It has been a slow descent, but the Chicago Cubs have been in decline since their World Series win in 2016. Over the past few years, the Cubs have jettisoned members of their championship core, culminating in fourth and third-place finishes in the NL Central in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Thus, the Cubs are looking to recapture their past success through free agency as they look to make a splash in their middle infield ranks.

Per previous reports, the Cubs are looking to pull off a ridiculous free-agent maneuver. Mark Feinsand reported that Chicago could end up signing both Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson to bolster their middle infield. But it seems as if the Cubs are not zeroing in on just those two free agents, as they have also been ratcheted up their pursuit of another All-Star free agent shortstop: Carlos Correa.

According to Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic, the Cubs brass, led by team president Jed Hoyer and manager David Ross, met with Carlos Correa and his wife in a Southern California resort as organized by agent Scott Boras.

It's not as if the Cubs are lacking at shortstop; 25-year old Nico Hoerner did just fine at short, posting a 4.0 WAR (per Fangraphs) mostly on the back of his incredible defense in the middle of the diamond.

Nevertheless, the Cubs are shooting for the stars, and after Trea Turner's bombshell signing with the Philadelphia Phillies, movement in the shortstop market is expected to materialize in the coming days or weeks. Thus, the Cubs are acting fast lest they get left behind in their free agent pursuits. Hoerner could then move on the opposite side of the diamond to accommodate a potential blockbuster signing.

It remains to be seen which shortstop (or shortstops) the Cubs actually end up signing. One thing's for sure: it doesn't seem like the Cubs are leaving the offseason without a shiny new toy at one of baseball's most premium defensive positions.