The Chicago Cubs will be in the market for pitching this winter.

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer confirmed that Tuesday at the MLB GM Meetings in Las Vegas.

[WATCH: Exclusive interview with Carter Hawkins from MLB GM Meetings]

There are plenty of interesting names available on the open market — including Framber Valdez and Dylan Cease. There may also be players available in trades, like Joe Ryan, Mackenzie Gore or Sandy Alcantara — three aces who were rumored to be shopped at this past summer’s trade deadline.

MLB is also seeing a consistent influx of talent coming over from Japan in recent years.

We’ve seen how much of an impact Japanese players have had on the U.S. game lately — including Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who just helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win a second straight World Series.

The Cubs have seen that impact firsthand, with Shota Imanaga serving as one of the team’s top starting pitchers over the last two seasons while Seiya Suzuki has emerged as a middle-of-the-order slugger.

Could we see another name added to the list in Chicago?

ESPN’s Jeff Passan published an article Tuesday morning analyzing the perfect offseason move for each MLB team.

For the Cubs, he suggested right-handed pitcher Tatsuya Imai, who is set to be posted by his Japanese club, the Seibu Lions.

Why? Here’s Passan’s rationale:

Even with Tucker expected to leave, the Cubs still have plenty of thump in their lineup. They will win or lose based on pitching, and their starting rotation needs help. The Cubs aren’t the sort of team inclined to pay pitchers for past-their-prime years, and while that tends to be the sort of thing that’s incompatible with free agency, there happens to be a 27-year-old available this winter who won’t even cost a draft pick to sign. It’s just money, and seeing as the Cubs don’t spend a whole lot of that — their current projected payroll is around $150 million — now seems the right time to splurge a little.

Imai will turn 28 in May and is coming off a stellar season in the NPB.

He went 10-5 in 2025 with a 1.92 ERA and sparkling 0.89 WHIP in 24 games, striking out 178 batters in 163.2 innings.

Imai has posted an ERA under 2.50 over each of the last four seasons, dating back to 2022.

While the Cubs await Imanaga’s decision whether to accept or decline the qualifying offer, they are evaluating all potential roads to enhance the team’s pitching staff.

Cade Horton, Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd are locked into rotation spots for 2026. Justin Steele is expected to return at some point next spring and the Cubs also have in-house options like Colin Rea, Javier Assad, Jordan Wicks and Ben Brown.

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