If I had to guess, the Cubs will use September to see if Mervis or Wisdom can be 1B next year, and if not, they’ll try and extend Willson and throw him there.I would agree that Madrigal shouldn't be pencilled in as the Cubs 2nd of the future. For him to be effective, he would need to be .300 hitter.
If the Cubs can get a big bat at SS, then Hoerner can slide to 2nd. IMO that would give the Cubs 2 All-Star level middle infielders. The big question is price to sign one of the top FA shortstops. $25M, $30M?
Regardless, the Cubs need to find some pop at 1st, Left & DH. Ideally, the Cubs would get a high average & 25 HR's from each of those three positions in FA this winter.
Happ's a nice player, but .270 hitters with 15 HR's don't do much for me in LF.
Aiming for our next great team to arrive in 2024, I personally would be just fine going into 2023 with Mervis, Madrigal, Correa, Hoerner, and Contreras making up our infield. You essentially are giving the right side of the infield a try out to see if they can handle their spots or if they need to spend that offseason focusing on corner infielders.