NEWSLETTER
Coming into the offseason, you could argue the Cubs needed to add two starting pitchers following the departure of Marcus Stroman: a front-of-the-rotation type and additional depth. They could get by with just one addition, given the young arms they have (plus Drew Smyly), but you’d love to have a little more cover and flexibility. This year’s class was pretty loaded with those third-tier/reclamation/interesting veteran types, so I don’t see why the Cubs wouldn’t take a low-cost swing after getting a surer thing.
Having now signed Shota Imanaga as the more sure-fire of the possible starting additions, are the Cubs in the market for that second starting pitcher? Not really, but if they are, it does indeed sound like it’d be more of a depth/reclamation type, rather than a second sure-fire, impact addition.
When asked Friday evening if the Imanaga addition meant the team was done looking for starting pitching help, Hoyer was pretty direct.
“I think you can never have enough,” Hoyer said. “But, I think that’s an area we probably don’t make another transaction. I think if we do, it may be smaller. Something could fall in our lap. We could end up with something. But that’s not my expectation right now.”
As we all know, Jed Hoyer is never going to tell you PRECISELY what the Cubs are capable of doing, much less what they are planning to do. But because Hoyer’s comments track with my sense of where things stood going into the Shota signing, I tend to think he’s speaking pretty plainly.
So, my take is that the Cubs are more focused on adding offense and in the bullpen right now. They are not actively pursuing any of the top remaining starting pitchers, or even necessarily the lower-tier guys. If a can’t-turn-down bargain or trade opportunity appears, hey, you know Hoyer is never going to turn down a good deal.
But at most, my guess is what the Cubs would do is add a veteran starter who winds up having to take a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite sometime next month. You let that guy throw in the spring and see what the state of the rotation and roster is by the end of Spring Training, and maybe he makes the team, or maybe he’s cut loose.
If nothing changes, the Cubs’ starting pitching options would look something like this going into Spring Training:
Justin Steele
Shota Imanaga
Jameson Taillon
Kyle Hendricks
Javier Assad
Jordan Wicks
Drew Smyly
Hayden Wesneski
Caleb Kilian
Thomas Pannone
Ben Brown
Cade Horton
The depth there is extremely strong (though you can never have too much), as most teams’ 6th starter options really stink. What’s less strong is the middle of the rotation, where you’re counting on Taillon pitching like he did in the second half, and Hendricks continuing his comeback. Both are very possible, but obviously you’d feel a touch better if everyone was pushed back a spot.
