Cubs Rumors & News

Bleed Cubbie Blue "Obviously, this isn’t good. There had been some hope that Brandon Morrow would return to the Cubs bullpen sometime next month and now this looks doubtful. So what should the Cubs do about this? There are several choices. Sign Craig..." April 22

USA Today "Trevor Clifton pulls out his key, gets on the back of a trailer and walks across the metal platform to a door. That door marks the start of about 104 square feet of wooden housing. The habitat is barely big enough for a bed and a couch and doesn't have any plumbing..." April 21

Larry Brown Sports "Chicago Cubs reliever Brandon Morrow is trying to work his way back from offseason elbow surgery, but it appears to be slow going. According to Cubs manager Joe Maddon, Morrow experienced some fresh discomfort, and the team is slowing things down with him at this..." April 20

Sportsnaut "When the Chicago Cubs host the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 24, it will not be any regular game. It will be Grateful Dead night at Wrigley Field. And the promotional night offers a pretty sweet giveaway for those buying special tickets. “In addition to a ticket to the..." April 19

Chicago Tribune "The difference between a stellar start and the 0-3 rut Kyle Hendricks finds himself in could be attributed to a lack of defensive support or merely running into one of the majors’ top hitters. Instead, Hendricks looks in the mirror. “You can’t..." April 18

Sportsnaut "If you’re a proponent of robot umps taking over at the MLB level, then a new study put together by graduate students at Boston University will strengthen your stance. The information garnered by this study, which evaluated nearly four million pitches over the span of..." April 16

NBC Sports Chicago "Yu Darvish still has room for improvement, but his start Monday night against the Marlins showed that he’s trending in the right direction. Counting Monday, Darvish has pitched deeper into the game than each of his previous starts this season. While he only beat his previous..." April 16

Chicago Tribune "Major League Baseball is investigating racist messages sent to Cubs pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. on his Instagram account, sources said Tuesday. The Cubs denounced the messages, which were first reported by The Athletic. “We were shocked by the..." April 16

MLB Trade Rumors "Former big league hurler Carlos Zambrano is launching a comeback bid, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The long-time Cubs hurler will kick things off by returning to the windy city for a stint with the American Association’s Chicago..." April 16

NBC Sports Chicago "Brandon Kintzler's 2019 season has been night and day compared to his debut campaign in Chicago last year. It's still very early in the season, but the veteran reliever never had even a small sample size where he pitched this well in a Cubs uniform in 2018. As the..." April 15

12 Up "It looks like Kyle Schwarber almost blew a gasket for absolutely no reason. Kyle Schwarber attempts to check his swing. Via AP. You be the judge. April 15

Sporting News "Fans eager to watch the Cubs play the Angels will have to wait. Sunday afternoon's series finale between the two clubs has been postponed due to snowy weather in Chicago. According to the Cubs, a makeup date has yet to be announced, but fans who retain their ticket..." April 14

ESPN "The check-swing call in baseball has always been one of the most difficult for umpires to make. After a late Chicago Cubs rally was thwarted on a strike-three, check-swing call on Kyle Schwarber, Chicago manager Joe Maddon suggested that maybe it shouldn't be the umpires making the..." April 14

NBC Sports Chicago "Kyle Schwarber thought he had just worked a walk and instead watched as third base umpire Gabe Morales rung him up on a check swing. The Cubs left fielder reacted instantly, slamming his helmet on the ground while pointing and shouting at Morales and starting down the third base..." April 14

The Score "Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout is sitting out his team's series at Wrigley Field due to a groin injury, but the Chicago Cubs are still thinking about the superstar this weekend. Cubs manager Joe Maddon shared his appreciation Friday for the two-time American League MVP,..." April 13

CBS Sports "The Cubs opened the 2019 season with a nine-game road swing, and they emerged from that trip with a disappointing 2-7 mark. Included in that stretch was losing two of three to the presumably lowly Rangers, getting swept by the Braves, and ceding two of three to the Brewers. The pitching staff..." April 13

NBC Sports Chicago "As Anthony Rizzo was admiring Jason Heyward's physique last weekend in Milwaukee, Heyward said he just hoped to someday be able to "cut the wind" at Wrigley Field like Rizzo. Then Heyward went out and did just that Wednesday night, sending a Jordan Lyles..." April 12

Bleacher Report "Remember when there was a minor panic over a certain projection system's calculation that the 2019 Chicago Cubs would finish last in the National League Central? Well, perhaps the real panic should be over how that prophecy is already coming true. The..." April 12

Chicago Sun-Times "Albert Almora Jr. has just eight singles and the highest ground-ball rate in the majors to show for his first 11 games of the season, including seven starts. But the manager plans no changes in Almora’s role in the lineup rotation, so look for the center fielder to be back in..." April 12

