It’s no secret the Cubs have had their eye on Zac Gallen for a while, but the buzz really picked up after they missed out on Tatsuya Imai, who landed with the Astros. However, that sounds surprising, given that Gallen had a rough go for most of the 2025 season. For nearly four months, he looked out of sync, carrying an ugly 5.60 ERA right up to the trade deadline.

But the version of Gallen we saw down the stretch was a completely different story. From August on, he gave up just eight home runs over his final 65 innings. It was a strong finish that reminded teams why he’s so intriguing in the first place. So now the big question is whether that late-season rebound is enough to make Gallen the right answer for the Cubs. And if he could realistically fill the void left by missing out on Imai.

“As the Cubs pivot, they can continue their dialogue with Imai’s agent, Scott Boras, who also represents Zac Gallen, a free agent who has been repeatedly linked to Chicago this offseason,” The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney said.

Well, missing out on Imai to the Astros was a real gut punch for the Cubs. If you remember, plenty of teams showed interest, but after Houston, Chicago was clearly the most aggressive.

They badly needed to add both depth and upside to the rotation, especially with injuries piling up, most notably Justin Steele. So, with Imai entering his prime and coming off eight steady, durable seasons in NPB, it made perfect sense that the Cubs zeroed in on him as a priority target.

However, now that Imai’s off the board, attention naturally shifts to Zac Gallen.

His resume is hard to ignore: two top-five NL Cy Young finishes between 2022 and 2024, averaging around 180 innings with a 3.20 ERA in that stretch.

And guess what, Gallen’s 2025 downturn could actually work in the Cubs’ favor. He likely wouldn’t command the same price as someone like Framber Valdez. And Chicago has never been shy about betting on a buy-low arm.

Reportedly, with Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, and Matthew Boyd all potentially heading toward free agency after the 2026 season, the Cubs are going to need a reliable starter they can count on long term. On paper, Gallen checks a lot of those boxes.

The lingering question, though, is whether the Cubs would be willing to commit to something like a four-year, $76 million deal to make it happen.

It’s still not too late for the Cubs

So, when you look at the best arms still sitting out there in free agency, Framber Valdez and Robert Suárez are the two names that jump out right away. Valdez, a 2x All-Star, has built a reputation as one of the more dependable starters in the game. He’s also capable of pushing close to 200 innings, something the Cubs haven’t really had from a starter in quite a while.

Well, that kind of reliability doesn’t come cheap. After logging 192 innings with a strong 3.37 FIP in 2025, Valdez is almost certainly looking at a contract north of $150 million!

Then there’s Suárez.

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Since the beginning of the 2021 season, the 30-year-old has piled up just under 800 innings with a 3.25 ERA. Thus, showing both durability and consistency. He checks a lot of boxes the Cubs tend to value in pitchers, limiting hard contact and effectively mixing his entire pitch arsenal to keep hitters off balance.

So the options are clearly there. But as the Imai situation showed, simply being in the mix doesn’t guarantee a happy ending. With time ticking and the market moving, the Cubs could just as easily watch these names come off the board, too, if they don’t act quickly.