Latest news and updates about the Cubs
Thursday was the deadline for teams to make qualifying offers to their players who are free agents and the Cubs did so for two such players. Kyle Tucker was an obvious choice to make the offer of $22.025 million. Just as obvious is the fact that he’ll turn it down and head toward another team […]
A version of this story originally ran April 8, 2019, the 50th anniversary of this historic event. I repost it here as part of this walkoff wins series, with some minor edits and a few notes on Willie Smith’s career. To understand the true meaning of Willie Smith’s walkoff two-run homer on April 8, 1969, […]
The Cubs had a one-year, $6 million option for Colin Rea for 2026. They’re going to keep him for next year, but on a different deal: So that’s a slight increase in his 2026 salary from the previous option year, and if Rea does well enough in 2026, the team can keep him for 2027 […]
It’s news in the sense that it is a transaction that today occurred, but this is one of those transactions that was always going to occur. Justin Turner is a free agent: As expected, Justin Turner has become a free-agent. That means the Cubs declined his $10M team option for '26, in favor of the $2M buyout. — Jordan Bastian (@bastianmlb.bsky.social) 2025-11-06T15:04:13.790Z When the Cubs signed Turner to join their bench last year, the contract’s structure may have inc...
Let’s shift gears a bit here and talk about the exact sort of free agent Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer seems to like to go after. Mid-range starter? Check. Injury history? Check. Had some success that could be built on? Sure. Michael King had several good years as a reliever/spot starter for the […]
We cover the coverage like PCA covers center field. Ryan Brasier, Willi Castro, Aaron Civale, Brad Keller. Drew Pomeranz, Taylor Rogers, Carlos Santana, Mike Soroka, Caleb Thielbar, and Kyle Tucker have declared Free Agency. I’d bring three of them back. Your mileage may vary. The answer from my end is Keller, Pomeranz, Thielbar… with Thielbar […]
It’s Wednesday here at BCB After Dark, the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the cold. We can check that coat for you. It’s always good to see you. There’s no cover charge. There are still a few tables available. Bring your own […]
Take this only as a for-what-it’s-worth from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, because I don’t hear this as him “reporting” something. But Rosenthal believes that the Cubs declining Shōta Imanaga’s three-year, $57 million option, and then Shōta Imanaga declining his own two-year, $30 million option, were just precursors to the Qualifying Offer. Which Rosenthal believes the Cubs will make, and Imanaga will accept: The Cubs decision to decline Shota Imanaga's option feels like a checkmate ...
EDITOR’S NOTE: A version of this article originally ran on the 60th anniversary of this game, in 2023. I’m reposting it, lightly edited, as part of the walkoff wins series. 1963 was a watershed year for the Chicago Cubs. The widely-mocked College of Coaches was quietly ended. Bob Kennedy led the team for the entire […]
Thanks to the needs in the rotation, the bigger names at play there, and the nature of Chicago Cubs bullpen construction (read: less sexy), I have neglected to lay out explicitly the bullpen situation for the Cubs entering this offseason. Now that Andrew Kittredge has been sent back to the Orioles , the following Cubs relievers who threw 20+ innings in 2025 are still under team control: Daniel Palencia Porter Hodge End of list. It’s one thing to say that the Cubs always fin...
The 2025 MLB season just ended with a great World Series Game 7 last Saturday. Now it’s time to talk spring! As of the date of this post, we are just 107 days away from the Cubs’ Spring Training opener against the White Sox. Included in the 18-game Sloan Park home schedule is an exhibition […]
When the book closed on the 2025 regular season, the Chicago Cubs had launched an impressive 223 home runs, 6th most in MLB (3rd most in the NL). That was 53 homers more than they hit in 2024, 27 more than they hit in 2023, and 64(!) more than they hit in 2022. 2025 MLB Team Home Run Leaders Yankees: 274 HRs Dodgers: 244 HRs Mariners: 238 HRs Angels: 226 HRs Mets: 224 HRs Cubs: 223 HRs Athletics: 219 HRs (Mickey Mouse ballpark) D-Backs: 214 HRs ...
