Episode 40 of the Bleacher Nation Cubs Podcast is officially live!
In this week’s episode, Brett and I talk about the many available options on the pitching market, in free agency (both international and domestic) and via trade … as well as options from the top-shelf all the way down to convincing reclamation targets. All things considered, it’s a pretty good offseason for the Cubs to be seeking pitching from outside the organization, and we pick that a part a bit as the podcast goes on. ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 2 months ago
| 1 read
When Jon Lester came to the Cubs, he was a terrible hitter. No, seriously. He had gone 0-for-36 in his American League career, and that carried over to his first year with the Cubs in 2015. Lester went 0-for-30 in his first 16 Cubs starts, finally breaking that 0-fer with a single off his friend […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 1 read
Enjoy some Chicago Cubs prospect notes as you hunker down for the arrival of your extended family and try to remember how to add that extra leaf to the table …
Speaking of which, a Thanksgiving theme from MLB Pipeline:
Here are 3 prospect-related reasons for #Cubs fans to be thankful this Thanksgiving: https://t.co/SupWyCbDg8 pic.twitter.com/P044o2lu9P — MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) November 25, 2025
A lotta love there for all of Owen Caissie, Moises Ballesteros, Jaxo...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 2 months ago
| 1 read
George Altman, one of several Black players signed to the Cubs by famed scout/coach Buck O’Neil, has died, aged 92. Altman had two outstanding years for the Cubs, in 1961 and 1962. In 1961, he batted .303/.353/.560 with 27 home runs and played in both All-Star Games that year (for four years from 1959-62, MLB […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 1 read
MacKenzie Gore was one of the starting pitchers most mentioned in trade rumors last July. In the end, just as was the case for every big-name starting pitcher, he wasn’t traded, largely because it was perceived that the Nationals were asking for more in return than teams were willing to give. Gore had good numbers […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 2 reads
OK. Day before Thanksgiving. This is important. I must summon all of my willpower to eat VERY LIGHT today, thereby justifying the monstrous damage I plan to do tomorrow. The problem with putting me in charge of Thanksgiving Day food is that I will choose anything and everything that I personally want to eat. Which means there are like 15 different things I want to eat tomorrow, and I will do so.
The Athletic’s Andy McCullough put together a list of mostly-serious, semi-cheeky Black Frid...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 2 months ago
| 1 read
Happy birthday to Matt Garza* and other former Cubs! 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: […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 1 read
It’s Tuesday evening here at BCB After Dark: the hippest hole-in-the-wall for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and sit with us for a while. Get warm. We can take your coat for you. There’s no cover charge. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage. […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 1 read
One of the secrets of the 2025 Cubs success was above average production from just about every position on the diamond. That includes catcher, where Carson Kelly, Miguel Amaya and Reese McGuire combined to put up 4.2 fWAR last season. You can see FanGraphs’ summary of production by player position and role at this link. […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 1 read
Every year, MLB teams pay into a pool of cash set aside to reward younger players – those who’ve not yet reached their arbitration years – for the value they provide in a given season. It was a nod in the last Collective Bargaining Agreement to the fact that pre-arb players do so much for a team, but receive so little compensation, relatively speaking.
The payout is based on a combination of factors, from awards recognition to WAR calculations, and it comes from the collective pool, not a...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 2 months ago
| 1 read
The last weekend of May 2015 was unseasonably cool and rainy in Chicago. When the Cubs defeated the Royals at Wrigley Field May 31, the game-time temperature was just 47 degrees — that’s almost 30 degrees below the average high for the date, 75. And the game the day before had been rained out. The […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 2 reads
One day after the Cubs signed Phil Maton to the franchise’s most significant free agent deal for a reliever since Craig Kimbrel, we were able to confirm that they would still be in the market for impact free-agent relievers . Pete Fairbanks is a name we’ve heard and discussed. Brad Keller could always make his way back to Chicago. And even Devin Williams, with his Craig Counsell connection, is an option, I’m told. But there’s another former NL Central closer, Ryan Helsley, reportedly on the Cu...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 2 months ago
| 1 read
Let’s pivot from looking at possible Cubs free agent signings and instead, check out some starting pitchers who will likely be available by trade. Some of these guys were the same starters that many teams, including the Cubs, tried to acquire at last summer’s deadline. Exactly zero of these pitchers were traded, reportedly because the […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 3 reads
We finally have some numbers on the Phil Maton deal , though not yet the full breakdown (which I do think matters):
Phil Maton Cubs deal: $14.5M, 2 years and club option. Plus $250K incentives per year based on games pitched for the ultra reliable reliever. So good chance to reach $15M. — Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 25, 2025
Maton had 81 k’s in 61.1 innings split between St. Louis and Texas last season — one of the best of his career. @Michael_Cerami was on the signing las...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 2 months ago
| 2 reads
We cover the coverage like PCA covers center field. It gets old, repeating the same non-news every day, or every other day. The nature of this team’s management group means that they’re frustrating to root for. But nonetheless we persist, and try to err on the positive side, if possible. Several sources report that Evan […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 1 read
It’s another week 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. It’s always good to see a friendly face. There’s no cover charge. We still have a few tables available. Let us know if you need […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 1 read
MLB RUMORS — Brett and I got into this a bit in our latest episode of the Bleacher Nation Cubs podcast (which is still going into the offseason!), but it bears repeating in writing: For however much we may want the Cubs to add an impact bat this offseason, and for however much adding that bat at third base makes the most sense, and for however much we ALSO believe the Cubs want to continue supporting their pipeline into the NPB and Japenese-player market, we do NOT think Munetaka Murakami is ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 2 months ago
| 2 reads
The Cubs today announced that infielder Jonathon Long was the winner of the Buck O’Neil Cubs Minor League Player of the Year and that right-hander Jostin Florentino was the Vedie Himsl Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Long, 23, was a ninth-round pick out of Long Beach State in 2023. In his third season […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 2 reads
The stove is hot and even the normally cautious Cubs front office is getting in on the early moves, signing righthander Phil Maton (first noted by Michael Cerami) to a two-year deal, with an option for at third year, on Friday. Maton will turn 33 before the season starts and has bounced around the league […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 2 reads
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...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 2 months ago
| 1 read
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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 1 read
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 ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| about 2 months ago
| 3 reads
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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 3 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 to Dave Hansen* and other former Cubs. Today in baseball history: Cubs Birthdays: […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 1 read
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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| about 2 months ago
| 1 read