Carter Hawkins and Jed Hoyer are probably wearing dark sunglasses and waiting to play their hands.

Hawkins is the general manager for the Chicago Cubs. Hoyer is the president of baseball operations. They still have chips on the table and are in active discussions with free agent Alex Bregman.

The Cubs have also been linked to a trade involving starting pitcher Dylan Cease and closer Robert Suarez from the San Diego Padres.

Cease is essentially a rent-a-pitcher for the Padres. The two sides avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal last month. Cease, who is scheduled to make $13.75 million in 2025, will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Chicago has the young talent in the minor leagues that makes the acquisition worthwhile for San Diego, who is looking to go young and trim their $197 million budget. They also have the funds to make Cease happy on a long-term basis,

According to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, the Padres could be interested in moving the players, especially Cease, as they know the numbers will not add up to sign him long term after the season.

The Cubs are not afraid to wheel and deal.

They acquired Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly from the Houston Astros in separate trades. Chicago is looking to build a winner now, and they are not afraid to make moves do it.

The trade for Pressly appeared to take care of the closer role, but the Cubs want more.

With respect to Suarez, Chicago is in need of another quality reliever, which he became for the Padres. He would be relatively cheap for a top-notch bullpen arm at $10 million for this season. He is tied up through the 2027 campaign. He signed a $46 million contract in 2022.

Suarez saved 36 games last year for San Diego over 65 innings. He finished the season with a 2.77 ERA and only walked 6.2% of the batters he faced. At 34, he is one of the dominant closers in the game.

The Cubs reportedly want to add another late-inning arm to their bullpen.

They have been in talks with 39-year old David Robertson, but he cannot hold a candle to Suarez.

The main difference is Robertson is older, which means his annual average value will be less money than Suarez. Further, Chicago will not have to surrender any players to sign Robertson as he is a free agent.

With respect to Alex Bregman, the Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers are all rumored to be in the same neighborhood. It is up to Bregman to decide where he wants to play. He can also go back to Houston.

After a quiet offseason the past two cycles, it seems like Chicago is ready to be one of the most aggressive teams in the league this time around.