Cubs could find perfect offseason fit among Japan's next wave of MLB stars

Right now, the Chicago Cubs' top priority is focusing on making the playoffs and setting their squad up for success in October. However, that doesn't mean they aren't keeping the offseason in the back of their mind. Jed Hoyer and company will have some work to do to restock with so many players hitting free agency, including Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, and most of their starting rotation, including trade acquisitions David Peterson, Kevin Gausman, and Clay Holmes.

It's unlikely that every single one of those pieces will walk, but this will be a monumental opportunity to reconfigure the roster with so much money coming off the books. The Cubs have a lot of innings to replace and are expected to put pitching at the top of their shopping list, but they also can't ignore the expected loss of arguably their best power hitter. Adding to the challenge is the impending CBA negotiations, which could radically alter the financial landscape of the sport. They need to keep all avenues open, and one they've been focused on early is the international market.

An early ranking of the best Cubs offseason fits among incoming Japanese stars

Already, Chicago has been connected to a few of the big names expected to be posted from NPB in the offseason, most recently including Seibu Lions ace Kaima Taira, whom they scouted with other MLB teams. The last time they made a splash with a Japanese star was ahead of the 2024 season, when they signed Shota Imanaga to his creatively structured three-year deal. With all their needs, this year feels like the perfect time to keep that pipeline moving and leverage their good reputation for supporting players from overseas. Let's look at a few names that are expected to be posted and rank them based on their fit on the North side.

Kaima Taira

The most recent Japanese name connected to the Cubs also happens to be perhaps the best fit for them. Though there've been no indications to this point that he will be posted, the 26-year-old Taira is eligible to make the leap to MLB in 2027 and would do so coming off a monster year with the Lions. He's bounced between the bullpen and the rotation over the past few years, but as a starter in 2026, he currently has a stellar 1.46 ERA and 2.51 FIP in 117 innings.

All the tools the Cubs typically want in a starter, Taira has in spades. For one, his 70-grade, 97 mph fastball would provide that swing-and-miss-caliber stuff that they've been working to integrate into the staff with the additions of Edward Cabrera in the rotation and Ryan Zeferjahn in the bullpen. In actuality, he's not getting as many strikeouts as a starter as that velocity would suggest — he has a fine, but not elite, 23.4% strikeout rate this year — but he has been racking up the groundballs at a 50.3% clip. That will always be immensely valuable in front of an infield with Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner.

Perhaps most importantly, he just doesn't give up the long ball, sporting a minuscule 0.23 home runs per nine innings this year. For a Cubs team that currently ranks second-worst in baseball in HR/9 with 1.49 behind only the Athletics, someone capable of keeping the ball in the park would be a breath of fresh air. The cost for Taira isn't likely to be terribly high, either, given his limited starting experience and a light injury history including right forearm tightness in 2024, so he should be well within the front office's range of comfort. He has the potential to be a real value pick-up, though plenty of other teams are also watching him closely in the run-up to the offseason.

Hiromi Itoh

For a more established name in the rotation, Hiromi Itoh may be one of the big prizes of this year's international class. The soon-to-be 29-year-old right-hander is the reigning Sawamura Award winner, the NPB equivalent of the Cy Young, after throwing nearly 200 innings last year with a 2.52 ERA and 2.27 FIP. It was strong enough that he's been expected to come to the U.S. since May, and even though his 2026 hasn't been quite as dominant, that's not likely to change. He's still been a durable force for the Nippon Ham Fighters with 143 2/3 innings of 3.26 ERA and 2.91 FIP ball recorded so far.

Coming off a season full of injuries, the Cubs might prefer to add a starter who can reliably post, something Itoh has proven by pitching north of 150 innings every year since his rookie season and posting an ERA south of three in four of his six campaigns overall. Strikeouts aren't a big part of his game, and he's not known for his velocity with around a 91 to 93 mph fastball, but he, too, gets a solid amount of groundballs, with his 40.2% rate being the lowest of his career thus far. His pitch arsenal is also wide, including a splitter and sweeper among his primary offerings that fit the type of pitcher the Cubs like to target.

Even though the stuff doesn't jump off the page, there's a lot about what Itoh does that seems right up this front office's alley, and scouts tend to be confident that he can live up to the Sonny Gray comparisons. The Cubs could absolutely use someone durable in a rotation that may have a lot of uncertainty next year between Steele adjusting back to a starting role after nearly two full lost seasons, an injury-prone Cabrera, and Cade Horton still recovering from Tommy John. Consistency on that level is valuable.

Teruaki Sato

Teruaki Sato was the other name listed as an expected arrival to MLB alongside Itoh back in May, but unlike the pitcher, the Cubs made a point to scout the slugger. They were one of ten teams reported to have looked into him amid what has been a monster two-year stretch at the plate. 2025 saw the lefty masher slash .277/.345/.579 with a 182 wRC+ while clubbing 40 long balls to earn his fourth All-Star nod in five years and win Central League MVP honors. In 2026, he's been even better, boasting an absurd .322/.401/.624/204 wRC+ slash line while dropping his strikeout rate to 25.9% and raising his walk rate to 11.7% through 114 games. Not to mention, he's added another 30 homers.

Those numbers place Sato in a similar realm to Seiya Suzuki before the Cubs ultimately signed him out of NPB for the 2022 season. There's never a guarantee that an overseas hitter will translate to the majors, but if Hoyer can't find a way to re-sign Suzuki, he could roll the dice again on another immensely talented bat arriving at a similar age who likely won't cost as much as the 32-year-old. Sato has shown he's capable of playing the corner outfield too, which would solve one of the holes the team will have to fill in the grass before Opening Day.

The big question is whether the Cubs will like Sato enough or prioritize hitting to a degree to win the slugger over. So many organizations will be involved in the sweepstakes for his services, and, more recently, Jon Heyman specifically cited the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, and Phillies as the teams showing the most interest early on. Chances are these teams will value Sato more for his Golden Glove-caliber defense at his primary position of third base and be more willing to extend to get him. Either way, this is a pursuit they're bound to be part of even if pitching is the name of the game.

Hiroto Saiki

Not to be forgotten in the shadow of his Hanshin Tigers teammate, Sato, Hiroto Saiki still makes sense as a candidate to be posted, even if his team denied him the opportunity last year. While he doesn't boast the obvious top-of-the-rotation stuff that the Cubs need most, he's yet another consistent arm who has thrived in the pitcher-friendly NPB. He's posted sub-two ERAs every year from 2022 through 2025, though he's poised to break that streak in 2026 with a 2.76 ERA and 2.29 FIP in 124 innings so far.

Saiki's best weapon is the pristine command that has kept his walk rate low and given him command of the strike zone. Strikeouts, meanwhile, have never been a big part of the game until this year, when he's fanned batters 30.1% of the time. Coupled with even fewer free passes and a still solidly low 0.87 HR/9, his performance has created a lot of intrigue about the changes he's made and whether he can translate that success to the majors. Certainly, his scoreless five-inning performance against the Dodgers in an exhibition game at the Tokyo Dome last year turned some heads and even earned praise from Dave Roberts, who lauded his "major league stuff."

His style of pitching makes it a bit more likely Saiki could slot in towards the middle of a rotation, but that's still valuable. It's also worth noting his wicked forkball, which has been at the center of his uptick in strikeouts. If nothing else, he's another interesting option on the table for the Cubs with a good track record. Whether he'll actually be posted this time is another question entirely.

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