Every day in Major League Baseball it feels like a new big signing is made in free agency or via trade. The New York Yankees recently acquired Starlin Castro, and free agent pitchers being sought out everywhere.

The latest news on the hot stove involves the Chicago Cubs and outfielder Jason Heyward.

According to FOX Sports, the Cubs are very interested in signing Heyward, who is currently an unrestricted free agent. On the surface, this makes a lot of sense because of team needs. The Cubs have an exceptional pitching staff that ranks No. 3 overall in the league, but their offense ranks just 16th overall. The Cubs fell short of a miracle 2015 season when they were swept by the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series.

Heyward won't be the next Ernie Banks for the Cubs, but he can bring a powerful bat. Still just 26 years old, Heyward has a career .431 slugging percentage playing with the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves. Although we've only seen Heyward hit 20 home runs in a season one time, he has eclipsed the 90-hit mark all six years of his career and the 100-hit mark in four of the six years in the big leagues. Last season Heyward batted a career high .293 at the plate.

Castro wasn't the Cubs' best hitter last year, but he did have 145 hits that need to be replaced. By getting John Lackey at a very team favored price, it allows the Cubs to make a run at Heyward.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, Heyward is seeking somewhere in the ballpark of eight years and $20 million per season. That's a lot of money for a sub .300 hitter, but again, Heyward is just 26 years old, and the Cubs have to improve their hitting if they're going to win the NL. The NL is absolutely stacked with talented pitchers (Clayton Kershaw, Madison Bumgarner Jacob deGrom) as we all know. That same report also indicates that the Cubs could seek free agent Alex Gordon as a plan B option.

Another huge factor to consider here is competition. If the Cubs did sign Heyward, they would be securing him away from their rival Cardinals. Despite the fact that Heyward had a solid 2015, it doesn't look like the Cardinals will re-sign him. The Cubs won't be the only team in the mix, but they can certainly afford Heyward if they really want him.

The Cubs (and Los Angeles Dodgers) have also shown interest in Johnny Cueto, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

UPDATE: The New York Mets have traded RHP Jonathan Niese to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Neil Walker.

Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter @DamonSalvadore1