This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian's Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO -- The calendar has flipped to 2025, Cubs Convention is just around the corner and the North Siders will be off to Tokyo for an historic Opening Day series against the Dodgers before you know it.

The countdown to next season has started, but there is still work to be done for a Cubs team intent on reaching the playoffs in ’25. Let’s take a look at one move that would steal some more headlines for Chicago this winter and ponder a few other items with “next year” being upon us.

1. One (realistic) free-agent target who would be a perfect fit: RHP Roki Sasaki
The 23-year-old Sasaki would be a perfect fit for pretty much every single MLB team, given his age, talent level and affordability on the front end of what could be a star-caliber career. For the Cubs, specifically, the team has a need for rotation depth and not only for ’25. The core of Chicago’s staff (Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd) have contracts that could see them all hit free agency within the ’26-28 window. The Cubs have young arms coming, but Sasaki could grow into an ace for the present and future. And the North Siders have worked hard to make their team a destination for Japanese players.

2. One player poised for a breakout season: CF Pete Crow-Armstrong
Crow-Armstrong’s overall showing in 2024 (.237 average with a .670 OPS in 123 games) does not really tell the story of his season. The Cubs gave him a long runway in his rookie year to sort through the learning curve and Crow-Armstrong finally turned a real corner in late July. Veteran Dansby Swanson described what he witnessed down the stretch as a “controlled, intentional process” by the rookie. From July 27 onward, the 22-year-old center fielder slashed .289/.336/.469 (.806 OPS) and posted 2.2 WAR (FanGraphs). Given Crow-Armstrong’s speed, knack for power at times and elite defense, he looks poised for a breakout in ’25.

3. One prospect to watch in 2025: RHP Cade Horton
There will be a lot of attention on the pile of Top 100 prospects in the Cubs’ hands, but this will be a crucial year for Horton’s climb to Wrigley Field. Horton (MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 Cubs prospect and No. 42 on the Top 100 list) was selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2022 Draft and enjoyed a strong pro debut in ’23 (2.65 ERA with 117 strikeouts and 27 walks in 88 1/3 innings) as he reached Double-A. Last year, injury setbacks limited the righty to 34 1/3 innings. Horton made it to Triple-A Iowa, but his campaign stalled in late May. If healthy, Horton could impact the Cubs’ staff at some point this summer.

4. One prediction for the New Year: Cubs win first playoff game since 2017
This really should not be that bold of a prediction, but the Cubs were also hoping to be playing on the October stage in both ’23 and ’24. They narrowly missed the postseason two years ago and fell short of expectations again last season. In Spring Training last year, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said, “I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t be favored for our division.” Chicago finished 10 games behind the division-winning Brewers and six games short of the Wild Card field. With star outfielder Kyle Tucker in the fold now, plus some upgrades throughout the roster, the Cubs look more like a team that can snap their playoff win drought.