LAS VEGAS — Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer quipped on Tuesday that his team had all the position players required if there was a baseball game to be played this week. Even with Kyle Tucker hitting free agency, Chicago has someone for each spot in the lineup between the veteran core and young talent.
“That’s going to be our focus,” Hoyer said during the General Managers Meetings at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. “I expect to explore trades. I expect to explore free agency, both at the top of the market, but also looking at Minor League free agency.”
Both in the rotation and bullpen, the Cubs need to add arms for the 2026 campaign. The relief corps has multiple vacancies, which Hoyer tends to fill via more value-based moves rather than multiyear deals in free agency. In addressing the starting staff, Hoyer and his front office are more likely to make some Hot Stove headlines in the months ahead.
“You have to explore everything,” Hoyer said. “And we’re not just going to focus on the free-agent market with pitching. I think we’ll probably look at the trade market. It may come to fruition, it may not, whereas we’re going to sign some free agents. I think there’s no question. The trade market? We don’t know yet.”
As things stand, the Cubs have Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon and Colin Rea on guaranteed deals for ‘26. Justin Steele (eligible for arbitration) is returning from left elbow surgery, but he has resumed throwing and is on target for an early-season comeback. Cade Horton is coming off a runner-up finish for the National League Rookie of the Year, with fellow pre-arb arms Javier Assad, Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks also offering internal options.
The Cubs need to add more to that list.
The “top of the market” for starting pitchers includes free agents Dylan Cease, Michael King, Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez and Zac Gallen. Everyone in that group received a qualifying offer from their former team, securing Draft-pick compensation if they decline and sign with a new club. Brandon Woodruff also received a QO from the Brewers. Having the QO attached to a free agent should not be a hindrance for the Cubs.
On the trade front, the Cubs held talks ahead of the Deadline last summer to explore the availability of arms like MacKenzie Gore (Nationals), Joe Ryan (Twins), Sandy Alcantara (Marlins) and Edward Cabrera (Marlins), among others. Those past conversations could help if the sides revisit things this winter.
Another possibility for the Cubs is to look to the international market, especially with the recent news that Japanese righty Tatsuya Imai will be posted by the Seibu Lions. The Cubs have built a strong infrastructure and network for scouting overseas, and the team’s recent success with names like Yu Darvish, Seiya Suzuki and Imanaga could help them remain an attractive landing spot for players making the move to MLB.
“There’s a lot of good players,” Hoyer said of the international market. “There’s a lot of good Japanese players coming over. [There’s] some good Korean players coming over. There’s a number of good American players coming back over. So yeah, I expect to be engaged in those markets, for sure.”
Imanaga is one of those players who thrived with the Cubs, making an All-Star team and garnering both NL Cy Young and Rookie of the Year votes in ‘24. His showing this past season included bouts with injury and inconsistency, but he was still an important part of Chicago reaching the playoffs.
“When you look at the entire body of work over the two years,” Hoyer said, “it was exceptional.”
Hoyer added that the Cubs’ decision to decline Imanaga’s three-year team option “doesn’t reflect at all our feelings about Shota.”
“It’s a complicated structure,” Hoyer said of Imanaga’s original contract. “And I think with that structure, ultimately, we felt like it wasn’t the right thing to do to pick up the club option. He very quickly felt it wasn’t the right thing to do the player option. There’s no hard feelings on either side with that. You just kind of move forward.”
And moving forward, the Cubs know they need to add to their rotation this offseason.
“We’re going to have an active offseason,” Hoyer said. “Take that for what it’s worth.”
