The Blue Jays have reportedly signed Dylan Cease to a seven-year deal.

The Tatsuya Imai rumor mill has yet to really pick up a lot of steam, though that’s perhaps unsurprising given that his posting period lasts into the new year. One thing making the rounds, however, was a translated bit from a Japanese appearance in which Imai discussed joining an MLB team with established stars from Japan: Ｑ.ドジャースのような優勝狙えるチームに行きたいのか？倒しにいくのか？ 今井達也 「倒したいですね。(大谷・山本・佐々木選手らと)一緒にプレーするのも、もちろん楽しそうだなと思うんですけど、ああいうチームに勝ってワールドチャンピオンになるのが自分の人生にとって一番価値がある」 #報ステ pic.twitter.com/CFBTQthjSx— ねこすけ⚾️新アカ (@NekoSuke5_5_2) November 24, 2025 Tatsuya Imai when asked about playing for the Dodgers: “I want to beat them… beating a team like that and becoming world champions would be the most valuable thing in my life.” Imai also prefers not to sign with a team that already has Japanese players (via @NekoSuke5_5_2) pic.twitter.com/cCGtPaRrvp— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) November 24, 2025 Some people have been taking that to mean that Tatsuya Imai AFFIRMATIVELY does not want to join an MLB team with established Japanese stars already on it. As in, he would refuse to sign with a team like the Cubs. To me, that felt a little strange for a guy trying to create a market to be out there saying, you know? You’d be eliminating some of the biggest suitors, AND you’d be telling the other suitors that those other clubs aren’t bidding you up. Sure enough, a more robust translation at MLB.com offers better context for Imai’s quote: “Of course, I’d enjoy playing alongside Ohtani, Yamamoto, and Sasaki,” Imai told the former Major League pitcher and two-time World Baseball Classic champion, “but winning against a team like that and becoming a world champion would be the most valuable thing in my life. If anything, I’d rather take them down …. “If there were another Japanese player on the same team, I could just ask them about anything, right? But that’s actually not what I’m looking for. In a way, I want to experience that sense of survival. When I come face-to-face with cultural differences, I want to see how I can overcome them on my own — that’s part of what I’m excited about.” In other words, while Imai MAY have been expressing a little bit of a lack of interest in the Dodgers, specifically, his broader point about other Japanese players is that he isn’t looking specifically to join a club with other Japanese players. He doesn’t feel like he needs that. Which, of course, is fine. But that’s a far cry from him saying he DEFINITELY WOULD NOT join a team with Japanese players already on it. He’s just saying that’s not a selling point for him, and that joining a team without any Japanese players would be a welcome challenge. Subtle, but meaningful difference if you’re the Cubs, with Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga (for one more year, anyway). Here’s hoping the Cubs can spin their Japanese infrastructure as a positive for Tatsuya Imai – hey, the challenge of MLB will be tough enough! I'm fascinated to see where Tatsuya Imai lands. Public sentiment is very positive. Opinions from within orgs have been more split from my convos (some love, some don't). I wandered around our studio at @WatchMarquee to explain what makes him distinct. 🧐 pic.twitter.com/llppwGngEi— Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) November 21, 2025 A full scouting report from @LanceBroz on Tatsuya Imai, a potential Cubs pitching target, including a "really weird" aspect of his game:https://t.co/6zY3qsES3x— Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) November 22, 2025

As always, you can debate these awards on any number of bases each year. So if you want to say that Owen Caissie or Jaxon Wiggins or whoever should’ve won these, I won’t fight you. But I very much enjoyed the seasons Jonathon Long and Jostin Florentino had, so I appreciate them today taking home the Chicago Cubs organization’s highest honors for a minor league player and pitcher, respectively. Congratulations to Jonathon Long, the Buck O'Neil Cubs Minor League Player of the Year, and Jostin Florentino, the Vedie Himsl Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year! pic.twitter.com/1nlNier5y1— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) November 24, 2025 Long was a monster at the plate this year, and Florentino was one of the few breakout pitchers at the lower levels for the Cubs. Neither was a stranger to discussion around here this past season, and I expect more of it in 2026. For Long, 23, that discussion will probably be about how/if/when he could come up and contribute in some way at the big league level. The glove may be a limiting factor, and he’ll probably need to elevate a little more to maximize the damage he can do, but I don’t know how much more the bat can do at Triple-A. For Florentino, the question will be whether he can take another developmental step forward – physically, mostly – and keep raising the velocity. It isn’t the end-all, be-all, but if he’s going to stay on the radar as a legit starting pitching prospect, we’ll need to continue to see an evolution in the stuff. Turning 21 next month, Florentino figures to be at High-A South Bend in 2026, hopefully dominating just as much as he did at Myrtle Beach. The full release from the Cubs: The Chicago Cubs today named infielder Jonathon Long the Buck O’Neil Cubs Minor League Player of the Year and right-handed pitcher Jostin Florentino the Vedie Himsl Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Long, 23, was named the Cubs’ Minor League Player of the Year in his third professional season, playing 140 games with Triple-A Iowa. During the campaign, he set career-marks in games, average (.305), doubles (23), home runs (20), RBI (91), walks (79) and OBP (.404). He paced all Cubs minor league players in runs (86), hits and RBI, while finishing second in walks and OPS (.883). Following the season, he was named an International League Post-Season All-Star. The five-foot 11-inch Long reached the Triple-A level for the first time in his career in 2025, playing the entire season with the club. During April and May, the right-handed hitting infielder batted a combined .350 (62-for-177) with nine doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 38 RBI, a .426 OBP and a .985 OPS. He posted his first of two hitting streaks of at least nine games this season from May 8-16 (nine games), going 17-for-38 (.447) during the stretch. Long recorded a season-high 10-game hitting streak from Aug. 27-Sept. 6 (14-for-39/.359). Long, a ninth-round selection by the Cubs in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of California State University, Long Beach, has batted .294 (295-for-1,004) with 48 doubles, three triples, 44 home runs, 175 RBI, a .398 OBP and a .878 OPS in 280 career games across three seasons in the Cubs organization. The Orange, Calif., native finished the 2025 season ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Cubs No. 7 prospect. Florentino, 20, went a combined 5-5 with a 2.43 ERA (22 ER/81.1 IP) and 101 strikeouts in 16 games (14 starts) between the Rookie Level ACL Cubs and Single-A Myrtle Beach in 2025. The righthander began the campaign with the ACL Cubs, going 1-2 with a 3.76 ERA (9 ER/21.2 IP) in five games (four starts). He struck out 34 batters, compared to five walks across his 21.2 innings in the Arizona Complex League. The six-foot Florentino was promoted to Myrtle Beach for the first time on June 7 and finished the campaign with the Pelicans, going 4-3 with a 1.96 ERA (13 ER/59.2 IP) and 67 strikeouts in 11 games (10 starts). He allowed three runs or fewer in 10 of his 11 outings with Myrtle Beach, including in nine-straight from June 27-Aug. 22, posting a 1.26 ERA (7 ER/50.0 IP) during the run. The stretch included a six-outing streak of allowing one run or fewer (0.55 ERA) from June 27-Aug. 1. Florentino was named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Month for July, going 1-0 with a 0.43 ERA (1 ER/21.0 IP) and 26 strikeouts in four games (three starts) during the month. Following the campaign, he was named to the Carolina League Post-Season All-Star team. A native of Azua, Dominican Republic, Florentino is 10-8 with a 2.61 ERA (44 ER/151.2 IP) in three seasons with the Cubs. He signed with the club as a free agent on January 15, 2023. The Buck O’Neil Cubs Minor League Player of the Year Award The Cubs Minor League Player of the Year Award is named after the legendary John “Buck” O’Neil, who spent 33 seasons (1956-88) in the Cubs organization as a scout, coach and instructor. A first baseman and manager for the Kansas City Monarchs, Buck managed Ernie Banks and Gene Baker when the two signed with the Cubs. As a scout for the organization, Buck signed future Hall of Famers Lou Brock and Lee Smith, as well as MLB veterans George Altman, Oscar Gamble and Joe Carter. As a mentor, O’Neil was instrumental in the development of Hall of Famer Billy Williams. After several seasons as a minor league and spring training instructor, O’Neil was promoted to the Cubs major league coaching staff in 1962 to become the first African American coach in MLB history. A driving force behind the creation of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, O’Neil was a long-time chairman of the institution and was an advocate for inducting Negro League players into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2006, O’Neil was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the United States’ highest civilian honor. Two years later, he was honored by the Hall of Fame with the creation of an award in his honor – the Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award – an award to be given not more than once every three years to honor an individual whose extraordinary efforts enhanced baseball’s positive impact on society, broadened the game’s appeal, and whose character, integrity and dignity are comparable to the qualities exhibited by O’Neil. O’Neil was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2022. The Vedie Himsl Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award The Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award is named after A.B. “Vedie” Himsl, a former minor league pitcher whose time with the Cubs spanned 32 seasons through 1985. He joined the organization as a scout, and a year later in 1953 co-authored the final scouting report recommending the signing of Ernie Banks – the first African American to play for the Cubs. By the late 1950s, Himsl added roles as roving pitching instructor and minor league coordinator to his scouting duties. Himsl joined the Cubs major league staff as pitching coach in 1960 and served as part of the College of Coaches system through the 1964 season. In 1961, Himsl was named the first Head Coach in MLB history, serving three stints in the role during the season. He also served as Head Coach for many of the team’s minor league affiliates during the College of Coaches era. Himsl joined the front office in 1965 serving as the Assistant Director of Player Development and Procurement for four years. After a two-year stint as Director of MLB’s Central Scouting Bureau, he returned to the Cubs in 1971, and a year later was promoted to Director of Scouting, a position he held until retiring after the 1985 season. Himsl continued to consult with the Cubs on scouting matters for well over the next decade.

The St. Louis Cardinals teardown got a big boost today, with starting pitcher Sonny Gray reportedly heading to the Boston Red Sox. Breaking: Sonny Gray traded to Red Sox— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 25, 2025 The Boston Red Sox are acquiring right-hander Sonny Gray in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, sources tell ESPN. Red Sox get the veteran who said he would waive his no-trade clause to leave. First on the news was @JonHeyman.— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 25, 2025 No word on the particulars just yet – Gray is owed a whopping $35 million next season, with a $5 million club option buyout potentially thereafter, and he also had a no-trade clause – but hopefully the Cardinals weren’t able to net a huge return. Either way, since I’d prefer the Cardinals were unable to effectively execute their preferred course of action, I am not happy about this trade. I liked the idea of them being stuck with every player they’d otherwise wanted to trade. That said, since it was not a lock that the Cardinals were going to be able to trade Gray at all, at least this is an assist to the market for starting pitchers. In other words, if Gray had stayed in St. Louis and the Red Sox bought elsewhere, that tier of the market would’ve been a little tighter. In other words, a VERY SLIGHT assist to the Cubs.

I suspect we’ll get a more complete reaction and assessment from the front office and the man, himself, in the weeks ahead, but I’m still interested in seeing Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy’s take on Shota Imanaga returning to the Cubs on a one-year, $22 million deal. In short? He’s happy to have the veteran lefty back, and believes things could be bright once again in 2026. “I was pumped,” Hottovy told Cubs.com of the news, saying that he felt Imanaga and the Cubs were really close to getting him right physically and mechanically late in the year, but “we just ran out of time with the season.” The Cubs were trying to help him get his velocity back, but that may have cost him some in the way of execution. An offseason to get right will help. “He knew his stuff wasn’t quite where he wanted,” Hottovy said. “And one big thing for us, too, was we saw some underlying things in play there that we were trying to get ahead of – biometrically and from just underlying numbers …. He’s already been texting us. He feels like his arm slot and posture is back to where he felt like it was prior to the hamstring injury, which is a good sign. That means he’s trusting his lower body enough to get to those positions. That’s encouraging for us right now.” It can become a bit of a crutch to say that a guy’s midseason injury was the predicate for any and all ills that followed, both because you’re talking about the performance impacts of aging, and also you’re conceding that a physical issue CAN have a serious impact on results. That said, it isn’t hard to imagine that Imanaga’s hamstring injury impacted his velocity and mechanics in a way that not only sent him a little sideways upon his return, but also may have impacted his ability to sustain himself down the stretch. It may really help Imanaga and the Cubs to have a full offseason to reset. Then you’ve got a polished, experienced, veteran pitcher coming into 2026 with a lot of prove and a lot to pitch for. And it’s not like he hasn’t shown a whole lot of MLB-caliber ability in his two seasons with the Cubs. Another way of looking at this: https://t.co/WMoDJBtup8— Brad (@ballskwok) November 22, 2025

