This completely misses the point. The Cubs don't need to do one of these early multiyear deals with Soto, in part because they've been 100% successful locking up the guys they want to keep when they're on the verge of reaching free agency. Ramirez was making less than what Soto will make via the arbitration process, assuming he continues posting .900 OPSs for the next 5 years. Same with DLee. Raimrez made $3M in his first arb year, and $6M in his second, as part of a 3-year deal he signed while in Pittsburgh. Then he signed a multiyear deal with the Cubs that spanned his final arb year and his first three FA years. Lee went year-to-year, getting $2.7M, then $4.25M in arb years 1 and 2. Arb year 3 was absorbed into the 3-year deal he signed after being traded here. Soto's level of financial security will be no different than these guys' were at the time they inked longterm deals with the Cubs, again, provided he remains healthy and productive. Now he may prefer to sign an early extension that locks him in through his arb years, but the Cubs have little incentive to give it to him. Except the incentive of paying less in the long run.