The Cubs were among the most speculated teams as a fit for Imai during his 45-day post stint. Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic wrote last month that Chicago was involved but was reluctant to make a long-term commitment where he was valued as a top player. The rest of the market apparently shared that fear.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com writes that the Cubs appear to have been the top competition for Houston by the end of the signing period. Both Feinsand and Jon Heyman of The New York Post suggest that neither the Yankees nor the Mets were deeply involved. The Yankees may be more focused on the lineup; reportedly they have an offer Cody Bellinger – while previous reports have indicated that the Mets are not keen on making a long-term investment in a free agent starter. Imai apparently wouldn’t be an exception, as Feinsand writes that the Mets weren’t convinced he would be a top starter.
A starter in the middle of the rotation was the Cubs’ biggest need all season. They haven’t made any moves in the rotation yet, other than declining their option and then keeping it Shota Imanaga through the qualifying offer. They still lack a high-quality supplement Cade Horton at the top of the staff, at least until Justin Steele returns from elbow surgery in April.
Imanaga had a terrible last few weeks as his home run percentage spiked. Matthew Boyd was excellent in the first half but seemed to wear thin as the season progressed. His 179 2/3 innings were 101 more than he had pitched in any MLB season since 2019. Boyd had a 2.34 earned run average entering the All-Star Break, but has allowed a 4.63 rating in his last twelve outings. His strikeout percentage dropped by more than four percentage points in the second half. He’s entering his age-35 season. Jameson Taillon, Colin Rea And Javier Assad profile as backend or swing options.
The Cubs could still chase them Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez or Zac Gallen if they want to add a starter through free agency. Teams have set significant asking prices in starting pitching conversations, e.g MacKenzie Gore or Kris Bubic remain trade candidates.
Grid source calculates Chicago’s luxury tax projection at around $210 million. That leaves them nearly $35 million below the base threshold and $21 million below the 2025 season end point. They should have some payroll flexibility. If they don’t appreciate the value of available starting pitchers, they may turn their attention to the offense as a way to replace some of the lost production. Kyle Tucker (who are not expected to re-sign).
The Cubs in particular are loosely linked to third basemen. Reports have linked them to that Alex Bregman And Eugenio Suarezalthough president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer gave a solid vote of confidence to the in-house third baseman Matt Shaw. This evening, Heyman stated the Cubs among a number of teams that have shown some interest in the NPB star Kazuma Okamoto. The right-handed corner infielder has until Sunday afternoon to sign.
Okamoto also spent this season with the Padres, Pirates, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Angels. Most of those teams make more sense as landing spots than the Cubs, who have Shaw and Michael Busch on the corners. Plugging Okamoto in at designated hitter would block the path to at-bats for young hitters Moises Ballesteros And Owen Caission. Okamoto could take at-bats against Busch’s lefty pitching, but would have a cleaner path to everyday playing time with a team like Pittsburgh (at third base) or San Diego (at first base).
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