177 1/3 innings with a sub-4.00 ERA.

The Cubs already have a respectable starting rotation, anchored now by Marcus Stroman and on-the-rise guys like Keegan Thompson and Justin Steele. Kyle Hendricks will head into 2023 coming off of back-to-back wobbly seasons. He gave up 200 hits for the first time in his career in 2021, and last year was only able to throw 84 1/3 innings. Hendricks just turned 33, so if he is healthy again next year, he might be counted on to be a key part of the Cubs rotation.

Taillon is an important addition to the Cubs because he provides further veteran presence in the rotation. Both Thompson and Steele were impressive in 2022, but for a team hoping to be competitive again, they need pitchers like Taillon too. The Cubs had hoped they had gotten that from Wade Miley last season, but injuries limited him to just eight starts.

For a Cubs team that lost 88 games and still finished in third place in their division, the activity in free agency this winter is an encouraging sign. The National League Central is one of the weaker divisions in baseball, making it easier for the Cubs to leapfrog over the Brewers and even potentially the Cardinals.

St. Louis won 93 games in 2022, but they have some aging pieces on their roster and have not yet been active in free agency this winter. And Milwaukee has been relatively quiet as well, doing little other than trading Kolten Wong to the Mariners for Jesse Winker and Abraham Toro.

There are still holes on the Cubs roster to fill — they also signed outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger on Tuesday — like at shortstop and behind the plate, but Taillon should make the Cubs a much stronger team next season. Before the Bellinger and Taillon contracts went on the books, the Cubs had a projected 2023 payroll at $155 million, so there is still room for them to continue to be active.

If they can entice one of the top-tier shortstops to sign (different rumors have linked them to all three of Carlos Correa, Xander Boegarts, and Dansby Swanson), then it might be safe to start thinking of the Cubs as a potential sleeper in 2023.