ESPN Insider Lists Cubs Best Free-Agent Fit

The Chicago Cubs need pitching help. 

That’s been the biggest talk surrounding the Cubs in the early portion of the offseason. Losing Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes, Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, David Peterson, and Colin Rea to free agency puts Chicago in a really rough spot. 

The Cubs will need to acquire a handful of starting pitchers this winter to replace those pitchers. They simply can’t go into the season with Justin Steele, Edward Cabrera, Javier Assad, and Braxton Garrett as their top four starters. Cade Horton (Tommy John) and Ben Brown (neck surgery) will eventually rejoin that rotation, but both are coming back from different surgeries. 

That will force the North Siders to be aggressive in the coming weeks to add to their rotation. The problem, though, is that reports have circulated that the Cubs will not be in the bidding war for Tarik Skubal, and Michael King might cost too much to acquire. 

With those pitchers likely out of the Cubs' price range, they will have to pivot to other pitchers in this free-agent cycle. That could include pitchers like Freddy Peralta, Sonny Gray, Robbie Ray, Trevor Rogers, and Nick Martinez. 

So, who would be the perfect fit for this Cubs team to sign this offseason? 

MLB insider Jeff Passan of ESPN believes that an unexpected arm could be the perfect fit for Chicago this offseason. He names Japanese right-hander Kaima Taira as the arm Chicago needs to acquire this offseason. 

“The Cubs need pitching, pitching and more pitching,” Passan wrote. “Whether owner Tom Ricketts will provide the budget to fill those needs is the real question. If payroll constraints limit the Cubs to the best of the mid-tier starters, one brings the sort of high-octane stuff they are sorely lacking.”

The Saitama Seibu Lions recently posted Taira, and the right-hander will now have 45 days to sign with a team. During this time, the 26-year-old can talk with any team. He has until December 5th to sign with a Major League team. 

The Cubs have obviously been involved in the Japanese market over the past few years. Since 2022, they have signed both Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga overseas. Taira could be the next. 

Taira has thrived in both the bullpen and rotation in Japan in recent years. In 2025, he posted a 1.71 ERA, 1.215 WHIP, 31 saves, and 53 strikeouts over 52 ⅔ innings pitched out of the bullpen. In 2026, he returned to the rotation and posted a 1.36 ERA, 0.959 WHIP, and 141 strikeouts over 146 innings. 

Taira comes in on the shorter side at 5-foot-8, but he has a mean fastball that sits in the mid-to-upper 90s. The Japanese right-hander also has a deep bag of secondary pitches (splitter, slider, sweeper, cutter, and changeup). 

This would be a nice signing for the North Siders.