December has proven to be a crucial month for the construction of the 2025 Cubs roster.

In the final month of 2024, the Cubs added five players to their major-league roster and shipped another four off it in the hopes of building a team that is playing in October next fall.

If you missed the wheeling and dealing done by Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and his front office, here’s what they did over the last 16 or so days:

ADDED:

LHP Matthew Boyd
SS Gage Workman
RF Kyle Tucker
C Carson Kelly
RHP Cody Poteet

LOST:

3B Isaac Paredes (Houston)
RHP Hayden Wesneski (Houston)
OF/1B Cody Bellinger
C Matt Thaiss

That doesn’t include 2024 1st-round pick Cam Smith, who also was in the deal that netted them Tucker. So, with all that movement, how does the Cubs roster look heading into 2025? Let’s take a look at our latest roster projection.

Disclaimer: This is not a prediction of who the Cubs will acquire in the offseason, but rather a look at how the roster shakes out at this current moment and areas the front office will need to address.

CATCHERS

Miguel Amaya
Carson Kelly

One of the Cubs’ main goals this offseason was to find a backstop to compliment Amaya behind the plate. They weren’t looking for a true, no.1 catcher or a backup to Amaya, but rather a backstop that could serve as a 1b-type to Amaya.

Enter Kelly.

The veteran had a .687 OPS in 91 games in 2024 with Detroit and Texas but is an elite arm behind the dish. He nabbed runners at an above-league-average clip and in a division where running has become the norm, Kelly is an option to stymie it.

[CUBS MAILBAG: On Kyle Tucker’s future, pitching plans and the hot corner]

The goal with Kelly and Amaya is to split up the playing time evenly, allowing them to stay healthy throughout the season at a grueling position. That would allow them to maximize matchups, too.

Amaya has struggled in his short big-league career against left-handed pitching — he has a .559 career OPS against southpaws in 88 games. Kelly, meanwhile, thrives on those matchups — he has an .812 OPS in 273 games against lefties.

Top prospect Moisés Ballesteros could reach the majors in 2025 and contribute, but Kelly’s addition provides cover and allows him to develop at his own pace. And the Cubs will add veteran catchers on minor league deals, as every team does, to provide depth at the position.

But, if healthy, the Amaya-Kelly tandem is the duo the Cubs will trust behind the plate.

INFIELDERS

Dansby Swanson
Nico Hoerner
Michael Busch
Gage Workman
Miles Mastrobuoni
Matt Mervis

This might be the area of the team with the most flexibility and uncertainty before Opening Day. Swanson at shortstop and Busch at first are about the only sure things at this moment in the Cubs’ infield.

Hoerner is recovering from flexor tendon surgery that he underwent in October and his status for Spring Training and Opening Day is very much still in the air. That leaves a question mark at second base. If healthy, Hoerner is entrenched at second. If he’s not, Mastrobuoni would look to be the starter in place of Hoerner.

Paredes’ departure to Houston creates an opening at the hot corner, too. While 2023 1st-round pick Matt Shaw will have an opportunity to earn the job in spring, he’s not even on the team’s 40-man roster, so for purposes of this exercise, his name was left off.

In that case, Workman would look to be the fit at third base. Taken in the Rule 5 draft earlier this month, the left-handed hitting infielder will have to stay on the Cubs’ 26-man roster all season and can’t be optioned to the minors without being offered back to the Tigers first.

The Cubs’ bench options in the infield are very much a question mark. They would like to add a veteran who can play across the infield and give Swanson, Hoerner and the third baseman a day off. Ideally, that player could provide cover at first, too, where, beyond Mervis, the Cubs don’t have a clear backup option.

OUTFIELD

Ian Happ
Pete Crow-Armstrong
Kyle Tucker
Seiya Suzuki
Alexander Canario

For all the uncertainty surrounding the Cubs’ infield, the outfield sits in more of an entrenched place.

Happ, Crow-Armstrong and the recently acquired Tucker provide the Cubs with strong defensive cover in the pasture, while providing the potential for elite-level offensive production, especially in Tucker’s case. The 27-year-old is the star player the Cubs have been in search of and could help some of the Cubs’ offensive woes that have plagued them the last two seasons.

