Cubs Rumors & News

MLB.com "- Anthony Rizzo would love nothing more than to remain with the Cubs for the rest of his career. He has made that clear multiple times over the years, and maybe there is a way to make to still make it happen. The reality is that hopes do not always align with plans. Rizzo --..." January 17

NJ "The Chicago Cubs are hoping to upgrade their center field depth and bring in someone who can hit leadoff before the start of spring training. One of the options that GM Theo Epstein is considering to fill both spots is former Yankees bust Jacoby Ellsbury, who was..." January 17

Cubs Insider "You’ll never believe this, but the Cubs have signed another pitcher to a minor-league deal. As first reported by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, the club has reached an agreement with lefty Tyler Olson that will pay him $650,000 if he makes the roster. Though it wasn’t specified, the..." January 17

Sporting News "Nostalgia can be a gift and a curse. Oftentimes, nostalgia operates as nothing more than beer goggles — distorting the view of something from afar while we slam Natty Light after Natty Light. Then, the sensation passes, and we're reminded of our jobs, our stresses,..." January 16

The Big Lead "Dave Martinez stands alone. With the firings of Alex Cora and A.J. Hinch this week, the Washington Nationals manager has become unique in his sport. He's the only manager in Major League Baseball to have won a World Series for his current franchise. And it just happened in..." January 16

Hardball Talk "There’s an element to all of this Astros and Red Sox news that keeps coming up that I want to dig in to. Indeed, it’s a thing that comes up every single time a team or a player gets in trouble for something. It’s the “hey, they weren’t the only ones doing it! They..." January 15

Chicago Tribune "While the Cubs await an arbitrator’s decision on Kris Bryant’s grievance regarding service time, they continue to add low-cost bullpen help. They reached an agreement on a minor-league contract with Jason Adam, according to a tweet Tuesday night by baseball writer Robert..." January 15

MLB Trade Rumors "Monday was one of the most stunning days baseball has seen in recent memory. Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and A.J. Hinch, who oversaw several contending teams in Houston and led the club to a World Series championship, lost their jobs as a result of a sign-stealing scandal. Before..." January 14

Larry Brown Sports "Yu Darvish continues to demonstrate he has an elite sense of humor. The Chicago Cubs pitcher was on the mound for Games 3 and 7 of the 2017 World Series for the Dodgers and was hit hard by the Houston Astros both times, losing both games. That came after he was dominant in wins over..." January 13

Mercury News "The Oakland A’s list of offseason priorities is short, but they checked two needs with one trade on Monday afternoon.  The A’s acquired Tony Kemp from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for minor league infielder Alfonso Rivas, the club announced. Kemp will hit his first..." January 13

MLB.com "The Rangers are in agreement with veteran slugger Todd Frazier on a one-year, $5 million deal with a club option for 2021, pending a physical, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. The 34-year-old could fill a big hole at the hot corner for Texas, which missed out on..." January 13

Bleacher Report "Pitchers and catchers report in less than a month. Most of the top free agents have come off the board. Yet multiple impact players remain unsigned, ranging from genuine stars (Josh Donaldson, Marcell Ozuna) to high-upside gambles (Taijuan Walker, Yasiel Puig). As we await..." January 13

Sportsnet "This could be Rob Manfred’s decade. No, check that: it very much needs to be Rob Manfred’s decade. The recent passing of NBA commissioner David Stern gave all of us pause to reflect on the evolution of North American professional sports; to reflect on how the NFL has..." January 13

MLB.com "Javier Báez has been able to create magic on the field for his whole career, but he hasn't always been the best. Now he is. Báez has always been capable of making the sensational play -- that's why he's so fun to watch -- but he's grown from a..." January 11

Arizona Sports "The Arizona Diamondbacks have reportedly signed a former top pitching prospect of the Chicago Cubs to a minor league deal. Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY reported Thursday the D-backs signed Trevor Clifton, the Cubs’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2016. Clifton..." January 11

Sportsnaut "As rumors continue to swirl regarding All-Star Kris Bryant’s future in Chicago, the Cubs are reportedly itching to make a significant move and that could make a trade of the star third baseman even more likely this offseason. According to The Athletic’s Ken..." January 10

