Chicago Cubs Seen Among Perfect Fits for Juan Soto in Free Agency

The Chicago Cubs could take a huge swing and bring in the most valuable player available in MLB free agency.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs are entering the offseason with fans who are desperate for something to be excited about.

Since the curse was broken in 2016, Chicago has missed the playoffs entirely in five of the last eight seasons including the last four in a row and has not even won a postseason game since their return trip to the NLCS in 2017.

It's time for Jed Hoyer to take a big swing and make the kind of move that winning franchises pull off in this day and age of Major League Baseball. It's not often a player of the caliber of Juan Soto becomes available. Having just turned 26 years old and arguably still yet to even enter his prime, the current New York Yankees slugging outfielder is already arguably the best hitter in baseball.

Coming off another elite playoff run where it felt like he put his team on his back and took New York to the brink of glory just as he did with the Washington Nationals in 2019, Soto will receive an absolutely massive number from whoever gets him to sign his name on the dotted line. While the Cubs may not be seen as one of the main threats to sign him, if ownership is serious about winning there's absolutely no reason for them not to at least enter the sweepstakes. The Athletic detailed how Soto could fit into the lineup and establish Chicago as a power player once again.

"In short term, seeing Soto in Cubbie blue requires some imagination. But Soto is not a short-term acquisition," Stephen J. Nesbitt wrote. "With few lengthy contracts on the books and several impact prospects at Triple A, by signing Soto the Cubs would be delivering a strong statement to the rest of the baseball world that they’re willing to spend big in their attempt to own the NL Central."

Soto has been widely projected to land a deal that will end up certainly above the $500 million mark and potentially even crossing into $700 million territory. It's obviously a massive and a bit of a frightening level of commitment, but there's no player in baseball that has proven to be more of a sure thing and performs his best when the lights are brightest than Juan Soto.

If the Cubs can get Soto to come on board, it would shift the balance of power in the division and potentially even the National League as a whole to a place it has not been in nearly a decade now. Hoyer and company must at the very least be willing to do whatever it takes to land him. Fans deserve a winner and Chicago has a chance to become one once again.