Chicago Cubs News: Mancini rumors, Correa drama, and more

The Chicago Cubs are a very intriguing team. They did make some big moves this off-season that are going to improve the team but is it enough to compete with the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers atop the National League Central in 2023? That remains to be seen.

Dansby Swanson was signed by the Cubs last week as their biggest splash of the off-season. He was very good in 2022 as a member of the Atlanta Braves. He had a career year offensively while being one of the best defensive shortstops in the world. He is a great player.

Despite all of the nice things that can be said about Swanson, he was certainly the fourth best of the big four free agent shortstops this year. The Chicago Cubs would have rathered have Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, or Xander Bogaerts instead.

Speaking of Correa, he was signed by the San Francisco Giants which took him away from the Cubs but now there is a strange wrinkle to this story. He had an issue with his physical so the Giants help back their presser to announce the signing.

It is unclear what the issue is. It came out close to 2 AM in Chicago that Correa is actually flipping to sign with the New York Mets instead. This is some of the craziest news in baseball over the last few years. An elite player failed a physical and joined a new team while most people in town were sleeping. Regardless, the Cubs signed Swanson so Correa is a non-option.

The Chicago Cubs may or may not be done with their off-season as a whole.

Trey Mancini Rumors:

The Chicago Cubs may or may not be done with their off-season but rumors suggest that they are absolutely not.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the Chicago Cubs are among the possibilities for Trey Mancini. The former Baltimore Oriole was traded from there to the Houston Astros last season where he became a World Series champion with them.

Now, the Cubs might be in on him. As Heyman points out, he is a Notre Dame alumni which would mean that he fits in with how popular the Irish are in town.

There are a lot of teams that would want a player like this but Mancini is perfect for the Cubs’ pending job of the designated hitter for 2023.

Around The MLB:

The MLB has lots of stuff going on. Free agents are signing all over the place and it is hard to keep up with them. Even some of the lesser players on the free agent wire are getting jobs with new teams. It should be interesting to see who makes the biggest impact on their new team.

There is also a lot of talk surrounding the World Baseball Classic. Team USA is filling out its roster nicely as they get ready for the 2023 tournament. Clayton Kershaw is the latest American superstar to make a move like this for the team. They will be the favorites and will win if they all play to their strength.

Just because it is the week of Christmas doesn’t mean that baseball is away. In fact, in a lot of ways, this is the most exciting time on the baseball calendar. It will be interesting to see if the Cubs can make headlines one more time.