Where are the Cubs in their pursuit of another starting pitcher?

Where are the Cubs in their pursuit of another starting pitcher?

Welcome into North Side Territory Foul Territory Network’s Cubs podcast. I’m SahadeV Sharma with my partner Patrick Mooney. We are your Cubs beat writers over at the Athletic. Patrick, some late week recording due to me being sick all week. Uh so bear with me listeners if I sound or or if I lose my train at >> nearly fully recovered, but uh hit me in the middle of the week. I think all that lack of sleep and then holiday parties, all that stuff caught up to me and then I’m finally getting hit with uh some some rough uh with a rough flu here. But I’m all good now and and ready to record. >> We got to put we got to put you on some sort of like load management program. We can’t have you, you know, work the lobbies at the winter meetings all hours of the night [laughter] and then hit hitting the holiday party circuit really hard. you know, you’re not >> Yeah, >> you’re not as young as you you once were, you know. >> No, I am [laughter] not. Uh, and I think it caught up to me. Uh uh, all right. So, uh, let’s get let’s get to the news here. And the news recently broke. Uh, I I’m losing track of days. So, I believe this broke Thursday night. Is that when the Michael King news broke? Michael King to the Padres’s. The Cubs were interested in King early on. Uh, I don’t think they ever got deep in the weeds with him. I think you and I believed early on they would. Uh, it never seemed like things got too crazy there with the Cubs and Michael King. Uh, ultimately signs what I believe is a three-year, $75 million deal with opt outs after each year. Kind of complicated with the money if you want to break it down yearbyear, but that’s that’s the general uh breakdown of it. And it it you know, good deal for Michael King. good deal for the Padres’s. I think I don’t think that’s the type of deal the Cubs could make work with Michael King based on the fact that they had to give up a draft pick and and international money to sign him. Uh type of pitcher I think the Cubs could use, but just not not the type of deal that makes sense for them. >> Yeah, we confirmed early on in the process that the Cubs had interest in Michael King. We explained why. It’s a lot of the same attributes that led them towards Sh Managa, Matthew Boyd, Jameson, Tyion. I mean, this is an area where they’ve been uh really effective at. Um, but yeah, when you look look back at how the Cubs have responded to these sorts of deals, they do not like the one-year opt out when you’re paying a qualifying offer guy and giving up the draft pick and the international pool. I’m assuming that would have been a major sticking point for them, but we had already heard like kind of leading into the winter meetings that Cubs were interested but not putting on the fullcourt press. uh just recently uh in recent days I had heard that it was yeah interest early on but this sense that they weren’t going to be all that competitive uh in the end. Uh there are also reports out there that, you know, he’s an East Coast guy and may prefer that. You know, he spent a lot of time in New England growing up in college, high school. Uh he had pitched in New York already. And then I don’t know, this is kind of like a handy guide for listeners and readers. Like the Padres’s are doing something. It’s almost the exact opposite of what the Cubs are want to do. Like I’m reading our buddies Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lynn of just like 12 million signing bonus, five million salary for 2026, $28 million player option for 27 or 5 million buyout, 30 million player option for 2028. Like it’s a little different for the Padres’s if you know they were the ones who made the qualifying offer. Maybe it’s a little different in terms of the draft pick calculus, but uh you know, the Cubs didn’t want to give Alex Bregman a one-year an opt out after year one among many other issues to getting that deal across the finish timeline in spring training. And yeah, very good deal for Michael King. I mean, he, you know, in reading the story on the Athletic, the new story, it’s like this is a guy who had two separate injury issues, made only 15 starts, uh, does not have a super long track record as a major league starting pitcher, and to get $75 million guaranteed and multiple optouts in case he does finish in the Sai Young award voting again. Uh, good for him. Yeah, there’s it was always like a an upside play and a belief that >> you could keep him healthy, right? I think the Cubs were competent. We we brought up Michael Sroka uh early on in this process because look, I I know Michael Sroka didn’t pitch well with the Cubs. Uh he he didn’t look great, but the process to getting Michael Sarroka healthy, they they were really happy with that. uh they were they they thought they they identified who this is who he is. This is the guy when you’re at your best, this is how you look. This is how we get you healthy. Throwing 95 plus again, blah blah blah. And they followed that and they got him there. He was feeling good. He was throwing hard. Uh he got a pretty solid deal for for a guy that had a pretty rough season numbers wise. Sroa did. Uh, and and I think, you know, uh, they believed they could do something similar with Michael King. Here’s your