In a recent report from the Chicago Times, Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon said that the team is not going to pursue Bryce Harper.

This does not come as much of a surprise as the Cubs have not been reported to have much interest in Harper, but being one of the biggest franchises in baseball, you can never count them out.

According to Maddon, he feels the club already “has all the ingredients” needed for the upcoming season. That seems a bit questionable as there are serious concerns for the ball club after a somewhat disappointing 2018 season.

The Cubs technically made the postseason last year, but it was short lived after they were bounced by the Colorado Rockies in the NL Wild Card game. As much as Maddon has done for the Cubs — bringing them a World Series trophy for the first time since 1908 — there were grumblings that he could be on the hot seat entering 2019.

Of course, it is not Maddon’s fault that the front office overpaid for Jason Heyward, which could be hampering any possibility of the Cubs signing Harper this offseason. Heyward is still owed $106 million over the next five years.

For a team like the Cubs who seemingly have the payroll to take on a Bryce Harper, if they wanted him they could make it happen. Heyward could move to center and they could put Harper in right — there are ways to get it done.

In the article, Maddon states that he is more interested in seeing guys like Kyle Schwarber and Ian Happ develop. Even if those two take major strides forward in 2019, they’ll never be near as good as Bryce Harper.

It’s the MLB offseason, so you can never count a team out, but for now it sounds like the Cubs have no interest in signing Bryce Harper.