Cubs avoided disaster by passing on one free agent fans desperately wanted

Before the Chicago Cubs traded for Edward Cabrera and signed Alex Bregman, the expectation was that Tatsuya Imai would be the big-ticket addition of the offseason. The Cubs, at one point, thought they had a deal in place with Imai before the Houston Astros swooped in at the last minute. Painful at the time, but now, the Cubs may be glad that the Astros did that.

Astros flashed brilliance in his second start with the Astros this season, striking out nine against the Athletics. But the underlying theme to his early run in the majors has been a lack of command. He's walked 25% of the hitters he faced through his first three starts, and has pointed to a need to get used to pitching mounds across Major League Baseball.

That was the concern for the Cubs. They liked Imai, but realized that he wasn't quite a finished product. It's why the Cubs weren't willing to give Imai an opt-out after the first year of their offer. Imai has that luxury with the Astros, but Houston is dealing with another concern surrounding the 27-year-old.

The Astros are in the middle of a West Coast road trip, but sent Imai back to Houston for imaging after his start over the weekend. He didn't make it out of the first inning, giving up three runs on one hit and four walks. The early word from the Astros is that Imai is dealing with arm fatigue, but an IL stint feels likely.

Tatsuya Imai would have only made the Cubs' early pitching woes first.

As Cubs fans play a what-if game in the aftermath of the Cade Horton injury, expressing regret over not signing Imai shouldn't be a part of that exercise.

If the debate was the Cubs trading Owen Caissie for three years of control over Cabrera, or sweetening their offer for Imai, Cabrera should be the choice every time. Cabrera does have his own injury concerns, but the Cubs have seen early validation of his stuff.

It's certainly possible that Imai figures things out and does ascend toward the top of the Astros' rotation. But for what the Cubs needed in 2026, it feels like not going that extra length to land Imai worked in their favor.