Cubs Rumors & News

NBC Sports Chicago "The Cubs have some interesting roster decisions to make in the near future.  The big-league pitching staff is potentially going to get very crowded very quickly with Tony Barnette now added into the mix, Craig Kimbrel close to making his debut and Kyle Hendricks and Carl..." June 24

Bleacher Report "It's a safe guess Major League Baseball megastars such as Mike Trout, Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger and Alex Bregman won't be available ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. There are otherwise plenty of stars who will be—and quite a few unexpected ones who..." June 24

12 Up "While the American League might be the more top-heavy league this season, the National League is stuffed with contenders, as at least six or seven teams this year have legitimate shots at the pennant. To do that, however, they will need to figure out which of their promising young..." June 24

MLB.com "The Chicago Cubs today activated right-handed pitcher Tony Barnette off of the 60-day injured list. To make room for Barnette on the 25-man roster, right-handed pitcher Rowan Wick was optioned to Triple-A Iowa following yesterday’s game. Barnette will be available for the Cubs this..." June 23

NBC Sports Chicago "The two most important arms at the back end of the Cubs bullpen have been trending in opposite directions recently. Craig Kimbrel threw an 8-pitch outing Tuesday with Triple-A Iowa and will pitch again for the club Friday. There's a potential he goes again Saturday depending on..." June 21

12 Up "Now past the midway point of June, the top dogs of the MLB have, for the most part, emerged. But even in their success, there's still plenty of baseball left to play, and there are still concerns that could be these division leaders' undoings down the stretch. Let's..." June 21

Chicago Tribune "The news was revealed at the end of Joe Maddon’s postgame press conference Wednesday night, almost as an afterthought. Asked if there were any roster moves to report, Maddon mentioned reliever Tim Collins was designated for assignment. “And Alzolay will be here..." June 20

NBC Sports Chicago "Craig Kimbrel's progression towards joining the Cubs bullpen took another step in the right direction on Tuesday. In his first outing with Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, Kimbrel not only pitched a perfect inning of relief against the Sacramento River Cats, but he needed just eight..." June 20

NBC Sports Chicago "Kyle Hendricks' shoulder injury isn't opening the door for Adbert Alzolay to make his way into the Cubs rotation. Not initially, at least. The Cubs will hand Tyler Chatwood the ball in Hendricks' normal spot Thursday evening against the Mets at Wrigley Field,..." June 19

New York Times "Top officials from Major League Baseball and the M.L.B. Players’ Association met at the league office on Monday, the first step in a process that the union hopes will result in substantive changes to the sport’s labor agreement. Monday’s meeting was only to discuss..." June 18

MLB Trade Rumors "We’re bringing back our annual series in the run-up to the trade deadline, drawing from our power ranking approach to pending free agents. As the summer trade market develops on a fairly tight timeline, you can expect more regular updates when modifications to the list are..." June 18

Sporting News "The Cubs have studied the possibility of opening a sportsbook at Wrigley Field and in spots just outside of the Chicago stadium, ESPN.com reported, citing multiple unidentified sources familiar with the team's thinking. Expanded sports betting is part of a gambling bill that..." June 17

Chicago Tribune "Addison Russell rejoined the Cubs 5½ weeks ago, but the power he displayed during the 2016-17 seasons remains missing. “I feel like everything is fine,” said Russell, who rejoined the Cubs on May 8 after serving a 40-game suspension for violating..." June 17

Yardbarker "Cubs free agent acquisition Craig Kimbrel is scheduled to join the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Since signing with his new club, Kimbrel had been working at the Cubs’ complex in Arizona, but he will now travel to Sacramento for his first game..." June 16

Chicago Sun-Times "An already tough Cubs road trip went from bad to worse Saturday, when right-hander Kyle Hendricks went on the injured list because of what he described as “discomfort” in his right shoulder. Hendricks said he began noticing something while playing catch in the days leading..." June 16

Sportsnaut "Chicago Cubs ace starter Jon Lester looked darn good for three-plus innings in a marquee matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers Thursday evening. He had yielded zero runs and took a 3-0 lead into the fourth. That’s when a David Freese liner caught Lester in the..." June 15

Sportsnaut "As the Chicago Cubs battle it out to reclaim the top spot in the NL Central, they’ll now have to do it without starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks for the foreseeable future. On Saturday, Chicago placed the right-handed pitcher on the 10-day injured list with inflammation in his..." June 15

