Cubs listed among best fits for Carlos Correa, Anthony Rizzo and more

Chicago Cubs: Jonathan Villar is a perfect fallback option at shortstop

Carlos Correa is probably going to cost $300 million. Most teams will balk at that price – and with good reason. If you want to spread around those resources and build a more rounded out roster, looking at someone who costs one percent of that makes a ton of sense.

Is Jonathan Villar going to put up numbers anywhere near what Correa will? No. But a team like the Cubs could take that financial flexibility and add more pitching, another impact bat and even an established outfielder – spending what they’d otherwise commit to one player. You can see why this approach could end up with a higher floor for the team heading into 2022.

The Cubs check in as Bowden’s second-ranked fit for Villar, who’s coming off a 2021 in which he carried a .738 OPS, just above his career average. He still runs decently well and wouldn’t require the long-term commitment of a Correa or even a Trevor Story.

Other potential suitors include Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, Colorado and Seattle. Bowden notes that this could be a ‘tremendous value signing’. Is it just me or does that sound like something that tickles Hoyer’s fancy?