Cubs 'Perfect Move' Could Be Signing Top Free Agent Ace This Offseason

The Chicago Cubs go into the offseason coming off their first real playoff run in close to a decade, and both fans and management are hungry to see more success at Wrigley Field next year.

In the upcoming offseason, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is going to be tasked with not only getting Chicago back to the playoffs, but getting even deeper into the field as well. In order to do that, pitching will be needed.

When it comes to the Cubs offseason, most of the headlines have revolved around Kyle Tucker, but fans would do themselves a service by moving on, as he will almost certainly not be back. If Hoyer wants a difference-making pitcher to Chicago, the perfect move according to Jeff Passan of ESPN is signing newly posted Japanese sensation Tatsuya Imai.

Cubs Linked by Passan to Japanese Star Tatsuya Imai

Shota Imanaga of Chicago Cubs has home run hit off him — Shota Imanaga | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"They will win or lose based on pitching, and their starting rotation needs help," Passan wrote. "The Cubs aren't the sort of team inclined to pay pitchers for past-their-prime years, and while that tends to be the sort of thing that's incompatible with free agency, there happens to be a 27-year-old available this winter who won't even cost a draft pick to sign. It's just money, and seeing as the Cubs don't spend a whole lot of that -- their current projected payroll is around $150 million -- now seems the right time to splurge a little."

Signing Imai on the heels of letting Shota Imanaga walk may be a little bit of a tough sell, but Imai is a different class of pitcher as compared to the older Imanaga. If Chicago wants a shiny new ace, the young right-hander should be who they have circled.

Imai Would Instantly Transform Cubs Rotation

Tom Ricketts of Chicago Cubs talking on cell phone in white shirt — Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The 27-year-old is an absolute stud coming off what may have been his best season yet, pitching to a 1.92 ERA and 0.892 WHIP over 24 appearances, striking out 178 opposing hitters in 163.2 innings pitched while walking just 45.

For Imai, the command numbers may be the most encouraging thing about him, lowering his BB/9 from 4.1 in 2023 to 3.6 in 2024 all the way to 2.5 this past season. A young potential ace just now entering his prime at the age of 27 and becoming available is not something that happens every day, and Chicago will have competition.

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In reality, the Cubs would have to make a sizable offer to outbid others, as Imai is likely to receive a nine-figure deal over an absolute minimum of five years if not more.

It would be going against the way Chicago has operated for years now in free agency, but this franchise is due to take a huge swing on a free agent to change the outlook of the following season.

Whether or not that swing comes on Imai remains to be seen. However, there is no question that Imai would be the perfect complement to the group of pitchers the Cubs already have and would give them a lethal rotation.

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