Former Chicago Cubs players hit the free agent market and the Cubs should keep tabs

Major League Baseball free agency begins next week and while there usually isn't a flurry of activity at the beginning of the free agency period as there is in other professional sports, there typically are moves made ahead of the start that could be of interest to teams such as the Chicago Cubs.

Major League Baseball teams have started the procedural moves ahead of the start of free agency next week and several former Cubs players became free agents on Thursday. Most notably, former Cubs' outfielder Jorge Soler informed the Miami Marlins that he would be opting out of his current deal with the team and will elect free agency this winter.

For a Cubs team that needs power in their starting lineup, there is no question that the team should be interested in a reunion with Soler. With the Marlins last season, Soler had a slash line of .250/.341/.512 with 36 home runs and a 126 wRC+.

The Cubs traded Soler in 2017 to the Kansas City Royals for closer Wade Davis and in the years since, the former Cubs' prospect has turned into the power-hitter that the team projected when they signed him as an international free agent in 2012.

Soler likely won't be in line for a massive deal considering he has only played in more than 100 games in a season 4 times in his 9-year career but the outfielder is the type of cheap option the Cubs could turn to in order to address their need for power.

Another former Cub that will be a free agent this winter is left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin. The Milwaukee Brewers acquired Chafin at the Major League Baseball Trade Deadline last season and the Cubs were believed to have an interest in a reunion at that time. Given the need that the Cubs have in their bullpen for a left-handed reliever, Chafin would make sense.

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