best self. Here’s how we get you keep you healthy. Here’s how we get you to being that best self. Um, if they if they have like kind of proof of concept with Sroka, I think that’s a that’s something to cling to and and hope you can apply in different ways to different players. Obviously, it’s not going to it’s not going to happen with Michael King in them. Uh, but it it was one little wrinkle that I thought was interesting and I thought was uh valuable for them to have this in their back pocket. We’ll see if they can apply it to others, if there are other pitchers who have been hurt in the past or or whatever it may be. Uh, whoever they may acquire down the line. Uh, it is a nice thing to have. Obviously, it wasn’t some devastating injury for Sroka. That’s that’s harder to do. But if it’s these nagging injuries that pop up, usually delivery related, usually like the way you’re throwing, if if they they’re good enough now to kind of identify these things, we’ll see if it’s something you can do over and over again. If it’s something you can replicate, uh to do it once is is is impressive enough, but like if you can keep doing this and get a reputation for that, that’s when it kind of takes off, right? That’s the Cubs built that reputation of of kind of uh rehabbing uh quality relief arms over the years and and that that was that that that made them a semi- destination for some of these guys looking to come uh have a bounceback year and go [snorts] sign a bigger deal elsewhere. Uh but you know obviously it’s not going to happen with King. Uh why don’t we take a quick break, Patrick, and then come back and talk about some other options and then just in general what the Cubs have done so far. >> For all the parents out there with teenagers like Kratz, we know life’s a little crazy. >> Yeah, Cash App’s here to not add to the craziness. They’re here to help. >> Yeah, Crats. Cash App is designed to meet teens aged 13 to 17 where they are with intuitive educational tools available through sponsorship by an eligible parent or guardian. Teens gain access to a personalized Cash App card. With the Cash App card, you and your teens balances receive 247 fraud monitoring. And if something ever feels off, you have the ability to lock their card right from your phone in just one tap. Download Cash App and get started today. For a limited time, new Cash App customers can earn $10 if they use code family10 in their profile at signup and send $5 to a friend within 14 days. Terms apply. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash Apps Bank Partners. Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, member FDIC, direct deposit and promotions provided by Cash App, a Block Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/mpodcast for full disclosures. All right, so Michael King is not an option. Uh the Cubs have made it clear that pitching is their priority. They they need to go out and get a starting pitcher. Uh they’re only, you know, it’s not like the the cupboard is empty. Uh probably the two main names we’d focus on are Tatsuya Mai and and Zack Gallon. Uh we don’t know what what type of pitcher am I will be in MLB. Uh Gallon’s coming off a down season for him. Uh but I think both would be quality gets if you’re if you’re the Cubs. Uh there’s also Ranger Suarez out there. I don’t think the Cubs are on him. They’re looking for more swing and miss. Uh these are all uh Scott Boris clients as well. So that kind of puts a little snag in things I guess or or you know Boris has to play his game as he tries to as he tries to place find homes for his players. >> Yeah, I think that’s why you Michael King is a nice pitcher with upside but also comes with a lot of question marks. And I don’t I don’t I personally don’t think there’s huge separation amongst a lot of these pitchers that we’ve been talking about. Like obviously uh you know Framer who we have not heard linked to the Cubs you know probably has the best resume. Obviously Dylan CE is kind of exceptional in terms of his durability and his swinging miss stuff but you know his track record is a little bit spotty you know here and there and so this does not feel like you know Alex Bregman third baseman was a sort of like you know very narrow specific fit for the Cubs there obviously are not a lot of third baseman out there you can go back to when they were on Matt Chapman as well yet another Boris guy, but uh there are still options and you know, I’s posting window closes January 2nd. Uh I don’t know the exact sequencing and and strategy here, but if you’re Zack Allen, maybe you wait until I signs. I’m sure there’s a lot of crossover here. And we’ve gotten some mixed signals on EMI. Like I know it’s alluring. Uh the Cubs have a good track record in Japan. Japanese pitchers have had a ton of success coming over here. Uh I just think there’s sort of some uncertainty, a lack of clarity around is this guy more of like an ace or is he more of a back of the rotation starter? And he’s probably somewhere in the middle. And like how do you price that? He’s got age going for him. Uh he’s got VO that can touch the upper 90s. Uh the Cubs have an infrastructure and a support system to help Japanese players succeed. So I get why they’ve been length. They’ve been involved. They have certainly, you know, been in the conversation with Scott Boris about a