Tarik Skubal would liven arms race with Brewers, but Cubs have plenty of pitching needs beyond staff ace

Patrick McDermott/Getty Images SHARE COPY LINK Share CLOSE Twitter Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit Flipboard LAS VEGAS — The hot stove is switched on, at least for a little while. The MLB offseason is underway, though it’s expected to come to a screeching, indefinite halt with an expected lockout at the beginning of next month. Until then, let the rumors fly. The Cubs arrived at the GM meetings this week in need of pitching. That was obvious after president Jed Hoyer spent his end-of-season news conference hammering home that reworking the staff is his top priority. That need is more glaring in the wake of the Brewers’ World Series victory, which reframed the Cubs’ task from chasing down their pesky National League Central rivals to chasing down the kings of the baseball world. ‘‘[The Brewers have] had the best record in baseball the last two years,’’ Hoyer said last month. ‘‘Both having them in our division . . . and being in the National League, the standard has to be exceptionally high. ‘‘Their pitching has been exceptionally good. That’s the area that we have to double-down and really focus on.’’ Jacob Misiorowski blazes fastballs past batters, and the Brewers’ bullpen is replete with weapons no batter wants to face, having just dazzled with a 1.38 ERA in 65 playoff innings. The Cubs finished 14 games back in the NL Central standings and have nothing but question marks when it comes to figuring out what their staff will look like when the 2027 season begins. All five pitchers who finished the season in the starting rotation are free agents, the in-house candidates to replace them are coming off significant injuries and the bullpen is likely due for a makeover after Hoyer bluntly critiqued his own work in putting together the 2026 relief corps. That’s a lot. The shiny bauble out there for Cubs fans to dream about is left-hander Tarik Skubal, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who headlines an otherwise-lackluster free-agent class this offseason. He’s sure to get a massive payday, and while the Cubs have been reported both as likely to jump into the bidding war and unlikely even to sniff it, Skubal is exactly the sort of prize that would liven up an intradivision arms race and get the Cubs closer to the champs. The best way to match Misiorowski? How about Skubal? The Dodgers tried that, of course, to no success. Skubal was their big trade-deadline import as they sought a three-peat. The Brewers swept them out of the NL Championship Series. But Skubal’s contract figures to be in another stratosphere, dollar-wise. And with the Cubs needing so much more than just one arm to improve their pitching, he very well might be beyond what they’re willing to pay. After their pitchers gave up more home runs than almost every other team in the majors, Hoyer talked of the need to nab ground-ball and strikeout types to complement the Cubs’ elite defense. That’s what he tried to do with deadline acquisitions Clay Holmes and Kevin Gausman, though that didn’t lead to the lengthy playoff run he hoped it would, with the Cubs out of the playoffs after only two games. A reunion with Holmes would make sense, possibly coming at a price that would allow Hoyer to keep adding impact arms. That’s something dropping big money on Skubal potentially could preclude. Regardless, the Cubs have made no bones about what the expectation is at Clark and Addison: to play championship-caliber baseball. Their small-market neighbors to the north did just that this season. ‘‘I watched the World Series,’’ third baseman Alex Bregman said after winning a Gold Glove. ‘‘We wanted to be playing in that last game and winning that last game.’’ Is there any suite of pitching moves that can get the Cubs to the Brewers’ level? Would betting big on Skubal be the best way to close the gap? That’s what Hoyer and Co. have to figure out this winter. SHARE COPY LINK Share CLOSE Twitter Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit Flipboard Vinnie Duber Chicago Sun-Times Next Up In Chicago Cubs Might looming lockout spark early flurry of offseason activity as Cubs head to GM meetings in Las Vegas? Ex-Cubs managers Dusty Baker, Lou Piniella, Joe Maddon on ‘Contemporary Baseball Era’ Hall of Fame ballot Cubs’ front office loses another key member as Mariners hire farm director Jason Kanzler as new manager Jacob Webb gets new deal in wake of summer as Cubs’ go-to reliever, despite late-season struggles Cubs extend qualifying offer to Seiya Suzuki, key cog in lineup who could depart via free agency Pete Crow-Armstrong, Alex Bregman win Gold Glove Awards, backing Cubs' reputation as baseball's best defense