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’...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 12 days ago
| 1 read
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.
From The Daily Gopher
| 12 days ago
| 0 reads
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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 12 days ago
| 2 reads
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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 13 days ago
| 0 reads
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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 13 days ago
| 1 read
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 ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 13 days ago
| 1 read
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...
From The Cub Reporter (TCR) | A Chicago Cubs Blog
| 13 days ago
| 1 read
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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 13 days ago
| 1 read
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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 13 days ago
| 0 reads
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...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 13 days ago
| 8 reads
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...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 14 days ago
| 1 read
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: […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 14 days ago
| 0 reads
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...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 14 days ago
| 1 read
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...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 14 days ago
| 1 read
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 […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 14 days ago
| 2 reads
There’s a decent argument that Nico Hoerner was the MVP of the 2025 Chicago Cubs. The 28-year-old second baseman put up a career-best .297/.345/.394/109 wRC+ slash line and 4.8 WAR, a career-low 7.6% strikeout rate, stole 29 bases, scored 89 runs, drove in 61, and played some of the best defense of any player in baseball. He was also among the most clutch hitters in baseball, constantly coming through when the Cubs needed him.
Like many other Cubs, Hoerner is under contract through 2026, ...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 14 days ago
| 0 reads
Just a stray thanks to you, the reader. I never forget that, if you’re not out there reading these words, I don’t get to write them.
The timing doesn’t really matter on these things, so it isn’t a worry or a complaint. Just an observation: feels like this is pretty late in November for the Cubs not to have made their first small move. Now, to be fair, they retained Shota Imanaga via the Qualifying Offer, which is a major move, but that’s more of a procedural thing. What I’m talking abou...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 15 days ago
| 3 reads
We cover the coverage like PCA covers center field. Rumors abound but few things have materialized so far. *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 enabled real sarcasm font in the comments. Food for thought: Please be reminded that Cub […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 15 days ago
| 1 read
2025 MLB Rule 5 Draft Primer / Preview
11/18 UPDATE : The Cubs selected the contacts of LHP Riley Martin, INF Pedro Ramirez, and INF James Triantos Jr to the MLB Reserve List (40-man roster). All three will have Draft-Excluded status until 20 days prior to 2026 MLB Opening Day. 11/7 ORIGINAL POST : The MLB Rule 5 Draft is normally held at the MLB Winter Meetings in December (it will be held on Wednesday 12/10 in 2025). It is a mechanism that allows MLB clubs to ...
From The Cub Reporter (TCR) | A Chicago Cubs Blog
| 16 days ago
| 0 reads
We cover the coverage like PCA covers center field. Boras, no Natasha, alas. Izvini, Fearless Leader. The GM Meetings are over and I’m not sure what that had to do with anything yet. The Cubs signed a pitcher, Sam Mettert by name. He throws 99 and is from Tread Athletics by way of St, John’s. […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 20 days ago
| 2 reads
If you’ve been doing your required reading of late, you’ve probably come across the Cubs rumor (… and dare I say optimism-dense) write-up by Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney at The Athletic . It really got me wheels spinning on what the Cubs may be aiming to do in the rotation this offseason. And against my better judgment, I can already feel myself starting to believe/fall for it again (“it” being the Cubs spending significant money on high-impact free agents).
In any case, buried in th...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 20 days ago
| 2 reads
Episode 38 of the Bleacher Nation Cubs Podcast is officially live!
In this week’s episode, Brett and I talk about the coming Shota Imanaga decision, the Dylan Cease pursuit, and what else the Cubs could do in the rotation this winter — specifically, how BIG do we think they’re going to go. Spoiler: We’re starting to dream a little bigger.
After the break, in our transaction corner, we talk about the potential (or not) for a reunion with free agent outfielder, and our old friend, Cody...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 20 days ago
| 2 reads
No one has been doing prospect rankings longer than Baseball America, and today the venerated publication revealed their top 10 Cubs prospects for the 2026 season. (sub. req.) While the scouting reports that go with each player are behind a paywall, I can share the rankings. I don’t think it’s unfair to say that the […]
From Bleed Cubbie Blue
| 20 days ago
| 0 reads
Team News Diamondbacks’ Carroll to play for Team USA in 2026 World Baseball Classic “Couldn’t be more excited. It’s going to be awesome,” Carroll said. Carroll joins MLB stars Cal Raleigh (Mariners), American League MVP Aaron Judge (Yankees), pitcher Paul Skenes (Pirates), Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals) and Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs) suiting up for the U.S. […]
From AZ Snake Pit
| 20 days ago
| 2 reads
As Michael mentioned in the Lukewarm Stove yesterday , Royals lefty Kris Bubic is garnering some trade interest right now, according to Will Sammon at The Athletic . Given the Cubs’ reported interest over the summer, and given how extremely compelling he was looking as a trade target at that time, I wanted to give this rumor a little more attention.
Firstly, I want to note how Sammon frames the situation:
“At a time when club executives are doubting whether some top-of-the-rotation...
From Bleacher Nation | Chicago Sports News, Rumors, and a Reasonable Level of Obsession
| 21 days ago
| 1 read