Cubs start GM Meetings with an unsettling Michael King free agency stance

For a team that has a dire need for starting pitching this offseason, the early impressions from the GM Meetings in Las Vegas is that the Chicago Cubs are going to be selective to a fault. It's already expected that the Cubs won't be involved in the bidding for Tarik Skubal, and a report from The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma makes a Michael King signing feels just as unlikely.

Sharma's intel was meant as a way to confirm that outside fo Skubal, the Cubs will have conversations about every other free-agent starting pitcher available. Intentional or not, the piece actually reads as the Cubs not preparing to be as aggressive as they need be when overhauling their starting rotation for the 2027 season.

Sharma does suggest that the Cubs could have some interest in Michael King, who opted out of his three-year contract with the San Diego Padres, but cautions that his contract likely won't match what the team believe is the "right value".

Cubs face a familiar Michael King dilemma as GM Meetings begin

It's a similar feeling that surrounded the Cubs and King last offseason. As the Cubs were looking for pitchers who could place near the top of their rotation, King was thought to be someone on their radar. Though, once it came time to submit offers, the Cubs weren't involved.

To be fair to the Cubs, while King was dominant at the end of the regular season and into the playoffs with the Cubs, there are some legitimate red flags with his profile. After striking out over 24% of the hitters he faced between 2022 and 2025, King struck out only 21% of the hitters he faced last year. That's not a terrible number, but for what the type of contract King could field on the open market, the Cubs may see decline in swing-and-miss as a sign that he's headed in the right direction.

On one hand, the Cubs shouldn't view their need for starting pitching as a reason to rush to fix the issue. The problem that the Cubs appears to be backing themselves into a corner with is that they want to find value in any starting pitcher they sign this offseason, but that is the same strategy that has failed them before.

It's why stepping outside of their comfort zone for Skubal made the most sense. There are legitimate reasons not to sign Skubal to the historic contract he's expected to command, but his floor is also much higher than just about any other pitcher available this offseason. Sometimes, that is the risk a team has to make, especially for the Cubs, considering their pitfalls over the years in developing starting pitching.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow