The Chicago Cubs need some serious upgrades to their rotation, and they’re reportedly looking overseas to find one who will help.
The Chicago Cubs need some serious upgrades to their rotation. Though they’ve certainly made improvements from last season, they still have a lot of room to improve. They’re reportedly actively seeking a pitcher overseas who could help.
Initially reported by The Athletic (subscription required) and quoted by Bleacher Nation, Japanese ace Koudai Senga will be pursued in the offseason.
Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic first wrote, “At minimum this winter, it looks like the Cubs will layer their roster with two more large investments along the lines of the contracts guaranteed to Seiya Suzuki and Marcus Stroman. Signing one of the All-Star shortstops — Carlos Correa, Trea Turner or Xander Bogaerts — and a frontline starting pitcher like Koudai Senga out of Japan would move the needle.”
He reiterated the possible signing in a second article, making it seem highly possible the Cubs could land Senga.
Koudai Senga could be a great addition to the Cubs roster
Senga is a veteran who began his professional baseball career back in 2010. Though he’s never played in MLB, he has plenty of experience and success overseas as a professional. He played for Team Japan in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and earned a gold medal.
He also has a notable list of awards and achievements, including Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star (2013, 2017 and 2019), Japan Series champion (2015 and 2017-2020), Pacific League strikeout leader (2019 and 2020), Pacific League ERA leader (2020), Pacific League winning percentage leader (2017), Pacific League wins champion (2020), Pacific League Best Nine award (2019 and 2020), Mitsui Golden Glove award (2019 and 2020) and Japanese Triple Crown (2020).
His overall career ERA is 2.43 and WHIP is 1.10. He’d certainly be a great addition to the Cubs, who fall below league average in pitching stats.