The Score "The Chicago Cubs and third baseman Kris Bryant settled on a one-year, $18.6 -million contract for the 2020 season to avoid arbirtation, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. " January 10

Bleacher Report "Major League Baseball's $300 million contract club is rapidly expanding. Giancarlo Stanton became the first player to sign a $300 million deal when the Miami Marlins extended him for $325 million over 13 years in 2014. He was all alone until 2019, when Manny Machado,..." January 10

The Big Lead "When the Chicago Cubs ended their historic World Series drought and lifted the Commissioner's Trophy in 2016, everyone in Major League Baseball assumed it was just the beginning. Their championship run was driven by young talent like Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Javier Baez, and Willson..." January 09

The Score "Kris Bryant is likely to remain under team control for two more seasons, as he's expected to lose his service-time grievance against the Chicago Cubs, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Bryant filed the grievance against the Cubs four years ago after his..." January 09

The Big Lead "Nolan Arenada, the Colorado Rockies' 28-year old All-Star, is probably going to get traded, as reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Arenada signed an eight-year, $260 million contract in 2019, but the third baseman has an opt-out after the 2021 season so the Rockies could lose..." January 09

12 Up "The MLB offseason is the time for prospective contenders to either strike it rich with some big-name free agents like Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon or make some quality under-the-radar moves like the additions of Nomar Mazara and Edwin Encarnacion, just to name a few, in Chicago...." January 09

MLB.com "It's been reported throughout the offseason that the Reds have expressed interest in free agent Nicholas Castellanos, but could that be changing? It's not necessarily that Cincinnati no longer is interested in Castellanos. Rather, it's a matter of whether the..." January 09

12 Up "The Chicago Cubs are having a very uncharacteristic offseason. After winning the World Series back in 2016, the Cubbies have regularly been in the market for top-of-the-line free agents, and weren't afraid to surrender some money from their savings account. Yet, the Cubs..." January 08

Larry Brown Sports "There is still a chance that the Colorado Rockies could trade Nolan Arenado before the start of the regular season, and there are two teams they might be hoping become interested in their star third baseman. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Rockies are..." January 08

12 Up "Being paired with the Pittsburgh Pirates in terms of offseason spending habits is never a good sign. For the Cubs, it's downright embarrassing, especially after failing to reach their postseason aspirations in 2019. The North Siders seem to be accepting that their recent..." January 07

NBC Sports Chicago "The Cubs have signed infielder Carlos Asuaje to a minor-league deal, according to The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma. Asuaje has played in 175 games with the Padres in parts of three big-league seasons from 2016-18. The 28-year-old holds a career .240/.312/.329 slash line..." January 07

The Score "Major League Baseball is discussing the idea of using on-field technology to encode communication between pitchers and catchers and help prevent sign-stealing, reports Hannah Keyser of Yahoo Sports. The commissioner's office is developing several prototype devices, sources..." January 06

Sportsnaut "Many MLB teams have been busy this winter, turning over their rosters and making the moves necessary to take significant strides in the 2020 season. While some have stepped up this winter, others have fallen short. Whether due to front offices missing out on top free agents or..." January 06

Lone Star Ball "Nicholas Castellanos and the Texas Rangers had a positive meeting, according to Jon Paul Morosi, who says that the Rangers are “among the finalists” to land the free agent. Castellanos, a power hitting righthanded outfielder, is also sought by..." January 06

The Score "The likelihood of a Nolan Arenado trade is reportedly down to a coin flip, as the Colorado Rockies are fielding offers for the superstar third baseman and looking for a package that includes a controllable first baseman or center fielder. While 29 teams..." January 06

Clutch Points "The Chicago Cubs have been flirting with the prospect of trading star third baseman Kris Bryant since the beginning of the offseason, but it seems more and more unlikely a deal will get done. David Kaplan of NBC Sports Chicago spoke with some rival executives who stated..." January 06

NBC Sports "With the calendar flipped to 2020, the upcoming baseball season is not far away. Spring Training starts in a little over a month and Opening Day is right around the corner in late March. If you live in Chicago or you root for one of the two Chicago baseball teams you have seen two..." January 05

