Former Cubs trade target would be a perfect rotation addition for Jed Hoyer

The offseason is drawing ever closer, which means there is speculation aplenty about who the Chicago Cubs' top free agent targets will be. Bringing back Kyle Tucker feels like the long shot of all long shots, but they should have plenty of money to work with and potential spots for improvement in the rotation and at third base. This is an especially deep class of starters headlined by aces like Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez, and Dylan Cease. There's also Tatsuya Imai, the top incoming Japanese starter who figures to be at the center of an MLB bidding war once he's posted.

Despite experts tying the Cubs to multiple names at the top end of free agency, however, Jed Hoyer has shown no indications in recent years that he'll be aggressive at that level unless someone's market doesn't develop. An impending lockout in 2027 makes it feel even less likely that Chicago will flex its big market might. Fortunately, this is a year where teams may not have to break the bank or make huge commitments to land some very interesting arms.

Enter Michael King. Before the 2025 season, reports surfaced that the Cubs had inquired about trading for the Padres starter as San Diego weighed reducing its payroll. He was coming off an excellent 2024 campaign in which he converted back to the rotation full-time with a stellar 2.95 ERA and 3.33 FIP in 173 2/3 innings. However, they've had interest in him since his Yankees days, making his breakout as a starter all the more salivating.

2025, however, was not as kind to him. A pinched nerve in his throwing shoulder limited his strength and kept him off the mound from mid-May to August, and knee inflammation upon his return further sidelined him into September. Before the injuries, he was on track for another big year with a 2.59 ERA, a 3.26 FIP, and 10.35 strikeouts per nine in 55 2/3 innings. A rocky finish when he finally came back, largely thanks to an eight-run disaster against the Mets, ended his year at a good, but not great, 3.44 ERA and 4.42 FIP.

Michael King fits the Chicago Cubs front office's line of thinking

In a sense, you can think of King as a much pricier, higher-upside equivalent to Matthew Boyd. Like Boyd, his relative lack of track record as a starter and injuries will bring his price down. But if it panned out, a deal for King would give the Northsiders a potential ace. He's not quite the fireballer the Cubs have sorely missed, but he brings a lot of swing and miss and an ability to limit hard contact at his best.

There's an argument to be made that the front office should be paying for more certainty, given the question marks among their current starters. For one, Justin Steele will still be working his way back from UCL surgery at the start of the season. Boyd and Shota Imanaga's lackluster performance down the stretch also created some questions about how effective they could be going forward (or if Imanaga will even be around in 2026). Still, if they're going to continue to be opportunistic at the top of the market instead of aggressive, King has one of the highest ceilings of the guys in the next tier down.

In his write-up about the top 50 free agents this offseason at The Athletic, Jim Bowden ranked King 13th and projected him at a three-year, $75 million contract. Granted, he also thought clean medicals could potentially land King a more lucrative deal, especially with how expensive starting pitching has been in recent years, but that sort of deal would be right in the Cubs' wheelhouse. For reference, that's just $4 million more than they inked Marcus Stroman for ahead of 2022, minus escalators.

Expect the Cubs to be monitoring King's market very closely. He represents a potential opportunity to get an ace-like arm without extending themselves to lengths they've otherwise been uncomfortable with.