Cubs rumors: Trade buzz, Bellinger deal with another star, David Ross's plans for next gig, Stroman good as gone

Cubs future will move forward without No. 0

The most pervasive in-season narrative on player contracts for the Chicago Cubs this year was around Marcus Stroman, who was lobbying hard for a contract extension with the franchise. While Cody Bellinger was the most obvious lock-him-up candidate, his agent, Scott Boras, infrequently negotiates extensions for his clients and instead opts to take players to the open market to drive up salaries.

Given how well Bellinger performed this season in his get-right year, it made sense that an extension with him was off the table completely.

Unsurprisingly, Stroman opted out of his 2024 contract with the Cubs to enter free agency. While Stroman, at several points in the 2023 season, indicated he'd be open to coming back to the team even in the open market sans an extension, it appears that ship may very well be sailed.

Patrick Mooney of The Athletic penned an article looking at Stroman and the outlay of the Cubs starting rotation (subscription required), more or less concluding that the Cubs will look elsewhere based on Jed Hoyer's comments at the GM meetings last week in Arizona.

Mooney describes the Cubs' love for Stroman and his hard work and team-first mentality -- Stroman had no issue shifting to a relief pitching role late in the season during the team's push for the playoffs despite being a Cy Young candidate for much of the year -- but it would appear it's not enough to convince the team he's a good option for the long haul.

Stroman has been a good but not great pitcher, missing in consistency year-to-year. His solid 2023 will earn him a good, multi-year deal somewhere that it seems as though the Cubs don't want to match.

It's no guarantee Stroman isn't back at Wrigley for his starts next year, but as of now it doesn't seem a sure thing.