The Chicago Cubs’ front office has made it clear that they intend to spend on a frontline starting pitcher this offseason, and they have the budget to do so.

There were reports that the Cubs were among the finalists to sign right-handed hurler Dylan Cease before he agreed to a seven-year, $210 million deal. Chicago reportedly bowed out of negotiations after Cease’s price reached the $200 million range, presumably because there are several other quality starters whom they could acquire for a fraction of that price.

Now that Cease is off the market, most agree that the top five free agent starting pitchers who are still available are former Phillies southpaw Ranger Suarez, right-handed hurler Tatsuya Imai (who is being posted from Japan’s Nippon Professional (NPB) league, Astros lefty Framber Valdez, Michael King (who was Cease’s teammate on the San Diego Padres), and Zac Gallen, who is coming off a disappointing 2025 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

While all of these arms are likely to sign somewhere around the $20-$30 million per year range, they’re likely to get shorter-term deals compared to Cease, which will presumably make them more appealing to a Cubs team that has been notoriously reluctant to hand out big contracts in the past.

Cubs Linked to Four of Five Top Free Agent Starting Pitchers

On December 4, MLB.com insider Mark Feinsand published an article that listed the five aforementioned pitchers, all of whom are still available on the market. He specifically listed the Cubs as a fit or said they’re already showing interest for every one of them—except Framber Valdez.

It’s important to note that this doesn’t necessarily mean the Cubs are out on Valdez. Rather, he just said that the Mets and the Orioles are the two favorites to sign him. But the fact that Chicago was cited for the other four players is worth keeping an eye on, and probably conveys that Jed Hoyer and the rest of the front office are more likely to pursue one of those arms rather than the southpaw Valdez.

Valdez got a lot of negative attention back in September, when he seemed to intentionally cross up his Astros catcher, Cesar Salazar, with a fastball one pitch after giving up a home run. The fastball nailed Salazar in the chest, and Valdez reacted as if it were on purpose.

While Valdez and Salazar both said it wasn’t intentional afterward, perhaps this display was enough to convince the Cubs to keep away from pursuing Valdez this winter.