Juan Soto appears headed to the Yankees which is not a big blow Chicago Cubs offseason

Add another superstar to the list of players the Chicago Cubs are not acquiring.

Juan Soto appears to be on his way to the New York Yankees.

There was hope the San Diego Padres were not exclusively focusing on trading Soto to the Yankees. Talks had stalled originally because of the Padres demands. San Diego wanted the Yankees to give up multiple top prospects and take on Trent Grisham’s salary.

Now, it looks like the Yankees are ready to pay the price at least when it comes to the prospects.

This is not the end of the world for the Chicago Cubs.

All this losing out on the Soto sweepstakes means is the Cubs have a lost one option to add a superstar.

The Cubs were rumored to be interested, but the front office’s focus has been on signing Shohei Ohtani–the top available free agent.

Trading for Soto would grab the headlines. It also would have been a one-year rental in left field where Ian Happ is already an All-Star and a Gold Glove winner.

Sure, Soto has better offensive numbers, but he was not going to fix the power-hitting void at first or third base. He cannot pitch, so he was not going to bolster the starting rotation or bullpen.

Yes, he is a generational talent. The Cubs have a farm system that could have matched what the Yankees have to offer. At the same time, they would be giving up assets for a player set to test the free-agent market next offseason.

The Yankees are giving up their second-best pitching prospect and fifth-best overall in Drew Thorpe. They are throwing in a good reliever too in Michael King. It is probably not worth offering Ben Brown or Cade Horton to beat the Yankees offer just for one guaranteed summer of Soto.

The Cubbies can use those prospects to either help the 2024 team–Brown is not too far away–or use in trades for a star player with more years of club control.

It is not like the Chicago Cubs cannot pursue Soto next offseason.

Speaking of free agency, the Cubs can still solve the power-hitting problems through that avenue. They are still in on Ohtani depending on which MLB insider you read. They have the cash to pursue Matt Chapman.

The Yankees getting Soto also crosses off one suitor for Cody Bellinger. Yes, it sucks to lose out on making the headline move, but it can also be a win in the long run.