New Cubs rumor alert. And while the subject, Rob Refsnyder, is not particularly sexy, I do think a deal would make some sense. Let’s dive in.
During the Q&A portion of Ken Rosenthal’s Fair Territory podcast , one listener wondered if the Cubs would consider signing a right-handed hitting outfielder this offseason to help improve their offensive baseline against left-handed pitching, specifically citing free agent Rob Reysnyder as a target. Given the presence of Ian Happ (switch-hitter, bu...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 16 days ago
| 1 read
Episode 39 of the Bleacher Nation Cubs Podcast is officially live!
In this week’s episode, Brett and I talk about the recent roster 40-man roster moves, Shota Imanaga’s decision to pick up the qualifying offer, and wheter or not that should impact what the Cubs do from here. We also talk a healthy amount about Michael King and what we find attractive or not about him as a target.
After the break, in our transaction corner, we get into the weeds on the two big Japanese free agent posi...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 16 days ago
| 1 read
Coming off the division title years in 2007 and 2008, hopes were high for a three-peat in 2009. But the Cubs struggled for much of the early going in ‘09. They kept near first place, but after mid-April were not again in first place — until July 26, when a win over the Reds put […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 16 days ago
| 2 reads
There’s a decent argument that Nico Hoerner was the MVP of the 2025 Chicago Cubs. The 28-year-old second baseman put up a career-best .297/.345/.394/109 wRC+ slash line and 4.8 WAR, a career-low 7.6% strikeout rate, stole 29 bases, scored 89 runs, drove in 61, and played some of the best defense of any player in baseball. He was also among the most clutch hitters in baseball, constantly coming through when the Cubs needed him.
Like many other Cubs, Hoerner is under contract through 2026, ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 17 days ago
| 0 reads
Just a stray thanks to you, the reader. I never forget that, if you’re not out there reading these words, I don’t get to write them.
The timing doesn’t really matter on these things, so it isn’t a worry or a complaint. Just an observation: feels like this is pretty late in November for the Cubs not to have made their first small move. Now, to be fair, they retained Shota Imanaga via the Qualifying Offer, which is a major move, but that’s more of a procedural thing. What I’m talking abou...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 17 days ago
| 3 reads
We cover the coverage like PCA covers center field. Rumors abound but few things have materialized so far. *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 enabled real sarcasm font in the comments. Food for thought: Please be reminded that Cub […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 17 days ago
| 1 read
2025 MLB Rule 5 Draft Primer / Preview
11/18 UPDATE : The Cubs selected the contacts of LHP Riley Martin, INF Pedro Ramirez, and INF James Triantos Jr to the MLB Reserve List (40-man roster). All three will have Draft-Excluded status until 20 days prior to 2026 MLB Opening Day. Also, the Cubs signed free-agent INF-OF Scott Kingery (ex-LAA post-2025 Article XX-D FA) and free-agent RHP Jace Beck (ex-NYM post-2025 minor league 6YFA) to 2026 minor league contracts, and they will be ...
From The Cub Reporter (TCR) | A Chicago Cubs Blog
| 18 days ago
| 0 reads
We cover the coverage like PCA covers center field. Boras, no Natasha, alas. Izvini, Fearless Leader. The GM Meetings are over and I’m not sure what that had to do with anything yet. The Cubs signed a pitcher, Sam Mettert by name. He throws 99 and is from Tread Athletics by way of St, John’s. […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 22 days ago
| 2 reads
If you’ve been doing your required reading of late, you’ve probably come across the Cubs rumor (… and dare I say optimism-dense) write-up by Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney at The Athletic . It really got me wheels spinning on what the Cubs may be aiming to do in the rotation this offseason. And against my better judgment, I can already feel myself starting to believe/fall for it again (“it” being the Cubs spending significant money on high-impact free agents).
In any case, buried in th...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 22 days ago
| 2 reads
Episode 38 of the Bleacher Nation Cubs Podcast is officially live!
In this week’s episode, Brett and I talk about the coming Shota Imanaga decision, the Dylan Cease pursuit, and what else the Cubs could do in the rotation this winter — specifically, how BIG do we think they’re going to go. Spoiler: We’re starting to dream a little bigger.
After the break, in our transaction corner, we talk about the potential (or not) for a reunion with free agent outfielder, and our old friend, Cody...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 22 days ago
| 2 reads
No one has been doing prospect rankings longer than Baseball America, and today the venerated publication revealed their top 10 Cubs prospects for the 2026 season. (sub. req.) While the scouting reports that go with each player are behind a paywall, I can share the rankings. I don’t think it’s unfair to say that the […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 23 days ago
| 1 read
Team News Diamondbacks’ Carroll to play for Team USA in 2026 World Baseball Classic “Couldn’t be more excited. It’s going to be awesome,” Carroll said. Carroll joins MLB stars Cal Raleigh (Mariners), American League MVP Aaron Judge (Yankees), pitcher Paul Skenes (Pirates), Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals) and Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs) suiting up for the U.S. […]
From AZ Snake Pit
| 23 days ago
| 2 reads
As Michael mentioned in the Lukewarm Stove yesterday , Royals lefty Kris Bubic is garnering some trade interest right now, according to Will Sammon at The Athletic . Given the Cubs’ reported interest over the summer, and given how extremely compelling he was looking as a trade target at that time, I wanted to give this rumor a little more attention.
