Cubs Rumors & News

CBS Sports "Soon after the Astros or Braves are crowned World Series belt and title-holders for 2021, the focus of the baseball collective will shift to the labor negotiations that will be the catalyst for everything else that happens this coming offseason.  Said negotiations are predictably..." October 25

Bleacher Report "Major League Baseball may be gearing up for the World Series, but attention is already being paid to the offseason and the plethora of high-profile free agents who could be soon joining different teams. One such player is shortstop Carlos Correa, who is chasing his second World Series..." October 25

CBS Sports "Major League Baseball appears headed for its first work stoppage since 1994-95 players' strike. A work stoppage beginning on Dec. 2 is "almost certain," Ronald Bloom of the Associated Press writes.  The current collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the..." October 25

Clutch Points "As we saw in the Los Angeles Dodgers fourth and final loss to the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS on Saturday, it wasn’t meant to be two years in a row. On the heels of a 106-win season and a dramatic comeback against the San Francisco Giants (at least they beat them?), it definitely hurts to..." October 25

Bleacher Report "As it always does, the Major League Baseball postseason provided plenty of fun times on the lead-up to the World Series between Atlanta and the Houston Astros. Really, what more could anyone want? Well, cleaner, better officiated games for one thing. And maybe more watchable games...." October 25

The Athletic "About a month before the 2014 American League wild-card game, as members of the Kansas City Royals front office and coaching staff strategized about facing a one-game playoff, they diagnosed a problem with their roster. “The sixth inning was a little bit of a black hole,”..." October 25

Bleacher Report "Max Scherzer joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in July with hopes of winning his second World Series ring. In no small part thanks to his tired arm, however, those hopes were finally dashed on Saturday. Regardless, now begins one of the most fascinating free-agent sweepstakes in..." October 24

Bleacher Report "Most of the focus on MLB offseason roster moves will be on the free agents, who will become eligible to sign with new teams somewhere in the Nov. 4-8 range, depending on how long the World Series lasts. But offseason trades can also have a big impact on expectations for the..." October 22

The Athletic "As the Cubs prepare for what’s expected to be a busy winter of additions to their roster, they continue to add to an ever-evolving front office. Sources told The Athletic that team president Jed Hoyer is expected to bring in Ehsan Bokhari as assistant general manager, adding an executive..." October 22

Bleacher Report "Earlier this week, we ran through every MLB team's biggest surprise of the 2021 season, highlighting the likes of Cedric Mullins, Robbie Ray, Austin Riley, Garrett Whitlock, Ranger Suarez, Frank Schwindel and others who exceeded expectations this year. Now it's..." October 21

Sportsnet "Here’s a simple way for the Toronto Blue Jays to address their pitching needs this off-season: sign Max Scherzer and Robbie Ray. Or Kevin Gausman and Carlos Rodon. Grab Zack Greinke and Anthony DeSclafani while you’re at it. You can never have too much pitching, right? If..." October 21

The Score "Before the robots take over - at least behind home plate - Major League Baseball ought to try something seemingly obvious: employ its best ball-strike callers as home plate umpires in the playoffs. Remarkably, that's not something MLB is doing. October 21

CBS Sports "Baseball's current landscape makes it hard to not think about Carlos Beltrán. Take a look this way, and two of the franchises Beltrán played for (the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets) are seeking new managers. Take a look that way, and two teams that his legacy will..." October 21

Bleacher Report "Death, taxes and fans complaining about calls that don't go their way. As long as sports have existed, there has been an element of error that comes with living, breathing human beings officiating those sports. October 20

MLB Trade Rumors "The Reds were competitive in 2021 but ultimately came up short of a Wild Card berth. Cincinnati now faces the potential departure of one of their middle-of-the-order hitters, which would leave general manager Nick Krall needing to find some other way to bolster the offense while restructuring a..." October 20

Bleacher Report "Was anyone a bigger surprise during the 2021 MLB season than Baltimore Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins? That's certainly up for debate, but each team had at least one player who surpassed even the most optimistic expectations over the course of the year. October 20

