Nine days ago, as the clock struck midnight, the calendar flipped to 2026. And that means we are officially in the 10-year anniversary of the 2016 Chicago Cubs World Series championship. And because of that, the Cubs have invited as many of the (non-active) 2016 World Series roster back to Chicago for the Cubs Convention .
As previously reported, the list of attendees does not include any active players, including Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Aroldis Chapman, Willson Contreras, Javier Bae...
MLB’s new media landscape has brought NBC back to baseball broadcasting in 2026, and part of that is taking over the Sunday Night Baseball franchise that’s been carried by ESPN for the last 35 years. Friday, NBC announced their entire Sunday night schedule (and some of these games are afternoon contests, as you will see). […]
I would argue that power rankings are of marginal predictive value even in the second half of the MLB season, even if they are nevertheless often too alluring not to check out. I can’t help but wanting to know what national people think of the Chicago Cubs, even if I stand at the ready to dismiss their perspective if I disagree with it (for reasons usually equal parts dispassionate and hopelessly biased).
So, then, MLB power rankings in early January, before the offseason is complete, and...
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Cubs fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. Now that the Cubs have signed a cost-controlled starting pitcher in Edward Cabrera, who will make just $4.45 […]
From the start of the offseason, one of the free agent predictions most folks have comfortably made is that Cody Bellinger will be returning to the New York Yankees eventually. He clearly thrived with that team and in that ballpark. He provides a whole lot that they need. And each side seemed to be quite happy with the fit. ( Yankees: the Cubs say you’re welcome for trading you Bellinger for essentially nothing .)
Yet, here we are on January 9, and Cody Bellinger’s free agency is playing ...
Whew. Busy week, relatively speaking, for the Cubs. I was hoping this is how things would look in the first full week back from the holidays, but you never know with offseasons in the current era. I guess a lot of the activity was driven by a single Cubs trade , but the Cubs did also claim a pitcher on waivers, and signed another to a minor league deal. A relative bounty of activity in its own right. Plus renewed rumors on the positional side.
Good to see the Cubs got deals done for the...
Happy Friday, everyone. It’s been an exciting week for the Cubs, but what else is going on around baseball that’s worth mentioning? Well, the arbitration deadline was last night, and it seems likely we’ll be seeing some hearings come out of it. We’ve got discussions about the Hall of Fame, and if those who participate […]
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 Joe Wallis* (who spoiled Tom Seaver’s no-hit bid), The first episode of Home […]
After trading for right-hander Edward Cabrera yesterday, the first order of business for the Cubs and their new pitcher was deciding how much he was going to earn this upcoming season. Just before the deadline to exchange arbitration contract figures today, the Cubs and Cabrera agreed to a $4.45 million deal for 2026. Cabrera made […]
2026 Cubs Salary Arbitration Primer
1/8 UPDATE : The Cubs signed LHP Justin Steele (one year - $6.775M), RHP Edward Cabrera (one year - $4.45M), and RHP Javier Assad (one year - $1.8M) to 2026 major league contracts, thus avoiding the possibility of salary arbitration. Because the contracts were signed to avoid the possibility of salary arbitration, the contracts are fully guaranteed. 1/7 UPDATE : The Cubs acquired RHP Edward Cabrera from the Marlins, and he is eligible for sala...
Episode 44 of the Bleacher Nation Cubs Podcast is officially live!
In this week’s episode, Brett asks me about how I broke yesterday’s big trade. I tried to say as much as I could without spoiling any sources. I probably said too much. After that, we discuss Edward Cabrera, the pitcher, as well as the impact his presence has on the Cubs both this season and beyond.
After the break, in our transaction corner, Brett and I talk about the various free-agent bats still available, specific...
Now that the Cubs have finally added their (potential) impact starting pitcher in Edward Cabrera, the obvious question emerges: What’s next for Jed Hoyer and the Cubs?
Seeing as the rotation is deep, the bullpen has been (mostly) remade, Owen Caissie was dealt, and Cabrera is set to earn only ~$3.7M in 2026, an even more obvious answer emerges: GO SPEND SOME MONEY ON A BAT.
In an article at The Athletic earlier this morning (and then later on his podcast), Ken Rosenthal put the same ...
This was fun and wild to see, albeit pretty well-caveated when we talk it through.
MLB Pipeline spoke with more than 40 executives from across the sport, polling them on a variety of prospect-related questions. In the second part of the series, one of the questions asked who is the most underrated prospect in baseball.
