Cubs Rumors & News

Bleacher Report "With the Major League Baseball regular season nearly six weeks old, there are a few statistical anomalies that appear to be unsustainable. Justin Verlander and Michael Wacha cannot possibly maintain their historically great marks in batting average against and baserunners stranded,..." May 17

Sportsnaut "Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price is looking for an opportunity to start and it seems the club wants to make it happen. With Peter Gammons of The Athletic reporting the Dodgers’ willingness to move Price, he’s now one of the leading MLB trade..." May 16

Bleacher Report "Take it easy on Major League Baseball's umpires, would ya? Yeah, I know. This isn't an easy ask in the best of times, and the 2022 season has only been the best of times for umpires if one unironically enjoys what they call the "ump show." To..." May 14

Sportsnaut "The Boston Red Sox entered 2022 hoping to compete for a World Series and to sign a Xander Bogaerts contract extension. Nearly two months into the season, neither seem like realistic possibilities as Boston plummets down the MLB standings. Bogaerts, the..." May 13

ESPN "Texas Rangers closer Joe Barlow was skeptical about PitchCom at first. The electronic device, used to transmit pitch signals from the catcher to the pitcher in an effort to curb sign stealing, is brand new in Major League Baseball this season, and Barlow wondered what..." May 13

Chicago Tribune "Time heals all wounds, so it wasn’t surprising to hear Anthony Rizzo has gotten over his “bad breakup” with the Chicago Cubs. Rizzo on Thursday returned to Chicago, the town he once owned, as first baseman for the New York Yankees, who opened a four-game series..." May 13

Bleacher Report "The 2022 Major League Baseball season is nearly 20 percent completed (five out of 26 weeks), which is the perfect time for some early report card grades. Marks for each team are based on how their play has compared to preseason expectations. (Win totals via DraftKings.) In other..." May 13

MLB Trade Rumors "As always, this year’s trade deadline will prominently feature many players who will be eligible for free agency after the season.  Here’s a look at 10 rental hitters off to strong starts who could be available in trade.  All of the teams included in this post currently..." May 11

Clutch Points "The MLB has announced future plans for games held in the city of London, beginning in 2023. The partnership features regular season games in 2023, 2024, and 2026. The MLB held games in London for the first time in its history back in 2019, where the Red..." May 11

CBS Sports "Major League Baseball's regular season is now more than a month old. Every team has played at least 25 games, or 15 percent of its schedule. In other words, it's that time of the year when people start wondering, is their team's seemingly overperforming player for real? After all,..." May 11

CBS Sports "Sampson was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Monday and has now been removed from the 40-man roster. The 30-year-old fired a scoreless inning during his lone appearance with the big-league club. " May 11

CBS Sports "Just over a month into the 2022 Major League Baseball season, unfortunately, one of the biggest stories to this point has been the ball. The actual, physical orb we have long called a baseball is a discussion point, and mostly a negative one.  Here at CBS Sports, Mike Axisa..." May 10

The Score "Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani believes the new baseballs being used this season have been responsible for a dip in offensive production throughout the league. "I do feel it personally, and just by watching the games, I feel like the balls aren't..." May 10

Total Pro Sports "It’s no surprise that sports fans consume a ton of alcohol at games, but which fan base drinks the most in Major League Baseball. NY Gambling Online surveyed 2,000 MLB fans across the country to see which teams have the “booziest” fanbase. " May 10

MLB Trade Rumors "The Padres have claimed infielder Sergio Alcántara off waivers from the Diamondbacks, both teams announced this afternoon. Though he’s still only 25, the Friars will be Alcántara’s fourth big-league team. Arizona had designated him for..." May 09

The Big Lead "The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers are facing off on Sunday Night Baseball and a really weird thing happened. During a fourth inning at-bat, Cubs catcher Willson Contreras grabbed Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy in the crotch while chasing a wild pitch thrown by Justin..." May 09

CBS Sports "The designated hitter rule, in which pitchers are not forced to humiliate themselves at the plate, is now a permanent presence in Major League Baseball. The DH has of course been in force in the American League since 1973, and the National League used it during the COVID-abbreviated 2020..." May 07

