Latest news and updates about the Cubs
The Houston Astros announced that they have acquired minor league pitcher Nico Zeglin from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for $250K international bonus pool money. Zeglin, 25, last pitched in 2024. He went 7-0 with a 0.95 ERA in 25 appearances combined for the Cubs Single-A and High-A affiliates, striking out 90 batters and only […]
From The Crawfish Boxes | about 10 hours ago | 0 reads
Episode 41 of the Bleacher Nation Cubs Podcast is officially live! In this week’s episode, Brett and I talk about the potential hurdles for any PCA extension this offseason, the upcoming Winter Meetings (and what we want the Cubs to do), as well as the free agent starting pitcher market as a whole. We also get into Kyle Tucker’s meeting with the Blue Jays, why the Cubs aren’t expected to be involved in those talks, and the expectation that bullpen additions are still coming soon. Aft...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | about 14 hours ago | 0 reads
Although there are a handful of high-quality free agent starters available to the Cubs after they whiffed on Dylan Cease (Framber Valdez and Ranger Suarez chief among them), the majority of their rumored focus seems to fall on two guys: Michael King and Tatsuya Imai. The former is a little bit older and often injured, but has already had significant big league success. The latter has just as much (if not more) upside and is younger, but hasn’t proven himself in the big leagues yet. He’ll ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | about 14 hours ago | 0 reads
Because the needs at the front of the rotation are so acute, and because the pitching market is relatively much stronger than the positional market, it seems unlikely that the Cubs will splurge on a big-name bat this offseason like Alex Bregman. That isn’t to say the Cubs couldn’t benefit from a short-term upgrade or two on the offense, but, if you’re choosing from among the areas where the Cubs could get the most bang for their free agent buck, it’s the rotation and the bullpen first. Th...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | about 15 hours ago | 0 reads
Yesterday, we learned that the Chicago Cubs were in the running for free agent starting pitcher Dylan Cease … right up until his total commitment approached the $200 million mark. Whether that makes you feel any better about the Cubs payroll/financial intentions this offseason is up to you, but I won’t blame the skeptics among us. Even after Bruce Levine confirmed the Cubs’ involvement in the process ( they were reportedly one of seven teams bidding on Cease ), we know talk is cheap. But ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | about 15 hours ago | 0 reads
EDITOR’S NOTE: Once again, this is a repost of the game recap from this exciting walkoff homer that Michael Busch hit against the Padres. Busch, of course, had a breakout season in 2025 and hopefully will be a 30-homer man for the Cubs for several more seasons. Busch’s home run was hit just as it […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 16 hours ago | 0 reads
It hasn’t been my intention to launch an Obsessive Michael King Watch, and we’re not quite there yet, but I’m aware I’m bringing up his name a whole lot lately. To be fair, he’s been raised in connection to the Cubs quite frequently , and I feel duty-bound to mention it! The latest comes from Bruce Levine in a hit on 670 The Score, where he confirms that he’s heard about the Cubs’ interest there: The Cubs like Michael King and will continue to monitor his free agency, Bruce Levine to...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | about 19 hours ago | 0 reads
So if you didn’t like yesterday’s idea for the Cubs to trade for Sandy Alcanatara, perhaps you’d like his teammate Edward Cabrera better. Like Alcantara, Cabrera was the subject of trade rumors at the deadline last July. And like all the useful starters around then, none was traded because the asking prices were too high. […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 20 hours ago | 0 reads
We cover the coverage like PCA covers center field. Scott Kingery is the newest Cub, signed to a minor-league deal. Likely that puts Willi Castro in the rearview as they’re at least superficially the same kind of player. Nicky Lopez is reportedly a Rockie. Anthony Kay is a White Sock. The Winter Meetings are almost […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | about 22 hours ago | 0 reads
We’re so glad to see you here at BCB After Dark: the hippest afterparty 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. Please tell us if you need anything. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 1 day ago | 0 reads
The last decade has been a journey for Matthew Boyd, from trying to break through as a young starter with the Tigers, to suffering injuries and trying to make it back with the Mariners as a reliever, to returning to the Tigers as a starter, to having surgery and making it back with the Guardians, to breaking out as an All-Star with the Cubs this past season. He’ll return to the Cubs’ rotation in 2026, hopefully as effective as he was in 2025, and maybe a touch better able to sustain the c...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | 1 day ago | 1 read
EDITOR’S NOTE: With these walkoff homers getting more recent, you likely remember them well. So again, I present to you the BCB recap of Christopher Morel’s exciting walkoff homer against the White Sox. The recap is lightly edited, and there’s an epilogue about Morel that follows. As baseball fans, each and every one of us […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 1 day ago | 1 read
