It’s been a difficult offseason for the Chicago Cubs and whiffing on Yoshinobu Yamamoto might have made it even more difficult for them to acquire an elite starter.

The Chicago Cubs were desperately trying to add a star player this offseason. They would have loved to land Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto or Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They were seriously in talks to acquire Tyler Glasnow in a trade.

Yet, the Cubs sit at this point in the winter with no one of substance added.

It’s not the offseason that the franchise and their fans envisioned when they aggressively hired Craig Counsell and stated their vision to build a contending team immediately.

After missing on Ohtani, Chicago turned to Yamamoto but was spurned by both Japanese phenoms.

So, what’s next for the Cubs now?

Well, according to Brett Taylor of Bleacher Nation, the bad news might not be finished for the club this offseason.

“I would say the Cubs’ chances at landing Shota Imanaga or Jordan Montgomery just took a hit, because the Yankees are now going to go way over the top to make sure they get one (or both?) of those guys. They can’t waste the pricey year of Juan Soto they bought in trade, so I fully expect them to go nuts on pitching to make up for the loss of Yamamoto,” he writes.

That is brutal news.

Chicago needs a top-of-the-rotation guy to pair with Justin Steele if they want to compete for a postseason spot.

Jordan Montgomery has proven his worth, playing a huge part in the World Series victory for the Texas Rangers. Shota Imanaga is a lesser-known pitcher coming from Japan, but has posted elite numbers in Nippon Professional Baseball.

Either one of these additions would have helped tremendously.

But, with the market now beginning to thin and some of the best players finding new homes, it will be much more difficult for the Cubs to make that major splash they had hoped for.