You might say: “But the Cubs already have a third baseman!” Yes, they do. Matt Shaw did a credible job at third base, a position that wasn’t his original one. He did well enough with the glove to be a Gold Glove “finalist,” and posted 3.1 bWAR, which is very good for a rookie season […]
Wowwww. Bulls. A 24-point comeback win, down to the final seconds . This team has some juice. If you missed Shane Bieber’s stunning option decision and my thoughts on it, see here . I think it’ll take a little while to fully know whether that was just some weird, one-off, super-idiosyncratic decision of Bieber’s, or if it represents some kind of fundamental systemic concern about what this offseason is going to look like. But we’ll get some clues with the Qualifying Offer decisions this...
Despite falling short of a World Series berth, the Brewers had one of their most successful seasons in years. Milwaukee won 97 games (including two 11-plus game win streaks) for the first time in franchise history and beat their division rivals, the Chicago Cubs, in the NLDS. Since there were also a lot of exciting […]
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 to Bryan LaHair, one-time Cubs All-Star! Today in baseball history: Cubs Birthdays: Charlie Newman, […]
Thanks for stopping by here at BCB After Dark: the hippest afterparty for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. It’s always good to see you. Come in out of the cold. There’s no cover charge. We still have a few tables available. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own […]
This morning, Shota Imanaga became a free agent when both the team (3-years, $57M and a no-trade clause) and the player (1-year, $15M) rejected their contractual options. And although there’s still a chance Imanaga could return to the Cubs in 2025 by way of the $22M qualifying offer or a new free agent deal altogether, it sounds like both sides are getting ready to move on. Or, at least, the posturing has begun. Shota Imanaga, the Cubs, and Free Agency For the Cubs, that looks and so...
Though right-hander Keegan Thompson spent the entirety of the 2025 season at the AAA level within the Chicago Cubs organization, the Cincinnati Reds signed him to a major league deal earlier on Tuesday. Thompson, 30, does have ample big league experience, however. A former 33rd round pick of the Detroit Tigers and later a 3rd […]
Yu Darvish wasn’t a Chicago Cubs pitcher for too long, but I enjoyed it so much that I’ll always think of him as a Cub. Which, in turn, means today’s news really, really bums me out: San Diego Padres starter Yu Darvish will miss the 2026 season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon and an internal brace in his elbow. https://t.co/Z6cRdogoYh — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 4, 2025 There are two over-arching reactions here to the news: 1.) This ...
The offseason is just days old and Mike Elias has just done the first real notable move to the Orioles roster. The team announced on Tuesday afternoon that they have acquired reliever Andrew Kittredge from the Cubs. That would be the same Kittredge the Orioles traded to the Cubs in July. In July, Kittredge cost […]
The Cubs acquired Andrew Kittredge from the Orioles at last July’s trade deadline for minor leaguer Wilfri De La Cruz, who has yet to play in North America (he was with the Cubs’ Dominican Summer League team). Kittredge played well for the Cubs in his two months on the North Side, posting a 3.32 ERA […]
Gabby Hartnett’s famous “Homer In The Gloamin’” is not just the most famous walkoff home run in Cubs history — maybe the most famous Cubs homer, period — it’s one of the top walkoff home runs in all of MLB history, at least in a regular-season game. The BilL Mazeroski homer that won the 1960 […]
Farewell, Keegan Thompson. The long-time up-down Chicago Cubs righty is off to join the Cincinnati Reds organization on a big league deal: The #Reds today signed RHP Keegan Thompson to a one-year Major League contract through the 2026 season. Welcome to Reds Country, Keegan‼️ pic.twitter.com/n1B1KsXYkT — Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) November 4, 2025 Consider that your reminder that, in addition to big league free agency, minor league free agency also began this week. Furthermor...
Although the vibes changed rather dramatically sometime in July, losing Kyle Tucker to free agency this offseason is going to sting . For however imperfect and uneven his season turned out to be, even the most jaded Cubs fan knows that Tucker was a significant contributor: 22 HRs, 25 SBs, 136 wRC+, 4.5 WAR, and all in nearly 600 PAs from the top-third of the Cubs lineup. Honestly, if he had simply connected on that 3-1 fastball in the sixth inning of NLDS Game 5, we might be having an ent...