The Chicago Cubs need starting pitching. That will be their top priority as the offseason begins this week at the annual general managers' meeting in Las Vegas.

Obviously, two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal is the biggest name on the free agent market. However, the Cubs are looking to go to battle for him. Instead, they are going to be conservative and are apparently going after Freddy Peralta, Michael King, and Adrian Morejon, per Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic.

The New York Mets traded Peralta to the Tampa Bay Rays. He finished with a 5-2 record, a 3.25 ERA, and 43 strikeouts in 10 starts with the Rays. Then, he went 2-1 with a 2.95 ERA in the postseason as the Rays reached the World Series. However, they lost to the Milwaukee Brewers in five games.

Furthermore, Peralta's strikeout rate decreased from 22.1% to 19.7% since the trade.

Meanwhile, King of the San Diego Padres finished 12-10, with 159 strikeouts and a 2.31 ERA. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2024, his strikeout rate plummeted to 21%.

Meanwhile, King opted out of his three-year, $75 million contract with the Padres. The question is whether his value matches what the Cubs want.

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Then, Chicago will eye left-handed reliever Adrian Morejon and look to turn him into a starter. Nevertheless, projections have him lined up for a bigger contract, and he is also coming off recent shoulder injuries.

All in all, the Cubs got plenty of work to do. But these names aren't exactly what fans want.

However, the baseball offseason is only just beginning.