Cubs Rumors & News

The Score "Since winning the World Series in 2016, and ending a century-old drought in the process, the Chicago Cubs have been bounced from the last two postseasons in the NLCS and wild-card game, respectively. First baseman Anthony Rizzo is feeling the pressure to return to the World Series as..." February 23

MLB Trade Rumors "Major League Baseball has formally announced the implementation of a 20-second pitch clock to be tested during Spring Training games. Jeff Passan of ESPN reportedminutes prior to the announcement that it’d be made today. Per the league’s announcement, there has been no decision..." February 22

NBC Sports Chicago "Did you really think the Cubs would have a set, stable lineup in 2019? That's cute.  It's not going to happen. Maybe someday, but not this year and probably not next season, either. There's no one person to blame for it. Joe Maddon doesn't want..." February 22

Hardball Talk "Earlier this week, Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle and his wife Eireann Dolan brought attention to a labor issue that likely would have flown under the radar. New Era, the official manufacturer of MLB caps, planned to close their factory in Derby New York, eliminating 219 union..." February 22

USA Today "It was cold and rainy Thursday morning in Phoenix, and the forecast from Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark was just as gloomy. It’s premature to talk about a strike until 2021, certainly no one is walking out of camp right now, and even..." February 22

Chicago Sun-Times "Two sides to everything? Just look at Yu Darvish. No, really, look at Yu Darvish. On any given day between Darvish’s assigned bullpen work or starts — spring or summer — a keen observer might notice the strange, wrong way he’s throwing the..." February 21

Chicago Tribune "Joe Maddon’s quest to communicate with his millennial players was off to a fine start less than two weeks into Cubs camp. “Very groovy,” Maddon said after Wednesday’s workout. I think Maddon meant “on fleek,” though I..." February 21

NBC Sports Chicago "Brandon Morrow won’t be back tomorrow. He won’t be back opening day. Probably more like the beginning of May. So what will Joe Maddon do? Well, it wasn’t like he didn’t deal with this last season. Morrow went down with an elbow injury and didn’t pitch after the..." February 20

Chicago Sun-Times "In an age of four-inning playoff starts and three-inning bullpen stars, the Cubs are keeping it old-school with their pitching approach in their efforts to return to late October this season. Emphasis on old. And school with a capital $. As other teams try new concepts such..." February 20

ESPN "Major League Baseball is putting new rules in place this season to guard against high-tech sign stealing, a source told ESPN's Jeff Passan, confirming an SI.com report. After several incidents of alleged stealing of catchers' signs last season, including during the..." February 20

NBC Sports Boston "Chris Sale’s impending free agency is reminiscent of the Red Sox situation with Jon Lester five years ago. Boston reportedly offered Lester a four-year deal worth $70 million before the 2014 season, but the team ended up trading their homegrown left-hander to the Athletics at..." February 19

Chicago Tribune "When Cubs player Addison Russell stepped to the mic late last week in front of a room full of reporters, he stuck to a simple message: “I am accountable for my past actions,” a phrase he repeated more than once in the nearly 20-minute exchange. In some circles,..." February 19

NBC Sports Chicago "The Cubs payroll has been a hot-button issue all winter.  The team spent big last winter on a free agent class led by Yu Darvish, then went out and won 95 games. But the Cubs were caught from behind by the Milwaukee Brewers and wound up at home on their couches — or..." February 18

Larry Brown Sports "Depending on who you ask, both Bryce Harper and Manny Machado may have been on the verge of signing massive free agent contracts weeks ago. Yet, the two sluggers remain unsigned, and Chicago Cubs superstar Anthony Rizzo is as baffled as anyone about all the inaccurate reporting. While..." February 18

ESPN "On the same day the Cubs announced a partnership with several Chicago area Muslim organizations, team owner Tom Ricketts expressed surprise over his father's association with racist and bigoted emails while continuing to distance his team from the controversy. "The emails..." February 18

Yardbarker "Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant spent a lot of 2018 hindered by a shoulder problem, but that is now behind him. Bryant said Monday that his shoulder is fully healthy and he is back to his normal swing after battling issues last season. " February 18