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Last night, I was able to break the news that the Cubs had added righty reliever Phil Maton, a legitimate, late-inning arm, to a multi-year contract. And while most Cubs fans seemed appropriately excited about that deal, I could sense some apprehension that Maton would be the ONLY reliever like that they’d sign this offseason. And to be fair, that’s an understandable reaction as the Cubs very rarely sign established relievers to multi-year pacts. But I’m here to tell you today that they aren’t done yet. According to a source, the Cubs remain engaged in the impact free-agent relief market even after signing Phil Maton last night. Nothing is thought to be close, but Maton won’t likely be their only established relief signing this offseason. In fact, it sounds like they’re aiming even higher than Maton for their next target. Who might that be? Well, you can probably keep Edwin Diaz and Robert Suarez off your Christmas list. Those guys are expected to command much more (in both money and years) than the Cubs are likely to commit to any reliever. But I do think you can keep open the possibility of a Craig Counsell reunion with Devin Williams, or perhaps a Cubs reunion with Brad Keller. Other pitchers in this tier include Pete Fairbanks, who’s already been connected to the Cubs this offseason, and Ryan Helsley, who’s saved 70 games over the past two seasons (3rd most in MLB), though most of those came in 2024. In any case, the signing of Phil Maton, and their continued pursuit of other impact free-agent relievers, tracks with the report out of The Athletic last week, when Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney indicated that the Cubs would be adjusting their approach to bullpen construction this winter. In reconstructing their bullpen, the Cubs recognize that they can’t only offer one-year contracts to relievers. It’s possible that they will invest multiple years in the right late-inning arms. That doesn’t mean signing All-Star closer Edwin Díaz to a $100 million contract. Devin Williams, who closed for Cubs manager Craig Counsell during their time with the Milwaukee Brewers, is generating enough early interest to suggest that his next deal will go beyond Chicago’s comfort zone. But the Cubs are planning to spread their resources around and provide Counsell with several viable options. Pete Fairbanks, the former closer for the Tampa Bay Rays, is a name to keep in mind. A reunion with Brad Keller, who thoroughly enjoyed his time in Chicago, also can’t be ruled out quite yet. You should still expect the Cubs to build up the rest of the bullpen the way they have in recent years — identifying undervalued arms they believe they can bring to the next level — because why wouldn’t they? They just had one of their most successful bullpen years because of under-the-radar moves like that for Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, Caleb Thielbar, and others. But it does sound like an additional established arm for the pen is in the plans. And that’s good, because without one, they’d be betting a whole lot on Daniel Palencia’s emergence last season holding true in 2026. Stay tuned.

Fresh off the tender deadline, with 10 open 40-man spots and lots of need in the bullpen, the Chicago Cubs are finally jumping into the free agent fray (non-Shota Imanaga edition). According to BN’s own Michael Cerami, the Cubs are signing reliever Phil Maton: Source is telling me the Cubs have signed right-handed reliever Phil Maton.— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) November 22, 2025 Phil Maton, 32, was a “pretty good” reliever for a number of years, but then suddenly put up a relative monster season in 2025: 2.79 ERA over 61.1 IP, 32.7% K, 9.3% BB, 44.4% GB, 3.6% barrel. By many measures, he was a top-25 reliever in all of baseball. (via FanGraphs) In other words, if the Cubs just signed THAT guy, yo, that’s a huge add to the bullpen. The question, of course, is whether that was a one-year fluke, or if something fundamental changed that Maton can carry into 2026. His base-cutter added two MPH in 2025, though, so I’m thinking that has a pretty good bit to do with the performance leap. He was not only an elite contact manager in 2025, he was also getting a lot of chase and missing bats: (via Statcast) You can kinda ignore that fastball one, by the way, because he’s throwing a base-cutter (and 90 mph for your cutter is just fine). We’ll have much more on this soon, but this is looking like a very good addition to the Cubs’ bullpen group. And I’m guessing it was not cheap.

