Mets lock in on player that might completely derail Cubs’ Winter Meetings goals

Michael King is among the group of free-agent starting pitchers the Chicago Cubs are considering this offseason. Regardless of what Jed Hoyer may say to reporters, there's a universal understanding that the Cubs need to add an established starting pitcher to their rotation. In an ideal world, the pitcher they add is capable of being placed at the top of their rotation.

In talking about the Cubs' pursuit of pitching at the Winter Meetings, The Athletic's Patrick Mooney (subscription required) highlighted Tatsuya Imai, King, and Zac Gallen as the ones Chicago is keeping a close eye on. Of the three, Imai would likely be the home run swing, but also cost the most.

King and Gallen feel like fallback options if the Cubs aren't the top bidder for the Japanese free agent. Imai may not make a decision this week, and his posting window doesn't close until January 2. If the Cubs are forced to wait, they may wind up missing out on King.

Michael King has already met with the New York Mets, who are making him a priority.

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reports that King is the "top rotation target" for the New York Mets, and that the two sides have already met through a Zoom meeting. The MLB insider adds that the Mets are staying away from the top of the free-agent market, not seeing any pitcher worthy of a long-term deal, and that makes King an ideal fit.

While King, when healthy, has flashed the potential of being a top-of-the-rotation arm, he is going off a season where he only made 15 starts, and as a whole, he only has one full season under his belt as a starting pitcher at the Major League level.

If Imai is their preferred target, it would be hard to see the Cubs moving off the 27-year-old just because of the threat of the Mets signing King. Of course, if they don't land Imai and King is off the board by then, it could be a repeat of the MLB trade deadline, where they had a need for an established pitcher but only came away with an oft-injured Michael Soroka.

As of now, things at the Winter Meetings appear to be in a holding pattern. It remains unclear if there will be a signing, but that will do nothing to ease the anxiety of Cubs fans, hoping they aren't fooled once again by lofty goals unaccomplished.