The Chicago Cubs lost in the National League Division Series to the Milwaukee Brewers, ending their 2025 season. That also likely ended Kyle Tucker's time at Wrigley Field after just one year. But just because Tucker is likely gone, Chicago cannot be ruled out of an MLB free agency splash. According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the Cubs may make a run at Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai.
“While Imai acknowledged that having a Japanese teammate would be a valuable resource, he also expressed a desire to figure out the major-league experience on his own. That potential preference, though, should not be a dealbreaker. It does not rule out an interested team like the Chicago Cubs, who made a concerted effort to become a destination for Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga when they left Nippon Professional Baseball,” Imai reported.
In seperate reporting, The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma outlined the Cubs' desire for a pitcher. “But there appears to be a willingness to once again add a big-money pitcher to the rotation. That’s a departure from recent offseasons, as team president Jed Hoyer looks to follow through on his promise to make pitching his top priority this winter. The last time the Cubs were shopping in this aisle of free-agent pitching, it was out of absolute necessity. The organization’s inability to develop pitching meant its only options were to spend in free agency or aggressively pursue trade partners to bulk up the rotation.”
The Cubs turned down Shota Imanaga's team option, pushing him to free agency in 2027. While they may lose Tucker, they can take that money and revamp their pitching rotation out of necessity.
Imai is 27 years old and coming over after a strong career in Japan. He will be among the highest-paid pitchers this offseason, but the Cubs are not letting that get in the way.
