Chicago Cubs Rumors: Los Angeles Dodgers World Series hero could be rotation fit

The Chicago Cubs have made a habit of adding reclamation projects to their pitching staff in recent seasons and with the Cubs already being priced out of Corbin Burnes, possibly Max Fried as well, it's a path that the team may be headed in once more this offseason.

Early free agency rumors for the Cubs have linked them to Yusei Kikuchi and Nick Pivetta as they appear to be shopping in the midtier pitching market but a new name has emerged.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network mentioned the Cubs as a possible fit when discussing the market for free-agent starting pitcher Walker Buehler.

Buehler clinched the World Series title for the Dodgers as he closed out the team's Game 5 victory over the New York Yankees. Making only 16 starts this season with the Dodgers as he returned from his second Tommy John surgery of his career, Buehler figures to be a starting pitcher who will look for a short-term deal as rebuilds his value.

In those 16 starts, Buehler posted a 5.38 ERA with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 10.5%. Buehler seemed to find himself during the postseason, posting a 3.60 ERA in 4 appearances with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 12.7%.

When healthy, Buehler could certainly be the established starting pitcher that the Cubs want to palce next Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga in the rotation. The issue is that Buehler has only made 28 starts over the last three seasons with the 2021 season proving to be the last season in which he was considered a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher.

As the main addition to their starting rotation, Buehler would be a risk for the Cubs this offseason. Starting pitching appears to be the primary method for which the Cubs are improving their Major League roster this offseason. Taking a flied on Buehler and hoping for him to be the difference seems to be setting up the Cubs to once again fail on the margins. In an offseason where the Cubs trade for an impact starting pitcher, then adding someone like Buehler makes sense if the team wants to push Javier Assad closer to being an ace out of the bullpen.