Who doesn’t love offseason rumors and trying to take any info out there to feed whatever narrative you want to believe in? I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
If you’re like me, then you’re cautiously optimistic that the Cubs won’t let another group of star-studded shortstops pass them by. Yes, they appear not willing to go all-in on 8-10 year deals for guys like Trea Turner and Carlos Correa, but no one has completely ruled them out yet. Plus, every article you read this week still has the Cubs very much interested in the quartet of free agent shortstops.
That brings us to two separate reports from Jon Heyman in the New York Post and Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago.
First, let’s begin with Heyman who wrote about the top nine free agents and his best predictions on where they will sign after taking in all the info he gathered from the GM Meetings in Las Vegas. Here’s what Heyman wrote in the New York Post about Xander Bogaerts and his potential landing spots.
Via the New York Post.
The Red Sox are said to have gotten nowhere even in recent overtures, but he will have some great options. The Dodgers would make perfect sense, as might the Cubs, who seem very interested in adding a big piece and have the flexibility to move young star Nico Hoerner to second base, which becomes a more important position with the new shift ban.
Then, on Friday night Wittenmyer wrote his GM Meetings recap and here are his thoughts on the shortstops.
Via NBC Sports Chicago.
Turner and Correa will command the longest-term contracts, if early industry predictions are to be believed, which could dissuade the Cubs off those players in proportion to the years it would take, given team president Jed Hoyer’s distaste for the idea of big-dollar commitments beyond, roughly, Seiya Suzuki’s five-year deal in March.
On the other hand, an agent who has none of the four predicted the Cubs would sign Turner — likely an indication of how serious people in the game believe the Cubs are about landing one of the big-name guys. And how big they believe they’ll spend.
That said, keep an eye on Bogaerts.
What a sly comment right at the end by Wittenmyer on Bogaerts.
Anyway, if you want to be optimistic about the Cubs eventually signing of the top four free agent shortstops, then these two reports from Heyman and Wittenmyer are certainly welcomed. Again, right now it appears as though the Cubs won’t go wild on the length of a contract, but the feeling within the league is that they will be active in attempting to land one of the shortstops. A few days into free agency Bogaerts seems to be the answer for which one the Cubs will sign.
Here are some compiled projections on Correa, Turner, Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson.
These are the median projections for the free agent shortstops via the great @jonbecker_’ s FA Matrix.
Cubs fans, who are you taking?* Xander Bogaerts’ years and contract we’re slightly adjusted since 6.5 years isn’t possible
— Greg Zumach (@IvyFutures) November 11, 2022
Those figures for Bogaerts do line up to what the Cubs may be most interested in doing.
In other fun stuff, MLB Trade Rumors published their annual top 50 free agents and predictions article and three of their four writers have the Cubs signing Swanson. Check that out here.
More offseason talk below on the Pinwheels And Ivy Podcast.
