The Chicago Cubs have been aggressive this offseason, choosing to acquire Kyle Tucker despite him being a likely one-year rental, and then shipping Cody Bellinger out of town to free up some financial flexibility.
That came on the heels of them making multiple moves to bolster their pitching staff, both in the starting rotation and bullpen.
Jed Hoyer stated his priority is adding more arms to the mix going forward this winter, and with Corbin Burnes no longer available, there’s a chance the pitcher market starts getting extremely active.
But despite the Cubs executive stating that this is their clear objective for the rest of the offseason, that didn’t stop Jon Heyman of The New York Post from listing them as suitors for Pete Alonso.
“… potential options include the Giants, Mariners, Rangers and Angels, and possibly the Cubs or Red Sox if they open up 1B via trade,” he stated.
While that sounds nice in theory, it just doesn’t seem practical.
To start, Chicago is set at first base with Michael Busch, the former top prospect of the Los Angeles Dodgers who they acquired in a trade last winter. He came in and immediately produced with a .248/.335/.440 slash line, 21 homers, 65 RBI and an OPS+ of 118.
He also has two more years before he even gets to arbitration.
The Cubs aren’t going to add someone like Alonso for the type of contract it would take to land him when they have a perfectly viable option in place already who costs a fraction of the price.
Secondly, in addition to the amount of money it would take to sign Alonso, it would also cost them their second and fifth round draft picks, along with $1 million in international free agency bonus pool space as the penalty for being in the luxury tax and signing a player who was extended a qualifying offer.
All of those aspects make them not a suitor for the star slugger, no matter how much he would improve the power of their lineup.
So, despite Chicago being mentioned as a team that could be interested in Alonso if his market continues to crater, the total price is likely just too steep for them to consider him as an option.
