Latest news and updates about the Cubs
Former Cub and Ray Christopher Morel is now a Marlin, sources reveal. It sucks about Devin Williams, who would surely have been a fine Cub. Also revealed: several MLB players have signed with teams that aren’t the Dodgers. Dennis Franz still wants to know “What is a Met?” Insiders predict that the Dodgers plan to […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 4 hours ago | 0 reads
Thirteen years have passed since Larry Biittner’s turn on the mound for the Cubs. Position player pitching was still pretty rare in Major League Baseball. And then came the spring of 1990. You have to remember the context here: The Cubs had come off a division title year in 1989 in which they won 93 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 22 hours ago | 0 reads
Because most of it came in the heat of a playoff race, when the focus is necessarily less about individual player achievement or development, and more about where the Cubs are in the standings, I think I probably didn’t praise Moises Ballesteros enough down the stretch. The sample was small in 2025 in the big leagues for Ballesteros, but that’s because the playing time was sporadic. And that, in turn, is part of what makes his ultimate success so impressive. It’s hard enough to be a 21-ye...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | about 23 hours ago | 0 reads
Are we in an Obsessive Alex Bregman Watch at this point? It’s been hard for me to get there, given that the budget likely accommodates one impact starting pitcher acquired via free agency *OR* one impact bat acquired via free agency. But I think there is broad-based, reasonable speculation at this point that if the Cubs were to trade for a starting pitcher, their efforts to spend the unused funds on a big bat would accelerate. But since no starting pitchers have been traded anywhere, and ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | 1 day ago | 0 reads
The Cubs have not yet made any sort of major free agent signing or trade acquisition this offseason. In fact, the Winter Meetings were pretty quiet on the transaction front, with the exceptions of the signings of Pete Alonso, Robert Suarez and Edwin Diaz, all by teams other than the Cubs. This, you already know. […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 1 day ago | 0 reads
Good morning, LSB. Evan Grant is back from the Winter Meetings with a list of things he learned, including that a few teams have been sniffing around Evan Carter. Old friend Hoby Milner is headed elsewhere, signing a deal with the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. And The Athletic touches on an intriguing new topic: Should […]
From Lone Star Ball | 1 day ago | 0 reads
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. HRod had a couple of good years, and other stories. Today in baseball history: Cubs […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 1 day ago | 0 reads
Episode 42 of the Bleacher Nation Cubs Podcast is officially live! In this week’s episode, Brett and I talk about the Winter Meetings, the two relievers the Cubs HAVE signed, and the remaining options on the board. After that, we talk about the Alex Bregman rumors, including his fit and the path that could lead to him in Chicago. After the break, in our transaction corner, Brett and I talk about those pesky Nico Hoerner trade rumors that popped up last night. Although we can see the ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | 1 day ago | 0 reads
Cubs 2026 Rule 5 Draft & Minor League Free-Agent Watch List 12/11 UPDATE : The Cubs released LHRP Burl Carraway and RHRP Wil Jensen, a day after they went unselected in the AAA Phase of the 2025 Rule 5 Draft. Both were eligible to be MLB Rule 9 minor league 6YFA post-2026. So there are now 156 players on the Cubs minor league Domestic Reserve List (19 slots are open). ORIGINAL POST : As thing stand right now (12/11)… 66 Cubs minor leaguers are eligible for selection in the 2026 MLB Ru...
