Analyst expects Cubs to pursue star shortstops in offseason

Ken Rosenthal believes Cubs will target big-name shortstop in free agency

The Chicago Cubs have the ambitions and cap space to make big moves this offseason, and the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal recently emphasized that the Chicago Cubs will be pursuing a headliner shortstop in free agency, despite Nico Hoerner’s . On Rosenthal’s Baseball Podcast he reiterated the Cubs should be players for a big shortstop as Bleacher Nation transcribed:

“The question ultimately becomes, and this is the test that they’re going to have this offseason, ‘Okay, you’ve taken the payroll down, but you’re a big market team. You are not the Pittsburgh Pirates, okay? You should be spending money.’ And the Cubs sorta did that a little bit last year with Stroman and … Seiya Suzuki as well, those were two pretty significant investments. But this is the offseason now where they’ve got to start spending again.

They’ve got to get – and I believe they will get – one of the big shortstops. And they need to do some work around the edges, for sure. They’ve got some promising things happening.

With the Cubs possessing significant cap space to pursue big-name free agents, there is reportedly a significant focus on a number of high-quality shortstops with expiring contracts. While rumors of Chicago targeting Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts have been floating around for some time, there is particular interest in another star in an opt-out contract: Carlos Correa.

While Correa has had his own struggles at the plate this season, his true value comes on the defensive end. Since the end of April, his plate presence has recently shown glimpses of elite prowess once again.

Whether it be Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson, Bogaerts or Correa, the Cubs pursuing a new shortstop not named Hoerner is a real possibility in the near future. Speculation from someone as informed as Rosenthal and the “guarantee” from a veteran GM with the similar focus on the shortstop position makes the Cubs a serious buyer to watch when it comes to free agency.