How the Cubs can effectively pivot with Shota Imanaga back in the fold

Although Shota Imanaga has officially accepted the qualifying offer and is returning to the Chicago Cubs, the team is still in a position sign an impact starting pitcher this offseason.

In the early going, offseason rumors have linked the team to top arms like Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Framber Valdez for good reason. The team's glaring flaw in the 2025 playoffs was starting pitching, partially because Imanaga had become ineffective to the point where they didn't use him in Game 5 of the NLDS in an elimination scenario.

The team was also without breakout rookie Cade Horton and All-Star Justin Steele, highlighting the fact that dependable pitching depth is essential for deep playoff runs. And no one in the current free agent market has been more dependable than Cease, who has five straight seasons of logging at least 32 starts with 200+ strikeouts.

This is the type of player the team needs who can bring stability, experience, and superstar potential to the rotation, and boost the team's chances in 2026.

How the Cubs can make this work - even with Shota Imanaga back

With Imanaga in the fold, he joins a crowded list of arms who are capable of starting, including Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Colin Rea, Javier Assad, and Horton. Not to mention, Steele is expected to make his return at some point in the first half of the season, but the team can't bank on him immediately returning to his ace-level production.

None of the guys I just mentioned are particularly awful, but this offseason should be about finding an upgrade. The Cubs have enough payroll flexibility (about $40 million) to splurge on Cease, and then use their decent pitching depth to make a trade.

This approach would give the Cubs another starter under team control past 2026, as Taillon, Boyd, and Imanaga will all be free agents after next season. Signing Cease gives the team the ability to trade one of these guys for a bat or bullpen arms the roster is lacking right now. And the team would still have ample depth with Assad, Rea, Stele and Triple-A starters in the fold.

Boyd might be the most attractive trade candidate, as he just completed a breakout 2025 campaign, and his $17 million price tag is the most palatable for other clubs looking for arms, compared to Taillon ($18 million) and Imanaga ($22 million). Of course, Jed Hoyer could instead move off some of his prospect capital that's been matriculating at Iowa, rounding out the roster that way and keeping his rotation intact, as well.