Now that Shōta Imanaga has accepted the qualifying offer from the Chicago Cubs and is returning for the 2026 season with a guaranteed $22.05 million salary fans are speculating how the team will act in free agency as the Cubs search for more pitching help. As always, money seems to be a factor for the Cubs and while there have been more reports of increased aggressiveness from the front office this winter there's also no denying that Imanaga's decision will have some effect on the team's offseason activity.
With or without Imanaga in the rotation the Cubs still need to add another quality starting pitcher. The trade market may be slow to develop during the next few months, while this year's free agent class is filled with several pitchers who can upgrade the Cubs' pitching staff.
Dylan Cease was a popular free agent who was being talked about early on in the offseason as a potential target and while the hard-throwing righty is still a possibility there's a new, trendy pick in free agency that has seen his name pop up more heavily this week in Cubs' circles.
Top free agent target for the Cubs, Michael King?
Cubs reporters seem to think so or at least that's the name they've been talking about the most this week as teams have been actively re-shaping their rosters following the Rule 5 draft protections and non-tender deadlines. The Cubs now have clarity with Imanaga back in the fold and with his salary commitment beat reporters are now focusing in on free agent Michael King as the big pitching upgrade.
First, The Athletic's Cubs beat writers Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney wrote the following as the pair of reports discussed the team's options this offseason to improve the pitching staff.
Via The Athletic.
Michael King is another pitcher the Cubs have on their radar, viewing him as a starter with big upside when healthy. His work ethic, intelligence and feel for pitching are attributes that the Cubs previously targeted with free agents such as Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd.
Earlier in November at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas, Jed Hoyer had a meeting with Kyle Tucker's agent and that's relevant because the free agent outfielder is represented by Excel Sports Management that also happens to work for King.
Maybe there's already been some groundwork laid out between Hoyer and King's camp this offseason.
Via The Athletic.
“Our conversations are long,” Hoyer said. “We’ve got a lot of (Excel’s) guys. We’ve had a lot of their guys. We think really highly of (Tucker), and we’ll keep talking with Casey. Nothing’s coming together here in Las Vegas. We’ll just keep talking to them about a bunch of their guys.”
Then, MLB Network's Jon Morosi joined the conversation a few days ago as he also connected the Cubs to King.
Meanwhile, Mooney joined the Cubs Weekly Podcast with Marquee Sports Network analyst Lance Brozdowski this week and explained how a pursuit of King this offseason would follow a similar pattern by the team. No, King isn't necessarily one of the top pitchers available, but he can be a great value signing.
“I think King is certainly a name that we’ve had circled,” Mooney said. “If you look at what the Cubs have done in the last few free agent cycles, they’ve done a good job of identifying Shota, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon – they have a type and King sort of fits it in terms of pitchability, intelligence, athleticism, some untapped upside.”
The obvious concern is whether or not King will be healthy and how long will he remain on the mound because despite strong numbers throughout his career that includes a 3.35 ERA and 26.4 K% in 64 starts, the right-hander was limited to 15 starts in 2025 because of a shoulder injury and missed time in 2022 because of an elbow issue.
But we've seen his star potential. In 2024, King had a 2.95 ERA in 173.2 innings and finished seventh in Cy Young voting.
Michael King Contract Projections
MLB Trade Rumors: 4 years, $80 million
FanGraphs (Crowdsource): 4 years, $88 million
The Athletic (Tim Britton): 3 years, $75 million
ESPN (Kiley McDaniel): 3 years, $75 million
So, what do you think Cubs fans, does Michael King excite you? He's certainly been on the Cubs' radar for a while as they were in trade talks with the San Diego Padres last offseason.
Previous Trade Interest
The San Diego Padres have made several players available through trade this offseason and according to the latest rumor that includes right-handed starting pitcher Michael King. Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs have been trying to add to their pitching staff this winter and although they just traded for veteran Ryan Pressly the Cubs are now also exploring a blockbuster trade with the Padres.
According to Matthew Trueblood, the Cubs are not only kicking the tires on a potential trade for King, but they've also tossed around the idea of dealing for King and current San Diego closer Robert Suarez.
Read more:https://t.co/AdBYHt5CZo
— North Side Baseball (@northsidebaseb) January 28, 2025
Via North Side Baseball.
One version of a deal the Cubs and Padres have explored could send King and Suarez to Chicago, with multiple young, controllable pieces going back to San Diego. Javier Assad, Ben Brown, and Kevin Alcántara are potential pieces in a return. One way or another, the deal would probably include players with MLB experience and/or those very close to the majors, like those three, as opposed to far-off prospects.
King, who will be a free agent following the 2025 season, was great for the Padres last season. The right-handed pitcher recorded a 2.95 ERA with a 27.7 K% in 173.2 innings. Although King only has one full season as a starter, he's been one of the best pitchers in baseball since the beginning of the 2021 season. Since then, King's 2.91 ERA in 392.2 innings ranks seventh best among qualified pitchers.
As for Suarez, the 33-year-old reliever is in year three of a five-year, $46 million contract. However, the righty can opt-out following this season. In 2024, Suarez made 65 appearances and recorded 36 saves with a 2.77 ERA in 65 innings of work. Since making his MLB debut with the Padres in 2022, Suarez has a 2.89 ERA in 136 relief outings.
So, the main issue here is that the Cubs would be giving up some good, inexpensive players for potentially two rentals. However, Trueblood notes that if the Cubs do indeed acquire King, then they would likely try to lock up the pitcher longterm as soon as possible.
If the Cubs do land King, look for them to broach a long-term extension with him in spring training. That's still several twists of the drama from now, but the team has liked King for years, dating back to his time with the Yankees. Because he's bloomed late and dealt with injury issues after being a late-round pick with a small initial signing bonus, King (unlike Tucker, or Cease, for that matter) is a good candidate for an extension even a year out from free agency.
They might be willing to pay more for him than they would for Cease, not only because he'd cost them less in 2025 monetarily, but because they would view King as a possible long-term piece.
The 29-year-old pitcher and the Padres did not agree on a salary as King asked for $8.8 million while San Diego filed at $7.325 million.
The article also mentioned a potential three-team trade involving the Minnesota Twins and Padres in which the Cubs would end up with Suarez.