lot of different guys. Uh I’m just curious like how is his market going to develop in terms of other suitors and whether or not the Cubs feel like fully committed and convicted here to make you know what could be rather large investment. And just one final point then I’ll hand it over to you side of like there were these rumors that show Managa when he first came over from Japan wanted $100 million. his camp denied that they, you know, uh, they said they’re very open-minded. They didn’t know where that came from. That could have just been a perception thing of, yeah, like how >> kind of hot that market, uh, has become of, these players coming over from Japan, but at that point, the Cubs didn’t really think they’d be involved. That didn’t really line up with their priorities or their their valuation of the player. And then all of a sudden it got closer towards the end of the posting window and showed us hanging out, you know, in Shamberg or wherever it was and like working out at Bo Jackson’s uh dome out by O’Hare and, you know, going to, you know, posing by the Michael Jordan statue and I think he went to a Hawks game. I’d have to go check my notes, but the point is all of a sudden that sort of fell into their laps in a way that maybe around the winter meetings didn’t make sense. And we’ll see kind of what happens with Amay here and whether or not they line up in this case. >> Yeah. And and the questions on Amay are are legitimate. There there’s people all across the game that are kind of wondering what he will be. Uh the fast ball obviously has the velocity. Does it have the characteristics that work against major league hitters? Uh the the breaking ball is incredibly unique, but it’s not really a normal slider. It it’s it almost moves like a change up at times. Uh and so does that really work against certain hitters. Uh you know, it it’s a it’s just a arsenal that they’re not 100% sure will justify the price tag that like you said, do we know for certain this is what he’s asking for? We don’t know but the some of the numbers that have been thrown out there that makes him a little bit more uncomfortable going in that realm. Uh obviously if it’s a if if if the price is lower then then suddenly you know team more teams are interested uh if the Cubs are are genuinely interested my guess is it would be at the at the not the you know 120 150 whatever that that price tag may have been the higher end of it. Uh it doesn’t sound like the Cubs would be interested in that and and you know I think some of our listeners would be like of course the Cubs aren’t interested at that level. Yeah, that’s a fair that’s a fair way to look at it. But uh they they certainly need pitching and and I think they they like him. It’s the they like him. They may not love him uh when when the price gets to a certain point. I you you mentioned the infrastructure. the infrastructure is there for for Japanese players in general, but it’s also like I think you know what do they believe they can do with him? [snorts] What what can they tease out of him? What can they adjust? What can what can make him more effective state side? I I don’t think we have super clear answers on that yet, but if if they acquire him, I guess we’ll we’ll find out. Uh, and Gallon, of course, I think I oddly honest, I think Gallon would be a really good get, like a guy coming off a down year, uh, that has the upside of like a two. Maybe he’s pitched like an ace. I think he’s gotten Sai Young votes before. Uh, >> multiple years. Yeah. >> Yeah. He’s a really like really quality pitcher when he’s right. The question is, what do the Cubs believe? What do teams believe? Is he on the downside? Was last year a blip? uh uh what can they do to get him right? Those are all the questions uh that you have about him. I I like Gallon and I think some people have have put him in like a uh the consolation prize bracket of of this uh of this free agency sweep stakes, whatever you may want to call it. Uh I think he’s better than some people are giving him credit for. He’s he’s just a quality pitcher that’s that’s done a lot of really good things over the years. and uh to assume that last year is the start of a downfall. I mean, that’s what the Cubs front office, that’s their job. Figure that out. You know, that’s on them to figure out. Uh but I I don’t think it’s fair to assume 100% that this guy’s like uh not as good of a pitcher as he once was. >> Yeah. when when we’ve written about Gallon and you know linked him to the Cubs again looking at social media is never a good idea but the general reactions have sort of been like like you said consolation prize or like kind of a you know online eye rolls to to it and I I get he wasn’t he didn’t have a great year last year he was not traded at the deadline the Cubs did not extend themselves for him then But I just have a hard time squaring this sort of again perceptions of kind of what I’m seeing, you know, on X is like like oh my god, you have to get Amai like he’s going to be amazing for like the next 10 years and then that like Zack Gallon is totally cooked and you know he’s >> like that he’s a at best a backup plan and I think both those guys could be pretty good next year. I think both guys could be disappointments next year and you’re factoring in, you know, posting fee versus draft pick, qualifying