Yardbarker "Longtime Cubs assistant general manager Randy Bush is leaving his position to become a senior advisor for the team’s baseball operations department, The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney reports. Bush has been Chicago’s assistant GM since December 2006, and briefly served as the..." October 20

Bleacher Report "The MLB offseason is right around the corner, and it's never too early to start setting the landscape for another busy winter of wheeling and dealing on the trade market. Last month, we counted down the top 25 upcoming free agents, and now it's time to turn our attention to..." October 19

Sportsnaut "As the 2021 season concludes, baseball fans and teams are excited for the exciting crop of MLB free agents who will be available this winter. From young shortstops like Carlos Correa and Corey Seager to future Hall of Famer pitchers like Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw, a lot of money will be..." October 19

MLB Trade Rumors "We’ve taken a position-by-position look at the upcoming free agent class at MLBTR in recent weeks. With the position players now all covered, we turn our attention to the starting pitching market. Each winter, free agency offers a wide variety of starting pitching tiers. There..." October 19

MLB Trade Rumors "The Cubs have designated catchers Erick Castillo and Tyler Payne for assignment, as relayed by Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (Twitter link). Additionally, Johneshwy Fargas, Tyler Ladendorf and Joe Biagini — each of whom were selected to the majors..." October 18

CBS Sports "Nearly two weeks have passed since the San Diego Padres fired manager Jayce Tingler following a disappointing 2021 season. It wasn't all Tingler's fault, of course; the Padres suffered from myriad injuries, especially on the pitching side, and their underlying measures suggested they..." October 18

ESPN "Amid mounting pressure from players and advocacy groups, Major League Baseball will require teams to provide housing for minor league players starting in 2022, sources told ESPN. While MLB has yet to outline its plan formally, six team officials told ESPN they are starting to prepare..." October 17

Bleacher Report "No MLB postseason series lead is safe. According to Matt Kelly of MLB.com, there have been 14 instances in history when a team has blown a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series. Those 14 losing teams make up our list of contenders for the title of worst playoff collapse in MLB..." October 17

Larry Brown Sports "Alex Rodriguez had a message for the “analytics people” in MLB on Saturday. Kiké Hernandez has been on fire this postseason. He hit two home runs in Game 1 of the ALCS and another homer in Game 2 on Saturday. He entered Game 2 of the ALCS batting .500 in the..." October 17

MLB Trade Rumors "As the offseason gets underway, players around baseball continue to elect minor league free agency.  While the threshold for big league free agency (six-plus years of Major League service time) is well known, there are several methods of qualifying for minor league free agency.  The..." October 17

The Athletic "So who is worth more, Francisco Lindor or Carlos Correa? Oh, I know. Lindor signed a $341 million extension with the Mets because the team’s new owner, Steve Cohen, wanted to make a splash, show his fans he was willing to spend big. I can hear rival..." October 16

MLB Trade Rumors "With the League Championship Series having kicked off tonight, we’re moving ever closer to the offseason. With free agency approaching, MLBTR has taken a position-by-position look at the options who’ll be available on the open market. Today, we turn our attention to the..." October 16

Bleacher Report "The Chicago Cubs have named Carter Hawkins their 16th general manager in franchise history, the club announced Friday.  Hawkins spent 14 seasons with Cleveland in various roles, including the past five as the club's assistant general manager.  October 15

MLB Trade Rumors "Three full offseasons have elapsed since the Cubs signed Yu Darvish to a six-year contract, and the only multi-year arrangement they’ve signed with a free agent in the offseasons since was a two-year, $5MM deal to utilityman Daniel Descalso. Even including the in-season..." October 15

Sporting News "Mike Shildt is out as the Cardinals manager, fired during a Thursday morning meeting with John Mozeliak, the club’s president of baseball operations.  It was a surprise to Shildt, as characterized by Mozeliak, who cited “philosophical..." October 14

Bleacher Report "When the 2021 Major League Baseball postseason concludes in a few weeks, suitors will start lining up for one of the best free-agent classes in recent memory. It'll be up to those free agents to choose their next homes wisely. October 14

NBC Sports Chicago "It was hours after the game on a late-May afternoon at Wrigley Field nine years ago, when the long-quiet ballpark suddenly came alive again with the noise of crack after crack after crack of the bat — and clank after clank of balls hitting seats in the bleachers of left, center and right..." October 14

