CHICAGO -- By the time the Cubs reached the National League Division Series, manager Craig Counsell’s options for his rotation were limited. Rookie Cade Horton was out with an injury , Shota Imanaga was struggling and a few other arms were in the bullpen. Veterans Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon were asked to do the heavy lifting.

It was clear then -- even before Tuesday’s series of decisions that led to Imanaga becoming a free agent -- that Chicago needed to use this offseason to target rotation reinforcements with a deeper playoff run in mind for 2026.

“That’s probably the biggest takeaway for me,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said after the season. “For the marathon part of the season, I thought we were a really good team in a really good position. Obviously

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