2026 Cubs Salary Arbitration Primer
1/8 UPDATE : The Cubs signed LHP Justin Steele (one year - $6.775M), RHP Edward Cabrera (one year - $4.45M), and RHP Javier Assad (one year - $1.8M) to 2026 major league contracts, thus avoiding the possibility of salary arbitration. Because the contracts were signed to avoid the possibility of salary arbitration, the contracts are fully guaranteed. 1/7 UPDATE : The Cubs acquired RHP Edward Cabrera from the Marlins, and he is eligible for sala...
From The Cub Reporter (TCR) | A Chicago Cubs Blog
| about 1 month ago
| 14 reads
Episode 44 of the Bleacher Nation Cubs Podcast is officially live!
In this week’s episode, Brett asks me about how I broke yesterday’s big trade. I tried to say as much as I could without spoiling any sources. I probably said too much. After that, we discuss Edward Cabrera, the pitcher, as well as the impact his presence has on the Cubs both this season and beyond.
After the break, in our transaction corner, Brett and I talk about the various free-agent bats still available, specific...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 1 month ago
| 0 reads
Now that the Cubs have finally added their (potential) impact starting pitcher in Edward Cabrera, the obvious question emerges: What’s next for Jed Hoyer and the Cubs?
Seeing as the rotation is deep, the bullpen has been (mostly) remade, Owen Caissie was dealt, and Cabrera is set to earn only ~$3.7M in 2026, an even more obvious answer emerges: GO SPEND SOME MONEY ON A BAT.
In an article at The Athletic earlier this morning (and then later on his podcast), Ken Rosenthal put the same ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 1 month ago
| 0 reads
This was fun and wild to see, albeit pretty well-caveated when we talk it through.
MLB Pipeline spoke with more than 40 executives from across the sport, polling them on a variety of prospect-related questions. In the second part of the series, one of the questions asked who is the most underrated prospect in baseball.
Know who appeared tied atop that list?
If I tell you it is a Cubs prospect, you’re guessing Jaxon Wiggins, aren’t you?
And if I told you that, yes, Wiggins g...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 1 month ago
| 0 reads
There were only two Cubs who were arbitration-eligible, Justin Steele and Javier Assad, before today’s deadline for players and teams to avoid having to exchange figures for an arb hearing. The trade for Edward Cabrera adds one more player to that list. One of the three has now avoided arbitration: Steele made $6.55 million in […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 3 reads
Today is the deadline for arbitration-eligible players to file their request for a 2026 salary, and for teams to file their corresponding number. If it comes to that point at the end of the day, typically the team and the player will proceed to an arbitration hearing next month, where one of those two numbers will be selected.
To avoid that potentially nasty process, teams and players like to sign contracts by today for the upcoming season.
For example, the Cubs have avoided arbitrat...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 1 month ago
| 6 reads
The last entry in this series was about Ben Zobrist, who pitched in the final game — in fact, the last inning — of the Cubs’ disastrous 2019 season. No Cubs position players pitched in the abbreviated 2020 season. And that had nothing to do with the length of the season — there were 35 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 0 reads
There are two sides to every trade, and, for as excited as we are to have Edward Cabrera now in the Chicago Cubs’ organization, we have to say farewell to a trio of prospects who are off to Miami: outfielder Owen Caissie, shortstop Cristian Hernández, and infielder Edgardo De Leon.
On the outgoing side of the trade, Owen Caissie is obviously the headliner, and a prospect about whom opinions out there are pretty well-divided, even though everyone tends to agree on the nature of the playe...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 1 month ago
| 0 reads
The Cubs were looking to bolster their starting rotation heading into next season, and they did so Wednesday, sending Owen Caissie, Cristian Hernandez and Edgardo De Leon to the Miami Marlins for a tantalizing starting pitcher: Edward Cabrera. Al covered the specifics yesterday, including the fun trade tree note that Cabrera basically closes out the […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 1 read
The real meat of the Chicago Cubs offseason is rolling now. No, I don’t mean the Edward Cabrera trade . Obviously I mean the minor league signings and waiver claims of reclamation relievers! ( I am making a joke here, but not a mean-spirited one! The Cabrera deal is the big move, but we always knew the Cubs were going to be doing this other smaller pitching stuff, too, and I’m glad they are. They’re really good at it! )
The Cubs made so many guaranteed deal moves in their bullpen this tim...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 1 month ago
| 1 read
Fun fact about Cubs acquiring Edward Cabrera yesterday : that means the Chicago Cubs are getting him juuuuuust before they have to agree to a deal in order to avoid arbitration before today’s filing deadline! So that’ll be kinda fun. He’s projected by MLBTR to get $3.7 million, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cubs – having literally just paid a handsome prospect package to get him – offer a little more just to get it done. The other possibility is that they actually go through with filing f...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 1 month ago
| 0 reads
One thing I think everyone here agrees on — and we don’t all agree on much! — is that the Cubs ought to sign one of the top free-agent hitters this offseason. In my view, now that the team has traded for a cost-controlled starting pitcher — and potentially a very good one in Edward […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 1 read
Yesterday, we saw a big name starting pitcher get traded by an NL East team, but it was not MacKenzie Gore. Instead, the Marlins decided to trade Edward Cabrera to the Cubs for a prospect package headlined by outfielder Owen Caissie. This takes another potential Gore suitor out of contention, while also setting the market […]
From Federal Baseball
| about 1 month ago
| 5 reads
Doing the Bullets after a major Cubs move is always a tricky business. I’ll start out getting into some of the interesting/adjacent/follow-on stuff for the move, and sometimes that plays out all right. But other times, I realize there’s just no way to cram it all into a set of Bullets, which also has its own interesting things I want to get into.
