Although the Chicago Cubs have over the years made quite a practice of finding low-cost relief options and spinning them up into significant contributors, what they have done far less often is bring those relief options back after that year of contribution.
If you want to take that as a sign that the Cubs really saw something special in Caleb Thielbar’s time with the team, you may feel free to do so. The Cubs are bringing him back:
News: The Cubs are bringing back lefty Caleb Thielba...
The 2012 Cubs were, by design, a bad team. New President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein had torn down the previous structure to rebuild, and what was left was not very good. After an unexpectedly good 15-10 July, the Cubs began August winning just six of their first 24 games, never winning more than one […]
When word broke that the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox had met with Pete Alonso at the Winter Meetings before he signed with the Baltimore Orioles, I offered up my reaction here . The short version? No reason not to meet, it probably wasn’t serious, and it probably served everyone’s interests.
Other folks had a different reaction, and it’s one we’ve heard many times before when reporting indicates the Cubs were involved/interested/etc. with respect to a free agent they didn’t ultimately...
Thanks to BCB reader JayWent, who suggested I write an article about Japanese third baseman Munetaka Murakami and the chances the Cubs might be interested in him. Murakami is listed at 6-2, 213, which makes him a pretty large man for a Japanese player. By comparison, Seiya Suzuki is 6-0 and 182. Murakami bats left-handed […]
Luke Weaver is the latest name floating around in the blogosphere. Michael King is said to have reduced his potential landing spots to three AL East cities. The sources are credible but nothing is definite yet. *means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page […]
It’s the start of a new week here at BCB After Dark: the hippest spot for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the cold. We’ve got a fire going in here. We can take your coat. We still have a few tables available. Bring your own […]
One way or another, the Chicago Cubs are expected to supplement their rotation this offseason. The question is whether that addition will come via free agency or trade.
Even here in the middle of December, both markets remain ripe with options, and I tend to believe their path could be dictated by what happens elsewhere with free agents like Michael King or Alex Bregman .
In any case, one of the pitchers often connected to the Cubs is Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore. So that’s who w...
MLB RUMORS — Munetaka Murakami, the younger, homer-happy free agent slugger from Japan with strikeout issues, has until December 22 at 4pm CT to sign with a big league team. If he doesn’t, he’ll have to head back to Japan. So … how come there are literally NO rumors about his potential interests or suitors?
Even Ken Rosenthal, who still expects Murakami to land a deal before time expires next Monday, concedes that “his destination remains a mystery.” It’s pretty odd, especially now that ...
Eight years have passed since the last Cubs position player to pitch, Doug Dascenzo, who pitched in four games for the team covering five innings. There was great hope for the 1999 Cubs entering the season. And, in fact, the team started out well. After defeating the Diamondbacks June 8, they were 32-23 and just […]
Good morning and Happy Monday. Brett is still out sick, so you’ve got me for your Cubs coverage today. If you haven’t yet made your way to my META post , please do! We’ve got two new Bulls writers to welcome and some new features being rolled out on the Bears category page!
Separately, I am extremely sad to hear of Rob Reiner’s tragic death this weekend. His run as a director from 1984-1992 is legendary (This is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, A ...
Cubs 2025 International Free-Agent Class
IFA SIGNED BY CUBS IN 2025 ISP : last updated 12-14-2025 * bats or throws left # bats both SIGNED 12/14 : Johan Gomez , C (age 18 - 5'9 186) - VENEZUELA Esmerbin Guerrero , P (age 18 - 6'0 170) - COMINICAN REPUBLIC * Fenuel James , P (age 22 - 5'10 172) - COLOMBIA Ruben Torres , P (age 18 - 5'11 149) - VENEZUELA SIGNED 11/10 : * Juan de Jesus , OF (age 17 - 6'3 175) - DOMINICAN REPUBLIC # Dylan Guzman...
