Chicago Cubs: Three players who are gone after 2021

The Chicago Cubs have a lot of unknowns beyond the 2021 season. There are some star players who have messy contract situations but you would think that the new regime in charge will take care of those to the best of their ability. For some of the depth pieces that are on expiring deals, they may not be there beyond 2021. These are the players that are the most likely to be gone after the 2021 season is over:

The Chicago Cubs made the strange decision to have a reunited season with Jake Arrieta. He wasn’t that good with the Philadelphia Phillies since leaving the organization but they are hoping to get one more good year out of him. It is certainly possible but it doesn’t feel like the type of deal that is going to go beyond the 2021 season.

It is a nice story that he is coming back and all but they better hope it works. They traded Yu Darvish to the San Diego Padres and the only reason they let Arrieta walk in the first place was so that they can go out and sign Darvish. The way things have played out over the past few years has just been strange as far as this situation. Figuring out where Arrieta fits into the rotation is going to be the next order of business as he goes through spring training.

This is a low-risk deal because they just don’t have to bring him back after 2021. Chances are, that will be the case regardless. He is one of the true top candidates to be gone following the conclusion of this upcoming 2021 year.