Max Fried may not be the best option for the Cubs in free agency after all

As the dreaded Chicago Cubs offseason approaches, folks are starting to wonder which direction Jed Hoyer will take in free agency. He famously hinted at a teardown before the trade deadline, only to shell out prime assets for All-Star third baseman Isaac Paredes. The Cubs want to win games — Craig Counsell has made that abundantly clear whenever there's a microphone in his face — but Chicago needs to get serious about building out this roster.

Hoyer has become somewhat famous for half-measures in the GM chair. The Cubs are willing to go out and land big-ticket free agents, like Cody Bellinger or Dansby Swanson, but the truly elite pickups tend to elude Chicago. He fashions himself as an opportunistic team-builder, but more often than not, it feels as though Hoyer is guided by fear. The Cubs hedge their bets and balk at risk, which inevitably leads them down the wrong path.

This winter, Hoyer has a chance to put his money where his mouth is and build a real contender. The Cubs handed Counsell the largest managerial contract in MLB history, a clear signal of where this organization's aspirations lie. Now it's time to get serious about adding impact talent in high-leverage positions.

The Cubs have an excellent starting rotation. Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele have emerged as bonafide stars, while Javier Assad and Ben Brown both had electric moments this season. Jameson Taillon as the veteran tying it all together is a nice touch. Still, the Cubs would benefit from more depth and firepower on the pitching staff. Many expect, or at least want, the Cubs to target another high-level starter.

The most popular name these days? Max Fried.

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Max Fried makes sense for Cubs, but he is not their only option in free agency

Fried has tried and failed to hammer out a workable deal with the Atlanta Braves over the years, so the expectation is that he will leave as a free agent. The Los Angeles Dodgers are his hometown team and there's a blatant need for pitching, so Chicago might not even get a fair crack at Fried. That said, Fried is a former Dansby Swanson teammate and he comes from the same high school as Pete Crow-Armstrong. There are connections on the North Side.

If the Cubs aren't too enamored with the prospect of handing the 31-year-old Fried a massive long-term contract, however, a more affordable option could pique Jed Hoyer's interest. What about Texas Rangers ace Nathan Eovaldi, who can decline his $20 million player option to enter free agency.

For Eovaldi, the goal this winter will be to lock up at least a couple years of guaranteed money in excess of $20 million. So, not cheap necessarily, but also less of a commitment than Fried. Both have World Series experience, as Patrick Mooney of The Athletic notes, but each entails a different sort of risk. Fried will have a longer prime window ahead of him but an even longer contract, while Eovaldi's inevitable decline feels more imminent.

All that said, not all postseason experience is created equal. Fried has become somewhat infamous for his postseason flameouts, including a rough outing against the Padres earlier this month. Eovaldi, on the other hand, pitched an absolute gem in Game 5 of the 2023 World Series. He has pitched on that stage a couple times now (with Boston in 2018 and Texas in 2023), and on balance the results have been positive.

Age concerns and all, Eovaldi was relatively durable this past season. He made 29 starts and posted a 3.80 ERA across 170.2 innings, netting 166 K's. Adding him to the mix of relative youth in Chicago could work wonders without completely upsetting Jed Hoyer's carefully-struck balance between trying to win and trying to avoid a lofty tax bill.