Plan A for the Cubs to improve their rotation appears to be Imai. His posting deadline is January 2nd, so I would expect negotiations to continue until then.
The other big name free agent starters: Michael King, Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez and Zac Gallen are probably Plan B. There is the chance that one or more of them could wait until after the Imai signing, as it would add the teams that don’t get Imai to come back in the picture as potential suitors. But what happens if all of them have signed by the time Imai makes his decision?
That would require a Plan C.
I see three potential scenarios:
- The Cubs go after a top-line starter in a trade. They’ve been linked to Edward Cabrera and MacKenzie Gore. The good news for that scenario is they’d get a top-line starter. The bad news is it would cost prospects.
- The Cubs sign a mid-tier or back-end starter. There are lots of decent guys on the market: Chris Bassitt, Erick Fedde, Zach Eflin, Nestor Cortes, Jose Quintana, German Marquez — among many others. The positive is that should not be very expensive. But the downside is that they would not improve the rotation much over the players the Cubs already have, and would primarily provide depth. It would be preferable for the Cubs to bring in someone who they’d be comfortable starting in a playoff game.
- The Cubs stand pat. They could have Colin Rea in the rotation until Justin Steele is ready. And in case of additional injury, they’d have to slot Ben Brown or Jordan Wicks into the rotation. The only upside is the cost and prospect savings, and with the pitcher injuries we’ve seen over the last several seasons, it would probably be a recipe for disaster – and no playoffs.
Hopefully they get Imai, but if they don’t, things could get very interesting.
Cubs in 7 
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