Bleacher Report "Exactly one month ago today, the 2022 Major League Baseball season finally began after a protracted lockout and a shortened spring training.  We don't know everything about all 30 of the league's teams just yet, but we know a lot more than we did before. As such, it's..." May 07

The Score "MLB avoided the worst outcomes of losing regular-season games to the lockout, but the sport's overall attendance trends are still pointing downward. While no games were lost, the lockout generated significant negative publicity. That's nothing new. Attendance has declined..." May 07

Bleacher Report "The second base position is not the deepest in baseball right now, though young stars like Ozzie Albies, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jake Cronenworth, Jorge Polanco and Jonathan India are capable of making a major impact. The next generation of players at the position is led by Nick Gonzales..." May 07

ESPN "It's been a month of firsts for Seiya Suzuki. The Chicago Cubs rookie outfielder collected his first big league hit during his first big league game, on Opening Day. His first home run followed just 48 hours later. A day after that, he helped the Cubs to a win with his first..." May 06

The Athletic "If you listen to the podcast, you’ve heard the secret sauce: chase rate, barrel rate, contact rate. Give me a hitter who knows the strike zone, has bat speed, and can put the bat on the ball, and I’ll show you Mike Trout. What’s even better about these..." May 06

Bleacher Report "If you had to sum up the entire 2022 Major League Baseball season in just 10 players, could you do it? We're not talking about a ranking of the 10 best players. That's easy. I mean, it's subjective and would start a lot of arguments, but it's easy to just pick and rank..." May 06

Sportsnaut "According to The Athletic’s Dennis Lin, the San Diego Padres have discussed trading right-handed pitcher Dinelson Lamet. The 29-year-old has been in and out of the Padres’ starting rotation the last four years due to injuries and the team’s rotation glut of late..." May 05

CBS Sports "We are now a full month into the 2022 MLB regular season. The sample sizes aren't so small and fan bases are gaining and losing hope with each passing day. That said, there is still a lot -- A LOT -- of season to play, and plenty of teams are still vying for a spot in the new 12-team..." May 05

Bleacher Report "The 2022 MLB trade deadline is still three months away, but it's never too early to start envisioning what teams might look like as the time nears.  By mid-July, the landscape will be much clearer, and that's when fans can expect the market to move. Contenders..." May 05

MLB Trade Rumors "Less than three months remain until the August 2nd MLB trade deadline, and starting pitching is always a hot commodity.  Here’s a look at 18 starters who might be available in the coming months.   Top of the..." May 05

The Athletic "Ted Williams’ first rule of hitting was “get a good ball to hit.” In today’s game, there is, of course, still value in patience. But if you think that analytics have made baseball more boring, it’s yet another strategy that could hurt the sport’s..." May 05

The Athletic "Call them “action guys.” For lack of a better phrase, that’s how I would describe the high-contact, extra-base threats who embody the kind of excitement Major League Baseball wants to restore to the game. Action guys are not the only kinds of hitters who..." May 05

Bleacher Report "Robinson Cano and the New York Mets are parting ways, but he may yet get to write a final chapter to his MLB career with another team. The 39-year-old began the 2022 season as their starting second baseman but hit just .195 through 12 games. This was on the heels of a season-long..." May 04

ESPN "Tune in to an MLB game on any given night, and there's a good chance the conversation will turn to the topic that's dominating the sport so far this season. The latest exploits of Shohei Ohtani? Nope. The red-hot starts both New York teams are off to in 2022? Try again...." May 04

Egotastic Sports "The 2022 Cubs aren't your older brother's Cubs.  This team stinks.  Another loss on Tuesday night, this one to their crosstown rival White Sox, led to fists flying in the bleachers at Wrigley. Cubs fans took their frustrations out on each other.  There's..." May 04

Bleacher Report "Now that it's May, enough time has passed in the 2022 Major League Baseball season to accept some early trends as absolute truths and adjust expectations accordingly. So, here are seven outrageous predictions that might just come true. In putting these predictions..." May 03