Larry Brown Sports "Umpire CB Bucknor is not a popular guy around Major League Baseball, and Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon is the latest to publicly criticize him. The Cubs did not like Bucknor’s strike zone in a 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday. After the game, Maddon took a direct..." June 15

Orange County Register "In the eyes of many, Yu Darvish will be returning to the scene of the crime Saturday night. The Japanese right-hander will start for the Chicago Cubs against the Dodgers, his first start at Dodger Stadium since he robbed the Dodgers of any chance to win the 2017 World Series –..." June 15

Larry Brown Sports "We’re over two months into the MLB season, and things are really starting to take shape across the league. While we’ve been delighted by the performances of numerous star players, there are also some big names that have, for whatever reason, simply failed to launch in 2019 and have..." June 14

NBC Sports Chicago "The Cubs are leaving the door open for Ben Zobrist to possibly return to action at some point this season. Ahead of Thursday’s game against the Dodgers, Cubs president Theo Epstein told reporters in Los Angeles, including ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, that he’s been..." June 14

NBC Sports Washington "The baseball has been a torture device this season, thumping hitters from shoulder to toe, producing injuries which have altered races. The Nationals know this as well as anyone. Anthony Rendon appeared part of Voodoo get-back when he was hit on the elbow, foot, shin and quad. He’s played..." June 14

MLB Trade Rumors "Within a broader look at the potential return of Ben Zobrist later this season, The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney writes (subscription required) that the Cubs believe they can shift their trade-deadline focus to acquiring left-handed relief help now that they’ve..." June 14

Sporting News "When the Red Sox fell to 11-17 in late-April with a loss to the Rays, they forced themselves to spend much of the first half playing catch-up in the AL East. Boston has somewhat recovered from the slow start, but it remains 7 1/2 games out of the AL East and in far worse shape than Tampa Bay or..." June 14

Total Pro Sports "Las Vegas has been mentioned in the past few years as a possibility for Major League Baseball expansion, with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred stating on The Dan Patrick Show in 2018, “I think Vegas is a viable expansion alternative. I think it’s big enough.” Vegas..." June 13

NPR "President Trump has resumed talks with Major League Baseball owners after his administration blocked a historic agreement that would have allowed Cuban baseball players to join MLB teams without having to defect. But the White House made clear that in exchange for revisiting..." June 13

NBC Sports Chicago "Aiming to avoid a sweep in Colorado and halting a five-game road losing streak, the Cubs were dealt a big blow to the team before they even began the game Wednesday afternoon. Steve Cishek was carted off the field during pregame warm-ups as he took a ball off the leg while playing..." June 12

USA Today "With four teams on pace to lose 100 games, there will already be enough meaningless baseball this summer without declaring any division races dead by Flag Day. Yet here we are. A potent combination of organizational brilliance and competitive malfeasance has once..." June 12

NBC Sports Chicago "Who should be the Cubs' everyday second baseman?  It's a topic we've seen pop up every now and then throughout the first couple months of the 2019 season and it's a fair question/debate, but it misses the big picture — the 2019 Cubs probably won't ever..." June 11

Chicago Tribune "While Kyle Schwarber’s offensive surge and the comforts of Wrigley Field helped the Cubs regain a share of first place in the National League Central entering Monday, the resurgence of the rotation has provided a stabilizing effect. “We all..." June 11

NBC Sports Chicago "It's safe to say the Cubs have found their long-term leadoff hitter.  The revolving door atop the order has stopped over the last month, with Kyle Schwarber stepping into the role and running with it.   As his team completed the sweep of the rival..." June 10

Atlanta Journal-Constitution "The Braves ultimately benefited from Dallas Keuchel’s lengthy free agency, scooping him off the market with a one-year, $13 million deal that was announced Friday. Keuchel became this team’s second-largest free agent investment, behind Josh Donaldson’s one-year, $23..." June 08

12 Up "When Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Báez broke into the league, he was an undisciplined hacker who, despite possessing enough bat speed to chop down a tree with a single swing, almost never made solid contact. Over time, he's evolved into one of the most complete hitters in the..." June 07

12 Up "We all know how good Cole Hamels has been throughout his career, but these recent stats are flat out insane. Since being traded from the Texas Rangers to the Chicago Cubs in 2018, Hamels has been otherworldly at Wrigley Field, and has really enjoyed playing the St. Louis..." June 07