Firstly, I want to note how Sammon frames the situation:
“At a time when club executives are doubting whether some top-of-the-rotation...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 23 days ago
| 2 reads
Framber Valdez is considered by some to be the best free-agent starting pitcher on the market. Since becoming a full-time starting pitcher in 2020, Valdez has been remarkably consistent, posting ERAs no lower than 2.82 and no higher than 3.66, the latter his 2025 ERA. Overall in that time frame: 154 appearances (153 starts), 3.23 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 23 days ago
| 2 reads
Hurt my back pretty badly yesterday, in a totally different way and area than any of the previous injuries (and I was doing nothing unusual, with no warning). Obviously I have to figure out a better way to manage these issues, because this isn’t going to get better on its own as I get older. It really sucks.
In a snoozer of an announcement, Shohei Ohtani won his second straight unanimous MVP (and fourth unanimous MVP overall). It was deserved and obvious. What’s a little more fun for ou...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 23 days ago
| 0 reads
Sosa and Palmeiro free as birds, and other stories. Happy Birthday to Xavier Nady!* 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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 23 days ago
| 2 reads
The 1993 Cubs were a maddening team. (Not “Maddon” ing, incidentally.) In their second year under manager Jim Lefebvre, they had hoped to make a jump into contention, but struggled around .500 most of the year. One of the bright spots on the team was catcher Rick Wilkins, who had been a part-time backstop for […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 23 days ago
| 3 reads
The 1993 Cubs were a maddening team. (Not “Maddon” ing, incidentally.) In their second year under manager Jim Lefebvre, they had hoped to make a jump into contention, but struggled around .500 most of the year. One of the bright spots on the team was catcher Rick Wilkins, who had been a part-time backstop for […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 23 days ago
| 2 reads
No matter what sort of reports emerge on the Cubs’ spending intentions for this offseason, I remain steadfast in a general position I think we all should share: I’ll believe it when I see it.
With that said, I will also continue beating the drum for them to spend more, citing reasons both (1) strategic ( read this one ) and (2) with respect to their market size, revenue opportunities, and relative financial austerity in the recent past ( read this one ). I will also continue sharing and c...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 24 days ago
| 3 reads
The Chicago Cubs are going to make a lot of moves this offseason. Some bigger. Many smaller. And they’ll come on all sides of the ball, from the positional group to the bench to the bullpen to the rotation. None of this is news.
But Cubs President Jed Hoyer was pretty candid about where he thinks the majority of the offseason work will come, and that’s on the pitching side. From his perspective, it’s not too difficult to look at the depth chart and see where most of the needs lie.
Cu...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 24 days ago
| 0 reads
Free agent projections are out, and so it is that time again — time for the annual “should the Rangers sign This Player” polls. Today, we are looking at outfielder Kyle Tucker. Tucker is a 28 year old right fielder who was with the Houston Astros prior to being traded to the Chicago Cubs this […]
From Lone Star Ball
| 24 days ago
| 4 reads
I wouldn’t say Japanese ace Tatsuya Imai is the top starting pitcher on the free agent market this year, necessarily, and I wouldn’t say it’s a lock that the Chicago Cubs pursue him in any case. But I would say that, on paper, the 27-year-old appears to have big-league-caliber stuff, has dominated in Japan to a similar degree that we’ve seen from other starters who’ve come over and had success, and could give the Cubs a different look at the front of their rotation. The Cubs are not unique in ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 24 days ago
| 2 reads
Most, if not all, of the players I’ve put in this series to date are guys the Cubs likely will not sign — too much money, too many years, or both. Here’s a pitcher who seems more up Jed Hoyer’s alley at the present time. Zac Gallen was originally drafted by the Cardinals (third round, […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 24 days ago
| 0 reads
Our water heater died a couple weeks ago, so we had to get it replaced. It was incredibly old, so we kinda felt fortunate to have gotten as much run out of it as we did. The new one is working fine – or at least, it was, until this morning when I discovered the ever-expanding pool of water coming from it in our basement. So that’s been a healthy portion of my morning.
There wasn’t much suspense with the Cy Young Awards, with Tarik Skubal almost winning unanimously, and Paul Skenes winni...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 24 days ago
| 3 reads
The Arizona Fall League is winding down with the championship series coming up this weekend. But last weekend was the 19th annual Fall Stars Game at Sloan Park, spring training home of the Chicago Cubs. The Colorado Rockies were represented by two players: first baseman Charlie Condon and right-handed pitcher Cade Denton. Before the game, […]
From Purple Row
| 24 days ago
| 2 reads