Chicago Cubs Expected To Pursue Veteran Starting Pitcher in Free Agency This Winter

The Chicago Cubs are hoping that adding a veteran arm can help sway the balance of power in the NL Central next season

Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs have not had the season they envisioned, failing to reach the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Their current winning percentage of .513 is practically identical to last season's .512 despite their offseason additions of manager Craig Counsell, starting pitcher Shota Imanaga, and the return of Cody Bellinger.

They've already identified one area to improve for next season, however: Starting pitching.

The team already has a strong core group, with the quartet of Imanaga, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon, and Javier Assad all capable of being postseason starters for the organization. Imanaga and Steele performed the best, with Imanage putting up a 2.91 ERA and Steeler behind him at 3.03. Taillon, who saw his season debut delayed to mid-April due to injury, rebounded to a 3.41 while Assad gave the team a 3.34.

The Cubs were lucky enough to need only nine different starting pitchers this season, one of the lowest totals in the league.

One issue this year, however, was the struggles of Kyle Hendricks, who put up a 6.28 in his 23 starts before finally being moved to the bullpen late in the year. Other fill-ins were needed as injury or rest necessitated spot starters, with Ben Brown (eight starts) and Hayden Wesneski (seven starts) dividing time between the bullpen and rotation.

All of that movement caused a cascade impact on the bullpen, according to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. The team's goal this offseason is to add an "established starting pitcher" that can make 30 starts and "be trusted in a playoff game".

Giving the team a 5th veteran rotation option would help create opportunities in the bullpen for the young pitching that needed to step into starts for Chicago this season, something that Counsell wants to avoid due to both injuries and inexperience to those youngsters.

“In one sense, you feel like you’re in a solid position because we have a number of young pitchers (who) have had success in the big leagues,” Counsell said. “Now with all of them, there’s been injuries. And it’s not a big sample as of yet. But that’s also kind of the nature of pitching. It’s the nature of young pitching. So we’re in a good spot in terms of that area of depth. But as we saw this year, it disappeared quickly.”

Depending on what direction the team wants to go (and the funds available), there will be no shortage of starting pitching options at every price point of free agency.

Corbin Burnes of the Baltimore Orioles is a Cy Young-winning pitcher who will demand a multi-year deal, with Max Fried of the Atlanta Braves right behind him as the preeminent lefty starter available. Blake Snell could opt out of his deal with the San Francisco Giants, while Jack Flaherty of the Los Angeles Dodgers will hit the market after being a heavily-desired arm in free agency.

If the Cubs want to continue their international push, Japanese superstar Roki Sasaki might be available if his current NPB team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, posts him this offseason. With Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga joining the organization in recent offseasons, the Cubs have become second only to the Dodgers in teams pushing into Asia in their search for impact talent.