I am fascinated by a specific pitcher whose name I first heard of under 48 hours ago. Whilst looking at free agents this offseason, one name popped out as one whom I had never heard of. That pitcher is Japan’s Kaima Taira. While I don’t pay much attention to most of NPB’s stars, it’s hard to look over Taira once you learn about him. He’s listed at just 5’ 8” 220 lbs and will be 27 years old in 2027, and to say he’s a unique pitcher would be an understatement. While most of his track record is as a reliever, in 2026, he pitched almost exclusively as a starter and ended up posting the best ERA in all of NPB at 1.36 in 22 starts. He may be short, but his sheer mass allows him to throw some heaters, with his four-seamer occasionally reaching 100mph.

Reasons why Taira is a Perfect Fit for the Cubs:

• It’s no secret that the Cubs pitching staff lacks any significant velocity compared to some of the strongest bullpens. Think the Brewers, Dodgers, or Padres. They all are filled with backend high-velo flamethrowers. The Cubs have Daniel Palencia and his gang of misfits. More guys that hit 97-100mph with their four-seamers like Kaima would do wonders for some swing and miss.
• In Taira’s 2026 146-inning long campaign, he allowed just four home runs. If we look at his 2025 campaign as a reliever, he didn’t allow a single home run in 54 games. Yes, home runs in NPB aren’t as common as they are in MLB, but it’s still an excellent mark. In Jed Hoyer’s 2026 Our Season is Over press conference (i forgot what it was called but that’s not important), he made it very clear that preventing homers is one of the big goals for this staff going forward. I mean yeah, of course it is, but it’s good to hear that instead of “oh we got unlucky with the park’s conditions this year”.

Reasons Why This May Not Work Out

• His agent is Scott Boras.
• His build may not be the best fit for a starter’s workload in MLB–and that’s okay, actually! Being a high leverage reliever would be perfect as long as the contract doesn’t look like a top-end starter’s.
• His command is shaky, and that area almost always takes a hit with pitchers coming over from NPB. If he’s allowing over 3 walks per 9 innings in Japan, he needs to have Mason Miller-like stuff.
• Does he have too many pitches? He threw seven different pitches consistently last year as a starter. High pitch mixes aren’t always a bad thing, but we might want to hone it down.

So how much money are we talking, then? Well, Jim Bowden of The Athletic recently suggested a 3-year, $30 million contract for Taira. This would be such an amazing deal for the Cubs if they could get him at that. If teams are convinced he’s a full time starter, though, an AAV in the high-teens is not out of the question. Tatsuya Imai, while a different archetype of pitcher, received $54 million for a 3-year contract with the Astros while being significantly more nationally lauded as Taira. The upside with Taira is so real that I think a small risk like this would be more than worth it.

The 3 players I want to see the cubs bring back are: Holmes, Taylor, and Peterson

honorable mention: Gausman ( but no chance he comes back )

The rules are simple. Grade each Cub honestly on a traditional tier list scale. If you must, here is each player’s stats in 2026. At 3pm on Tuesday, October 27, the form will close. Once I have all the data, I will share it and analyze what the general public has to say about each player. Thank you for your time!

This is not affiliated with the r/chicubs mods. I just wanted to do a small project :)

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Brewers closer Trevor Megill: a 7th round by the Padres in 2015, Megill emerged as an intriguing prospect known for his big arm within San Diego’s deep system, so it came as a bit of a surprise when they left him unprotected ahead of the 2019 rule 5 draft, where the Cubs would swoop in and select him as the 9th player selected.

Megill would be returned to the Padres later in the subsequent year, but reacquired in exchange for cash considerations.

He would make his debut in 2021, and finish the season with uninspiring results: a dreadful 8.37 ERA in 28 appearances. He was waived at the conclusion of the year where he would be claimed by the Minnesota Twins. But the results weren’t much better, and the Twins DFA’d him at the start of 2023 to make room for Brock Stewart, another former Cubs rule 5 draftee.

This is where Milwaukee enters stage, acquiring Megill for cash considerations: Unlocking his repertoire, and the rest is history. His fastball and knuckle curve arsenal may be the best two-pitch combination in the sport. Megill will go down as one of the greatest rule 5 picks in the history of the game, but unfortunately, the Cubs did not reap the rewards.

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Hi everyone

This is Mark Simon from Sports Info Solutions (the Defensive Runs Saved folks). I'm posting to let you know that the Cubs won Defensive Team of the Year, Pete Crow-Armstrong won the voting for our Defensive Player of the Year award, and Alex Bregman won a Fielding Bible Award at third base.

The writeups for this are below. To learn more about the Awards, here is an explainer article

https://sportsinfosolutions.com/2026/10/20/what-are-the-fielding-bible-awards/

Defensive Player of the Year - Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs

Pete Crow-Armstrong won The Fielding Bible Awards Defensive Player of the Year in a close vote. It is his first time winning any Fielding Bible Award.

Crow-Armstrong joined past winners of this award Ke'Bryan Hayes (2023), Daulton Varsho (2024), and Patrick Bailey (2025).

Though Crow-Armstrong finished third among center fielders in Defensive Runs Saved, voters relied on a combination of metrics and the eye test and deemed him MLB's top defensive player.

