The Cubs signed Drew Smyly to a two year deal. He is not expected to recover from Tommy John surgery until August, so this is a pretty minor signing. Smyly was once a hot prospect for Detroit and pitched pretty well for Tampa Bay. He seems to have been injury prone for much of his career as his only season with 30 starts was 2016, his last full season as he missed all of 2017.
There was a bit of a controversy when Ken Rosenthal attributed some remarks to Mike Montgomery about his preference to being a starter and his general discontent. I wouldn't put much stock in it as Hoyer denied the whole business. It has been an open secret that Montgomery wants to work into a starting role as opposed to being a swingman. Personally, I've always thought he could make that transition and never could figure out why the Cubs didn't use him in a starting role exclusively.
Maddon is quoted as saying he would not rule out using Kyle Schwarber as a leadoff man again. This is completely idiotic on Maddon's part as that experiment had a lot to do with the Cubs poor performance in the first half of 2017 and pretty much ruined Schwarber's season.
The Cubs are, I think, unlikely to trade for another starter. Most likely, they will target Cobb for that role and then try to land at least another reliever or two in order to retool the bullpen. I seriously doubt that Archer is available by trade and even if he is on the block, the Cubs do not have the farm system right now to acquire him. There are similar rumors to the effect the Cubs could trade for Brad Hand of San Diego. Again, in this case I doubt you move major league talent for a relief pitcher.
The Cubs bullpen now consists of Morrow, Strop, Montgomery, Edwards, Wilson, and Grimm. That leaves one slot open for sure and probably two given the wretched performance of Grimm last year. They should be able to fill these openings through the free agent market even if they do not sign Davis, which is the likely scenario in any case.
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