Much has been documented about the Chicago Cubs‘ lack of movement on the free-agent market this past off-season.

While the offense has added Kyle Tucker and the bullpen has added closer Ryan Pressly via trade, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer passed on any big moves, signing veterans Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea to fill the gaps in the rotation.

In 2024, the team struggled due to a shaky bullpen, costing them many wins late in games. Can this group return the Cubs to the playoffs?

Eno Sarris recently posted and ranked starting pitchers via advanced analytics for an article in The Athletic. The story can only paint the picture that the analytics are voicing. The Cubs rotation is not made of analytical darlings, which leads back to the original question – is the pitching good enough to get back to the post-season?

The categories of the analytics are Stuff+, Location+, and Pitching+, and Sarris pulled the data from a variety of sources.

While pitchers are all taught balance throughout a repeatable delivery, metrics such as Stuff+, Location+ and Pitching+ consider a pitcher’s uniqueness.

Certain pitchers have a different arm slot or release points, while others have great extension — releasing the pitch closer to the plate. Additionally, a few pitchers utilize a cross-body release point or successfully hide the ball from hitters.

The introduction of analytics to pitching has revolutionized the craft, incorporating factors like spin rate, maximum effort, measured movement and precise location.

Rank 35, Stuff+98, Location+ 109, Pitching + 106, Health 89%, Proj.IP 169, ppERA 3.88, ppK% 23.3%

Shota Imanaga was a revelation in 2024, finishing fifth in the NL Cy Young voting, earning a spot on the All-MLB second team.

He concluded the season with a 15-3 record and a 2.91 ERA, striking out 174 batters while issuing only 28 walks over 173.1 innings.

Imanaga pitches as if he were a surgeon. His command and manipulation of the strike zone are impeccable. He does not blow you away with his four-seam fastball in the low 90s, but having a good splitter in his back pocket keeps the hitters off balance.

He incorporates a classic Japanese hitch in his leg kick and utilizes a diverse five-pitch repertoire, although he primarily relies on two pitches, occasionally using a change-up against righties.

Rank 35, Stuff+104, Location+ 101, Pitching + 104, Health 87%, Proj.IP 158, ppERA 3.66, ppK% 23.0%

Justin Steele did not match his statistics from 2023, but not all his numbers reflect his quality as a pitcher. His ERA of 3.07 and his strikeouts per nine innings at 9.02 are virtually identical to those from the previous year.

Steele is option 1B, to Imanaga as the 1A.

Teams that primarily feature left-handed hitters should pay attention to their schedule when the Cubs come to town.

Steele has a compact delivery that steps toward first base, effectively hiding the ball with his cross-body motion. While his four-seam fastball is not overwhelming, it often behaves more like a cutter.

When facing right-handed batters, he utilizes a mix of his slider and change-up. In contrast, against left-handed hitters, he relies on a two-seam fastball and his slider. He is the type of pitcher who adjusts by subtly altering pressure his pitches, moving from a fastball to a cutter to a slider.

Rank 98, Stuff+91, Location+ 103, Pitching + 90, Health 63%, Proj.IP 109, ppERA 3.96, ppK% 24.2%

The Cubs are gambling on the 34-year-old Matthew Boyd by signing him to a two-year, $29 million contract in December.

Boyd made 11 starts last season after recovering from Tommy John surgery and will begin this spring in good health. Those starts, including the postseason, showed promising signs for Boyd, as he posted a 2.28 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. In 51.1 innings pitched, he struck out 60 hitters while walking only 19.

Boyd has good stuff but has not been able to make 30 starts since 2019. The veteran left-hander has a four-pitch mix to right-handed hitters and predominantly uses his two-seam fastball shelves his curveball to left-handed hitters.

He relies on location and changing speeds but does not throw hard. His fastball is 90-91 mph, and his breaking pitches are in the high seventies.

Boyd may be a bet against a few teams in the NL Central that do not traditionally struggle with left-handed pitching. He would be serve as the third lefty in the rotation.

Rank 122, Stuff+ +91, Location+ 108, Pitching + 99, Health 81%, Proj.IP 161, ppERA 4.36, ppK% 19.1%

Jameson Tallion is a perfect guy for the back of the rotation for the Cubs. He’s reliable, he throws strikes and he is a competitor.

In 2024, Tallion pitched well for the Cubs and had more than a few solid efforts go wayside late. He finished the season with a 3.27 ERA and gave up less than a hit per inning over 18 starts.

Once again, for the Cubs, Tallion is more of a pitcher than a flame thrower. His four-seam fastball sits in the low 90s and mixes a cutter, slider and sinker to right-handed hitters. He will mix in a curveball and a change-up to left-handed hitters.

Rank 133, Stuff+ 98, Location+ 93, Pitching + 91, Health 71% Proj.IP 82, ppERA 3.64, ppK% 26.4%

Ben Brown made his debut in 2024 with Chicago but pitched sparingly. He will battle for the fifth spot with former Milwaukee Brewers veteran Colin Rea and lefty Javier Assad, who has faced some injury issues this spring.

The lanky Brown brings a unique asset to the lineup: he possesses a level of velocity that the other four starters do not. While Rea is also known as a control pitcher, he has a talent for missing barrels.

Brown can run his four-seam fastball up to 98 mph but only has a knuckle-curve to compliment the pitch. Starters with mediocre location and only two pitches struggle to get through the lineup multiple times.

It will be interesting if Brown could show enough promise to outpitch a well-known commodity in Rea.

Strengthening the bullpen will greatly benefit this team in 2024. The Cubs faced some incredibly bad luck last season, which contributed to their difficulties in closing out games. Will this pitching staff be dominating? Probably not, but they are likely to accumulate many quality starts.