Chicago Cubs Rumors: Local insider connects team to Juan Soto

Rumors out of San Diego have already begun in regard to the idea of the San Diego Padres trading superstar outfielder Juan Soto and the first connection to the Chicago Cubs has been made.

After a disappointing 2023 season, the expectation is that the Padres will be looking to cut costs this winter and general manager A.J. Preller left the door wide open last week when asked about the possibility of trading Sot this winter.

Soto is a free agent after the 2024 season and with the financial gymnastics that it would require the Padres to make in order to sign him to an extension, a trade this off-season seems more likely than not. While we are still a month away from the hot stove season beginning, we do already have confirmation that the Cubs will be monitoring Soto's status with hopes of a trade this off-season.

Michael Cerami of Bleacher Nation reported that the Cubs do have an interest in acquiring Soto this off-season. Of course, as Cerami points out in a piece you should definitely read, being interested in making a trade for a player does not mean it is a certainty that a trade will happen.

There is now local confirmation that the Chicago Cubs will be interested in trading for Juan Soto this off-season.

After all, Jake Peavy and Brian Roberts never played a game with the Cubs.

Unlike when Soto was traded from the Washington Nationals to the San Diego Padres at the 2022 Major League Baseball Trade Deadline, the Cubs are now in a position where Soto could be the piece that leads to them making the jump from being a good team to a great team. Not to mention, Soto's availability via trade comes at a time when the Cubs have given the indication that they will be willing to enter the luxury tax.

The Cubs pursuing Soto would tie back to the idea last winter that the team's front office provided a blueprint of a team to Swanson that contained another superstar addition. Perhaps, Soto was the player that the Cubs had in mind when they were pitching their vision to Swanson.

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