Cubs rumors: Snell-Montgomery connection, Cody Bellinger latest, Sammy Sosa admission

Cubs Rumors: Sammy Sosa responds to being left out of Hall of Fame

With another round of Baseball Hall of Fame voting in the books and the new inductees set, the like-clockwork discussion of the PED and steroid era of MLB has started to come around again. This time every year, fans and analysts alike debate the merit of the players who were stars of that era but have seemingly been blocked from ever entering Cooperstown. As such, Chicago Cubs great Sammy Sosa often enters the discussion.

Sosa saw virtually any chance of entering the Hall of Fame go by the wayside two years ago after his 10 years on the ballot ran out. That doesn't entirely exclude him forever, but it does make it substantially less likely that he'll ever get his plaque in Cooperstown. But Sosa spoke to that near-fact this past week and had a pretty strong statement on the matter, via MLB insider Hector Gomez:

"Whatever happens, my achievements and home runs can never be erased from the board. Nothing and no one can erase those numbers. I want to be a Hall of Fame in heaven, not on earth," Sosa said.

It's true that no one can take away those stats from Sosa. He hit 609 home runs with a .273 average for his career, the bulk of which was spent in the Windy City with the Cubs, where he played 13 seasons of his 18 total years in the majors.

Having said that, his link to PEDs and the stigma around that, particularly as it pertains to the Baseball Hall of Fame, create a gray area in the history of our sport. But anyone who was alive for the excitement of the steroid era, during which Sosa won NL MVP with the Cubs in the 1998 season, will remember the greats that shined during that span of the sport.

Cubs Rumors: Latest Cody Bellinger update still favors Chicago

Another week is passing and Cody Bellinger is still not officially back with the Chicago Cubs. For fans who have been asking for the reunion to happen basically since the winter got started in baseball, that's a disappointment. However, the organization has also preached patience all offseason and, in this case specifically, that seems warranted even more so than with other targets.

As of late, though, the word that keeps getting thrown around by various insiders is that the Cubs remain the favorites to sign Bellinger in free agency. That was echoed once again this week by MLB insider Jon Heyman during his weekly appearance on Bleacher Report as he iterated that Chicago is still leading the pack for Bellinger.

There seems to have always been mutual interest between the Cubs and Bellinger about the 2019 NL MVP returning to Chicago for the 2024 season and long-term as well. The big hangup has always appeared to be the outfielder's agent, Scott Boras. Notorious for seeking top dollar ruthlessly for his clients, his asking price for Bellinger has been rumored to be north of $200 million in total.

Perhaps the Cubs will pay Bellinger that, but the patience that the organization is preaching still seems to be trying to wait out Boras. If they continue holding firm at whatever their offer is, assumedly below what Boras is asking for, then perhaps the price tag will drop and they'll ostensibly win negotiations. If it gets down to crunch time, though, they could always bend to the asking price and pay a premium.

In any case, the safe money is on Bellinger returning to the Cubs still. When that could happen, however, is merely a guessing game at this point.

Cubs Rumors: Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery connected to Cubs

So we know that Bellinger is in the crosshairs of the Cubs among the remaining high-dollar free agents at the top of the market. However, much of the buzz around the organization is that they could still have more than just that one big splash left to make. The question has long been what that splash might actually be.

We might actually have an answer to that now.

ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan ($) recently broke down what he dubbed the Boras Four, which would be Bellinger, Matt Chapman, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery. The Cubs had been connected to both Bellinger and Chapman previously, but Passan's latest update offered an interesting nugget about the two aces still on the free agent market.

"The Cubs could re-sign Bellinger, lock down third with Chapman or pivot to either Snell or Montgomery."

Are the Cubs more in the Snell and Montgomery markets than has been previously reported? Though that's not to say they are the leaders, it does appear from Passan's reporting that they are at least somewhat involved with obvious potential to increase their involvement at any moment.

It is worth noting, though unsurprising, that it seems that it would be either Snell or Montgomery for the Cubs, not both. However, after adding Shota Imanaga earlier in the offseason to bolster the rotation, many have speculated that Chicago could use a top-tier starter ahead of Justin Steele to truly form a dominant rotation. Adding Snell and Montgomery would fit that bill.

And maybe, just maybe, the Cubs' patience also applies to adding one of those expensive arms in addition to Bellinger.