The Rundown: Cubs Strengthen Rotation, Hoyer Still Looking to Add Players, Reliever Market Expected to Heat Up
Jed Hoyer woke from his long winter’s nap to sign impact lefty starter Shōta Imanaga, giving fans who’ll brave this weekend’s weather to attend CubsCon something to cheer about. The team will probably sell a plethora of Imanaga jerseys at this year’s festivities, too. If you’re keeping score at home, Hoyer has now added a new starter, a new manager in Craig Counsell, several catchers on minor league deals, and three relievers as part of his annual piecemeal bullpen project.
Is he done? I don’t think so. Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman, and Brandon Woodruff could be joining Counsell and Imanaga in Chicago soon. I expect ol’ Jed to strengthen his relief corps, too. That should give the Cubs enough ammunition to win the NL Central and earn an opportunity to get smacked down in the divisional round by the Hollywood Dodgers. The West Coast powerhouse has added the entourage of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Manuel Margot, and Teoscar Hernández to a 100-win team. Their 2025 rotation will remind old-timers of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Don Sutton, and Claude Osteen.
I suppose that makes the Imanaga signing equivalent to nabbing Ken Holtzman, but that’s no matter. The Cubs may go to a six-man rotation this year, which means Hoyer could/should add another starter. Cade Horton and Ben Brown are possibilities, and I’ve heard Hayden Wesneski has looked good in his offseason workouts. He’s awfully impressive when he can command the zone.
Hayden Wesneski destroying hitters.
99mph 😯 pic.twitter.com/FAu4orluHc
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 2, 2023
Wesneski isn’t getting the love this winter that he did a year ago and he could end up in the ‘pen, but the young righty was one of Chicago’s most effective pitchers down the stretch. In case you overlooked his accomplishments while the Cubs perfectly executed their late-season swoon, Wesneski had a 3.00 ERA with 20 strikeouts and a 1.05 WHIP across 15 September innings.
Imanaga’s NPB workload may prevent Counsell from counting on a five-man rotation, which bodes well for Wesneski. The 26-year-old will be entering his prime with an opportunity to build value, and Chicago’s new manager might be the right man to get the best from him. The upside is certainly there, and Counsell’s work with the likes of Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta — even Jimmy Nelson and Mike Fiers — should give fans some degree of hope. Fiers had a 178 ERA+ and a 2.99 FIP in his first season with Counsell when he was traded with Carlos Gómez to the Astros in 2015 for Josh Hader, Adrian Houser, Brett Phillips, and Domingo Santana.
Let me come back to earth just a bit and remind everyone that though the Imanaga signing is a good start, Hoyer still has some work to do. According to most projections, the North Siders are an 80-win team after adding the Japanese lefty to the rotation. The Cubs have been linked to Shane Bieber a lot this offseason, and I don’t think that’s changed. Chicago still needs two bullpen additions and upgrades at the corners. That said, Hoyer has finally ended his two-month hibernation and seems well-positioned to take advantage of a softening market.
Cubs News & Notes
- Imanaga brings a new look to the Cubs’ lefty-heavy rotation. His signing will be official once he completes his physical.
- The deal must become official before the lefthander’s posting window closes at 5pm ET on Thursday.
- Jim Bowden reports that Imanaga’s base deal is for two years at $30 million with a series of options and escalators that could push it to $60-80 million over four or more years.
- The Cubs’ top starter will remain Justin Steele barring another move in the trade market or free agency, as he’s been a Cy Young-contending pitcher in the last two seasons. He’ll be followed by Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Kyle Hendricks, and Jordan Wicks. Horton, Brown, Drew Smyly, and Javier Assad are also rotation candidates.
- The presumption when Counsell was hired was that the manager who does more with less would be able to do more with more upon entering a larger market that should have limitless resources. The Imanaga signing pivots nicely from what had been a disappointing winter.
- The list of teams interested in Hader has reportedly narrowed to three, and the Cubs are among them.
- It almost seems like Hoyer is intent on signing every available catcher. How about extending Yan Gomes instead?
- Prospect James Triantos will hit MLB pitching according to most reports, but he provides little value to the Cubs if he can’t play third base.
- Yamamoto and Imanaga are eligible to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award. The increased competition will make things tougher for Pete Crow-Armstrong, though he will be the league’s top defensive rookie.
