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Are The Cubs In On Top-Tier Position Player Free Agents?

 


Wow, wow, wow. No, I'm not turning into a dog, but if you haven't seen, the Mets have been making some pretty bold moves...

Such as signing 3 top-tier position players.


Marte, Canha, and Escober all in one day. Sounds like the Mets want to compete in 2022, and although I've grown to dislike the Mets, I get where they're coming from.

Speaking of former Mets (and Cubs), Baez has been getting some attention from the Tigers, who may be closer to competing than we think.

 

I actually wouldn't mind it, because the Tigers wouldn't be a bad team to play for, and they could use some "magic" from El Mago.

And, of course a new trade makes the headlines, with the Mariners getting the second baseman that they need.

 

So, the market is in full gear, and teams are signing free agents, making trades, etc., except for the Cubs. The Cubs have introduced only two new players this offseason: Miley and Ramirez. They need a few more players still to actually try to do well in 2022, and they cannot be relying solely on 30-year-old Ortega, Schwindel, and Wisdom to try to compete.

That means, while all three will be getting spots in the 2022 roster, that doesn't mean the Cubs can rely on them to produce well all season long. None were expected to do well in 2021, and their predicted stats for 2022 even out a little bit. Wisdom has that awful strikeout rate, and Ortega is a streaky player, and there is no guarantee that Schwindel will perform just as well.

 So, obviously the Cubs still have position player needs, with infield and catcher being the top priority. The Cubs were rumored to be in on both Seagers, and while it would be nice to get both, I think Corey Seager would be more practical. If the Cubs only target one top-tier free agent, that doesn't mean that all their other spots are magically filled.

That means they'll have to dig into the middle-tier free agent position players for third, first, and catcher. Of course, by catcher we mean back-up catcher, which will be a big need for the Cubs with Contreras being the only MLB-ready catcher in the Cubs organization.

Regarding how many of the top-tier free agents (position players) the Cubs are in on, I would say probably only one or two. Realistically, they might only get one or not at all. So, don't get your hopes up too high, but I wouldn't be too surprised if they ended up signing one of the Seagers.

Of course, the Cubs are still on Stroman and Gray, and those would be definitely higher-tier free agents, and the Mets are hotly pursuing Gausman, Stroman and others. So, if the Cubs want those, they better get moving, or else the team might look pretty bad in 2022.

That's all for now, and I hope I'll be able to report that the Cubs signed Stroman or Seager soon...

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