The Big Lead "PECOTA, Baseball Prospectus’ projection arm, initially forecast an 82-80 season for the Chicago Cubs. This was then changed to 80-82, good for last place in the NL Central.  The Cubs have shown how little they care about the projections. And how little stock they put in..." February 18

ESPN "Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant said he's more than happy to clear the air with Yadier Molina after offseason comments made by Bryant about the city of St. Louis raised the ire of the Cardinals' All-Star catcher. In a comedy sketch with former Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster..." February 18

USA Today "There were no tears. No cracks in his voice. No smile or laughter. Really, there was no signs of any emotion. Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell sat in front of about 30 reporters and camera crews Friday, and for 19 minutes, answered every question carefully, and..." February 16

NBC Sports Chicago "Brad Brach wouldn't go so far as to use the word "collusion," but he had some very interesting comments about the current state of Major League Baseball's free agency process. The veteran reliever signed a one-year deal with the Cubs last month with an option..." February 16

Chicago Tribune "The Cubs TV partnership with conservative-leaning Sinclair Broadcasting has some fans concerned. Will we see pro-Trump pundits in the booth during the seventh-inning stretch or discussions on the need for the border wall while Anthony Rizzo is at the..." February 15

NBC Sports Chicago "The Tyler Chatwood Conundrum has been hovering over the Cubs all winter. Where does he fit in on the 2019 pitching staff? If all the Cubs starters come out of spring training healthy, does that leave Chatwood in the bullpen? And if so, in what role? If a starting pitcher does get..." February 14

Sportress of Blogitude "The free-agency sagas of Bryce Harper and Manny Machado slog on with seemingly no end in sight, a baffling development with Spring Training set to get underway. Count Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lester among a group including Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander that believes..." February 14

Chicago Tribune "The Cubs wasted little time filling an open spot on their 40-man roster Wednesday by agreeing to terms on a one-year contract with left-handed reliever Xavier Cedeno. Cedeno, 32, posted a 2.43 ERA in 48 appearances with the White Sox and Brewers last season...." February 14

Larry Brown Sports "The Milwaukee Brewers don’t want Miller Park filled with Chicago Cubs fans when their NL Central rivals come to town, and they’re taking steps to try to make that happen. The Brewers announced a presale for tickets to Cubs games open only to Wisconsin residents on..." February 13

USA Today "I feel like I keep writing about Bryce Harper and Manny Machado in this space, and I apologize for repeating myself so much already. But with the NFL season over, the NBA season in its lull between the trade deadline and the playoff run, the NHL almost entirely..." February 13

Chicago Tribune "The Chicago Cubs are teaming with Sinclair Broadcast Group to launch a regional sports network in February 2020 that will become the exclusive television home of the Cubs. The Marquee Sports Network will air the full regular season schedule, expanded pregame and..." February 13

The Score "Addison Russell, who received a 40-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy, will be eligible to rejoin the Chicago Cubs by early May. But team president Theo Epstein may not welcome the shortstop back so readily. "We..." February 13

CBS Sports "For the second consecutive offseason, free agency has been incredibly slow and this time around, it feels like far too many contending teams with deep pockets are sitting out. We've started to see some grumbles from players like Jake Arrieta, Justin..." February 12

Chicago Sun-Times "Pitchers and catchers report Tuesday for the Cubs – the team that has ached as much as any other in baseball since October to reach that moment. “The end of last season was a collective failure that we need to own,” team president Theo Epstein said, “which is a..." February 12

Chicago Sun-Times "Cubs players said they stand by the front office’s decision to give Addison Russell a second chance after he was accused of physically and mentally abusing his ex-wife. “We’re human. He made a mistake,” reliever Pedro Strop said at Cubs Convention last month...." February 11

Chicago Tribune "The mound that Yu Darvish stood atop Sunday felt like a cozy home. Entering his second season with the Cubs as he attempts to rebound from an injury-plagued 2018, Darvish said he felt a sense of comfort during a 45-pitch bullpen session. It’s a..." February 11

MLB.com "All eyes will be on Kris Bryant this spring. Every swing within view on a practice field and every Cactus League plate appearance will be under the public microscope. For the Cubs, Bryant exists as the most critical component to correcting the offensive landslide that occurred last..." February 09

