The Chicago Cubs could ultimately lose Kyle Tucker to the top offer on the market. Still, they may come away with one of the premier free agents available, according to David Schoenfield.
The ESPN MLB analyst reveal that Chicago will sign left-handed starter to a six-year deal worth $168 million.
The Cubs previously acquired Tucker from the Houston Astros, and his impact helped propel the team to the playoffs last season, though their run ended with a five-game NLDS loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
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.
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