Latest news and updates about the Cubs
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 […]
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...
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 […]
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...
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...
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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...
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 […]
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...
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Phillies seem to love last minute shopping, as they made another signing the week before Christmas. This time, they reportedly agreed to a two year deal with former starter-turned-reliever Brad Keller who had a career year out of the bullpen for the Cubs in 2025. He’ll join a strong bullpen mix that includes Johan […]
It’s Wednesday 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. Come on in out of the cold. We can check your hat and coat for you. There are still a couple tables available. They’re all […]
The Sporting News | Matt Sullivan: The Yankees have yet to make a major splash this winter, even as more than one key member of the bullpen has left the team — more on that in a moment. We get a bit of good news on that front, with reports that New York is one […]
Last week, we learned that Nico Hoerner’s name had popped up in trade conversations this offseason, though it was non-specific and certainly not a situation where it had the feel of Hoerner being shopped or anything like that. More likely, we figured, the Cubs were having conversations with LOTS of teams about LOTS of topics, and given how hot the second base trade market is (and the lack of shortstops out there), it would make sense for a team or three to ask the Cubs about Hoerner. He’s...
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is going to look very familiar, as it just ran last month as part of my “walkoff heroes” series. I’m running it again because, well, John Baker was one of the Cubs position player pitchers in the divisional play era, and he does have a singular distinction: In that era, of […]
About 12 years ago, the Chicago Cubs, under the new stewardship of Theo Epstein and his lieutenant, Jed Hoyer, were trying to kick off an organizational rebuild with a bang. Knowing that building inroads in Japan were going to be critical for years to come, and knowing that youthful stars become available in free agency only so often, the Cubs pushed hard to sign Masahiro Tanaka that offseason. The Cubs actually made it into the final two, according to many reports, ultimately losing out ...
In the continued search for bullpen help, the Phillies have reportedly settled on Brad Keller as the best option to provide reinforcement. Once a starter in the Royals’ system, Keller went to the relief role last year with the Cubs where he flourished. He saw jumps in all of the good stats one wants to […]
Just a few housekeeping notes on the recent Cubs transactions. First, the Hoby Milner signing is officially official. He’s been incredibly durable the last four seasons, but he’ll be 35 next year, so the post-agreement physical was not a TOTAL zero entry. All seems to have gone well, so he’s inked at a reported $3.75 million for 2026. Second, the Caleb Thielbar deal ( discussed some more this morning ) now has a dollar figure attached: Caleb Thielbar’s one-year deal contract wit...
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 Marvell Wynne* and other former Cubs. The spitball is grandfathered in, and […]
The offseason continues to move along, as this week we’ve had a spate of low-profile relief signings; Caleb Thielbar re-signing with the Cubs, the Nationals handing $5.5 million to lefty Foster Griffin, the Giants inking Jason Foley for $2 million, and the Reds landing former Yankee Caleb Ferguson on a one-year deal. Exciting stuff! The […]