Cubs offseason focus isn’t on Carlos Correa anymore

The Chicago Cubs don’t seem to be focused on Carlos Correa any longer. Instead, Jed Hoyer and the front office want to add to their bullpen.

Despite being connected to Carlos Correa just a few months ago, the Cubs appear to be out at the moment given the shortstop’s decision to switch agencies to Scott Boras.

Boras has a habit of aiming high, especially with players as talented as Correa. The Cubs aren’t in the market for a $330 million-plus man, and those are Correa’s demands. In fact, Chicago never intended on offering Correa more than an eight-year deal, per reports.

So, where does that leave the Cubs? Chicago can still make incremental improvements to its pitching staff, which appears to be the focus as the lockout draws to a close (we hope).

Cubs: Carlos Correa in the rearview

The Cubs have solidified their rotation, signing the likes of Marcus Stroman and Wade Miley to add to the mix. Next up is the bullpen.

Michael Cerami of Bleacher Nation notes the Cubs’ lack of experience in the ‘pen as a reason to make a move:

"“There are plenty of interesting, young options for the bullpen in the organization already, including, most notably, Codi Heuer, Manny Rodriguez, Rowan Wick, and Brad Wieck (plus whoever doesn’t make the rotation of Alec Mills, Justin Steele, Adbert Alzolay, and Keegan Thompson), and I could very easily list about 5-7 other names. But that’s also a lot of inexperience.”"

Thankfully for the Cubs, there are a number of quality veteran relievers remaining on the market due to the lockout, and they’ll probably be willing to take short-term, team-friendly deals. Spring Training is right around the corner.

The Cubs don’t necessarily have time to enter a negotiating war with Correa, and fill those needs in the back end of the bullpen. They’d be better off letting Correa sign elsewhere, while manufacturing a bullpen with that money saved.