Chicago Cubs are nowhere to be found in latest Juan Soto rumors

Juan Soto will be the prize of the offseason and, as we've heard time and again, the Chicago Cubs are not likely to compete for that prize. The 25-year-old superstar is having a monster platform season alongside Aaron Judge with the New York Yankees, setting him up for a $500 million+ payday that could set a record in not only current-day dollars but years given his age. The teams expected to be truly in on him will only be the biggest spenders with the biggest needs.

Jed Hoyer's front office still has yet to sign a contract over $200 million, let alone anything in the ballpark for what it takes to land a superstar like Soto. That caliber of signing is not something the Cubs will likely ever do while he's at the helm, especially as he's admitted his reluctance to ink those deals. Unfortunately, the Ricketts family has similarly not instilled confidence that they'll ever spend to those levels either. Even with some hefty expiring contracts this year, all indications are from experts and those close to the organization that the strategy of modest spending will not change anytime soon.

Adding to that chorus of respected voices saying Soto is unrealistic for the Cubs is a quartet of experts at MLB.com. In a recent discussion about the lefty outfielder's likeliest landing spots, Mark Feinsand, Sarah Langs, Anthony DiComo, and Alyson Footer gave their picks for the frontrunners for his services. Four teams were considered serious contenders - the Yankees, Mets, Giants, and Nationals.

The Cubs got a mention too, but only for the group to quickly dismiss any pursuit:

I don’t see the Cubs or Red Sox going big enough to sign Soto. If Boston ownership was willing to pay that kind of money, Mookie Betts would still be there. They just gave Rafael Devers a big bag of money, so I don’t see them doing the same with Soto. Ditto with the Cubs, who aren’t typically big-game hunters to this level. The Dodgers are the only other team I can see making a play for him, because they’re the Dodgers and you can never count them out.

The logic for the top four teams makes sense. The Yankees offense finally has the jolt they've long needed with Soto opposite Judge, but the Mets, who are fast closing in on the Braves for the final wild-card spot, also need that big bat to get over the hump. Both aren't afraid to throw around money either. Washington, meanwhile, is an up-and-coming team that's already quite familiar with Soto and has a ton of financial space given the young roster. Finally, San Francisco has long sought after a superstar and has been itching to spend big on someone.

By all means, the Cubs should be in those waters as well for the same reasons as the Nationals. They could have as much as $90 million coming off the books if Cody Bellinger opts out of his contract. With young talents like Matt Shaw, Moises Ballesteros, and Owen Caissie so close to the majors, they also have plenty of reinforcements in line to supplement the team in the coming years. The late-season surge from Pete Crow-Armstrong and the offense with an impressive .260/.333/.459 collective slash line and an 18-8 record in August show they're ready to compete now. Having a generational superstar to coalesce everything around would center them as a major NL threat.

If there is any sliver of hope to glean, it's that DiComo, for what it's worth, sees the Cubs as "slightly" more realistic than the Red Sox. That's no real vote of confidence for the spending needed to land Soto though.

The Cubs will look for modest upgrades over a superstar bat

Instead, the focus this offseason will likely be on improving around the margins by adding a starter to replace Kyle Hendricks, finding more value deals in the bullpen, and looking for an upgrade at catcher. Their deadline prodding for Logan O'Hoppe proves that they're ready to swing bigger for a backstop even as Miguel Amaya is finally hitting his stride at the plate. A massive trade seems like a strong possibility as well given the sheer wealth of Triple-A talent that the Cubs won't have room for.

In terms of free agent bats, Carson Kelly could also be an option if there's no substantial trade to be made at catcher. Orioles slugger Anthony Santander, meanwhile, is an intriguing answer to the team's search for more power as he's coming off a season in which he's already hit 39 long balls with a 132 wRC+. Hope for Soto to the Cubs, however, remains almost non-existent.