Chicago Cubs Should Lead the Way in Corbin Burnes Pursuit

The Chicago Cubs should be going after the top pitcher on the market.

Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs feel like a team entering a crossroads this offseason.

Coming off four consecutive seasons with no playoff baseball in Wrigleyville and five of the last six ending the same way, without even a playoff lone victory since 2017, it's time for same changes to be made in Chicago.

With some of the best players in baseball available in free agency this offseason, there's no reason why the Cubs should not be serious contenders for the most upper echelon players on the open market.

While fans probably shouldn't expect the team to wind up with someone like Juan Soto who will sign a deal probably in the $600 million range, it's absolutely not unfair to expect Chicago to spend some serious cash if Jed Hoyer and ownership want to try to continue to convince the masses that the team is serious about winning.

The Cubs have long been seen as one of the teams who has the best chances of landing the top pitcher in free agency in Orioles former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes.

Having just turned 30 years old and coming off another fantastic season in his first year in Baltimore, Burnes will likely see a contract that exceeds a total value of $200 million.

Burnes and Chicago isn't just a fit because the Cubs should have money to spend and he's a top asset, but because there is a demonstrated pattern of success between the ace and the Cubs' manager Craig Counsell who the team made the highest paid manager in the history of the league last winter.

Counsell's arrival didn't provide any more wins in 2024 than 2023 however, as the team finished with an 83-79 record for the second season in a row. Perhaps Counsell needs to get back his former superstar at the top of the rotation in Burnes. The pair were together for Burnes' entire Milwaukee Brewers career and the ace had his best career season in 2021, winning the National League Cy Young Award along with four consecutive top-ten finishes in voting.

It's not that Chicago's biggest issue was starting pitching either, far from it in fact.

With a top of the rotation that includes 2024's most pleasant surprise in Shota Imanaga along with Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon, the Cubs had an extremely formidable group this season. But adding Burnes would give Chicago arguably immediately the best rotation in all of baseball and set them up to have a chance to win every time one of their stars is out there.

The time is now for the Cubs. Fans have waited long enough to see a contender once again. If Chicago even has a chance to add Burnes, they must be incredibly aggressive and make it happen.