Latest news and updates about the Cubs
It’s a holiday week so you’d figure any deals made by teams, notably the Chicago Cubs, would be minor. And that’s what we have today: Christian Bethancourt is 34 and played in 24 games for the 2024 Cubs. In those games, covering 59 plate appearances, he batted .281/.305/.509 with three home runs and 15 RBI. […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 2 months ago | 0 reads
Although the Chicago Cubs got exceptional support from Reese McGuire this season as the veteran third catcher who’d come in on a minor league deal, it’s possible he’s going to be able to parlay that into a true back-up catching job this offseason. In the meantime, the Cubs decided to go ahead and grab this offseason’s obligatory veteran third catcher on a minor league deal, and it’s an old friend: Christian Bethancourt. Christian Bethancourt agrees to Cubs deal. $1.6M if in majors. &...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | about 2 months ago | 1 read
With the Cubs having added some players to the 40-man roster (which now stands at 34) since our first payroll look this offseason, I thought it was time for another article updating things as they stand as we head into the holiday weeks, where not much action is likely to happen. Before we get to […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 2 months ago | 0 reads
Thanks to the Steelers beating the Lions, the Bears have CLINCHED a playoff spot for the first time in five years. I want that top seed, though … I’m greedy … So, after all that silence, Munetaka Murakami winds up getting just two years and $34 million total from the Chicago White Sox. Oof. The writing was really on the wall about the size of the contract when the puff piece about Murakami maybe-being-the-next-Kyle-Schwarber came out. That was a tell that the previously-projected seven-...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | about 2 months ago | 5 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. Comiskey buys a team, Bobby Bonds, Ryan Freel, and more. RIP Ryan*. Today in baseball […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 2 months ago | 2 reads
Here’s one more from BCB reader Clark Addison. As I have noted in some previous sleuthing photos, this has to be from 2005 or 2006, one of the two seasons this century where the Cubs removed names from the back of home jerseys. The key to the year is No. 5. In 2005, that number […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 2 months ago | 2 reads
We do a lot of debating in the baseball world about whether “clutch” is a real thing, and, if so, the extent to which we can measure and quantify it. I won’t resolve that debate for you this morning. But I will tell you that, when it comes to QB1, clutch is ABSOLUTELY a thing, and Caleb Williams has it in spades . That throw-and-catch is going to be remembered and celebrated for a very, very long time. It’s not *quite* as good as the Caleb Williams throw, but it does still make me ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | about 2 months ago | 1 read
“I want you to know that I am going to remain a loyal Cubs fan,” said Archbishop-elect Ronald Hicks, who will head the Archdiocese of New York after leading the Diocese of Joliet. “However, I am going to start rooting for the New York sports teams. And I already love your pizza. I love it […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 2 months ago | 2 reads
Here’s yet another one from BCB reader Clark Addison, and I cropped the photo at the top of the post to take away one significant clue. Can you figure out which game this is from just the Cubs waiting to greet the walk-off home run hitter at the plate? (It’s obvious it’s a walk-off home […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 2 months ago | 2 reads
Michael King is off the board, having signed a multiple-out deal to return to the Padres. Munetaka Murikami has to sign by Monday or go back to NPB. Tatsuya Imai’s posting window expires January 2. So there’s hope for some developments soon. *means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 2 months ago | 2 reads
The Cubs bullpen was a strength for the Cubs in 2025 but with Andrew Kittredge returning to the Baltimore Orioles, Drew Pomeranz signing with the Los Angeles Angels and Brad Keller inking a two-year deal with the Phillies, the late innings of Cubs games will look a lot different in 2026. The Cubs have been […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 2 months ago | 4 reads
It was a small signing yesterday for the Chicago Cubs, but a necessary one, adding right-handed slugger Tyler Austin for the bench. Austin has been a star in Japan, putting up numbers comparable to many of the biggest names we talk about, but he’s 34, and there are fair questions about whether the mid-30s strikeout rate he used to run in MLB will return and sap him of any productivity this time around. So the deal was quite modest, reflecting the possibility that the Cubs won’t actually w...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | about 2 months ago | 0 reads