Just a stray thanks to you, the reader. I never forget that, if you’re not out there reading these words, I don’t get to write them. The timing doesn’t really matter on these things, so it isn’t a worry or a complaint. Just an observation: feels like this is pretty late in November for the Cubs not to have made their first small move. Now, to be fair, they retained Shota Imanaga via the Qualifying Offer, which is a major move, but that’s more of a procedural thing. What I’m talking about is the kind of thing the Cubs do throughout the offseason, but usually at least once by now: a waiver claim, a modest trade, or a minor league deal on a reclamation type. We’ve usually seen that by now. So far, though, nothing. And with 8(!) spots still open on the 40-man! With the tender deadline coming tomorrow, by the way, that number is going to increase to at least 9 – Reese McGuire, for as great as he was as a fill-in, back-up catcher, won’t be tendered a big league deal. It’s possible the Cubs will try to retain him on a new minor league deal (he’s pretty perfect as a veteran third catcher at Iowa, if he’s willing), but tendering him a big league deal at what would be around $2 million doesn’t make much sense for a 40-man roster that already has Carson Kelly, Miguel Amaya, and Moises Ballesteros, to say nothing of the fact that Kelly, Amaya, and McGuire aren’t optionable. Back to the minor moves, the Astros and Braves swapped Mauricio Dubon and Nick Allen. Dubon, 31, is a really good and versatile defender who tends to hit about 15-20% worse than league average at the plate. A solid bench guy, who’ll cost about $5.8 million in his final year of arbitration, per MLBTR. Allen, 27, is an outstanding defensive shortstop, but a zero at the plate (career .213/.265/.272/53 wRC+). He’s projected for $1.5 million in arbitration, with four years of control available. I can see the value equivalence here, and I can very much see this from the Braves’ perspective. I suppose I have a harder time seeing how the Astros will actually use Allen, who has no minor league options remaining, and does nothing at the plate off the bench. So he’s a pure middle infield defender that you can rarely use, unless some significant combination of Carlos Correa, Jeremy Pena, Jose Altuve, and Isaac Paredes all get hurt. Maybe the Astros were considering non-tendered Dubon anyway, so getting literally anything at all – even a guy they might end up ditching, themselves – was better than nothing. Very cool news about next year’s Field of Dreams Game festivities: Some more big news out of Dyersville: The @IowaCubs and St. Paul Saints will be playing a Minor League Baseball game at the "Field of Dreams" movie site in 2026. The details: https://t.co/9Egj0Duqzk— Tommy Birch (@TommyBirch) November 19, 2025 So mark your calendars for August 11, as the Iowa Cubs will be something of an opening act for the MLB game the comes a couple days later between the Twins and the Phillies. That’s gonna be a pretty special moment and memory for the Cubs’ minor leaguers who’ve reached Triple-A by that point. We haven’t yet heard about Shota Imanaga’s decision to accept the Qualifying Offer, but here are the thoughts from a similarly-tiered starting pitcher who accepted his: Brandon Woodruff says it was an "easy decision" to accept the Brewers' qualifying offer.— Adam McCalvy (@adammccalvy.bsky.social) 2025-11-19T23:32:08.134Z I remain of the mind that too many folks – outside these orgs – were just really misreading the market for players with downside risks, who would then ALSO be attached to draft pick compensation. In an environment where no one knows what 2027 is going to look like, it obviously made even more sense for these borderline guys to accept. They knew their markets would be rough. And it’s not like I’m some secret genius, because OF COURSE the organizations knew all of this, too! The Brewers made this offer to Woodruff because they knew they could be fine with it if he accepted. Same with the Cubs and Imanaga. Anyone calling these (or Gleyber Torres’s or Trent Grisham’s) decisions shocking wasn’t really paying attention to the bigger picture (the clues for which were there bright and bold with Shane Bieber’s and Jack Flaherty’s option decisions!). The Giants have poached from the Brewers org for Tony Vitello’s staff: Justin Meccage was the pitching coach at Triple-A Nashville in his lone season with the Brewers and received strong reviews from players. His nephew Bryce is Milwaukee’s No. 15 prospect per MLB Pipeline. https://t.co/tzpaJsdN7F— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) November 18, 2025 MLB has signed a six-year extension with PitchCom. Oh? Canada: Congratulations to Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) who is the winner of CBN's Randy Echlin Award, as the top 🇨🇦minor league hitter (affiliated ranks). In 99 games with the triple-A Iowa Cubs, he batted .286 with 22 home runs.@owen_caissie @FHPirates @BaseballCANJNT @IowaCubs pic.twitter.com/qyOvugK3lv— The Canadian Baseball Network (@CDNBaseballNet) November 18, 2025 MORE CUBS FROM BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN Newsletter

The Chicago Cubs need an impact starting pitcher at the front of the rotation. Nothing has changed.