"Pete Crow-Armstrong plays defense with a passion and intensity that is perfect for the city of Chicago," said SIS editorial lead Mark Simon. "His highlight reel is as impressive as any player in baseball. Congratulations to Pete on winning this award."

Defensive Team of the Year - Chicago Cubs

For the second consecutive season the Cubs won The Fielding Bible Awards Defensive Team of the Year award. They received 11 of 17 first-place votes after leading the major leagues in Defensive Runs Saved. In addition to Pete Crow-Armstrong winning Defensive Player of the Year, the Cubs also had a Fielding Bible Award winner at third base, Alex Bregman.

"The Cubs were much more than a one-man band on defense this season," said SIS editorial lead Mark Simon. "They had highly-skilled players at just about every position on the field, including two Fielding Bible Award winners and a group of others who finished among the leaders at their positions. They left no doubt that they were baseball's best defensive team in 2026."

Third Base - Alex Bregman, Chicago Cubs

Alex Bregman won his first Fielding Bible Award. 

He's the first Cubs third baseman to win the Award. Bregman received 10 of a possible 17 first-place votes.

Bregman finished tied with Matt Chapman for first place in Defensive Runs Saved at the position with 15. His previous high for Runs Saved in a season was 8 (2019). He was +12 plays saved on balls hit to his left, easily the best of his career.

The Cubs have now had at least one winner at all four infield positions since the Award was first tracked in 2006. The only other team to do that is the Cardinals.

An explanation about the split in center field and Defensive Player of the Year  

Remarkably, Ceddanne Rafaela and Pete Crow-Armstrong finished tied in the center field balloting in points and also with eight first-place votes, seven second-place votes, and two third-place votes. 

Since its inception in 2006, the intent of the Fielding Bible Awards has been to name one player as a winner at each position. To determine the winner we went to our last tiebreaker, most Defensive Runs Saved at the position. Rafaela led center fielders with 21 Runs Saved and won that tiebreaker and the Award.

Defensive Player of the Year is an open vote meaning that any player can win it. Crow-Armstrong earned three more points than Rafaela in that voting and thus won Defensive Player of the Year.

“We understand the split vote between PCA and Rafaela may seem counterintuitive at first, but ultimately it reflects how historically close the vote was,” said SIS VP of Analytics, Joe Rosales, who leads the administration of the Awards. “Given the extremely tight margins, and given how great a season both players had, it seems only fitting that both players are getting honored with an award. Congratulations to both Pete and Ceddanne!”

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After a breakout 2025 that included turning into one of the more feared Cubs in the lineup during the postseason, Michael Busch earned playing time against lefties this summer, and though he performed solidly against southpaws (117 wRC+), his production against righties plummeted from a 152 wRC+ in 2025 to 110 wRC+.

The primary drop-off came in Busch’s power production as his ISO dropped from .261 (10th in baseball) to .152. Near the end of the regular season, hitting coach Dustin Kelly and Busch himself acknowledged the lack of power.

“I think I was much more efficient using pull-side last year than this year,” Busch said. “Maybe catching things a little deeper and using left field a little more often than I’d like.”

Busch pulled the ball 40 percent of the time this season, down from 46.8 percent in 2025, which was a career high. Most players’ power comes from pulling the ball, and Busch is no different. This season, when he pulled the ball, his ISO was .282. But even that was low – in 2025 it was .422.

Kelly said the bat speed and contact point for Busch were similar to those of 2025, but he saw an area where Busch improved that might have actually been the culprit in the dip in power.

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Why has there been zero updates on his recovery, barely any coverage on him whatsoever being at games or anything, and any timeline given? Ever since he went for surgery he’s been MIA basically only at a few games, no interviews, etc

Realistically, only a select few organizations can comfortably fit a megadeal on the payroll, offer a compelling opportunity to compete on an annual basis and present an attractive off-the-field setup.

That does not automatically move the Cubs to the top of the list for the undisputed No. 1 free agent this offseason. Anyone following how Chicago has operated since winning the 2016 World Series knows that this ownership group and front office are generally conservative in these negotiations, hyperrational with projections and averse to risk.

Perhaps the economic uncertainty surrounding the next collective bargaining agreement, combined with Skubal’s extensive medical history, creates an opening.Hoyer has a good working relationship with Skubal’s agent, Scott Boras, and the two sides came together on Alex Bregman’s five-year, $175 million contract last winter, plus two separate deals for Cody Bellinger previously. The $70 million worth of deferred money in Bregman’s pact demonstrated that the Cubs can revise their club policy and use different financial instruments.

The Cubs engaged the Detroit Tigers in Skubal talks before this year’s trade deadline. The two-time Cy Young Award winner has deep roots in Arizona and a home base near the Cubs’ training complex in Mesa, which would make spring training convenient as he enters his 30s. After a midseason trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers, he can’t be tagged with a qualifying offer, subtracting that cost in the draft for the team that signs one of the best pitchers on the planet.

The bottom line is that the Cubs are a major-market franchise with empty spaces, question marks and medical symbols up and down their pitching depth chart. At this point, completely ruling out the idea of adding Skubal would be defeatist.

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