MLB Trade Rumors "The Cubs are selecting righty Robert Gsellman onto the big league roster, as Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune was among those to relay. Drew Smyly, who had been scheduled to start this evening’s game against the White Sox, has been placed on the bereavement list to..." May 03

CBS Sports "Robinson Canó's time with the New York Mets is over. The Mets designated Canó for assignment on Monday, the day teams must trim their rosters from 28 players to 26. New York opted to keep JD Davis, Luis Guillorme, and Dominic..." May 03

Bleacher Report "Voting for Major League Baseball's 2022 All-Star Game won't even begin for another month, but it's never too early to start arguing over who is currently the best in the business. This ranking of MLB's top players is not exclusively rooted in 2022 production...." May 02

USA Today "Hitters across Major League Baseball can take heart: They were, in fact, getting robbed of hits and extra bases all throughout April. The anecdotal factors at hand – a deadened baseball, the use of humidors in every major league stadium, expanded pitching staffs to mitigate a..." May 02

CBS Sports "Morgan missed out on the Opening Day roster and will now look for other opportunities after spending the first three weeks of the season at Triple-A Sugar Land. The left-hander allowed three earned runs and had a 10:1 K:BB over 8.2 innings, and he finished the 2021 campaign with a..." May 02

USA Today "Go to a Major League Baseball game, and the invisible effects of analytics are everywhere – from the pitches being thrown, to the positioning of fielders or the swing plane of the hitters. And even the hot dog you might enjoy at the ballpark. Two years of shuttered,..." May 02

Bleacher Report "Both Seiya Suzuki and Steven Kwan have gotten out to fantastic starts for the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Guardians, respectively. But how do those debut months stack up with what we've witnessed since the beginning of the millennium? Because both Suzuki and Kwan made..." May 01

The Score "The San Diego Padres are discussing potential trades involving right-hander Dinelson Lamet with other clubs, sources told The Athletic's Dennis Lin. San Diego is looking to create some flexibility for potential offensive additions, and clearing Lamet's..." April 30

Bleacher Report "Following a loaded 2021-22 MLB free-agent class, this upcoming offseason could be a letdown by comparison, but that's not to say big names couldn't change teams. Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Trea Turner and New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge are..." April 29

Bleacher Report "Another year, another whirlwind of distrust over just what the heck is going on with Major League Baseball's baseballs. In the back half of the 2010s, there were questions abound about whether the ball was juiced as home run rates soared to record highs. Three years..." April 29

Bleacher Report "At this time of year, pitchers are typically still ahead of hitters in the MLB season. Offensive struggles are to be expected early on, but some teams stand out from the beginning.  Even this year, with a shortened spring training, there are offensive juggernauts worth..." April 28

The Athletic "The ball. Every year it’s something with the freaking ball. The current season is only three weeks old, and already the ball is the subject of two debates — whether it’s too dead and whether its surface is too inconsistent, creating frustration for..." April 28

Bleacher Report "In an ideal world, every MLB draft pick and amateur free-agent signing would develop as hoped and go on to make an impact at the big league level. But that's simply not how things play out. For small-market teams, finding young, cost-controlled assets is the key to..." April 28

Bleacher Report "The 2022 minor league baseball season is in full swing, and while the standout rookies at the MLB level generate the bulk of the attention, it's worth shining some light on some of the standout performers still rising the minor-league ranks. Ahead we've highlighted..." April 28

The Athletic "I love the fact that no matter how much we all like to make predictions based on scouting reports, analytics, algorithms, development projects or the eye test, baseball players will prove that heartbeats and guts are just as important as their individual history and projections. How many people..." April 27

Bleacher Report "Major League Baseball's new market inefficiency is the reliable middle reliever. The art of the complete game has long been in a state of radioactive decay with a half-life of roughly a decade. There were 734 in 1982, 419 in 1992, 214 in 2002, 128 in 2012 and just one..." April 27

The Score "On April 16, Chicago White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal launched a fly ball off of Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Corey Kluber to deep left-center field. Grandal appeared to believe he had homered, dropping his bat with confidence and momentarily admiring the ball flight. The ball very likely would have..." April 27