Insider all but puts the Cubs out of the running for Juan Soto

There's still a long way to go in the MLB offseason, but the specifics of the long-awaited Juan Soto sweepstakes are already beginning to take shape.

We know that the New York Yankees and New York Mets seem like the two cleanest fits, in terms of both motivation to sign the superstar outfielder and money available to do so. We know that the Los Angeles Dodgers are looming, because the Dodgers are always looming in every big-name free agency, but it remains an open question whether Soto has any interest in going back to Southern California. And thanks to a recent report from the GM Meetings by the New York Post's Jon Heyman, we know that several other teams are at least sniffing around — from the Toronto Blue Jays to the Boston Red Sox to the San Francisco Giants to even, apparently, the Tampa Bay Rays. (Hey, a fan base can dream.)

Heyman's latest also gives us a sense of who's not in the running for Soto's services. And one team in particular raised some eyebrows: The Chicago Cubs are nowhere to be found in Heyman's list of Soto suitors, despite playing in a major market and looking to kickstart a new era of contention following a disappointing finish in 2024. That new era won't include Soto, however, as Jed Hoyer apparently has his sights set elsewhere.

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Cubs not among seven teams reportedly in on Juan Soto

Heyman adds that the Cubs "seem focused on pitching," a notion that does jive with everything else we've heard about Chicago's plan this winter. Which makes a good amount of sense: Especially with Cody Bellinger opting back in for at least next season, this Cubs lineup is awfully crowded, both in the infield (Michael Busch, Dansby Swanson, Isaac Paredes, the recovering Nico Hoerner) and the outfield (Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Bellinger).

Add in some prospects who are ready to make the leap to the Majors very soon, and there's simply not a ton of wiggle room on the position-player side. Granted, every team should be willing to make room for a talent like Soto. But it remains true that Chicago would seem to be in pretty good position at the plate entering 2025; if anything, Hoyer and Co. will be looking more toward the margins (a catcher upgrade, a fourth outfielder) than a $600 million star.

And the money that could've gone to Soto can now instead go towards a big-time rotation upgrade, where there are a ton of enticing names to choose from. The cupboard is hardly bare, with Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon returning plus plenty of depth with guys like Javier Assad, Jordan Wicks, Ben Brown, Hayden Wesneski and top prospect Cade Horton. But adding one more frontline name would put less stress on the younger and less-established names on that list, allowing everyone to slot into a spot in the hierarchy they're more suited for. A 1-2-3 of, say, Max Fried, Imanaga and Steele looks pretty good, with Taillon an ideal fourth starter and plenty of options to choose from to round things out.

Cubs fans are likely tired of the Hoyer regime hardly even dipping their toe into the deep end of the free agent pool, but this time it might be for the best to put their resources elsewhere.