3 remaining free agents the Cubs must avoid at all costs

Even after adding Jameson Taillon, Cody Bellinger and, at long last, their franchise shortstop in Dansby Swanson, the Cubs still have work to do if they want to de-throne the Cardinals in the National League Central.

This club could use another big bat, perhaps an established arm or two on the staff to solidify things on that front and a catcher to pair with Yan Gomes after Willson Contreras joined St. Louis earlier this winter, signing a five-year deal to succeed future Hall of Famer Yadier Molina.

That being said, there are definitely guys the Cubs would do well to avoid as they put the finishing touches on the roster. Here are 3 guys we want no part of when it comes to next year's team on the North Side.

3 free agents the Cubs must avoid at all costs: #3 - Aroldis Chapman

Perhaps it's a twisted sort of romanticm, but Cubs fans love to look to the past when trying to address roster questions. Prior to the Swanson signing, a fairly significant contigent started beating the drum on a potential trade that would have brought Javier Baez back to Chicago after a disastrous first season with the Tigers.

Never mind the fact he put up just a .671 OPS in the first year of his six-year, $140 million deal. Just bring him back to the Friendly Confines and he'd, all of the sudden, recapture his 2019 NL MVP runner-up form. Uh-huh, sure. The same thinking applies to a potential reunion with left-hander Aroldis Chapman.

Chapman, once the most feared reliever in the game, isn't what he once was. Just ask the Yankees who left him off the ALDS roster after he skipped a team workout. Even prior to that incident, the 34-year-old just wasn't the guy he once was, evidenced by a 1.431 WHIP and 4.57 FIP in 43 appearances. Now, back on the open market for the first time since helping the Cubs erase a 108-year drought, he's no longer in that upper-echelon of relief pitchers.

Cubs fans surely remember what Chapman once was and the thought of adding that guy into the bullpen fold is more than understandable. But the simple truth is this: he's no longer that player - and looking to the past while building for the future is dangerous and a reunion with Chapman (not only for his decline but his past off-the-field issues) would be ill-advised.

3 free agents the Cubs must avoid at all costs: #1 - Wil Myers

With Michael Conforto on a short-term pact seeming like a very real possibility, which would give the Cubs four high-quality outfield options, it's hard to argue for a guy like Wil Myers who, after a lenghty run with the Padres, is on the open market this winter.

First off, I think he'll find a deal more to his liking than a part-time back-up role on the North Side. He didn't have a monster year in 2022 by any stretch, but still put up a 108 OPS+ and, since the start of the 2020 season, has a 122 OPS+ to go along with defensive time all over the diamond.

A former top prospect and third-round pick, Myers has always flashed the potential to be a game-changing bat, but he's never really put it all together. He won AL Rookie of the Year as a member of the Rays back in 2013 and earned an All-Star nod in 2016 with the Padres, but in 2022, struck out in more than 30 percent of his plate appearances, drawing walks in just over seven percent.

I'm not saying Myers is at the end of the road, because he almost certainly is not. But the fit just isn't there for a team like the Cubs - and they'd be better off prioritizing the catcher position and shoring up the pitching staff instead of forcing a square peg into a round hole.