On Wednesday, the Chicago Cubs made their first step in bolstering their pitching department by acquiring right-hander Eli Morgan from Cleveland. This move doesn’t turn every head in the league, but regardless, it’s someone who can provide the Cubs a vital job in relief. However, the Cubs won’t and shouldn’t end their offseason picking up pitchers there and make a big splash in the market – that being Max Fried.
The Cubs Need to Sign Max Fried
As expected, Fried declined his qualifying offer earlier this week, leaving him and Corbin Burnes as two of the most sought-after pitchers, let alone players in the market for this winter. Fried, who will enter his age 31 season in the spring, posted a strong year as an all-star, finishing with an 11-10 record and a 3.25 ERA, slightly higher than his career average and the highest it’s been since 2019.
Fried would be the keystone to one of the best rotations in the league, partnering with Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga. That one-two-three should be enough to give the Cubs their first division title since 2020 with a chance at the pennant. The Cubs need to invest in Craig Counsell, to whom they gave a large contract, as he tries to provide them with a run into the World Series.
North of Atlanta, where Fried has spent his entire major league career, in the Windy City, the Cubs have experienced a different level of success in recent seasons than they wound up with an 83-win season despite their hot start to begin the campaign. Any Cubs fan will most likely give you a reason for that: They don’t spend like a big-market team.
The Cubs haven’t spent big on players in recent history, including the players on the 2016 team. Why? They haven’t panned out and have left the front office wary of the risks that come with the price tag. Fried contract is expected to amass between $25 and 28 million annually over six years, totaling over $125 million per Mark Feinsand. We’ve seen this with Jason Heyward and Dansby Swanson, both former Atlanta Braves players with Swanson being a teammate to Fried, and both who have left stints diminutive to their expectations when they signed.
However, if the Cubs want to return to the success as a franchise they once saw almost a decade ago now, they must spend big and find themselves a star player. Though Chicago has many bright spots on their team and an abundance of prospects awaiting their chance at the game’s highest level, they need a star to cap off their rotation.
Main Image: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