Will Brewers trade Freddy Peralta this offseason? It may not matter. They lost their president of Baseball Operations, David Stearns, to the Mets. They lost their manager, Craig Counsell, to the Cubs. They traded their two elite closers, Josh Hader (to the Astros) and Devin Williams (to the Yankees). They traded their ace, Corbin Burnes, to the Orioles. And they lost their star shortstop, Willy Adames, to the Giants in free agency. None of it mattered. No matter how many times the Milwauk...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | 1 day ago | 1 read
Last week, Andy McCullough at The Athletic did one of those “if each MLB team could make one Black Friday move” things, and he landed on righty Michael King to the Cubs . Mark Feinsand has done the same kind of exercise at MLB.com , and what do you know, he landed on the same guy to the same team: “Cubs: Michael King, RHP Even with the return of Shota Imanaga via the qualifying offer, the Cubs are in the market for a frontline starter this offseason. King is one of the most talente...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | 2 days ago | 0 reads
When the Cubs announced that they were starting their own regional sports network, to take over broadcasts beginning after 2019, the idea was to bring “wheelbarrows of cash” (as Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney once put it) to the baseball ops team and let them spend it on top players. Well. Marquee Sports […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 2 days ago | 1 read
The volume at which I said “NOPE” when my son asked if today was going to be another snow day … it was loud. Giddy, almost. My apologies, son. As always, significant contract deferrals make the calculations a little complicated, but the main point is that the headline number on deals like Dylan Cease’s isn’t the real number for us to conceive of the price of a contract: Clarification: The luxury-tax calculation uses a different discount rate for deferred compensation. The annual ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | 2 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. Today in baseball history: Cubs Birthdays: Bennie Tate, Mike Martin, Damon Berryhill, Manny Corpas, Mike […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 2 days ago | 1 read
This afternoon, I said the following : “It’s pretty wild that we sit here on December 2, and the Cubs still have yet to make a single waiver claim or sign a player to a minor league deal. That’s their bread and butter, and I don’t even mean that as an insult!” The Cubs were listening, clearly: Cubs announce they signed INF Scott Kingery to a minor league contract with an invite to major league camp. — Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) December 2, 2025 I guess beggars can’t be cho...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | 3 days ago | 0 reads
MLB Rumors — A few days ago, free agent reliever (and rumored Cubs offseason target) Ryan Helsley signed a two-year, $28M deal with the Baltimore Orioles. Last night, Devin Williams followed suit, signing a meaty, three-year, ~$50 million deal with the Mets . We knew Helsley was a Cubs free agent target from various reports across the industry, but I can also tell you that Devil Williams was, too. I’m not sure if the Cubs were one of the “five other offers from teams with glaring needs at...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | 3 days ago | 1 read
EDITOR’S NOTE: Once again, I am doing a repost here, largely because this walkoff home run by Willson Contreras came very, very close to me in the left-field bleachers on what was a very, very cold, rainy and long afternoon (four hours, 56 minutes of game time in a 15-inning contest). Lightly edited, here is […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 3 days ago | 0 reads
Here is another Twins right-hander (in addition to Joe Ryan, who I profiled in this series last week) who could help the Cubs. It seems clear that the Twins are in rebuild mode and would likely be happy to trade Pablo López. There are caveats with López. He missed quite a bit of time in […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 3 days ago | 0 reads
Major changes are coming for Marquee Sports Network, per a report in the Chicago Sun-Times . The Regional Sports Network co-owned by the Chicago Cubs and Sinclair Broadcast Group is the TV and streaming home of the team’s games and associated content, and, going forward, it seems like things are scaling back considerably. The network’s GM, Diane Penny, is out, as are content director Tony Andracki and reporter Andy Martinez: Cubs' Marquee Sports Network eliminates GM position among...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession | 3 days ago | 0 reads
The Washington Nationals made another coaching hire and like the previous ones, this hire is fascinating. Corey Ray was hired to be the team’s first base coach. At 31 years old, he continues the Nats trend of hiring young. Before this, Ray was the Cubs base running coordinator. However, this is not the most interesting […]
From Federal Baseball | 3 days ago | 1 read
We cover the coverage like PCA covers center field. *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 Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 3 days ago | 0 reads
It’s Monday night here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We are so glad you decided to stop by. Come on in out of the cold. There’s no cover charge. We can check your coat for you. We still have a few tables […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue | 3 days ago | 0 reads