Latest news and updates about the Cubs
Mr. Cub becomes Coach Cub, and other stories. RIP Dave McNally, Tommy Heinrich. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths. “Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire. Today in […]
You have one more day to sign up for Bleacher Nation Pro at half-price! Just use the code BN50 on the annual plan, and boom, half off. If you missed it, Ryan Helsley is off the board, signing a two-year, $28 million deal with the Orioles , with an opt-out in the middle. You could argue that each of Devin Williams (down year, but still great peripherals, and better seasons before that) and Pete Fairbanks (much better 2025 than Helsley) should top whatever Helsley got (with Brad Keller a ...
This is a photo of Burt Hooton pitching for the Cubs. Well, you’re thinking, that’s obvious. But you’re probably also thinking, “How is Al going to figure this one out? There really aren’t many clues.” Ah, but that’s where you are incorrect, dear reader. There are actually plenty of clues here. Here’s the full photo […]
We cover the coverage like PCA covers center field. Slow news weekend, as usual at this time of year. December is our slowest month despite the Winter Meetings, commencing on the Day of Infamy this year, though next year is liable to be more infamous. 1994 is calling. 2032 is listening. *means autoplay on, (directions to […]
Here we have a photo of Ron Santo and Rusty Staub, two players who were significant contributors to their teams for many years. Santo’s in the Hall of Fame, as you all know. Staub played 23 MLB seasons and is definitely a Hall of Very Good player, with 2,716 career hits, 292 home runs and […]
We cover the coverage like PCA covers center field. MLB ‘insiders’ are everywhere, fighting the clickbait for space in the attention economy. It seems like that term refers to anyone who ever watched a major league game from a pressbox. And these yutzes refer to each other for confirmation and the A. I. articles quote […]
Owing to the timing and the holiday, I didn’t really have a chance to sit with my thoughts on the Blue Jays signing Dylan Cease, and comment a little more completely on how it struck me. On the whole, I agree with a lot of what Michael said , about the Cubs “missing” on Cease not really bothering me … so long as the Cubs ACTUALLY step up and add one of the many, many other interesting front-half starting pitchers available in free agency or trade this offseason. I think it’s importan...
Here is a more recent Cubs photo, sent to me by BCB reader Clark Addison. What do we know about this photo? It’s 2015, because the “14” patch honoring Ernie Banks was worn only in that season. You’ll recognize, of course, Joe Maddon, Javier Báez and Anthony Rizzo. But who are the catcher and the […]
When I think about the Cubs’ offseason starting pitching targets, my brain first goes to the free agents. Dylan Cease , Shane Bieber , and Jack Flaherty may be off the board, but Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez, Tatsuya Imai, and Michael King (among others) are still out there and remain attractive fits for the 2026 Cubs rotation. Beyond them, we often discuss the trade candidates. Tarik Skubal (too costly to acquire) and Freddy Peralta (won’t be traded to the Cubs) are probably not on...
Taylor Davis has his EYE on you, and other stories. Happy birthday, Taylor! On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths. “Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire. Today in […]
Happy Thanksgiving, now let’s get a win.
Happy Thanksgiving. Let’s talk ball … by which I mean Dylan Cease, the Cubs, and what they didn’t do last night. Last night, the Toronto Blue Jays signed free agent starter Dylan Cease to what was initially reported as a seven-year, $210 million deal. I say “initially” because deferrals bring the value down closer to seven years and $182M. And I bring THAT up not to argue with those of you who remain resistant to the fact that deferrals are a material difference in the real value of ...
We cover the coverage like PCA covers center field. Ryan Helsley? Edwin Diaz? These are two of the names floating out there in the aether as the Cubs cast their net for next year’s relief corps with an eye toward qualifying for the postseason and garnering some of that sweet postseason lucre. This is supposing […]
It’s the night before Thanksgiving here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and have a pre-holiday beverage with us. It’s cold out there, but it’s warm in here. We still have a couple of tables available and none of them […]
Episode 40 of the Bleacher Nation Cubs Podcast is officially live! In this week’s episode, Brett and I talk about the many available options on the pitching market, in free agency (both international and domestic) and via trade … as well as options from the top-shelf all the way down to convincing reclamation targets. All things considered, it’s a pretty good offseason for the Cubs to be seeking pitching from outside the organization, and we pick that a part a bit as the podcast goes on. ...
When Jon Lester came to the Cubs, he was a terrible hitter. No, seriously. He had gone 0-for-36 in his American League career, and that carried over to his first year with the Cubs in 2015. Lester went 0-for-30 in his first 16 Cubs starts, finally breaking that 0-fer with a single off his friend […]
Enjoy some Chicago Cubs prospect notes as you hunker down for the arrival of your extended family and try to remember how to add that extra leaf to the table … Speaking of which, a Thanksgiving theme from MLB Pipeline: Here are 3 prospect-related reasons for #Cubs fans to be thankful this Thanksgiving: https://t.co/SupWyCbDg8 pic.twitter.com/P044o2lu9P — MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) November 25, 2025 A lotta love there for all of Owen Caissie, Moises Ballesteros, Jaxo...
George Altman, one of several Black players signed to the Cubs by famed scout/coach Buck O’Neil, has died, aged 92. Altman had two outstanding years for the Cubs, in 1961 and 1962. In 1961, he batted .303/.353/.560 with 27 home runs and played in both All-Star Games that year (for four years from 1959-62, MLB […]
MacKenzie Gore was one of the starting pitchers most mentioned in trade rumors last July. In the end, just as was the case for every big-name starting pitcher, he wasn’t traded, largely because it was perceived that the Nationals were asking for more in return than teams were willing to give. Gore had good numbers […]
OK. Day before Thanksgiving. This is important. I must summon all of my willpower to eat VERY LIGHT today, thereby justifying the monstrous damage I plan to do tomorrow. The problem with putting me in charge of Thanksgiving Day food is that I will choose anything and everything that I personally want to eat. Which means there are like 15 different things I want to eat tomorrow, and I will do so. The Athletic’s Andy McCullough put together a list of mostly-serious, semi-cheeky Black Frid...
Happy birthday to Matt Garza* and other former Cubs! On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths. “Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire. Today in baseball history: Cubs Birthdays: […]
It’s Tuesday evening here at BCB After Dark: the hippest hole-in-the-wall for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and sit with us for a while. Get warm. We can take your coat for you. There’s no cover charge. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage. […]
One of the secrets of the 2025 Cubs success was above average production from just about every position on the diamond. That includes catcher, where Carson Kelly, Miguel Amaya and Reese McGuire combined to put up 4.2 fWAR last season. You can see FanGraphs’ summary of production by player position and role at this link. […]
Every year, MLB teams pay into a pool of cash set aside to reward younger players – those who’ve not yet reached their arbitration years – for the value they provide in a given season. It was a nod in the last Collective Bargaining Agreement to the fact that pre-arb players do so much for a team, but receive so little compensation, relatively speaking. The payout is based on a combination of factors, from awards recognition to WAR calculations, and it comes from the collective pool, not a...
The last weekend of May 2015 was unseasonably cool and rainy in Chicago. When the Cubs defeated the Royals at Wrigley Field May 31, the game-time temperature was just 47 degrees — that’s almost 30 degrees below the average high for the date, 75. And the game the day before had been rained out. The […]