Even after Shota Imanaga accepted his one-year, $22M qualifying offer last week, the Chicago Cubs are expected to pursue another front-half-of-the-rotation starting pitcher this offseason.
Whether that pitcher is signed out of free agency ( Dylan Cease , Tatsuya Imai , Michael King , Zac Gallen , etc.) or acquired via trade ( Joe Ryan , Kris Bubic , Sandy Alcantara , Edward Cabrera , MacKenzie Gore , etc.) remains to be seen. But the need, willingness to act, and supply of quality options...
The Cubs were in the midst of a pretty dismal season, their third losing year in a row. They were 18 games under .500 at 43-61 and 14.5 games out of first place when they hosted the Rockies in the second of a three-game series under the lights on a Tuesday. This game started out […]
The Chicago Cubs will continue to add to their bullpen group this offseason – maybe even from the upper-tier of the free agent market – both because of an acute need, and also because they ALWAYS add lots and lots of different types of pitchers to the Spring Training mix (and then well into the season, too). If you bring in enough options, and if you’re good at selection and refining and game-planning, the Cubs have found that they can pretty much always net out three or four useful relievers ...
This look is so early that we don’t have a salary number to add for Phil Maton, who the Cubs were reported to have signed late last Friday. We’ll do more of these as the offseason continues, and at some point someone will report what Maton will be getting in his two-year deal (with a […]
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 Dave Hansen* and other former Cubs. Today in baseball history: Cubs Birthdays: […]
Last weekend, I presented this aerial photo of Wrigley Field and sleuthed it, with Mike Bojanowski’s help, as being from a doubleheader Friday, July 4, 1947. That appeared to be an important day for photographing the ol’ ballyard, as here is a photo from inside Wrigley Field on that very same day. The photo from […]
We cover the coverage like PCA covers center field. The Cubs signed reliever Phil Maton and his bat-dodger offerings to a two-year deal, sources report. Adolis Garcia is the name that comes up today as a possibility for the Cubs’ outfield. “I’ve always been a big Owen Caissie fan. I pound the table for him […]
Big ups to my loyal Rival Roundup readers. Feel free to start brainstorming a sort of “fandom name” for yourselves in the comments. The more provocative, the better, I’m thinking. That’s my early take here. I might change my mind after seeing some suggestions.
The Highs and Lows After a three and out to start the quarter, the Gophers were given the gift of a muffed punt. Taking over at Northwestern’s 28, Minnesota immediately scored a touchdown on a play action pass from Drake Lindsey to Javon Tracy. It was Tracy’s third touchdown reception of the day. Northwestern responded […]
A much better second quarter at Wrigley. Koi Perich flew through a perfect tunnel block for a 95 yard return to set up first and goal at the end of the first quarter. The Gophers punched it in on a nice counter pitch to Darius Taylor to start the second. The defense continued a maddening […]
Last night, I was able to break the news that the Cubs had added righty reliever Phil Maton , a legitimate, late-inning arm, to a multi-year contract. And while most Cubs fans seemed appropriately excited about that deal, I could sense some apprehension that Maton would be the ONLY reliever like that they’d sign this offseason. And to be fair, that’s an understandable reaction as the Cubs very rarely sign established relievers to multi-year pacts. But I’m here to tell you today that they aren’...
We’re in a baseball stadium. Can Minnesota put up more points than a baseball team? Will they be as disappointing as the Twins ownership? Come find out together.
This is an early photo of Cubs Hall of Fame outfielder Billy Williams, and with the scoreboard matchups here it was pretty easy to sleuth this one. This was taken at the original Busch Stadium, formerly called Sportsman’s Park, home of the Cardinals from 1909 to 1966, when they moved into the second Busch Stadium […]
We cover the coverage like PCA covers center field. Names in the news today: Rob Refsnyder, Michael King. Several places have discussed both. Refsnyder looks like Turner-lite and that probably doesn’t have legs. Signing King would add a brisker pace to the offseason. *means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means […]
The Cubs have signed their first free agent of the winter and it’s right-handed reliever Phil Maton to a two-year deal with a club option for a third year. Bleacher Nation’s Michael Cerami had it first and The Athletic’s Will Sammon was first with the length of the deal. We still don’t have the dollar […]
Fresh off the tender deadline , with 10 open 40-man spots and lots of need in the bullpen, the Chicago Cubs are finally jumping into the free agent fray (non-Shota Imanaga edition).
According to BN’s own Michael Cerami, the Cubs are signing reliever Phil Maton:
Source is telling me the Cubs have signed right-handed reliever Phil Maton. — Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) November 22, 2025
Phil Maton, 32, was a “pretty good” reliever for a number of years, but then suddenly ...
Oh Yes, It's the Great Pre-Tender!
11/21 UPDATE : All unsigned players on the Cubs MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) except RHP Eli Morgan and C Reese McGuire were tendered 2026 MLB contracts. So Morgan and McGuire are now free-agents, free to sign an MLB or minor league contract with any club (including the Cubs). 11/19 ORIGINAL POST : The Friday prior to Thanksgiving is MLB Contract Tender Day (November 21st in 2025). NOTE : Prior to 2022, the MLB contract tender date wa...
Today was the deadline to tender contracts to all arbitration-eligible players. The Cubs had just four such players for 2026: Justin Steele, Javier Assad, Eli Morgan and Reese McGuire. Three of those players will be offered 2026 contracts. One will not: Reese McGuire came along at exactly the right time for the 2025 Cubs. He […]
The Cubs were being rebuilt by new President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein in 2012, and the results on the field showed it. They finished 61-101, their first 100-loss season since 1966. One of the bright spots was Bryan LaHair, who began the year as the team’s first baseman. He hit well enough in the […]
Do you remember those Seiya Suzuki trade rumors last offseason? I don’t blame you if you’ve blocked them out. They were odd and eventually fizzled out (once Cody Bellinger was dealt), but not before being addressed directly by Suzuki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, who flat out confirmed that Cubs President Jed Hoyer approached him about the possibility: “Jed has been very communicative about it,” Wolfe said via Jordan Bastian at Cubs.com . “He told me what teams they’ve been talking to. I don’t think he...
Heads up! Amazon has kicked off its Black Friday Deals Week , so if you’re planning to do some shopping, make sure you peruse to see if there are any big discounts. #ad
A reminder that the tender deadline for arbitration-eligible players is 7pm CT tonight. The decisions are relatively straightforward for the Cubs ( Steele and Assad obviously, Morgan probably, and McGuire almost certainly not ), but around baseball, we will see the free agent pool add some interesting names. We could als...
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 Quinton Berry and other former Cubs! Today in baseball history: Cubs Birthdays: […]
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...
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...
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 […]