Cubs Predicted To Land Marquee Free Agent Starting Pitcher On Six-Year Contract

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Craig Counsell may need to make fewer calls to the bullpen if the Cubs sign free agent starter Framber Valdez.

The Chicago Cubs may end up losing Kyle Tucker to the highest bidder. But they still could end up landing one of the best-available free agents, according to David Schoenfield.

The ESPN.com MLB writer predicted Chicago to land left-handed starting pitcher Framber Valdez on a six-year, $168 million contract.

The Cubs acquired Tucker from the Houston Astros, and he helped them reach the playoffs last year even though they fell to the Milwaukee Brewers in five games in the NLDS.

Valdez went 13-11 with a 3.66 ERA in 31 starts in 2025 for the Astros and surpassed the 30-start threshold for the third time in the past four seasons.

Framber Valdez Would Give The Cubs An Ace

Even if Tucker walks, the Cubs offense was one of the best in baseball last year. With Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, Dansby Swanson, Seiya Suzuki and up-and-coming prospects Owen Caissie and Moises Ballesteros, Chicago should again have no trouble scoring runs in 2026.

But the Cubs had trouble against Milwaukee due to their lack of a real top-of-the-rotation starter. Both Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga got rocked early in Games 1 and 2 of the NLDS, which put the Cubs behind the eight-ball. They rallied to force a Game 5, but the hole was too big to climb out of.

But Valdez would properly slot Boyd and Imanaga and give Chicago arguably the most talented pitching rotation in the NL Central.

“The Cubs need a top-of-the-rotation starter, a guy they feel more confident handing the ball to in a playoff game than they did with Matthew Boyd or Shota Imanaga,” Schoenfield wrote. “They also have the payroll flexibility to do it, sitting about $22 million below last season’s total.”

Not only does Valdez have high-end stuff, but he has pitched well in October, boasting a 7-6 record and 4.34 ERA in 17 career postseason appearances with the Astros.

The 32-year-old has also been an innings eater throughout his career, since he is coming off his third season of at least 190 innings and had a major-league-high two complete games in 2025.

The Cubs starters punched above their weight class in 2025 by finishing second behind only the New York Yankees for wins (65) by starting pitchers. Plus, Chicago had the eighth-best starters ERA (3.83) but was just 12th in expected ERA (4.15) and ranked just 18th in FIP (4.25), which could mean a serious regression in 2026.

Signing Valdez, even to a six-year contract, would be a great way to proactively counter that potential regression.

The Cubs May Also Still Be In On Alex Bregman

Part of the reason the Cubs pivoted to acquire Tucker was because they lost out on third baseman Alex Bregman, who signed with the Boston Red Sox last offseason.

So with Bregman on the market again after opting out of his deal with the Red Sox, the Cubs could again be a fit if they decided to target Bregman as an upgrade to Matt Shaw.

Though Schoenfield predicted the Red Sox to re-up the two-time World Series champion, he also made the case for the Cubs to at least get in the mix for the soon-to-be 32-year-old.

“The Cubs went hard after Bregman last season and there have been reports of interest once again,” Schoenfield wrote.

Pat Pickens is an experienced sports writer and media personality who has written for outlets like NHL.com, the Associated Press, the New York Times and USA Today. He covers the NFL, NBA, NHL and NBA as a breaking news contributor at Heavy. More about Pat Pickens