The Cubs’ offseason on the mound has already taken on a very different shape, and Thursday’s free-agent news only sharpens the picture.
ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported that Clay Holmes and Matthew Boyd have turned down their player options for the 2027 season and will hit free agency. Rogers also said Shota Imanaga, Kevin Gausman, and David Peterson have all procedurally elected free agency as well.
“Cubs off season will be busy on the mound. Clay Holmes and Matthew Boyd are turning down their player options to become free agents.
Shota Imanaga, Kevin Gausman and David Peterson are FA’s as well. Have to rebuild the staff.
Guess is 1-2 of above could return.”
Holmes looks like the likeliest of the two to remain in the Cubs’ orbit. When Chicago acquired him, the expectation was that he would pass on the option anyway.
His September with the Cubs wasn’t clean, but the bigger body of work over the last two seasons still points to a pitcher who can be effective in a rotation. The Athletic’s Jim Bowden projected his next deal at $44 million over two years, a number that would appear to fit Chicago’s comfort zone, especially given Holmes’ ground-ball style and how well that plays behind the Cubs’ defense.
Boyd feels like a different case. The Cubs may have squeezed plenty out of him over the past two seasons, but a return seems less likely.
He finished this year with a 3.91 ERA, yet injuries held him to 22 starts and his bat-missing stuff backed up. Boyd struck out only 18.5% of the hitters he faced and carried a 4.21 FIP, numbers that point toward Chicago looking in another direction.
Among the other names now in free agency, Peterson seems the most plausible to come back. Like Holmes, he gets by with ground balls, and he should come cheaper than his former Mets teammate.
Gausman, meanwhile, appears more likely to end up back with the Toronto Blue Jays. Imanaga’s situation is different, and it speaks to a bigger adjustment the Cubs need to make in how they evaluate pitching. He is a fly-ball pitcher, and that profile does not line up well with Wrigley Field.
At the very least, Thursday makes one thing clear: the Cubs’ pitching staff is going to look different next year. The hope inside the organization is that different also means better.
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