The Chicago Cubs have their approach for the offseason set, and it revolves around improving he pitching staff as a whole.
The Cubs fell short in the NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers, losing the pivotal Game 5 on the road. At one point, Chicago was in the title pitcher, but their upper-end pitching quality was lacking and it was exposed come October.
Chicago had one of the deepest pitching staffs, with numerous options, although it lacked top-level arms.
Heading into the winter with several key pitching and hitting free agents, the Cubs will need to find a way to keep their depth while also upgrading it.
At the general managers’ meetings, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer laid out the focus for the transactional period.
“We have a lot of position players, so our biggest focus this offseason will be bolstering the rotation and bullpen,” Hoyer said, according to Robert Murray of FanSided.
The Cubs have Shota Imanaga, their ace from last season, as a free agent whose qualifying offer has been extended. Chicago will have to choose whether to keep him.
There are some top-of-the-line talents available on the market. Framber Valdez and Dylan Cease highlight a solid class of starting pitchers.
Both of these workhouses have either elite stuff — as is the case with Cease — or they manage to get outs at a high clip — like Valdez.
They each have their flaws, but they present a good deal of upside, and paired with another high-end arm, they could form a devastating one-two punch.
If the Cubs are feeling bold, they could consider Tatsuya Imai, the Japanese pitcher who is unproven in MLB but boasts a long track record of success in Asia.
He has managed to stay healthy, throws a fastball that can reach 99 mph, and possesses a versatile pitch mix. Last season, he had a 1.92 ERA over 163.2 innings.
Additionally, in the trade market, Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal may be available, who could be a significant boon to their pitching staff and potentially be the missing piece to a deep playoff run.
