Cubs get 2 Tarik Skubal consolation prizes in ESPN's Baseball Tonight free agency predictions

The Chicago Cubs are poised to be major players in free agency this winter as Jed Hoyer looks to deliver a pitching staff that's on par with a position player group that was elite both defensively and offensively in 2026.

Injuries and underperformance doomed the staff, leading to a season that began with World Series aspirations ending with a Wild Card wimper in San Diego. With the expected lockout looming in early December, free agency could start moving quickly here in November and, with that, a slew of free agent predictions are already out there.

On the latest episode of the Baseball Tonight Podcast, the Cubs were tabbed to grab two of the biggest free-agent arms out there in Clay Holmes and Adrian Morejon. Holmes, on a three-year, $66 million deal and Morejon for four years, $84 million. They leave the door open to Morejon starting, but note that, regardless of role, he'd be a difference-maker for Craig Counsell.

I think Morejon's flexibility is what puts him in play for the Cubs. Their level of need is just so high when it comes to the rotation, it's hard to justify dropping $80+ million on a guy who's limited to ninth-inning duties. But if they can flex him into the rotation and add a true dominant arm to that mix, that money feels very palatable (remember, Jameson Taillon got four years, $68 million, and Morejon's upside is dramatically higher).

Would Clay Holmes, Adrian Morejon be enough to fix Cubs' pitching?

Penciling both of them into the rotation for argument's sake, we're now talking about a 2027 Cubs starting rotation that looks something like this.

Clay Holmes
Justin Steele
Adrian Morejon
Edward Cabrera
Ben Brown

Alongside that group, you have some depth in Braxton Garrett and Javier Assad, which is nice to see. But Steele will be roughly two years removed from his last MLB start by next spring, Cabrera was a disaster in 2026 and is a complete wild-card heading into next season and Ben Brown's recurring neck issues are a huge question mark.

If Hoyer goes out and lands Morejon and Holmes, I think he needs to push a little further and do something like bring back David Peterson to round out the rotation. Then, you have a deeper mix of arms and could even look at moving Brown to a late-inning role in hopes of keeping him healthy while also shoring up the bullpen.

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Would Clay Holmes, Adrian Morejon be enough to fix Cubs' pitching?

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