Bleacher Nation "While signing Starlin Castro and then Asdrubal Cabrera in quick succession doesn’t necessarily mean the Nationals are definitely out on free agent Josh Donaldson, it certainly does mean they are better covered in the even they don’t land him. In fact, it wouldn’t be..." January 04

12 Up "The Nationals are trying hard to fill Anthony Rendon's vaunted roster spot, but...maybe not quite hard enough. As the Josh Donaldson derby reaches its logical conclusion with a four-year deal coming soon, it seems likely he lands in either Atlanta, Minnesota,..." January 02

The Union Journal "Veteran catcher Robinson Chirinos is “shut to creating a call” on his subsequent group, in keeping with MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). He has drawn vast curiosity thus far of the winter. It’s nonetheless completely unclear the place Chirinos..." January 02

Yardbarker "Righty Will Harris has drawn somewhat less pressing interest than might have been supposed entering the offseason. But the veteran is mulling offers from multiple teams and could soon sign, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Harris is said to have drawn..." January 02

TSN "Marcell Ozuna is one of the premier free agent bats left on the board, but that might not be the case for long. According to The MLB Network's Mark Feinsand, Ozuna's market is "gaining some clarity." He adds the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals and Texas..." January 02

MLB Trade Rumors "We’ve glanced in at a few areas of the player market to see what’s left after a busy first few months of the offseason. With a New Year’s freeze in effect on the news cycle, let’s do the same for the center field market. The lack of supply sufficient to meet..." January 02

MLB.com "The arrival of a new calendar year brings increased anticipation for Spring Training, and with camp now about six weeks away for Major League clubs, each has several questions that need to be answered before Opening Day. Here's a look at those questions, as well as a link to other important..." January 01

MLB.com "When it comes to pulling off a trade, three is sometimes not a crowd, but a necessity. While almost all deals involve two teams working out an exchange, sometimes the addition of a third brings some previously absent element into the mix that allows everyone to get what they want. It..." December 31

Sporting News "Happy (almost) New Year! Of course, for the baseball fans, the new year doesn't actually start until March 26, 2020. As we inch closer to Opening Day, we'll have more certainties and a better idea of what teams and players will be in the new league year. But until..." December 31

MLB Trade Rumors "Entering the offseason, the market for rotation upgrades was robust — arguably one of the strongest groups of free-agent starters we’d seen. Two bona fide aces — Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg — headlined a group that also featured the NL Cy Young..." December 30

MLB.com "As the 2010s come to a close, it's time to look back at the best home runs of the decade. There were 51,931 homers hit from 2010-19, but there are a choice few that will always stand out as the most memorable, whether they came in the clutch during the postseason, were milestone shots for..." December 30

Complex "On an album that will largely serve as an afterthought in the catalog of (arguably) the greatest rapper of all time, there was a taunt that caused plenty of sports fans to perk up when they heard it.   In the first verse of the eighth track of his 2013 offering Magna..." December 30

The Score "10. Pete Alonso walks off Home Run Derby The New York Mets first baseman was a tour de force during his first campaign in the majors. Before breaking MLB's single-season rookie homer record, Alonso won an epic long-ball derby with three walk-off dingers, including that blast to..." December 30

The Score "With the calendar ready to turn to 2020, here's a look at the top 10 stories in Major League Baseball from 2019:  10. Free-agency freeze - and sudden thaw The stars of last year's free-agent class had to wait until spring training to find homes; only then did..." December 29

Sporting News "The current contentious dispute between Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball became public in October, when Baseball America reported that MLB had offered a plan to eliminate as many as 42 minor-league teams after the 2020 minor-league season, when the Professional Baseball..." December 28

MLB Trade Rumors "The elite class of free agents – those capable of landing significant multiyear contracts – has shrunk to almost nothing since the market opened at the beginning of November. Third baseman Josh Donaldson, who could wind up with a contract in the $80MM vicinity (if not more)..." December 28

MLB.com "After an up-and-down 2019 season that featured a slow start in Detroit followed by a white-hot stretch in Chicago, Nicholas Castellanos is testing the free-agent market. Below is a list of the latest news and rumors surrounding the 27-year-old outfielder, who is a free agent..." December 27