The Chicago Cubs’ first order of business this winter was to retool their bullpen.
This made all the sense in the world, given that the team lost many relievers to free agency this offseason and had to ensure they rostered quality bullpen arms before turning their focus toward other positions.
There are still more bullpen moves for Jed Hoyer and the rest of the front office to make. Yet, since the Cubs have now signed Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, re-signed Caleb Thielbar, and also added other relievers on minor-league deals, there’s less pressure to sign bullpen pieces than there was just a few weeks ago.
Therefore, the Cubs could become more active in pursuing some of the top starting pitchers available on the market. And thankfully for them, the market has moved relatively slowly to this point, as the only ace-caliber starter who has signed is Dylan Cease, who agreed to a $210 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays on the night before Thanksgiving.
All of the other top free agent starters (Tatsuya Imai, Framber Valdez, Michael King, Ranger Suarez, and Zac Gallen) would seem to make sense for Chicago, and all of them have been linked to the Cubs at some point. But at least one MLB analyst believes that Framber Valdez is the best fit of them all.
Framber Valdez predicted to sign six-year contract with ubs
In a December 17 article, ESPN’s David Schoenfield predicted that Valdez would sign a six-year, $168 million deal with the Cubs in free agency. This potential contract would be historic because the Cubs have never given a pitcher that much money before. The six-year, $155 million deal that they gave Jon Lester back in 2015 is still the most lucrative contract a pitcher has received from Chicago.
Giving this record-breaking money to Valdez would seem to make sense. Not only has he been one of the most reliable starters in recent memory (he has thrown at least 176 innings in each of the past four seasons), but he would be a great complement to Cade Horton at the top of the Cubs’ rotation.
There are some concerns about Valdez’s character after a tense moment between him and a Houston Astros catcher (where Valdez appeared to cross the catcher up on purpose after giving up a home run, thus hitting his catcher with a fastball in the chest protector) went viral.
Yet, nobody can deny his abilities. And if the Cubs don’t believe that viral moment is indicative of his character, Valdez could be the perfect fit for Chicago.