From The Cub Reporter (TCR) | A Chicago Cubs Blog | 2 days ago | 1 read
Thinking about another off-season series to do, I came upon this idea. Position player pitching has become fairly common in modern baseball, so much so that MLB has codified when a position player is allowed to pitch. Now, a position player can only pitch if one or more of these criteria is met: • Game […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 2 days ago | 0 reads
The Cubs have a new left-handed reliever: This seems a signing well in line with Jed Hoyer’s practice of recent years — sign a mid-range reliever who’s had some success in the past and hope to make something out of him, as the Cubs did in 2025 with Caleb Thielbar and Drew Pomeranz. Milner, like […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 2 days ago | 1 read
It was something I knew was true this week. Heck, we’ve been talking about it since even before the arrival of free agency. But it was something that got a whole additional layer of context when the Rule 5 Draft arrived yesterday. You see, every year, just ahead of the Rule 5 Draft, someone fires off an info update on where every organization’s 40-man roster stands, since you do not get a slot in the Rule 5 Draft if your 40-man roster doesn’t have at least one open spot. When that ha...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | 2 days ago | 1 read
Since the baseball offseason has run cold for the moment, let’s pivot to the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Per Meghan Montemurro in the Tribune, the Cubs might send quite a few players to the WBC: As many as eight Cubs players might be on WBC rosters: Pete Crow-Armstrong and Matthew Boyd (U.S.), Seiya Suzuki and Shota […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 2 days ago | 1 read
Since the baseball offseason has run cold for the moment, let’s pivot to the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Per Meghan Montemurro in the Tribune, the Cubs might send quite a few players to the WBC: As many as eight Cubs players might be on WBC rosters: Pete Crow-Armstrong and Matthew Boyd (U.S.), Seiya Suzuki and Shota […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 2 days ago | 1 read
The Phillies have checked the biggest item off of their offseason to-do list, as they have ensured that Kyle Schwarber will be back in Philadelphia for 2026 and beyond. There still is a lot of work to do, namely answering the J.T. Realmuto question and remaking the outfield, but retaining Schwarber or finding a replacement […]
From The Good Phight | 2 days ago | 1 read
So the vaunted Winter Meetings turned out to have been a massive time-suck, completely useless from my point of view. It wouldn’t be a surprise for me at this point if the Cubs signed nobody at all. It’s going to take a hell of a lot to mollify me or even to start to allay […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 2 days ago | 1 read
It’s Wednesday night here at BCB After Dark: the swinging-est afterparty for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We’re so glad you decided to stop by. Come in out of the cold. We’ve got a fire going in here. There is no cover charge. We still have a couple of tables […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 2 days ago | 1 read
The Winter Meetings, broadly speaking, were a bust. The Chicago Cubs were far from the only club that didn’t complete any deals, and even today’s massive Pete Alonso signing by the Orioles wasn’t quite enough to salvage the week. There’s still a whole lot left of this baseball offseason, and it might be a while before it all shakes out for the Cubs and for most other teams. There was one spicy report that dropped at the end of the day, though, and it was about that Alonso signing. Jo...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | 3 days ago | 1 read
2025 MLB Rule 5 Draft Primer / Preview 12/10 UPDATE : PLAYERS SELECTED BY CUBS IN MAJOR LEAGUE PHASE OF 2025 RULE 5 DRAFT : NONE CUBS MINOR LEAGUERS SELECTED IN MAJOR LEAGUE PHASE OF 2025 RULE 5 DRAFT : NONE PLAYERS SELECTED BY CUBS IN AAA PHASE OF 2025 RULE 5 DRAFT : Adam Stone , RHP (selected for AAA Iowa from New York Yankees Lo-A Tampa roster) Zane Mill s, RHP (selected for AAA Iowa from St. Louis Cardinals AA Springfield roster) Devin Ortiz , INF (se...
From The Cub Reporter (TCR) | A Chicago Cubs Blog | 3 days ago | 2 reads
It’s been a very quiet Winter Meetings for the Chicago Cubs, and that mostly carried right on through the MLB Rule 5 Draft today. In a relative surprise, the Cubs did not take anyone in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. Normally, a team passing in the Rule 5 is almost definitionally not a surprise. But with nine(!!!) open spots on the 40-man roster and a desperate need to start adding potential relievers, I’d assumed the Cubs would grab a flier to compete in Spring Training for ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | 3 days ago | 1 read
The Cubs made news in this year’s Rule 5 Draft by not doing very much at all. This year, I was reasonably certain the Cubs would select someone to add to their major league roster in this annual draft. They’ve got plenty of room on the 40-man roster, which contains only 31 players right now. […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 3 days ago | 1 read
MLB’s top brass are meeting in Orlando this week and that generally sets the stage for getting at least a few deals done. This year’s Winter Meetings have not disappointed, with closer Edwin Díaz switching teams and coasts as he signed a three-year deal with the Dodgers and slugger Kyle Schwarber resigning an even larger contract […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 3 days ago | 3 reads
It’s the last day of MLB’s Winter Meetings, and that means the Rule 5 Draft. Last week, I wrote about some guys the Cubs might take in that draft. Given that there are only 31 players currently on the Cubs’ 40-man roster, I do expect them to take someone. They’ve done so in other years […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 3 days ago | 1 read
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 […]
From Talking Chop | 3 days ago | 1 read
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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 3 days ago | 0 reads