The hot stove is already warm: Chicago's rotation faces total turnover while the Mets raid the coaching market
The 2026-27 MLB offseason opens with uncertainty everywhere: the Cubs could lose their entire end-of-season rotation, the Mets are interviewing rival coaches after firing their hitting director, the Phillies are budgeting rest for aging veterans, and Boston and New York face hard roster calls.
- There is a non-zero chance the Cubs' entire end-of-regular-season five-man rotation is gone by Opening Day. m:…1629
- The Mets are interviewing Cubs assistant hitting coach John Mallee for a coaching vacancy after dismissing director of hitting Jeff Albert. m:…6319
- The Phillies have budgeted Kyle Schwarber to play 30 games at first base in 2027 as part of a veteran rest plan. m:…4837
- Boston must decide on Triston Casas before the November 20 non-tender deadline; Casas ruptured his left patellar tendon on May 2, 2025 and had left wrist surgery Aug. 6, 2026. m:…1531
- Volpe is a leading internal candidate for the Yankees' 2027 second base job after making 19 Triple-A starts at the position. m:…4738
Chicago's rotation, up in the air
The Cubs' biggest offseason priority is no mystery. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer confirmed the club will aggressively address its rotation after a 2026 season he described as a pitching struggle from the start, blaming injuries to pitchers the team was counting on as well as poor performance and acquisitions. The stakes are stark: "There is a non-zero chance that the five-man rotation that the Cubs used at the end of the regular season is gone in its entirety come Opening Day next year." m:…1629
Shota Imanaga is set to reach free agency for the second offseason in a row. Kevin Gausman, picked up at the trade deadline from the Blue Jays, becomes a free agent after a shoulder-injury-marred finish. Aaron Civale and David Peterson are also headed to free agency. Then come the options: Matthew Boyd holds a $15 million mutual option with a $2 million buyout, Clay Holmes a $12 million player option, and Colin Rea a $7.5 million team option with a $1 million buyout. m:…1629
The internal answers are thin. Cade Horton, the runner-up for the 2025 National League Rookie of the Year, is coming back from right elbow surgery, and Justin Steele did not pitch in the majors in 2026 while recovering from elbow issues. After an 89-win season, Chicago has almost nothing certain in its rotation, which is why Hoyer framed an aggressive winter as a necessity rather than a choice. m:…1629
The coaching carousel starts in New York
While the Cubs worry about arms, they're also losing a voice: the Mets are interviewing Cubs assistant hitting coach John Mallee for a coaching staff vacancy, according to an industry source. Mallee, 57, previously served as head hitting coach for the Astros, Cubs and Phillies, and Kevin Long is also a known candidate. m:…6319
The Mets' urgency shows in the shake-up itself: the dismissal of director of hitting Jeff Albert after the season. Manager Andy Green, who lost his interim tag in September when he signed a three-year contract, is making modest staff changes, though the club retained hitting coach Troy Snitker and assistant Rafael Fernandez. m:…6319
Mallee's selling point is Pete Crow-Armstrong. Mallee developed a close relationship with the Cubs outfielder, who went from a below-average hitter in 2024 to an All-Star in 2025 and the probable MVP in 2026. This year Crow-Armstrong led the National League with 45 home runs. The Mets are betting that kind of development travels. m:…6319
Rest, evaluate and rebuild in Boston and the Bronx
In Philadelphia, Dave Dombrowski is managing a different problem: age. The Phillies president of baseball operations said last week he wants more ways to rest veteran players in 2027. The club has budgeted Kyle Schwarber to play 30 games at first base, and Bryce Harper will be the primary first baseman while telling Dombrowski he will play right field on occasion if needed. m:…4837
The workload numbers justify it. Realmuto caught 123 games in 2026, and Harper played all 162. With no immediate outfield help coming from the minor leagues, the Phillies must fix the outfield and backup-catcher spots through trades or free agency. m:…4837
In Boston, the Red Sox face a November 20 non-tender deadline with four injured players in limbo. Triston Casas is the hardest call: he ruptured the left patellar tendon in his left knee on May 2, 2025, then needed left wrist surgery on Aug. 6, 2026 — a long fall from his final three months of 2023, when he slashed .311/.401/.585 with 17 homers and 46 RBIs in 241 at-bats. Tanner Houck is a year from free agency after August 2025 Tommy John surgery, Kutter Crawford — who led the American League with 33 starts and the Red Sox with 183 2/3 innings in 2024 — has been unable to pitch in the majors for two seasons, and Johan Oviedo enters his final arbitration year after a flexor strain limited his 2026 to a single bullpen appearance. Payton Tolle, Ranger Suarez and Jake Bennett figure to be part of manager Chad Tracy's 2027 rotation regardless. m:…1531
In the Bronx, the Yankees' second-base question may have an in-house answer. Volpe made 19 starts at second base in Triple-A after being optioned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in early August, and his Sept. 10 return featured a grand slam and five RBIs in a win over the Rockies. Including the postseason, he batted .286 (16-for-56) from Sept. 10 on, after five homers in a five-game Triple-A span beginning Aug. 30. With Jazz Chisholm Jr. headed for free agency, the club is weighing Volpe against external options like contact hitter Luis Arraez — but Volpe started over Chisholm twice in the Yankees' five postseason games, a hint about which way the wind is blowing. m:…4738
One thread runs through all of it: nobody is standing pat. The Cubs face a rotation that could turn over entirely, the Mets are raiding a rival's dugout for hitting help, the Phillies are rationing their veterans before the season starts, and Boston and New York are sorting through injury-wrecked rosters and deadline decisions. The offseason hasn't officially begun, but the churn is already here. m:…1629 m:…6319 m:…4837 m:…1531 m:…4738
What is still unresolved
- The Cubs' specific strategy for filling rotation depth at lower cost remains undetermined.
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