Cubs looking for ways to bolster rotation for ’25
SAN ANTONIO — It has been a decade since the Cubs landed Jon Lester in free agency during the Winter Meetings in San Diego. That move added an established ace to the top of Chicago’s rotation and helped ignite the string of postseason runs that included ending the club’s World Series drought.
This offseason, the Cubs are on the hunt for rotation help in their effort to turn the page on two straight 83-win seasons and push the ballclub back onto the October stage. There are a couple aces available, but the North Siders may follow a more recent blueprint in their search for a starter.
“Our starting pitching’s been good,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said this week at the General Managers’ Meetings at the JW Marriott in San Antonio. “But, you can always add another guy.”
Two winters ago, the Cubs reeled in right-hander Jameson Taillon via a four-year free-agent contract worth $68 million. He is coming off a strong campaign and has become a respected veteran voice for the ballclub. Last offseason, Chicago added lefty Shota Imanaga on a four-year, $53 million deal. He was outstanding in 2024 and could earn some down-ballot votes for both the National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards.
Beyond Taillon and Imanaga, the Cubs’ rotation right now includes lefty Justin Steele (a Cy Young contender in 2023 who backed that up with a strong ‘24) and righty Javier Assad. A trio of younger arms (Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks and Hayden Wesneski) are next on the depth chart, though they each were hindered by injuries in ‘24.
