Tatsuya Imai He left the board in the afternoon. He agreed to a three-year, $54MM guaranteed deal with the Astros after the first two seasons. It was both a surprise pitch and a contract, as the NPB right-hander was generally expected to command a nine-figure contract that would likely have priced him out of Houston.
The Cubs were among the teams considered ready for Imai in his 45-day posting window. Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic wrote last month that Chicago was involved but was reluctant to make the long-term commitment they value as a quality arm. The rest of the market apparently shares that trepidation.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com writes that the Cubs appear to be the best competition in Houston at the end of the signing period. Both Feinsand and Jon Heyman of the New York Post suggested neither the Yankees nor the Mets were heavily involved. The Yankees may be very focused on the roster – they reportedly have something they want to do Cody Bellinger — while previous reporting has indicated the Mets aren’t willing to make a long-term investment in a free agent starter. Imai apparently would be no different, as Feinsand wrote that the Mets weren’t sure he would be the best starter.
A middle-of-the-rotation starter has been a big need for the Cubs all season. They have yet to make any moves in the rotation without declining their option and ending up Shota Imanaga with a suitable gift. They still lack a top quality finisher Late Horton up the staff, at least until Justin Steele is coming back from April elbow surgery.
Imanaga has been in bad form the last few weeks as his home run rate has increased. Matthew Boyd was dominant in the first half but seemed to lose momentum as the season progressed. His 179 2/3 innings pitched were 101 more than in any MLB season since 2019. Boyd carried a 2.34 earned run average into the All-Star Break but allowed a 4.63 earned run mark over his last 12 games. His strikeout rate dropped by more than four percent in the second half. He is referring to his age 35 season. Jameson Taillon, Colin Rea again Javier Assad profile as back or turn options.
The Cubs can still go anywhere Framber Valdez, Guard Suárez or Zac Gallen if they want to add a starter in free agency. Groups have set significant asking prices in negotiations that involve starting to call, although it is popular MacKenzie Gore or Chris Bubic remain trade candidates.
RosterResource calculates Chicago’s luxury tax at around $210MM. That leaves them about $35MM short of the base cap and $21MM of their end-of-season cap through 2025. They should have some income flexibility. If they don’t like the value of any of the original jars available, they can consider the case as a way to replace some lost product Kyle Tucker (not expected to re-sign him).
Lambs are loosely connected with third semen, especially. The reports bound them Alex Bregman again Eugenio Suarezalthough president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer gave a strong vote of confidence to the third baseman Matt Shaw. Later in the evening, Heyman listed the Cubs among several teams that have shown some interest in the NPB star Kazuma Okamoto. The right fielder has until Sunday afternoon to sign.
Okamoto is tied with the Padres, Pirates, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Angels this offseason. Most of those teams make more sense as landing spots than the Cubs, with Shaw as well Michael Busch in the corners. Plugging Okamoto into a designated hitter will block the path to at-bats for younger hitters. Moisés Ballesteros again Owen Caissie. Okamoto could take at-bats against left-handed pitching from Busch but will have a cleaner path to everyday playing time against a team like Pittsburgh (at third base) or San Diego (at first base).
