With Trea Turner and Xander Bogaerts signed, sealed and delivered to their new teams, two superstar shortstops remain on the Major League Baseball open market.
Carlos Correa and Dansby Swanson still are free agents as of Sunday afternoon. The former has been the subject of far more rumors than the latter since the end of the 2022 season, which makes sense given the expected monstrous price tag on his next contract. Swanson will be expensive as well, but his deal likely will be the cheapest of the bunch and for the fewest amount of years.
During an appearance Friday on MLB Network’s “Hot Stove,” Jon Morosi kicked around a few potential landing spots for Swanson, a 2022 All-Star who turns 29 in February. The veteran league insider was particularly intrigued by one team for reasons that extend beyond baseball.
“The team I’m really watching here — if Correa ends up pairing up with the Giants — Swanson to the Cubs, there’s a lot of merit there,” Morosi said. “The Cubs know they need a major superstar position player. His fiancée, Mallory Pugh, plays for the Chicago Red Stars of the NWSL in Chicago. She’s been a World Cup soccer player. Wouldn’t that be an amazing story? The first couple of Chicago sports if they’re both playing in Chicago.”
A potential drawback to the Cubs for Swanson — and other free agents — is they probably are at least a few years away from contending for a World Series again. But if the North Siders include enough zeroes in their potential offer to Swanson, he might have no other choice than to cash in.
