Latest news and updates about the Cubs
We all love Michael Soroka. We’re all sad his career has gone the way it has, right? Well, Soroka had his second-best season last year, putting up 1.1 fWAR for the Nationals and Cubs. He actually had 1.2 fWAR for the Nationals in 16 starts, but then kind of imploded while barely pitching for the […]
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. Happy birthday, Paul Assenmacher*, the death of the spitball, and other stories. Today in baseball […]
It’s Tuesday evening here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We’re so glad you decided to stop by this evening. Please come in out of the cold. There’s no cover charge. We can check your coat. There’s still one table left by the […]
Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell certainly fulfills his duty as a “coach” as well as anyone in the game, but part of his unique value is his involvement in some of the more executive-y facets of an organization. He participates at all levels, including player targeting and acquisition. It’s unsurprising, then, that he’s at the Winter Meetings, undoubtedly helping Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins where they need it. Being that he is there in Orland, Counsell spoke with the media in a few hi...
The MLB Draft Lottery was held earlier today and the results were recently revealed on MLB Network. The Cubs were not part of the lottery, as only the 18 teams that did not make the postseason were eligible for the lottery. That’s good, right? Anyway, the Cubs will pick 23rd in the first round of […]
Cubs President Jed Hoyer spoke with the media from the Winter Meetings, some of which we discussed last night . Some of the media session is available via Marquee, and I’ll embed it here so you can watch for yourself: As I said, I got into a lot of the meat last night, but there was one snippet at The Athletic that I thought deserved a call out today: “We’re definitely looking for another starter,” said Hoyer, who also sounded open to adding another swingman to go between ...
The Winter Meetings so far are notable for one thing: The lack of major signings. The “biggest” thing that’s happened so far is Steven Matz, formerly of the Cardinals, signing a two-year deal with the Rays. Meanwhile, Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer talked relief pitching: After signing veteran reliever Phil Maton, team president […]
The Winter Meetings are underway. Nothing under our collective tree yet. Ryne Stanek is a name in the wind, Michael King still draws interest, Zac Gallen is probably still a thing, and MacKenzie Gore’s name is out there. *means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on […]
Welcome back to another week here at BCB After Dark: the hippest hangout for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the cold. We can check your coat for you, gratis. We still have a couple of tables available. There’s no cover charge. Bring your own beverage. […]
A funny (and charmingly classic Bob Nightengale) story gets even funnier tonight. On Friday afternoon, Mark Feinsand reported that the Chicago Cubs have been “looking at” free agent starting pitcher Zac Gallen, a reasonable (and subsequently confirmed) baseball rumor ahead of the Winter Meetings. But 24 hours after that, all hell broke loose when Nightengale reported that the Cubs had landed their man: “The Chicago Cubs are close to finalizing an agreement with free-agent starter Zac Gall...
It’s not a new rumor to say the Chicago Cubs are interested in Japanese ace Tatsuya Imai. They have been connected in multiple reports , and the fit is otherwise quite obvious. You have a Japanese star (Cubs are strong in that area, though have two Japanese players hitting free agency after next season) coming over at age 27 (Cubs, like everyone, prefer pitcher youth if possible), who cannot be attached to draft pick compensation, and you have a club with a need in the front half of their rota...
When it comes to any Cubs relief rumors this offseason — like the one we’re about to discuss involving free agent closer Robert Suarez — two caveats apply: (1) Historically speaking, the Chicago Cubs have come across as borderline allergic to multi-year, big-money deals for free agent relievers, electing instead to build their bullpens on the cheap using internal pitchers, one-year signings, and/or “project/reclamation” arms. And to be fair, it’s mostly worked out for them. However … thin...
As the Washington Nationals continue to reorganize under new baseball president Paul Toboni, we’re increasingly seeing evidence that the team will genuinely consider trading lefty MacKenzie Gore this offseason. Now or at the 2026 Trade Deadline seems likely either way, and since no one knows what might happen to the first part of the 2027 season – the last year Gore would be under control – it’s possible Gore has significantly more value right now than he will in July. Plus, if the Nationals w...