Yahoo! Sports "Round and round and round we go. For the fifth time in a five-year span, the Mets are searching for another manager. Following Terry Collins’ stretch at the helm from 2011-17, the Mets have gone through three managers and recorded losing records in three of their last four..." October 14

MLB Trade Rumors "The Padres’ trade deadline explorations included some talks with the Cubs about first baseman Anthony Rizzo, The Athletic’s Dennis Lin writes as part of a reader mailbag.  It isn’t known how far negotiations might have developed between the two sides, and the Cubs..." October 14

The Athletic "An old Acer laptop sits on top of a mini fridge in a 17th-floor dorm room at Boston University. It has one job. Every morning, at 10:30 a.m., the laptop whirs to life and runs some simple Python code, scraping data from an internet library, generating graphics and spitting them out to more than..." October 14

Bleed Cubbie Blue "Late last week, four finalists for the job of Cubs general manager were reported, and I posed the question to you: Which would you choose of these four? Carlos Rodriguez, Rays vice president of player development and international scouting October 13

Bleacher Report "It's never too early to start looking ahead to the MLB offseason. This year's free-agent class is headlined by middle infielders Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Trevor Story, first baseman Freddie Freeman, third baseman Kris Bryant, right fielder Nick..." October 13

Bleacher Report "MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday that fans, players and teams can expect more nontraditional types of venues for games in the future, per Mark J. Burns of Sports Business Journal. Manfred mentioned he's interested in having games "where they don't..." October 12

Sportsnaut "As the 2021 season concludes, baseball fans and teams are excited for the exciting crop of MLB free agents who will be available this winter. From young shortstops like Carlos Correa and Corey Seager to future Hall of Famer pitchers like Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw, a lot of money will be..." October 12

The Score "Qualifying offers for impending free agents this offseason will be $18.4 million, which is down $500,000 from last winter, sources told Buster Olney of ESPN. A player will reportedly have to accept or reject the qualifying offer before the collective bargaining agreement expires Dec...." October 12

Bleacher Report "By Friday morning, only four MLB fanbases will still be cheering their teams on in 2021. Most have already turned their attention to what might lie ahead in 2022. But we're taking that one step further for a look at the most troubling contract situations for 2023 and..." October 12

Bloomberg "Players and coaches in baseball’s Atlantic League had been dreading the change for more than a year. “I don’t understand why they’re doing it,” Danny Barnes, a relief pitcher for the Long Island Ducks, told me during batting practice a week before its debut at the..." October 11

Bleacher Report "After implementing an expanded postseason field for the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the MLB playoffs returned to a 10-team format in 2021. That means 20 teams were on the outside looking in when the regular season ended, and each of those teams is facing a different set of..." October 11

MLB Trade Rumors "Matt Swartz has created a model to project salaries for arbitration eligible players, which we’ve been publishing at MLB Trade Rumors for 11 years. In the baseball industry, teams and agents determine arbitration salaries by identifying comparable players. To project the entire..." October 11

Bleacher Report "Young talent has been and still very much is all the rage in Major League Baseball, but even the game's best young players can still get better. As for how? Well, we have ideas for 10 of them. October 11

MLB Trade Rumors "As to who would be interested in acquiring him, it would have to be a team with a need behind the plate, of course. But given that he only has one year of control, it would also have to be a win-now club. Let’s look at which teams could fit the..." October 10

Yardbarker "As the offseason creeps closer and closer, we’ll continue our position-by-position look at the upcoming free-agent class. We’ve already covered catchers, first basemen, third basemen, second basemen and shortstops. Next up, center..." October 10

Bleacher Report "Building an MLB roster is all about maximizing value from the high-priced superstars all the way down to the last guy on the bench. With that in mind, a team that gets good bang for its buck is going to be in a better position to field a competitive and well-balanced roster...." October 09

MLB Trade Rumors "Cubs president Jed Hoyer is narrowing his search for a new general manager, focusing on candidates with a strong history in player development. A decision could come after the divisional round of the playoffs. Per The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney, among the final..." October 09