The best rivalry in baseball might be Ken Rosenthal vs. Tom Ricketts and the MLB insider is way ahead this offseason, taking any chance he gets to bash Cubs ownership and honestly I'm glad a national reporter continues to go after Ricketts.

The latest update on Kyle Tucker screams of a last-ditch effort from the Houston Astros to put pressure on the Cubs to up their price in trade talks for the star outfielder. They want one of the Cubs' top prospects, either Matt Shaw or Cam Smith, along with Isaac Paredes. There's also the inclusion of Seiya Suzuki, who the Astros have been asking for, but the Cubs have made it somewhat clear that they will not be trading Suzuki.

Even in Rosenthal's initial reporting this week in which he detailed Houston's asking price, he added that Suzuki was unlikely to be traded. Anyway, late on Thursday night, with rumors swirling and the Astros trying to get as much as possible from the Cubs, Rosenthal dropped an article on how the New York Yankees could replace Juan Soto with Tucker.

How do the Yankees wash their Juan Soto blues away? Trade for the Astros’ Kyle Tucker: https://t.co/fYOI9ShINO

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 13, 2024

Again, this simply feels like posturing to get the Cubs to raise their trade package. Not saying it's a guarantee that the Cubs do end up with Tucker, but every report this week has placed them as favorites, some even saying the Cubs are the clear favorites for Tucker ahead of the Yankees.

Anyway, Rosenthal added this jab at Ricketts in his latest story.

Via The Athletic.

Favorite storyline of the offseason might be Rosenthal going at Ricketts any chance he gets 😂 pic.twitter.com/Du6YfI9rFO

— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) December 13, 2024

Of course, the same can be said of Tucker with the Chicago Cubs or any other club, presuming Astros owner Jim Crane is willing to trade him, which is no guarantee. Imagine if the Cubs included infielder Isaac Paredes in a deal for Tucker, then signed another Astros mainstay, free agent Alex Bergman, to play third base. That is the kind of plan the Cubs actually might pursue if owner Tom Ricketts were operating the team as a big-market behemoth rather than an efficient Midwest bank.

Right-handed starting pitcher Luis Gil, who did win 2024 AL Rookie of the Year, has been the only Yankees player publicly named in these trade talks between New York and Houston. The Cubs are believed to be best equipped to put together the strongest package for Tucker.

Again, the Astros are trying to use the Yankees to leverage against the Cubs.

ML sources tell me asking price for Houston’s Kyle Tucker is steep in top prospects. Astros insisting on Best Cub players Matt Shaw or Cam Smith being included. Cubs / Yankees for Bellinger still in motion but nothing done yet.

— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) December 13, 2024

Back to Rosenthal vs. Ricketts. This is now the third time in the past few weeks that The Athletic reporter has taken a shot at the Cubs owner and we're all here for it.

Ken Rosenthal Takes Shot at Ricketts

Superstar free agent Juan Soto is on the verge of signing the largest contract in MLB history and while no one expected the Chicago Cubs to be pry Soto away from New York, the team decided to completely sit out of the sweepstakes. National MLB insider Ken Rosenthal has been calling out Cubs ownership this offseason and he did it again on Saturday.

Rosenthal joined Inside the Clubhouse on 670 The Score and was asked why the Cubs are not one of the teams trying to sign Soto. There was no hesitation, no excuse-making as Rosenthal directly turned the heat on Cubs ownership, calling out the main figure head Tom Ricketts.

Via 670 The Score.

"They are ... a big market team. There is no reason the Cubs should not be in this mix (for Juan Soto)....And the only person who can answer that question is Tom Ricketts."

- Ken Rosenthal on the Cubs.

— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) December 7, 2024

You can listen to the entire segment with Rosenthal here.

Forget about a $600 million or $700 million contract that Soto is expected to sign, the Cubs still have not signed any free agent for more than $200 million. Jason Heyward's eight-year, $184 million remains the largest in franchise history and that was agreed to almost a decade ago.

When compared to the rest of MLB, the Cubs have signed five players to $100 million deals.

$100M+ Signed Contracts in #MLB History

ARZ 2
ATL 4
ATH 0
BAL 1
BOS 10
CHC 5
CHW 0
CIN 3
CLE 2
COL 6
DET 7
HOU 5
KC 1
LAA 6
LAD 12
MIA 2
MIL 2
MIN 4
NYM 9
NYY 11
PHI 10
PIT 1
SD 7
SEA 6
SF 6
STL 3
TB 2
TEX 6
TOR 4
WSH 6

— Spotrac (@spotrac) November 27, 2024

Spending doesn't automatically equate to winning, but it sure would be nice if the Cubs acted like the big-market team that they actually are more often. I mean, the team isn't shy about raising prices for everything associated with the franchise, but when it comes to pursuing the top stars in the game, they all of a sudden fade into the background.

Cubs Ownership "Dorks of the Week"

The Athletic's national MLB insider Ken Rosenthal called out Chicago Cubs ownership on his Fair Territory's "Dork of the Week," segment on Friday. Why? The same reason fans have been frustrated ever since the Cubs won the 2016 World Series. Sure, the Cubs spend, but they have not show the desire to go above and beyond to ensure that they can clearly be the class of their own division.

That was the gist of Rosenthal's mini-rant, pointing out how the Cubs are not acting like a big-market team.

Fair Territory with @alannarizzo!

*Snell fallout

*Widening gaps between haves and have-nots

*Answering your questions

*Dudes and dorks of the week

YouTube: https://t.co/HNVHP7fkJm
Apple: https://t.co/z2uFGU9eXY
Spotify: https://t.co/MkiZ5MmsEh

On the Cubs: pic.twitter.com/Tm6bXdwMsQ

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 29, 2024

That's what's so insane. The bar is low for the Cubs inside their own division and yet we see that they'd rather be conservative than risk being great by spending a bit more money.

“All we’re hearing out of Chicago, the North Side, is ‘eh we’re not gonna be involved in any of the big free agents.’ We’re gonna just try to do some other things. They’re trying to trade Cody Bellinger, I get that. But where are the Cubs? …. [The Cubs] have the ability, if they spend some money, to become a special team …. The Cubs have an opportunity here to maybe seize control of this division and they are squandering it. Cubs ownership, Dorks of the Week.”

The Cubs are reportedly desperate to unload Cody Bellinger this offseason after the outfielder/first baseman opted back into his deal with the team following the World Series. Despite having pitching as their top priority this winter the Cubs are not seen as suitors for Corbin Burnes nor Max Fried and were not involved with Blake Snell, who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Juan Soto, one of the best hitters in baseball since making his MLB debut in 2018 and is a free agent at 26-years-old? Not even a consideration for the Cubs.

We'll beat this drum over and over again. The Cubs have one of it not the most expensive ticket in all of baseball and yet the owners won't sign off on franchise-changing players. Year after year you see star players signing around the league and the Cubs sit idly by, living off their 2016 championship.

Pathetic.