As you know, I have posted a series of articles here on players who could be free agent or trade targets for the Cubs this offseason. As a refresher, here are links to all those articles (except for two players who have already signed elsewhere). Dec. 5: Luis Severino (trade) Dec. 4: Edward Cabrera (trade) […]
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 Johneshwy Fargas* and all of you who celebrate your natal anniversary on […]
The Cubs decided to go old-school in 2005 and 2006. From 1993-2004 they had put names on the back of home uniforms. Names had been on the back of Cubs road uniforms since 1982. But in 2005 management decided to go back to the pre-1993 look and take the names off. What they did not […]
In case you missed the early morning news, the Arizona Diamondbacks have pulled off the rare “trade away your player and re-sign him in the offseason” move with Merrill Kelly.
Let’s start there today.
When the Diamondbacks traded Kelly to the Rangers this July, they landed Kohl Drake (#6 prospect in the D-Backs system), Mitch Bratt (#9), and David Hagaman (#15), a tidy sum for a 36-year-old rental starter. And now they get him back, albeit at a very substantial $20M per year for tw...
For however dead the 2026 MLB Winter Meetings felt, the days thereafter have seen some consistent activity. This morning, that begins ( per Ken Rosenthal ) with free agent starter Merrill Kelly re-upping with the Arizona Diamondbacks, with whom he spent 7.5 of his 8 big-league seasons.
Merrill Kelly Back to the Diamondbacks
Merrill Kelly was a rumored Cubs trade target at the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline, but he was eventually dealt to the Rangers, for whom he was serviceable, but not muc...
Sources tell us that Burl Carraway is no longer in the organization. He was once a promising prospect with a big fastball from the sinister side, but his future didn’t turn out so well. So far, the offseason cache contains two MLB relievers and one player signed to a minor-league deal. *means autoplay on, (directions to […]
The kids are collectively old enough now that it’s been a minute since I had to clean up a massive puke. I guess they just wanted to make sure I wasn’t rusty …
On the one hand – fan attachment, mostly – I can understand why there is so much concern and frustration in New York about the Mets failing to re-sign Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz, and trading away Brandon Nimmo. They were at the heart of the team for a long time, and bringing in Marcus Semien and Jorge Polanco is not going to feel...
This is another photo from BCB reader Clark Addison. As you know, Mark Prior suffered two serious injuries that eventually ended his MLB career. The first one was a collision on the basepaths with Marcus Giles of the Braves. That happened in the bottom of the second inning July 11, 2003, after Prior had walked. […]
Former Cub and Ray Christopher Morel is now a Marlin, sources reveal. It sucks about Devin Williams, who would surely have been a fine Cub. Also revealed: several MLB players have signed with teams that aren’t the Dodgers. Dennis Franz still wants to know “What is a Met?” Insiders predict that the Dodgers plan to […]
Cubs 2026 Rule 5 Draft & Minor League Free-Agent Watch List
12/12 UPDATE : The Cubs signed free-agent RHRP Collin Snider to a 2026 minor league contract. If he were to be selected to the MLB 40-man roster at some point in 2026, Snider is out of minor league options and he has the right to elect free-agency if he is subsequently outrighted back to minors. 12/11 UPDATE : The Cubs released LHRP Burl Carraway and RHRP Wil Jensen, a day after they went unselected in the AAA Phase of the 20...
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 […]
Because most of it came in the heat of a playoff race, when the focus is necessarily less about individual player achievement or development, and more about where the Cubs are in the standings, I think I probably didn’t praise Moises Ballesteros enough down the stretch.
The sample was small in 2025 in the big leagues for Ballesteros, but that’s because the playing time was sporadic. And that, in turn, is part of what makes his ultimate success so impressive. It’s hard enough to be a 21-ye...
Are we in an Obsessive Alex Bregman Watch at this point? It’s been hard for me to get there, given that the budget likely accommodates one impact starting pitcher acquired via free agency *OR* one impact bat acquired via free agency.
But I think there is broad-based, reasonable speculation at this point that if the Cubs were to trade for a starting pitcher, their efforts to spend the unused funds on a big bat would accelerate. But since no starting pitchers have been traded anywhere, and ...
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. […]