NBC Sports Chicago ""It's something that keeps us up at night." That's how Cubs senior VP Jason McLeod summed up the state of the organization's pitching development while at the fan convention last month. Rob Zastryzny still stands as the most impactful..." February 08

Hardball Talk "The stuff that came out the other day about the National League possibly adopting the Designated Hitter soon? Forget it: Commissioner Rob Manfred said today that expanding the DH is something that’ll have to wait until the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, which — barring an..." February 08

MLB Trade Rumors "MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said today at the owners’ meetings that the league is not interested in considering certain union-proposed changes in advance of the 2019 season, as Ronald Blum of the AP reports. In particular, Manfred indicated he is not open to the introduction of the..." February 08

NBC Sports Chicago "The Cubs might be following the Bears' lead and playing overseas soon.  Friday morning, the Associated Press reported that two people familiar with the situation say that Major League Baseball is considering the Cubs and Cardinals as one of two matchups for its 2020..." February 08

NBC Sports Chicago "Cubs pitcher and catchers report in a week and yet Bryce Harper still doesn't have a new team. That's not new information, of course, but it is a new normal. When the World Series ended 101 days ago, it sure didn't seem like we'd get to this point, with only..." February 07

CBS Sports "The Major League Baseball Players Association is reportedly pushing to add a designated hitter to National League rosters as soon as this season, one of several eye-opening changes being batted around by the union, and MLB. Per reports by Jeff Passan of ESPN and Ken..." February 07

Chicago Tribune "Dylan Cease didn’t advance very far in the Cubs organization before they traded him to the White Sox. But he hasn’t forgotten the special care the Cubs gave him after his Tommy John surgery five years ago as he prepares to play a prominent in the Sox’s promising..." February 07

USA Today "The baseball equipment and uniforms have been packed, the trucks are rolling on the highways, and in just a few days, spring training camps open in Florida and Arizona. While local TV crews have breathlessly showed clips and soundbites of team equipment trucks leaving their snowy..." February 06

Chicago Tribune "The Ricketts family is back in the news. Splinter News on Monday obtained and published a series of emails appearing to show Joe Ricketts, the patriarch of the family that owns the Cubs, sharing and endorsing racist jokes and conspiracy theories. In..." February 06

USA Today "Baseball has lurched to the one-week mark until almost every spring training camp opens, and of course you’re well-aware dozens of unsigned players won’t be walking through those doors. But never mind the unknown destinations of Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and a..." February 06

ESPN "Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are discussing potentially drastic changes to the on-field game and economic landscape of the sport in the middle of a..." February 06

The Score "Major League Baseball says the racist jokes in recently leaked emails from Joe Ricketts, the father of Chicago Cubs owner and chairman Tom Ricketts, are "extremely offensive" and "completely at odds" with the league's values and principles. "We are aware..." February 05

NBC Sports Chicago "Adbert Alzolay may still wind up a frontline starting pitcher for the Cubs, but it's safe to say he won't realize that potential in 2019. Alzolay — who turns 24 in March — has fallen off top prospect lists after a forgettable 2018 campaign in which he posted a..." February 05

Chicago Sun-Times "Leaked emails published Monday by the website SplinterNews.com revealed racist jokes and conspiracy theories spouted and/or shared by TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, the patriarch of the Cubs’ family ownership. The revelations prompted statements from Joe Ricketts and son..." February 05

SNY TV "With less than two weeks before pitchers and catchers report to spring training, dozens and dozens of quality major league free agents remain jobless. But there are no plans for the Players' Association to repeat last year's experiment with a training camp for unsigned..." February 04

Larry Brown Sports "The Chicago Cubs remain a non-factor in the Bryce Harper sweepstakes. Rumors began spreading across social media on Saturday that the Cubs quietly met with Harper on Friday, though even those rumors cautioned that no deal was anywhere near close. The rumors also turned out to be..." February 02

Chicago Tribune "The Cubs added depth to their bullpen Friday by signing free-agent reliever Tony Barnette to a one-year contract. Barnette, 35, has a 3.50 ERA in 125 appearances with the Rangers (2016-18), including a 2.39 ERA and 0.911 WHIP in 22 appearances in 2018. He missed the second half of..." February 01