Ranking the 4 biggest Chicago Cubs spring training questions

There are only eight days until pitchers and catchers report to their respective camps for spring training. For the Chicago Cubs, it's been a most productive offseason that has raised both the floor and the potential ceiling for the team in 2023. However, there are still multiple questions the front office will need to address as the spring goes on, and, for now, we'll have to wait for a lot of those answers. Here are the four biggest questions for the Chicago Cubs' Spring Training.

4 biggest Chicago Cubs spring training questions: #4 - What's going on with extension talks?

Let's face it: The progress and lack of updates regarding extension talks for both Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner are starting to sound eerily similar to the last two years and the former Cubs core. Michael Cerami of Bleacher Nation made a great point that we are now just a few days away from pitchers and catchers reporting, and yet, here we are, passing by the timeline by which Jed Hoyer wanted to have these negotiations done.

Putting your heart aside, the former Cubs core was not producing at the level they needed to hit in order to land the paydays they envisioned. However, Happ and Hoerner are both coming off fantastic seasons and are perfect candidates to get locked up long-term. The money is going to be there next offseason. If the front office, once again, shows it won't get a little uncomfortable when extending homegrown players, the fanbase should assume they never will so they can at least mentally prepare for having their hearts ripped out next time.

If the Cubs are genuinely looking to compete, letting your All-Star, Gold Glove-winning outfielder walk because you have prospects that may or may not work out in the future is about as counter-productive as it gets. Here's to hoping Happ's plan all along is to remain a Cub and that he wants to up his value as much as possible first with another great season to his credit. Whether it comes in the next few weeks or at season's end, this needs to get done.