This Chicago Cubs offseason rumor continues to make no sense

A player that has been linked to the Chicago Cubs over the course of the past year has been New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso.

The Cubs pursued Alonso at the MLB Trade Deadline last season but the Mets were not inclined to move their All-Star first baseman. Talks between the two sides never materialized during the offseason and given where each team was at the deadline this season, a deal did not make sense.

Alonso now is on track to be a free agent this winter and there is no question that, originally, he would have been an ideal target for the Cubs. Entering the season, the Cubs had a need for power and question mark at first base, making an eventual target of Alonso inevitable.

That no longer may be the case.

The Cubs have an answer at first base in Michael Busch, who statistically, has had a better season than Alonso. Alonso, entering Monday, is carrying a 123 wRC+ on the season while Busch is at 128. Alonso still has the power, 25 home runs on the season, but with a career-low ISO rating this season of .224, it seems that a slight regression is beginning to settle in for the 29-year-old first baseman.

An aggressive pursuit of Pete Alonso does not make sense for the Cubs.

One prominent baseball insider who has continued to push the Alonso-to-the-Cubs idea has been Jon Heyman of the New York Post. In his latest from the weekend, Heyman seemed to indicate that the Cubs may be the favorite for Alonso this offseason.

By all indications, Scott Boras is angling to have Alonso paid as one of the premium first basemen in Major League Baseball. An argument could be had that if the Cubs did not have the development from Busch this season, they should be willing to meet that ask. But, considering Alonso would serve as a designated hitter and there sniffs of a power regression, it would be foolish for the Cubs to put all their chips in the middle with a pursuit of the Mets' first baseman this winter.