Know who appeared tied atop that list?
If I tell you it is a Cubs prospect, you’re guessing Jaxon Wiggins, aren’t you?
And if I told you that, yes, Wiggins g...
There were only two Cubs who were arbitration-eligible, Justin Steele and Javier Assad, before today’s deadline for players and teams to avoid having to exchange figures for an arb hearing. The trade for Edward Cabrera adds one more player to that list. One of the three has now avoided arbitration: Steele made $6.55 million in […]
Today is the deadline for arbitration-eligible players to file their request for a 2026 salary, and for teams to file their corresponding number. If it comes to that point at the end of the day, typically the team and the player will proceed to an arbitration hearing next month, where one of those two numbers will be selected.
To avoid that potentially nasty process, teams and players like to sign contracts by today for the upcoming season.
For example, the Cubs have avoided arbitrat...
The last entry in this series was about Ben Zobrist, who pitched in the final game — in fact, the last inning — of the Cubs’ disastrous 2019 season. No Cubs position players pitched in the abbreviated 2020 season. And that had nothing to do with the length of the season — there were 35 […]
There are two sides to every trade, and, for as excited as we are to have Edward Cabrera now in the Chicago Cubs’ organization, we have to say farewell to a trio of prospects who are off to Miami: outfielder Owen Caissie, shortstop Cristian Hernández, and infielder Edgardo De Leon.
On the outgoing side of the trade, Owen Caissie is obviously the headliner, and a prospect about whom opinions out there are pretty well-divided, even though everyone tends to agree on the nature of the playe...
The Cubs were looking to bolster their starting rotation heading into next season, and they did so Wednesday, sending Owen Caissie, Cristian Hernandez and Edgardo De Leon to the Miami Marlins for a tantalizing starting pitcher: Edward Cabrera. Al covered the specifics yesterday, including the fun trade tree note that Cabrera basically closes out the […]
The real meat of the Chicago Cubs offseason is rolling now. No, I don’t mean the Edward Cabrera trade . Obviously I mean the minor league signings and waiver claims of reclamation relievers! ( I am making a joke here, but not a mean-spirited one! The Cabrera deal is the big move, but we always knew the Cubs were going to be doing this other smaller pitching stuff, too, and I’m glad they are. They’re really good at it! )
The Cubs made so many guaranteed deal moves in their bullpen this tim...
Fun fact about Cubs acquiring Edward Cabrera yesterday : that means the Chicago Cubs are getting him juuuuuust before they have to agree to a deal in order to avoid arbitration before today’s filing deadline! So that’ll be kinda fun. He’s projected by MLBTR to get $3.7 million, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cubs – having literally just paid a handsome prospect package to get him – offer a little more just to get it done. The other possibility is that they actually go through with filing f...
One thing I think everyone here agrees on — and we don’t all agree on much! — is that the Cubs ought to sign one of the top free-agent hitters this offseason. In my view, now that the team has traded for a cost-controlled starting pitcher — and potentially a very good one in Edward […]
Yesterday, we saw a big name starting pitcher get traded by an NL East team, but it was not MacKenzie Gore. Instead, the Marlins decided to trade Edward Cabrera to the Cubs for a prospect package headlined by outfielder Owen Caissie. This takes another potential Gore suitor out of contention, while also setting the market […]
Doing the Bullets after a major Cubs move is always a tricky business. I’ll start out getting into some of the interesting/adjacent/follow-on stuff for the move, and sometimes that plays out all right. But other times, I realize there’s just no way to cram it all into a set of Bullets, which also has its own interesting things I want to get into.
In today’s case, it happened twice – there’s a ton more I want to share and say about Edward Cabrera joining the Chicago Cubs, obviously, but th...
The New York Yankees could be in some trouble when the 2026 season rolls around. After the Chicago Cubs acquired 27-year-old Miami Marlins pitcher Edward Cabrera in a trade for top outfield prospect Owen Caissie, infielder Christian Hernandez and third baseman Edgardo De Leon, another rotation option was promptly taken off the market. And while […]
The Cubs added to their starting rotation and relief corps, and left some question marks in the outfield, questions we hope to see answered in a short while. Bellinger, Bichette, Bregman, Tucker: All remain unsigned as of this writing. Cub Tracks still wouldn’t mind signing any or all of those soon-to-be-Dodgers, regardless of what anyone […]