MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 27: Carlos Correa #4 of the Minnesota Twins throws the ball to first base to get out Josh Harrison #5 of the Chicago White Sox in the third inning of the game at Target Field on September 27, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the White Sox 4-0. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
After initially looking like they botched this offseason, the Chicago Cubs look low-key brilliant for not chasing Carlos Correa.
Chicago Cubs fans were bracing for the worst this offseason. It’s not that the team wasn’t in a position to spend its way out of the limbo it’s been in since trading away the likes of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Javier Baez, it’s that it hadn’t given any indication there was a willingness to spend.
Ahead of the winter meetings, it was rumored that Jed Hoyer had the green light from ownership to give the fans what they want and spend big in free agency. This naturally connected the Cubs to both excitement from fans and top free agents on the market, notably shortstop Carlos Correa.
Rather than go and get Correa, the Cubs avoided chasing a top-of-the-list free agent but ended up turning it into the right move.
Avoiding all of the injury drama was the first bullet dodged by the Cubs front office. It would have been the most Cubs thing ever if, after the slow progress following trading away the World Series core, the first big move resulted in a deal that rotted faster than the last one handed out. It’s going to be hard to top how bad the Jason Heyward deal was and how far back it ended up setting the Cubs spending confidence, but chasing that with Correa unable to stay healthy as the ink dried on his contract in Chicago would have been a tough beat.
Thankfully, Cubs fans don’t have to deal with that.
Instead, the Cubs did something fans probably weren’t expecting, given how unsexy the moves of late had been. Not only did the front office avoid an injury nightmare with Correa, but it spread his potential contract across multiple deals that could have a bigger impact than one single player could have.
Here’s what the Cubs managed to do in free agency this winter:
- Dansby Swanson – 7 year, $177M
- Jameson Taillon – 4 year, $68M
- Cody Bellinger – 1 year, $17M
- Drew Smyly – 2 year, $19M
Compare that to what the Mets will likely be paying Correa. Instead of devoting $315 million to one player, Hoyer paid $34 million less to land three impact free agents and to bring back a key pitcher for 2023.
That’s huge, and pretty unexpected given how slim the margins seemed heading into the winter.