offer, penalties. Uh, you know, I think you got to go out and get one more starting pitcher who’s accomplished, uh, who has upside. And I I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think that Zack Gallon could be better than Michael King next year, could be uh an all-star caliber pitcher and could be had at a deal that Zack Gallon would not have expected when he was, you know, getting Sai Young award votes year after year. I think it’s maybe three of the previous five seasons, something like that. like guy pitched in the World Series and my only thing with Mai is like this is a team that’s built to compete that wants to win now and what if my has kind of a reverse Shoda meaning like his first year’s kind of what the end of show’s second year was like Sha sort of spoiled everyone by just like hitting the ground running >> and >> you It really was just fantastic. But we saw with say a Suzuki how there have been kind of some some growing pains here, some assimilation issues like and it’s probably unfair to like you know uh you know compare them to that extent but I I would have concerns of if is amai ready to sort of handle the load of a frontline starter for a playoff contender. I think he can get there. I think that’s certainly what the evaluation will be uh eventually, but getting a guy who pitched in the World Series before who has kind of carried a rotation for long stretches, I don’t think I don’t think that’s a consolation prize. >> Yeah, absolutely. Uh, one small move that the Cubs did make, uh, Tyler Austin, uh, a name some of you may be familiar with, former top prospect, I believe, with the Yankees, uh, played with a few teams in the big leagues before heading over to Japan where, uh, he’s had some really strong seasons. Uh, right-handed bat, first base, DH, fills a bench roll. Uh I I think this is a perfectly fine move uh in the sense that you know it’s Justin Turner without the leadership for a quarter of the price and we’ll see if he produces. Uh even when he was here when when he was states side he was >> he hit lefties well and that’s probably he’s probably going to get like he’s not even going to get as many at bats as Justin Turner did against righties would be my guess. uh like it’s going to be a very limited role assuming he’s you know on the team the full season uh where he gets uh a lot of at bats against lefties if he produces and and you know I think it’s worth the gamble. Uh it’s a it’s a it’s probably the type of thing that sets off the fan base when they haven’t made the big move yet though. Yeah, the timing is pretty funny of like the whole baseball world waiting on, you know, bunch of Japanese stars to figure what they’re doing and the Cubs sign, you know, a role player who hasn’t played in the majors since the end of the 2019 season. Um, but otherwise, I do think the Cubs are going to have a hard time attracting some of these reserve players of like upgrade the bench. It’s like, well, they don’t play their bench players and they had to do >> finding right-handed hitters right now uh is pretty difficult. If you look at the market, there’s not a lot of great options out there. Uh I think Jed used the term Cubs were unsustainably healthy on the position player side uh last season, so they need to do some stuff there. And look, if this is a guy who maybe figured out a couple things over in Japan and is very happy and willing to take on a limited part-time role and who has a specific set of skills, uh he played for council before. to quote our buddy Mark Gonzalez, [clears throat] Milwaukee wasn’t built in a day and so they got another uh former Brewer to throw in there. Like yeah, I think the goal the idea here is like he doesn’t play that much, but when he does, he can fill that specific role. Maybe he gets hot the way he did, you know, for stretches uh with the Yankees. >> Yeah, we’ll we’ll see what he can do. So, I you know, I don’t think it’s like anything to get up in arms about. We’ll see. The Cubs need to make a lot more moves. Uh but I think it’s a nice nice small addition. You make a good point that like it’s kind of hard to fill out a bench when you have guys that play every day and and don’t sit >> you like playing once a week and having your nights off at Wrigley. I mean, what like you know, [laughter] not a whole lot of opportunity uh at the moment. And they still have these young guys that they want to break in, too. So, >> exactly. So, uh we’ll see what Tyler Austin does. We’ll see what the Cubs do. What they’re going to need to do more, obviously. Uh that’s it for this episode of North Side Territory. Make sure to rate, review, subscribe, subscribe to the YouTube channel, and subscribe to The Athletic, where Patrick and I are on top of all things Cubs. Thanks so much for listening, everyone. Take care. >> [music] [music] >> I’m feeling better.

Reacting to Michael King’s deal with the Padres, Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney map out where the Cubs could go from here. The two beat writers from The Athletic share what they heard on King, as well as their insights on Tatsuya Imai and Zac Gallen, two other starters who have been repeatedly linked to the Cubs. Is it time to be concerned yet? Listen to North Side Territory for the latest offseason news, notes and analysis.

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