5 teams that should start saving money for Francisco Lindor

4. Chicago Cubs

Cubs’ ownership tried to plead a bit of poverty this offseason, and they will have to pony up to keep Kris Bryant and possibly Javier Baez at some point soon. But they have a bit of a question moving forward at shortstop, with Addison Russell’s off-field issues, and Baez can be moved to second base.

Heading into the 2021-22 offseason, Jason Heyward will still have two years at $22 million per year left on his albatross of a contract. It’s worth noting first baseman Anthony Rizzo will also hit free agency that offseason, assuming both of his options after this season are picked up, and if he’s allowed to leave by then that frees up some payroll for the Cubs to pursue Lindor.

The Cubs have made calculated moves in free agency since Theo Epstein took over, generally addressing specific needs when they’ve paid up for outside free agents. The big mistake made on Heyward may inform future dips into free agency, and necessarily put some limit on them. But Lindor is a different kind of player, and even as his 20’s wind down he should be worthy of a significant investment.