MLB experts continue to be baffled by Cubs' polarizing offseason approach

As the Juan Soto bidding wars rage on between a handful of teams, one thing has stayed consistent: the Cubs are not involved. Nothing shocking or breaking there; nobody expected them to be in on the 26-year-old superstar even going into the offseason. We do have to acknowledge that a contract over half a billion dollars is generational money which is not as easy for anyone to commit to despite our feelings as fans. Still, it feels like the Cubs are in the tier to at least explore it.

The teams rumored to be in on him, the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Blue Jays, and Dodgers (per Jon Heyman) are all within the big market team bubble that the Cubs are in. The only thing is, the Cubs are not playing with their friends on the block, which continues to have industry experts wondering why.

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal was a guest on 670 the Score's MLB offseason show "Inside the Clubhouse" on Saturday morning, discussing the Cubs and White Sox offseasons. When asked why the Cubs were not entertaining Soto, Rosenthal responded:

"They should be . They are a team that's a big market team, right? They play in a big market. There is no reason the Cubs should not be in this mix, and the only person who can answer that question is (owner) Tom Ricketts -- I don't understand it. The Cubs are a big market team, they should be operating that way."

Rosenthal did not hold back, nor did he try to build up to this quote. He came right out and said it blatantly. Keep in mind this is not the first time the national media has been publically asking or discussing these matters This is also coming a few days after calling Cubs ownership the "dorks of the week" regarding their lack of getting involved in big free agents. The national media is begging for the Cubs to be relevant on big names and act like a big market team.

It goes beyond just Soto. It's the principle of the matter and Soto is the ultimate example. As mentioned before, people understand $600-$700 million is not as easy to spend as someone buying a nice new jacket, even in a billion dollar industry. Not saying it cannot be done, but it's a gargantuan investment, but there are countless others. Rosenthal even mentioned them gravitating toward the Matthew Boyd-type deals as opposed to the Corbin Burnes or Max Fried-level guys. It does not necessarily have to be Soto or Bust to act like a big market team, but only going after mid-level at most free agents isn't acting like a big market team.

The Cubs' approach this offseason hasn't instilled much faith from the fanbase.

Does this mean the Cubs won't do anything this offseason? No. There are potential trades and growing of prospects that can be done to get them to playoff contention level. Plus, the Cubs will spend some money; they just will not be in on top guys. Heck, it's not like the Cubs have a low payroll and haven't spent any money at all. They're far above being the A's, Marlins, or Rays, but there's room to reach higher, and having to hear about the Cubs trying to clear money to spend money is also frustrating.

As Rosenthal said, it's a question for Ricketts. Do they just not want to spend that much? Are the taxes really so high that it makes a huge payroll impact? Do they need a certain ROI so they can invest in other businesses or real estate ventures? Was the miscalculation of the Marquee Network's potential income that significant? We do not know for sure, maybe it's a combination of these factors and others. It's just frustrating as a fan to see the Cubs operate like this when they have all that they have.