A reunion with this veteran free agent isn't the bold move this Cubs team needs

The Chicago Cubs are expected to add to the starting rotation this offseason, via trade or free agency. The team can't afford to bet its success in 2025 on its crop of up-and-coming arms, especially when their three biggest young pitchers - Jordan Wicks, Cade Horton and Ben Brown - all missed significant time due to injury this year.

Corbin Burnes, who is expected to command north of $200 million on the open market, probably isn't in the cards for the Cubs. Jed Hoyer has never shown a willingness to jump in feet-first and there's no indication that's about to change. Chicago could also look to steer clear of arms tied to qualifying offers, given the loss of draft picks and international dollars that accompany such signings, further limiting the team's free agent options.

Depth is nice, but what the Cubs need are moves that move the needle and get them to that 90-win floor Craig Counsell and others in the clubhouse have targeted. Suffice to say, a reunion with Jose Quintana isn't that type of move.

Quintana, who turns 36 in January, will head back out to the open market looking for 'one more' chance to win that elusive World Series ring that's avoided him in his 13-year MLB career. Would the Cubs fit that label in his mind? Who knows. But a reunion with Quintana, while it might shore up the back of the rotation, doesn't move the club into the 'contender' category.

The pressure alone that would come with a reunion for all involved is probably enough to kill this idea. Cubs fans have just started to put the Quintana trade that sent Dylan Cease and Eloy Jimenez to the White Sox in 2017 in the past - and bringing him back would only dredge up all those same frustrations.

A quality pitcher; things just didn't work out between the two sides during his four-year stint on the North Side. He was always solid and serviceable, but fans expected more - and felt annually disappointed in his performance. The Cubs need to aim higher in their offseason endeavors and instead pursuing a reunion with Quintana would be a slap in the face to their publicly stated goal of returning to the postseason in 2025.