Landing Gallen, King, or Imai Could Put Cubs in Driver’s Seat
The Cubs as a franchise are deserving of something nice this holiday season, perhaps a top-line pitcher like Zac Gallen or Michael King. Maybe the heralded Japanese hurler Tatsuya Imai? There are all kinds of big-ticket gifts Jed Hoyer could shop for at the Winter Meetings in the Orlando, and just about all of them could make them the envy of their division rivals in the National League Central.
As words that resonate more in this time of year, the late, great Biggie Smalls once rapped, “No heat, wonder why Christmas missed us.” Just like B.I.G. didn’t want to be left out of the holiday cheer, Hoyer and hit front office, wish to deliver a memorable gift to the North Side of Chicago. They don’t want to miss Christmas; they want their opponents to swing and miss.
Bob Nightengale missed the mark with Cubs fans, erroneously reporting the team was finalizing a deal with Gallen, the 30-year-old former Cy Young contender. It was a surprising move for a team that tends to favor reclamation projects like Matthew Boyd. While no deal is close as Gallen appears to be more of a secondary option despite what Bruce Levine reported were “several serious meetings,” the righty is one of a handful of targets that will make the Cubs serious World Series contenders in 2026.
At the outset of this free agency cycle, Cubs fans were pining for a Padres starter, just not the one they might end up with. Dylan Cease penned a lucrative contract with the go-for-broke Blue Jays, a seven-year, $210 million deal that set the tone for the winter. It’s a complicated market, informed by the contradiction of immediate postseason contention and an impending labor stoppage in 2027.
Cease’s former teammate, Michael King, became a primary target for Cubs brass, along with several other teams. King has a career 3.24 ERA over his seven seasons in the bigs, starting as a reliever with the Yankees before moving into the rotation with San Diego in 2024. If his cutty fastball and outstanding changeup continue to get results like he had in ’24, he’d be treated like royalty should he find himself working at Wrigley Field eighty-one times a year.
As much as it seems, at least at this point, that Hoyer and the Cubs would love King, they’ve really got their sights set on Tatsuya Imai. The 27-year-old was a strikeout machine in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, punching out 178 batters over 163.2 innings last season. This would an acquisition aimed at turning the Cubs into a juggernaut.
Speculatively, Imai and King make the most sense for the Cubs to move forward with this week as primary options. If not, Gallen wouldn’t be so bad. The Cubs fell to the division rival Brewers in the NLDS due to an acute inability to keep The Crew’s sluggers off base. The North Siders must become a strikeout team if they’re to reclaim the top spot in their division.
Nothing, and I mean not a single thing, jumps off of Gallen’s Baseball Savant page…except for his strikeouts. He’s got over 1,000 strikeouts in seven years as a big leaguer, and is still young enough to regain his Cy Young-caliber form at Wrigley Field.
With a stable of electric talent residing on the North Side of Chicago, the Cubs could be the gift that keeps on giving. There are no certainties for success, but knowing what we do about their potential to build upon last season’s success should fill you with just the right amount of holiday cheer.
