The non-tender deadline is right around the corner and although the Chicago Cubs only have to make decisions on four arbitration eligible players on Friday night there are two who are candidates to become free agents.
Back in October MLB Trade Rumors released its annual list of projected arbitration salaries for the 2026 season. The Cubs have four players that they either have to agree on a salary for next season, go to an arbitration hearing if they can’t agree on a figure or if the Cubs don’t want them back they can non-tender them, making those players free agents.
2026 Cubs arbitration players
Justin Steele: projected $6.55 million salary
Javier Assad: projected $1.9 million salary
Reese McGuire: projected $1.9 million salary
Eli Morgan: projected $1.1 million salary
Justin Steele, who went down in April with a season-ending elbow surgery, is expected to return to the rotation in 2026. No clear time table has been established for Steele’s comeback, but he didn’t have Tommy John surgery, so it’s possible to believe he can recover within the year and potentially be available by April. The Cubs will probably not rush him back though, so maybe Steele gets back to the mound in May.
Regardless, Steele will return to the Cubs in 2026. The left-handed pitcher is still under team control through the 2027 season.
Javier Assad suffered an oblique injury this past season and then had a setback that delayed the pitcher’s debut until August. The righty made eight appearances for the Cubs and turned in similar results as he’s done since making his MLB debut in 2022. For an estimated salary of about $2 million the Cubs will surely bring back Assad for 2026. Assad will once again be a depth starter and potential longer reliever out of the bullpen.
Assad also has minor league options, which is great to have for roster flexibility throughout the regular season. The right-hander is under team control through 2028.
Then, the two guys who may be free agents after Friday night.
Right-handed reliever Eli Morgan was a huge disappointment in 2025, after the Cubs traded for him from the Cleveland Guardians. He only pitched in seven games, recorded a 12.27 ERA in 7.1 innings, suffered an injury and never pitched for the Cubs again after mid-April. Morgan had an elbow impingement that pretty much wiped away most of his season as Morgan was activated until September and was optioned to Triple-A, where he finished out his year.
There’s a chance that the Cubs non-tender Morgan and bring him back on a minor league deal.
The same could be said for backup catcher Reese McGuire. He actually had a solid year for the Cubs, filling in for Miguel Amaya from May onward. McGuire hit nine home runs in 44 games, posted a .688 OPS and an 86 wRC+ in 140 plate appearances. The defense was solid and in a perfect world he would be a decent backup, but the Cubs already have Amaya and Carson Kelly, so they would most likely prefer to have Reese or a similar type of catcher sticking around at Triple-A without paying them as much.
We’ll find out what the Cubs do with these guys later on today.