ESPN "After months of waiting to join a team -- he says the wait was harder on his friends and family -- elite closer Craig Kimbrel arrived at Wrigley Field on Friday declaring himself ready for action. Kimbrel, 31, signed a three-year deal with the Chicago Cubs after becoming a free agent..." June 07

MLB Trade Rumors "The Twins “pushed hard” this week for closer Craig Kimbrel before he agreed to a three-year, $43MM contract with the Cubs on Wednesday, according to Dan Hayes of The Athletic (subscription link). Minnesota’s offer was “competitive,” but the team was only willing to..." June 07

London Evening Standard "London Stadium will host two more Major League Baseball games next year, with the St Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs confirmed for two meetings in the capital next June. The two teams boast 14 World Series titles between them and will play out the two games on June 13-14 in 2020..." June 07

The Score "The Chicago Cubs will have to wait a little while longer before seeing their newest acquisition in game action. Manager Joe Maddon said Thursday that closer Craig Kimbrel is probably about three weeks away from joining the club as an active player. "I would imagine in..." June 06

Sporting News "Craig Kimbrel is now the presumed Cubs closer after reportedly agreeing to a three-year, $43 million contract with Chicago on Wednesday night. He'd gone the entire offseason and the first part of the regular season without a deal despite being widely regarded as one of the best relief..." June 06

D-Rays Bay "The Rays had shown repeated interest in generational closer Craig Kimbrel, and were prepared to sign him once the loss of a draft pick was removed as a cost for doing so this week. Instead, they were outbid by the Cubs, and thanks to Ken Rosenthal we now know by how..." June 06

Bleacher Report "This is the time of year when it's easy to get carried away with discussions of which players should be moved ahead of Major League Baseball's July 31 trade deadline. In this instance, we're going to shift the focus onto players who shouldn't be..." June 06

Alabama "Mississippi State signee Ethan Hearn is planning to pass on his college career and sign a pro baseball contract with the Chicago Cubs. Hearn, a standout catcher at Mobile Christian, was selected by the Cubs in the sixth round of Tuesday’s MLB Draft. He was Pick No. 192..." June 05

CBS Sports "The top closer on last winter's free agent market and one of the best relievers in baseball history finally has a new team. According to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic, the Chicago Cubs and Craig Kimbrel have agreed to a contract. The team has not yet confirmed the..." June 05

Yardbarker "The Cubs have reached an agreement with their sixth-round pick, high school catcher Ethan Hearn, NBC Sports Chicago’s David Kaplan reports (Twitter link).  Hearn had been committed to Mississippi State, though he will instead begin his pro career after receiving a substantially large..." June 05

MLB Trade Rumors "The Cubs are “pushing hard” to sign free-agent closer Craig Kimbrel, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). He’d obviously be a much-needed upgrade for a Cubs ’pen that has been without closer Brandon Morrow all season and has endured..." June 05

Larry Brown Sports "The Major League Baseball trade deadline is roughly a month and a half away, but trade season appears to have started in earnest with the Seattle Mariners shipping Jay Bruce to the Philadelphia Phillies. While the trades won’t exactly come fast and furious from this point on, it is..." June 05

Chicago Sun-Times "It was just a bruised heel. But 43 at-bats later, it started to look more like a sore shoulder, specifically, that sore shoulder that never got better and derailed Kris Bryant’s 2018 season even as he played through it. Javy Baez’s bruised heel the 2019 version..." June 05

Houston Chronicle "The terrifying incident that saw a young fan struck with a foul ball last week at Minute Maid Park "will spur additional conversations" about ballpark netting and safety, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday. "That conversation will take..." June 05

MLB Trade Rumors "The Cubs will welcome back reliever Pedro Strop from the injured list, manager Joe Maddon tells Bruce Levine of 670 The Score (Twitter link). Fellow righty Dillon Maples was optioned down to make room. Strop’s return from a hamstring injury is an important..." June 04

Chicago Tribune "The Cubs added three-time All-Star outfielder Carlos Gonzalez to their 25-man roster in time for Monday’s game against the Angels. The left-handed hitting Gonzalez, 33, is a lifetime .285 hitter who hit a career-high 40 home runs in 2015 and drove in 100 runs..." June 03