Last month, I wrote about Chris Denorfia’s walk-off home run, a blast that still stands as the only one in MLB history to win a scoreless game in extra innings. Before he did that, though, the versatile Denorfia became another Cubs position player to take the mound. It happened Aug. 19, 2015 at Wrigley Field […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 2 months ago | 5 reads
It took nearly a month after Dylan Cease’s massive deal with the Blue Jays, but we finally have another major starting pitcher deal to potentially kick off an additional flurry of moves. There’s not much of an argument that the Michael King signing wasn’t bad news for the Cubs. I don’t just mean because the Cubs didn’t get him, mind you, though I am bummed about that part. Even in a world where the Cubs, themselves, had no interest in King, he was an option out of the market for othe...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | about 2 months ago | 1 read
A pretty significant relief trade went down this morning, with the Philadelphia Phillies sending a legit reliever in Matt Strahm to the Kansas City Royals. It’s a notable deal all on its own (Strahm is a very good reliever and the Phillies/Royals are notable players elsewhere in the market), but there’s also some added Cubs flavor for us to discuss. So, let’s. The Royals are acquiring Matt Strahm from the Phillies for RHP Jonathan Bowlan, per source. — Mark Feinsand (@Feinsan...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | about 2 months ago | 5 reads
Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller was one of the names most mentioned in trade rumors around last summer’s deadline. Along with basically every top starting pitcher rumored to be dealt last July, Keller stayed right where he was, in the Pirates rotation. Keller has been, if nothing else, a durable starter. He has made at least […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 2 months ago | 2 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. Today we feature financial skullduggery and other such fare, just the thing for a holiday […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 2 months ago | 5 reads
1914 Charles Comiskey paid to keep a star opposing pitcher in the American League? Indeed, the White Sox owner, in fear of Walter Johnson jumping from the AL’s Washington Senators to the Chifeds (Chicago Whales) of the new Federal League and creating a second legitimate rival for Chicago fan dollars beyond the Cubs, did just […]
From South Side Sox | about 2 months ago | 5 reads
Although the free agent relief market has been extremely active of late, the free agent starter market hasn’t really gotten going. Dylan Cease’s big deal with the Blue Jays was over two weeks ago, and none of the other big-name free agent starters have signed since ( unless you count Merrill Kelly ). Until tonight! According to multiple reports, rumored Cubs free agent target Michael King has a new home. Well, an old home, new again. Let me state that more clearly: He’s going back to...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | about 2 months ago | 3 reads
This was not an expected signing by the Chicago Cubs baseball team: Hmm, I said. This is not a player I’m familiar with, and probably, neither are you. Tyler Austin was the Yankees’ 13th round pick out of high school in Georgia in 2013. He made his MLB debut in 2016 and played parts of […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 2 months ago | 2 reads
The Chicago Cubs today announced at least some of the lineup for the 10th anniversary reunion of the 2016 World Series team, which will be heading up the Cubs Convention next month. As you can see, it’s a truly loaded collection of nostalgia: Albert Almora Jr.? The tag-up! Trevor Cahill? The swing man! Chris Coghlan? Underrated! Carl Edwards Jr.? The Stringbean Slinger! Dexter Fowler? The lead-off homer! Justin Grimm? The fireman! Jason Hammel? Given him potato chips and he rock...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | about 2 months ago | 0 reads
Before he was Cubs manager for four years, before he was a World Series hero, before he was “Grandpa Rossy,” David Ross was just another Cubs backup catcher. Well, not “just” another one. He had been signed at the recommendation of Jon Lester, who the Cubs signed to a long-term deal before 2015, as Lester […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 2 months ago | 2 reads
Thanks again to BCB reader JayWent for this article suggestion. Kris Bubic has talent — he was a No. 1 pick (40th overall) in 2018 out of Stanford. If that date and school sounds familiar, it should, because Nico Hoerner was the Cubs’ No. 1 pick out of Stanford that year, thus Bubic and Hoerner […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 2 months ago | 3 reads
Yu Darvish may have thrown the final pitch of his career in his playoff outing against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, but for those of us watching or listening on the radio, we had no idea. News broke following the conclusion of the season that Darvish had elbow surgery. The 39-year-old right-hander miss all […]
From Gaslamp Ball | about 2 months ago | 3 reads
Brad Keller and Luke Weaver signed identical-money deals, with the Phillies and Mets, respectively, sources indicate. Pedro Strop is selling his former home, Bowden is bullish on Bregman to Chicago. *means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 2 months ago | 1 read