According to recent reports, free agent right-handed pitcher Michael King has narrowed his search down to three teams, and the Chicago Cubs are not one of them.
I’ve argued for weeks that free-agent right-handed pitcher Michael King might be the best overall fit for the Chicago Cubs this offseason.
The Cubs have made their need for a right-handed starter abundantly clear, and they’ve been active in pursuing several top names on the market, including Dylan Cease and Japanese star Tatsuya Imai.
While Chicago’s rotation looks relatively set on paper, the front office has been equally clear about its desire to upgrade with an eye toward future postseason runs. Balance is also a factor. Justin Steele, Shōta Imanaga, and Matthew Boyd are all projected to be part of the rotation next season—and they’re all left-handed.
That’s where King felt like the perfect solution.
Over his first two seasons as a full-time starter with the San Diego Padres, King went 18–12 with a 3.10 ERA. He posted a strong 10.1 K/9 during that stretch, backed by underlying metrics that suggest his success is sustainable.
Unlike some of the other top starting pitchers on the market, King wouldn’t have required the Cubs to completely break the bank. Spotrac projects his contract at roughly four years and $92 million—about $23 million in AAV. Because the deal wouldn’t be as long or as expensive as some of the elite options, it would have allowed Chicago to allocate additional resources toward offense.
We know the Cubs have interest in adding a bat, potentially at third base, with names like Alex Bregman in the mix as they prepare for life after Kyle Tucker.
In that sense, King felt like the “just right” option—if Jed Hoyer were Goldilocks and every free agent on the market was either too hot or too cold.
Even if that was the case, that ship appears to have sailed.
According to reports from Peter Abraham and Ken Rosenthal, King has narrowed his market to three teams: the Red Sox, Yankees, and Orioles. It now feels like a foregone conclusion that he’ll pitch in the AL East in 2026.
As Rosenthal noted on Fair Territory, geography may be playing a role. King is an East Coast native who attended high school in Rhode Island and played his college baseball at Boston College.
That puts the Cubs at a clear disadvantage, and it appears they’ll need to look elsewhere if they’re serious about making a splashy free-agent addition to the rotation.
Imai remains the big fish. I still get the sense the Cubs are among the favorites to land him, but the options are beginning to narrow.
It’s entirely possible Chicago ultimately decides to spend its free-agent dollars on a bat while acquiring a starting pitcher via trade.
Michael King just felt like such a natural fit. But he’ll be pitching elsewhere in 2026.