The Cubs went into the offseason with a stated focus on improving the pitching staff, and, with the exception of a few depth moves for position players, that’s exactly what they did. Brandon Morrow and Steve Cishek bolster the back end of the pen, Brian Duensing’s return solidifies the front, Tyler Chatwood and Yu Darvish give the Cubs one of baseball’s most formidable rotations.
“It was an offseason that was not spent very much on the offensive side,” Jed Hoyer explained during Tuesday’s press conference. “It was entirely focused on pitching. Our goal was to add starting pitching, add depth in the rotation, and the goal really was to add strike-throwers to the bullpen.