The Chicago Cubs have been extremely vocal about what they are focusing on this offseason, as they attempt to avoid finding themselves in a pitching situation like they did in this year’s playoffs.
The first two games of the National League Divisional Series quickly got out of hand, and though the team impressively made the series interesting, they ultimately couldn’t rally back from being down 2-0.
While baseball is a team game and it’s easy to point fingers at the offense, there was a huge issue from the get-go with the starting rotation. Shota Imanaga’s performances being one example.
Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Andrew Vaughn (28) hits a three-run home run off Shota Imanaga | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Cubs didn’t want to commit to a deal longer than a year with Imanaga, so they made him a one-year $22.025M qualifying offer that he accepted, but this will have a bigger impact on the team than management could have foreseen. And it’s unrelated to money.
Tatsuya Imai is arguably one of the most sought-after free agents right now, as he has been dominating in the Japanese league. The 27-year-old has been pitching professionally for nearly a decade and just posted his first career season with an ERA under 2.00; the Cubs want him.
Reason why Tatsuya Imai might avoid the Cubs
However, Imai recently revealed a peculiar reason as to where he wants to go, and surprisingly, it hurts both the Cubs and the reigning World Champions.
“(If there were a Japanese player) they’d be able to tell me anything I asked, right? But that’s not what I’m looking forward to. I’d rather experience a sense of survival, or, when faced with cultural differences, how do I overcome them on my own? That’s one of the things I enjoy,” Imai said.
Essentially, Imai has said he doesn’t want to join a team with Japanese players. And with the re-signing of Imanaga, it potentially removes the Cubs from the running of signing one of the best available pitchers in baseball.
日本人のいないチームを望む理由
今井達也「(日本人がいたら)聞いたら何でも教えてくれるじゃないですか？それはあまり望んでなくて、ある意味サバイバル感を味わいたいなというか、文化の違いとかに直面する時に、自分でどう乗り越えるか？というのを楽しみの一つなんで。」 #今井達也 #報ステ pic.twitter.com/0NzW1KYyL8
— ねこすけ⚾️新アカ (@NekoSuke5_5_2) November 24, 2025The Need for Another Starter for the Cubs
Imanaga isn’t the only man in the rotation who will be back next year, as rookie sensation Cade Horton and Matthew Boyd remain with the team. There isn’t enough time in the world or space on a page to discuss how dominant Horton was this year, but Boyd was a different story.
Boyd was either really good or really bad in 2025, which was on full display in their postseason run as he was lit up in the opener of the NLDS, but then was nearly flawless in an elimination game at Wrigley.
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Matthew Boyd | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
Looking at the team’s roster for 2026, Justin Steele’s name immediately stands out, but it is highly unlikely he takes a major league mound in the first couple of months of the year, as he only had his Tommy John surgery in April of this year. The typical recovery time is 12-18 months.
If the Cubs are now noncontenders for signing Imai, then they need to look elsewhere and do it soon before the few elite arms in free agency this year are swooped up.
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