A Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005
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 […]
about 19 hours 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. […]
about 23 hours ago | 0 reads
Happy Friday, everyone! Winter Meetings are over, and we have a big wrap-up of everything that happened, who signed where, and who the winners and losers were this year as we get closer to the end of 2025. There are some player moves to keep up with, including two players who won’t be heading back […]
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 […]
1 day ago | 0 reads
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 […]
1 day 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
2 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. […]
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 […]
3 days ago | 3 reads
Last September, as you might remember, MLB had some issues with the Ballpark app being hacked. A number of people lost tickets as a result, though most were able to recover them. I wrote about this at the time and added: MLB didn’t ask me, but if they did I would also give them this […]
3 days ago | 0 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 […]
3 days ago | 1 read
Good morning.
3 days 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. Happy birthday, Paul Assenmacher*, the death of the spitball, and other stories. Today in baseball […]
3 days ago | 0 reads
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 […]
3 days ago | 1 read
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 […]
4 days ago | 1 read
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 […]
4 days ago | 1 read
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 […]
4 days ago | 1 read
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. […]
4 days ago | 1 read
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 […]
5 days ago | 0 reads
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 […]
5 days ago | 0 reads
Happy Monday, everyone, and happy start of Winter Meetings. There’s certain to be plenty of news (and plenty of outrageous Scott Boras quotes) to keep us occupied this week, but before things get underway, we will check in on what to expect and what storylines to watch. In addition, we’ll take a look at the […]
5 days 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. Happy birthday, Reed Johnson*! And other stories. Today in baseball history: Cubs Birthdays: Kid Camp, Reed Johnson*. […]
5 days ago | 0 reads