Three players who look like fits for the Cubs, White Sox in 2024
As the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes continue, the rest of MLB waits for the two-way star free agent to make a decision and open up the rest of the market.
Until that happens, the multitude of moves that are coming remain on hold.
Here are three players linked to the Cubs, and three players that look to be fits with the White Sox:
Cubs
Shota Imanaga
Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer traveled to Japan in September and spent five days scouting a deep crop of talent.
Orix Buffaloes ace starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto is available, but he comes with a steep price tag.
Keep an eye on Imanaga, who should agree to a contract in the range of $85 million over five years.
A 30-year-old lefty, Imanaga was 7-5 with a 2.66 ERA for Yokohama last season. In eight years with the BayStars, the 5-foot-10, 175-pounder posted a 2.96 ERA and had 1,183 strikeouts over 1,129⅔ innings.
Matt Chapman
The Cubs need help at third base and a power bat. Chapman fits both needs.
The four-time Gold Glove winner is coming off a down year with the Blue Jays. He hit a career-low 17 home runs, but he was dealing with finger and toe injuries throughout the season.
When healthy, the 30-year-old Chapman figures to be good for 30 homers.
Yuki Matsui
A standout relief pitcher in Japan the past 10 seasons, Matsui would bring needed help to the Cubs' bullpen.
The 28-year-old lefty has a plus slider and he had a career-high 39 saves for Tohoku Rakuten this year.
<URL destination="#photo2">White Sox
Whit Merrifield
At age 34 he's not piling up hits and stealing bases like he used to, but Merrifield would be an upgrade at second base for the Sox.
On a team that ranked last in the major leagues with a .291 on-base percentage last season, Merrifield's proven ability to put the ball in play would be welcome.
He's still a solid defender at second and can also play the outfield.
Martin Maldonado
Edgar Quero is the White Sox's catcher of the future, but he's only 20 years old and is likely to spend the bulk of next season with Class AAA Charlotte.
The Sox gave Korey Lee a long look over the final two months of last season after acquiring him in a trade from the Astros.
Lee didn't show much, so the Sox would benefit from signing Maldonado for a year or two.
While he doesn't hit much, the 37-year-old Maldonado knows how to handle a pitching staff and the White Sox are going to have multiple arms that need guidance.
Luis Severino
A dominant starter for the Yankees in 2017-18, Severino has since dealt with a string of injuries, including Tommy John surgery.
His health issues should make the 29-year-old righty relatively affordable, and Severino could pitch at the top of Sox's shaky rotation if he regains his old form.
In 19 games (18 starts) with New York last season, Severino was 4-8 with a 6.65 ERA.