Suzuki’s role would be the only worry. He thrived in the DH role at the end of 2024 and would seemingly be a perfect fit for the position again in 2025. But his agent shared his displeasure at the situation at the Winter Meetings in Dallas earlier this month. The Cubs could find ways to give Happ and Tucker partial days off, have them DH and play Suzuki in the field, but it seems right now the Cubs’ best lineup would feature Suzuki in that DH spot.

Canario is out of minor-league options, so he can’t be optioned without passing through waivers first. He could provide right-handed power off the bench, while providing the ability to play center field and give Crow-Armstrong some days off, especially against tough lefties.

STARTING ROTATION

Justin Steele
Shota Imanaga
Jameson Taillon
Matthew Boyd
Javier Assad

The biggest addition to this group that was one of the better rotations in baseball in 2024 is Boyd. The veteran lefty returned from Tommy John surgery late in 2024 and was a solid member of the Guardians’ pitching staff that reached the ALCS. In 8 games, Boyd posted a 2.72 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. He allowed just 1 run on 7 hits in 11.2 playoff innings across 3 starts for Cleveland.

Steele, Imanaga and Taillon give the Cubs a strong foundation at the top of their rotation and will lean on that trio heavily as they push to win the NL Central crown. Manager Craig Counsell and the Cubs have said Assad will open 2025 in the rotation after the success he’s had throughout his young career. In 294 big-league innings, Assad has a 3.40 ERA and 1.34 WHIP.

Cubs starters ranked 6th in baseball in ERA in 2024, but Hoyer and his staff know that quintet of pitchers is unlikely to contribute the bulk of the innings for the team in 2025. Baseball in today’s day and age requires a plethora of starters and injuries and ineffectiveness will mean the Cubs will need a stable of arms beyond those five.

Losing Wesneski hurts some of the depth, but the Cubs have some young arms that likely will make starts for them in 2025 — Jordan Wicks being the prime candidate. Their 2022 1st-round pick Cade Horton looked prime to make his major-league debut in 2024 before injuries curtailed his year. If healthy, he could be another pitcher who makes starts for the Cubs next season.

[MORE: Sources: Cubs met with free agent pitcher Roki Sasaki on Friday]

The Cubs were in on starter Jesús Luzardo, per sources, but a deal never materialized, and the lefty was traded to Philadelphia over the weekend. Expect Hoyer and his team to continue to find ways to add more arms and more depth for starters.

BULLPEN

Porter Hodge
Julian Merryweather
Tyson Miller
Rob Zastryzny
Nate Pearson
Eli Morgan
Keegan Thompson
Caleb Kilian

Like the Cubs’ infield, the bullpen is far from a finished product. But the shell of the group is there.

Miller, Zastryzny, Merryweather, Kilian and Thompson are all out of minor league options, meaning their spots look to be entrenched at the time of writing. Merryweather and Zastryzny could be key contributors with past success in the majors.

Hodge and Pearson (and Miller) were key leverage arms for the Cubs in 2024 and figure to return in that role next season, so they have spots, too. Morgan was a solid contributor in Cleveland’s bullpen in 2024, so he receives the final spot in this projection.

[WATCH: Jed Hoyer on Cubs’ recent offseason moves]

But the bullpen situation is notoriously volatile. Hodge, Pearson and Miller’s success in 2024 doesn’t equate to success in that role next season. And, even in the offseason, things can change quickly. The Cubs will likely try and add veteran options to this mix, especially some with some leverage experience.

Because of the roster situation, several intriguing arms were left off this projection. Top among them is Ben Brown, who shone in 2024 before injury cut his season short. He could be the ultimate type of x-factor for a pitching staff, being able to start and pitch leverage innings.

Luke Little was developing into a key member of the bullpen before a shoulder injury ended his season. He could be another solid option for Counsell, especially from the left side, but the roster configuration meant he was an odd man out. Ethan Roberts and Poteet are just a couple of names who could pick up key outs for the Cubs in 2025.