The Cubs have just 31 players currently on the 40-man roster. Thus, it seems quite likely that they will select someone in the Rule 5 Draft, which comes up on Wednesday. That’s especially true given the fact that they have made Rule 5 selections in past years when they didn’t really have room, or a […]
The Mets have reportedly made their first move of the Winter Meetings, signing reliever Carl Edwards Jr. to a minor league deal Tuesday morning, according to The Athletic’s Will Sammon. A lanky right-hander with an over-the-top delivery, Edwards Jr. began his big league career with the Cubs, winning a World Series ring as a 24-year-old […]
MLB RUMORS — We made it to the start of the Winter Meetings. May the rumors be exciting and may the transaction be plentiful. Let’s jump right in, because it’s only Monday and there are a lot of table-setting storylines to enjoy. Kyle Schwarber: Pirates, Reds, Timeline, More Ken Rosenthal got the MLB Rumors started last night , with the most surprising rumor of the winter so far: The Pittsburgh Pirates have made free-agent designated hitter Kyle Schwarber a four-year offer, ac...
When I saw something a few days ago, I parked it in a tab because it seemed so unlikely to impact the Cubs. After all, there hadn’t been any sourced connections between the Cubs and Munetaka Murakami, and the fit was very difficult to see if Murakami wasn’t a true third baseman. But then Bruce Levine wrote that the Cubs could in fact be considering Murakami as an option at third base, so I think there’s good reason to share that something I had parked. It’s Kiley McDaniel’s take at E...
Michael Soroka, we hardly knew ye. Acquired by the Cubs at the Trade Deadline and then injured immediately thereafter, Soroka didn’t get much of a chance to make an impression on us. Still, from what I saw of the stuff, it was really easy to dream. And really easy to want to see the Cubs take a flier on bringing back such a live arm, with the flexibility to pitch out of the rotation or the bullpen. But it’s not happening, as Soroka, who is still only 28, is signing another one-year d...
Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma posted an article in The Athletic Sunday that began with this intriguing comment: The Chicago Cubs are targeting a higher level of the free-agent market and signaling an openness to spending for certain players, according to team and league sources briefed on the club’s deliberations. Well. I suspect many of […]
The odds that this chain of events actually plays out are extremely long. But it’s something I’ve been thinking about, and considered it fun enough – and at least plausible enough – to share. We know that Kyle Tucker’s free agency is not likely to touch upon the Chicago Cubs directly, outside of the post-second-round draft pick they’ll add when he signs elsewhere. The Cubs were never going to commit $300+ million to Tucker, and there have been no public indications that his market is so s...
All right. The holiday is here. The Winter Meetings. Time to start really popping off, baseball … Speaking of which, I wrote yesterday about the prepared-for-urgency with which the Cubs need to treat this week, even if it may wind up that it isn’t absolutely critical to get things done SPECIFICALLY this week. In short, if dominoes do start falling in certain sectors, the Cubs may have to leap quickly. They have a set of needs, and if they have strong market preferences, they can’t let t...
Over at Marquee, Bruce Levine runs down the many rumors and storylines for the Chicago Cubs this week at the Winter Meetings. It’s a very comprehensive read, and worth checking out. One thing jumped out at me, not necessarily for the strength of the rumor, but instead for the identity of the player. Because it’s not a guy we’ve really heard attached to the Cubs: “While [Tatsuya] Imai is the jewel of this year’s foreign player class, Japanese third baseman Munetaka Murakami is a pow...
Behold, what artful creature gambols across yon prairie? ‘Tis the ever graceful Denzelope bounding joyfully in its habitat! Whatever Denzel Clarke does, he certainly does it to the hilt. Defensively he debuted taking the league by storm and putting up pro-rated numbers that would have broken DRS. At the plate he started his career by […]
Here’s another photo from BCB reader Clark Addison. It is, quite clearly, a play at the plate. There are enough letters on the back of the runner’s jersey to identify him: That’s Jason Marquis. Here’s the full photo: Marquis pitched for the Cubs for two seasons, 2007 and 2008. The catcher’s uniform doesn’t show a […]
Given the fact that we know the Cubs are in on third baseman Alex Bregman , and given the reports that had the Cubs interested in Eugenio Suarez at the Trade Deadline, I have been waiting for some kind of rumor to connect the Cubs to Suarez this offseason. We can and will discuss the wisdom of such a match, but it only made sense that, at some point, the Cubs would have the conversation, right? Right: The Cubs continue to explore the third-base market in free agency, and Eugenio Suár...