5 free agents who absolutely will not sign with the Chicago Cubs

Despite the best wishes of Chicago Cubs fans still smarting from the team’s July dismantling of the core, Jed Hoyer doesn’t look or sound like he’s ready to swim in the deep end of the pool this offseason.

This year’s free agent shortstop class isn’t just good – it’s the best in the history of baseball. But the top two guys in it are almost assuredly going to be playing somewhere other than Chicago come Opening Day 2022 in Corey Seager and Carlos Correa. Before we get into the longtime Dodgers shortstop, let’s touch base on the Astros’ former first-rounder.

Sorry, Chicago Cubs – Carlos Correa to the Tigers makes too much sense

On Thursday, Correa was spotted having a lengthy breakfast with Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch who, of course, managed the Platinum Glove shortstop in Houston from 2015 to 2019 before the sign-stealing scandal resulted in the Astros parting ways with him.

After a one-year suspension, Hinch returned as skipper of the Tigers and led the still-ripe club to a solid 77-85 mark in 2021. Now, with the front office and ownership ready to spend, it looks like Detroit is ready to make Correa the new face of the franchise.

As Jeff Passan noted above, yes there is a lot of offseason left – with more uncertainty than we’ve seen in some time due to the expiring CBA and virtual certainty of a labor stoppage. But this makes too much sense to not come to fruition in my mind.

Could the Cubs use someone like Correa? Absolutely. Are they going to pay him the $350 million it’ll likely take to bring him to the North Side? Based on Hoyer’s public comments already this winter? No chance.