(Audacy) It increasingly appears that the Cubs could be one of the most active teams this upcoming offseason.
At Audacy Sports, we recently ranked the top potential free agents for the 2022-'23 offseason, with three shortstops -- Carlos Correa, Trea Turner and Xander Bogaerts -- appearing in the top five. And one of that accomplished trio may well be suit up for the Cubs beginning in 2023.
"I guarantee you they're going to get one of them," an anonymous veteran general manager recently told Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Baseball Reference estimates that the Cubs (23-32) have just a 0.4% chance to make the postseason in 2022. What's scarier is that many of their current best players -- catcher Willson Contreras, right-hander Kyle Hendricks, closer David Robertson and third baseman Patrick Wisdom -- are 30 or older. The Cubs are in a position similar to what the Texas Rangers were in last offseason, where they need to add multiple impact talents because outside of outfielder Seiya Suzuki, they don't have much in the way of building blocks currently on their big league roster.
With Nico Hoerner and Nick Madrigal both on their roster, the Cubs are probably unlikely to add two expensive middle infielders like the Rangers did this past offseason with Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. But adding one of the star shortstops could be a good place to start.
Given that Bogaerts will turn 30 in October and has career defensive metrics (-57 defensive runs saved and -42 outs above average) that suggest he should shift to another position, the three-time All-Star may not be the most logical fit for the Cubs.
However, Correa and Turner are on the right side of 30, so they could make sense as signings even if the Cubs aren't ready to contend right away.
Still only 27, Correa declined to pounce on a 10-year, $275-million offer from the Detroit Tigers early last offseason, with the team eventually pivoting to former Cubs star Javier Báez. Correa then signed a three-year, $105.3-million deal with the Minnesota Twins, but it's a pact that will give him a chance to opt out after either 2022 or 2023 if he chooses to do so.
The question for Correa is whether he's able to stay on the field. A year ago, Correa played 148 games for the Houston Astros, winning the American League's Platinum Glove Award. But he has played more than 110 games in a season on just two occasions, which was a major reason his first trip into free agency didn't pan out like he had hoped. A former No. 1 overall pick, Correa is currently on the COVID-related IL.
Turner, meanwhile, is one of the most complete offensive players in baseball. Since the start of the 2020 season, Turner has slashed .323/.374/.534 with 46 home runs, 155 RBIs, 55 stolen bases and 11.2 fWAR, which is second only to Guardians star José Ramírez among all position players.
One drawback to Turner is that he currently has -6 defensive runs saved and -7 outs above average. It's also worth noting that Turner is from Florida and spent parts of seven seasons with the Washington Nationals, and Jon Heyman of the New York Post recently wrote that he's "still believed to prefer the East Coast." The Cubs, obviously, are further east than the Los Angeles Dodgers but are still a time zone away from the East Coast.
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