The Chicago Cubs are looking to take a step forward and could sign a short Japanese pitcher to make a big splash.
It’s a pivotal offseason for the Cubs, who watched their NL Central rival Milwaukee Brewers win the World Series.
Chicago had made the playoffs as a wild card team, but they were quickly dispatched by the San Diego Padres, almost as if the Cubbies were never there in the first place.
The cross-town Chicago White Sox even lasted longer in the postseason, something that you wouldn’t have imagined before the year.
So with that in mind, the Cubs have to improve. Their pitching let them down for long stretches in 2026 — and yes, injuries were a major culprit.
But regardless of the reasons, the Cubs weren’t good enough on the mound, and they can’t afford to have that happen again.
That brings Chicago to free agency with the chance to sign a new pitcher from Japan who has never appeared in MLB anymore. It’s a move that ESPN’s Jeff Passan bills as “perfect” in his new article on Wednesday.
Cubs Connected to Kaima Taira
Passan laid out a “perfect move” for many of baseball’s contending teams in this new article, and for the Cubs, he said signing Taira would be that move.
“The Cubs need pitching, pitching and more pitching,” Passan writes. “Whether owner Tom Ricketts will provide the budget to fill those needs is the real question. Because as much sense as Skubal makes for the Cubs, the expectation is they won’t be especially involved. And as much as they need a closer, Bednar and Morejon might find themselves outside of the Cubs’ price range, too. (This is the part where we note the Cubs currently carry a $143 million payroll and have two outfield spots to fill as well.) If payroll constraints limit the Cubs to the best of the midtier starters, one brings the sort of high-octane stuff they are sorely lacking.”
Taira has previously been linked to the Boston Red Sox, so it seems like it’ll be big market teams after the Japanese stud.
What to Know About Kaima Taira
As established, Taira is just 5-foot-8. That’s shorter than pretty much every pitcher in MLB.
That hasn’t held him back, though.
“The sales pitch for Taira is a little tough at first glance: a 5-foot-8 right-handed starter who has eclipsed 60 innings in a season only twice in his career and has never surpassed 150 innings,” ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel wrote earlier this offseason. “From another perspective, Taira has what the sharper pitching organizations seek, with enormous extension, a lower arm slot, short in stature (but with strength), and four-seam ride combining to make a really good fastball shape, which averages 94-97 mph and hits 99-100 mph at times. That’s a potentially dominating pitch, as his command is starter quality.”
Organizations need talented arms, and then they can figure out how to use them. That’s what Passan would want the Cubs to do with Taira.
Cubs’ ‘Perfect’ Move Would Be 5-Foot-8 Japanese Pitcher