​Cubs’ All-Star lefty linked to Padres in free agency for 1 obvious reason originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The San Diego Padres are moving on to the NLDS. They swept the Chicago Cubs in two games in the Wild Card Series. For now, the organization is focused on the task at hand — winning the club’s first World Series title. But the offseason looms, and this could be a busy winter for the Padres. The majority of San Diego’s starting rotation is made up of impending free agents, and the Padres will need to replace the arms who don’t re-sign. “[Robbie] Ray and [Casey] Mize were acquired as rentals before the trade deadline. Walker Buehler, who logged over 150 innings, is a free agent. Michael King and Nick Pivetta can also opt out of their contracts and become free agents,” Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly wrote.Kelly links the Padres to Cubs starter Shota Imanaga, who made at least 30 starts for the first time in his career in 2026. The lefty finished fifth in NL Cy Young Award voting in his rookie season in 2024 and accepted the qualifying offer from the Cubs last offseason. MORE: How Mets, Dodgers and Guardians all made same brutal trade mistake amid MVP racesHe had a solid but unspectacular third season in the Majors, posting a 112 ERA+ with 174 strikeouts in 174 innings. The home run continues to be an Achilles’ heel for Imanaga, who gave up 35 long balls across 32 starts. Imanaga turned 33 last month, so the Padres would likely offer somewhere in the range of a two- to three-year deal. If the NL West club does not have interest in reunions with Ray, Mize, and Buehler, it could do a lot worse than Imanaga. More MLB news:Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski makes all kinds of MLB history with 1,000 pitches of 100 mphWhite Sox reportedly have ‘no urgency’ to sign Munetaka Murakami to an extensionHow Randal Grichuk has been a ‘godsend’ for the White Sox after Yankees releaseMariners’ Josh Naylor joins Hall of Famer George Sisler with rare SB MLB historyDodgers’ $5.5M postseason hero Miguel Rojas may not retire under one condition