In today’s case, it happened twice – there’s a ton more I want to share and say about Edward Cabrera joining the Chicago Cubs, obviously, but th...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 1 month ago
| 4 reads
The New York Yankees could be in some trouble when the 2026 season rolls around. After the Chicago Cubs acquired 27-year-old Miami Marlins pitcher Edward Cabrera in a trade for top outfield prospect Owen Caissie, infielder Christian Hernandez and third baseman Edgardo De Leon, another rotation option was promptly taken off the market. And while […]
From Pinstripe Alley
| about 1 month ago
| 0 reads
The Cubs added to their starting rotation and relief corps, and left some question marks in the outfield, questions we hope to see answered in a short while. Bellinger, Bichette, Bregman, Tucker: All remain unsigned as of this writing. Cub Tracks still wouldn’t mind signing any or all of those soon-to-be-Dodgers, regardless of what anyone […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 1 read
The carousel of who the Yankees are vaguely interested in keeps spinning, as word broke yesterday that Edward Cabrera was going to Chicago in a deal with the Cubs — not only that, but apparently the Yankees were never seriously involved in talks with Miami for his services. Sure! Why not. Well, eventually they’ll do […]
From Pinstripe Alley
| about 1 month ago
| 0 reads
FanGraphs | Michael Baumann: By now you know that the Chicago Cubs traded for righty Edward Cabrera yesterday, after a couple of days where it had sounded like the Yankees had the inside track. Cabrera is far from a finished piece, but shows tremendous amounts of potential and two stellar secondary offerings. He’s just the […]
From Pinstripe Alley
| about 1 month ago
| 0 reads
Welcome to BCB After Dark: the grooviest get-together for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We’re so glad you decided to stop in tonight. It’s been a busy day, so it’s a good time to settle in and relax. Come out of the cold. We can check your coat. There’s no […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 3 reads
The dynamics of the National League Central continue to shift as the St. Louis Cardinals continue their rebuild of their minor league system with many unknowns on their major league roster while the Chicago Cubs made a big trade for Miami Marlins pitcher Edward Cabrera. I first saw the news of this Chicago Cubs acquisition […]
From Viva El Birdos
| about 1 month ago
| 4 reads
On Wednesday morning, the Chicago Cubs began finalizing a long-rumored trade for Marlins starting pitcher Edward Cabrera. And in its wake, a smattering of high fives erupted across the greater Chicagoland area. The Cubs have finally landed their high-ceiling, hard-throwing, right-handed arm for the front of their rotation.
But while that deal satisfied one roster need for the Cubs in the rotation, it potentially opened up another in the outfield. And that, in turn, could lead the Cubs bac...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 1 month ago
| 3 reads
We’ve been discussing the Cubs’ reported acquisition of Edward Cabrera all day, and now the deal is done, as he must have passed the team’s medical examination. Here’s the return for Cabrera: Owen Caissie was the last guy still in the Cubs organization from the trade of Yu Darvish to the Padres, which happened just […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 4 reads
Holy smokes. The Chicago Cubs are finally landing their controllable starting pitcher in a trade. After months – years? – of rumors, it’s happening.
From Bleacher Nation’s own Michael Cerami:
BREAKING: Cubs are finalizing a deal to acquire SP Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins. — Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) January 7, 2026
We’re still working on the particulars of the trade, but it’ll be out soon.
Cubs Inching Toward Deal for Edward Cabrera
Cabrera, who t...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 1 month ago
| 5 reads
While we still await more information on the Cubs’ reported acquisition of Edward Cabrera from the Marlins, including the return to Miami, the Cubs officially announced the claim of left-handed reliever Ryan Rolison on waivers from the White Sox. Rolison was the Rockies’ first-round pick (22nd overall) in 2018 out of the University of Mississippi, […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 1 month ago
| 3 reads
The pitcher move you have been waiting to get officially announced, right?
While we await final word on the Edward Cabrera trade , the Chicago Cubs offered up a modest move, claiming lefty Ryan Rolison off of waivers from the Chicago White Sox. It’s the Cubs’ first waiver claim of the offseason – expected a lot of those, typically – and it brings the 40-man roster up to 37.
Rolison, 28, was a 2018 first round pick of the Rockies, working his way up through their system, dealing with ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 1 month ago
| 1 read