3 moves Cubs can make with money they’d spend on Carlos Correa

Carlos Rodon, LHP

The Cubs’ main weakness this past season was their starting rotation, considering they did trade away Yu Darvish to the San Diego Padres. This Hot Stove season, the Cubs addressed the rotation by adding former Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets right-handed pitcher Marcus Stroman. The Cubs should consider adding another arm to their pitching staff, and they can look across town for Carlos Rodon.

The Chicago White Sox pitcher has had his fair share of injuries throughout his career, even in 2021. But this past season was a special one for Rodon. In 24 starts, the left-hander recorded a 13-5 record, a 2.37 ERA, a 0.957 WHIP and 185 strikeouts over 132.2 innings of work. Perhaps his greatest feat is throwing his first-career no-hitter on Apr. 14 in an 8-0 win over the now-Cleveland Guardians.

If the Cubs want to shore up their rotation, they should consider signing Rodon.

Trevor Story, SS

If the Cubs opt to end their pursuit of Correa, it is not as if there are no shortstops available to sign. Yes, the likes of Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Javier Baez all signed before the lockout, but there is still one name that will receive a ton of attention from shortstop-needy teams.

Trevor Story.

After spending his entire six-year career with the Colorado Rockies, Story is set to become an unrestricted free agent. Story is coming off a 2021 campaign where he slashed .251/.329/.471 while recording 24 home runs, 75 RBI, 88 runs and 132 hits.

Landing Story could be a solid fallback option for the Cubs if they decide that there is no way they can agree to terms with Correa on a contract.