- The Cubs are promoting their annual fan convention in a way that might make Spinal Tap jealous. It’s a real morale builder, isn’t it?
Odds & Sods
Imanaga is a “fun” signing. I like that description, but I think he’s an impact addition. I can’t remember the last time the Cubs had the type of righty-lefty rotation balance they do now.
Here’s my in-depth breakdown on Shota Imanaga. #Cubs
It’s a pretty unique fastball, big carry, he just threw it down in the zone too much in NPB.
Splitter is filthy. Some kind of cutter/gyro ball is where the most room for pitch design is. Fun signing! https://t.co/1kiGxA9hPb
— Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) January 10, 2024
Central Intelligence
- Milwaukee: The Brewers have no current plans to trade Burnes, but will instead assess his market at the trade deadline.
- Cincinnati: The Reds are interested in Dylan Cease, but projections indicate the cost to acquire the veteran could be steep.
- Pittsburgh: The Pirates are counting on Henry Davis to be their full-time catcher this season.
- St. Louis: The Cardinals have added Chaim Bloom to their front office. The former Red Sox GM will work as a special advisor to John Mozeliak.
Climbing the Ladder
My current Cubs wishlist, by position and in order.
- Bullpen – Robert Stephenson, Jordan Hicks, Emmanuel Clase, Hader.
- First base – Bellinger, Josh Naylor, Rhys Hoskins, Pete Alonso.
- Rotation – Cease, Bieber, Jordan Montgomery.
- Third base – Chapman, Coby Mayo, José Ramírez, Isaac Paredes.
- Outfield – Randy Arozarena, Jorge Soler.
Stephenson ranked first in O-Swing% (43.4%), overall contact% (53.6%), and SwStr% (24.8%), as well as second in K-BB% (30.4%) among all pitchers with at least 50 IP in 2023.
Wednesday Stove
MLB rejected Amazon’s $150 million bid to bail out the bankrupt Bally/Diamond Sports.
The Cardinals are the best organization when it comes to drafting pitchers, while the A’s are the worst.
The Orioles are quietly emerging as the best potential landing spot for Cease.
Marcus Stroman and the Yankees are reported to have “mutual interest.”
The bullpen market might see some clarity soon. The Mets need relief pitchers and are interested in left-handers Wandy Peralta and Brent Suter, and right-hander John Brebbia.
The Dodgers remain firmly in the mix to re-sign veteran reliever Ryan Brasier.
Many of the teams interested in Hader are still prioritizing starters.
Thanks to a nasty sweeper and 100+ mph gas, Hicks is something of a unicorn among baseball’s free-agent relievers.
Apropos of Nothing
One of my recent discoveries, and a decent baseball website in case you are unaware, is Pitcher’s List.
Wednesday Morning Six-Pack
Here are six underrated pop songs of the 1960s.
- Star Collector by The Monkees
- Questions by Buffalo Springfield
- The “In” Crowd by The Ramsey Lewis Trio
- Whole Lot of Shakin’ in My Heart (Since I Met You) by The Miracles
- Love’s Gone Bad by Chris Clark
- Rain and Tears by Aphrodite’s Child
Extra Innings
I’m still not sure how Hoyer pulled this off at his price, but kudos to the Cubs president of baseball operations.
Hey Cubs fans!
Think you might want to read our Shōta Imanaga scouting report from the person at our company who watches Japanese baseball the most, @BrandonTeweets https://t.co/qjtFMJt3do
— SIS_Baseball (@sis_baseball) January 10, 2024
They Said It
- “Last year, Imanaga dominated in Japan, at least when it came to strikeouts and walks. He struck out 29.5 percent of the batters he faced and walked just 3.7 percent — numbers superior to Yamamoto’s, and ones that would hang with the best pitchers in MLB last season. Kevin Gausman (31.1%K/7.2%BB), Pablo López (29.2%/6.0%), and Gerrit Cole (27.0%/5.9%) had somewhat similar rates and had great seasons.” – Eno Sarris
- “Writing out your five guys in the rotation, it just feels like those days have gone away. As an industry, as a team, you just don’t do that anymore.” – Hoyer
Wednesday Walk-Up Song
The sky cleared up and the day turned bright…