Chicago Tribune "The Cubs are bracing themselves for the loss of valuable backup catcher Victor Caratini for up to six weeks because of a potential hamate bone fracture in his left hand. Caratini, 25, who is 8-for-14 (.571) this season, hurt his hand on a swing prior to hitting his..." April 12

Bleed Cubbie Blue "Recently, the Cubs designated Jen-Ho Tseng for assignment. The DFA is a baseball construct along the lines of Schrödinger’s Transaction. He’s on the team, but he’s not. He can’t play or practice with the team. The team has about a week to trade,..." April 11

MLB Trade Rumors "The Cubs announced today that they have released righty Jen-Ho Tseng, as Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune was among those to tweet. He had been designated for assignment recently. Now 24 years of age, Tseng originally signed with the Cubs out of Taiwan in 2013. He has..." April 11

Hardball Talk "April 15 is quickly approaching so here’s one for all the tax nerds out there: the IRS issued new guidance today that will give professional sports teams some relief from a new twist presented by the tax law enacted in 2017. The relevant provision related to how businesses are..." April 11

NBC Sports Chicago "The Cubs officially placed Jon Lester on the injured list Wednesday (retroactive to Tuesday), but it's not yet known what all the ripple effects will be. The only things we know for certain: Lester will miss at least one start and in that one start (Sunday against the Angels at..." April 11

Yahoo! Sports "The New York Yankees are the most valuable team in Major League Baseball, according to Forbes’ list of team values released Wednesday. If there’s déjà vu you’re feeling, it’s because the Yankees have sat atop the rankings every year Forbes..." April 10

Chicago Sun-Times "Yu Darvish sat in front of his locker in a quiet Cubs’ clubhouse four hours before Monday’s home opener, opening another box as he started to unpack and settle, maybe, finally into a place he hopes will feel more like home this season. As Darvish worked on the box, he was..." April 10

Newark Star-Ledger "Now this is one few would have expected. With the Cubs off to a 3-7 start and sporting one of baseball’s worst bullpens (6.92 ERA), at least one insider is already speculating on a potential fire sale by the Theo Epstein-led front office. Here’s what..." April 10

NBC Sports Chicago "The good vibes didn't last more than a few minutes for the Cubs Monday afternoon. It was a picturesque day at Wrigley Field — weather in the upper 60s and nary a cloud in the sky — and the Cubs had just scored 6 unanswered runs in the bottom of the second inning off..." April 09

CBS Sports "One of baseball's recent true norths -- to invent a plural form -- is that commissioner Rob Manfred will tinker at the margins in order to improve pace of play, at least notionally, and re-calibrate a game that, according to sturdy consensus, has become too infested with..." April 09

USA Today "So much for Cuban players not having to defect to play in the majors. When the Trump administration abruptly cancelled Major League Baseball’s landmark agreement with the Cuban Baseball Federation, it guaranteed the dangerous practice will continue. Players..." April 09

Chicago Tribune "Cubs starter Jon Lester likely is headed to the 10-day injured list after experiencing left hamstring tightness. Manager Joe Maddon said on his weekly radio show on WSCR-AM 670 that Lester would miss one or two starts after being pulled in the third inning..." April 09

Bleed Cubbie Blue "I’m writing this article thinking the answer is “No,” but let’s examine the pros and cons of the Cubssigning free-agent reliever Craig Kimbrel. First, I’m not the only one thinking this. This mlb.com article lists the Cubs as one of..." April 09

New York Daily News "The Chicago Cubs held their season opener at Wrigley Field Monday, knocking around the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-0 to improve to 3-7 on the season. The game was over by the fourth inning, but there was plenty of pre-game excitement in the stadium’s press box. About three..." April 09

Chicago Tribune "Javier Baez was unaware that the Cubs have scored at least 10 runs in five games but won only three of those games. “I know we’re hitting the ball very well,” Baez said. “It’s not a big deal for us.” The Cubs capitalized on..." April 09

NBC Sports Chicago "Javy Baez always tells it like it is. When the Cubs were stunned and knocked out of the playoffs last fall, he stood at his locker and explained exactly what went wrong and how. When he got to spring training, he explained how this team learned from last year and how they..." April 08

CBS Sports "Cubs ace Jon Lester was forced to exit Monday's home opener against the Pirates (PIT-CHC GameTracker) in the third inning with what the team announced as left hamstring tightness.  Lester appeared to injure himself while running the bases during the course of the Cubs'..." April 08

Larry Brown Sports "The Chicago Cubs are off to a rough start this season after an offseason that promised much but ultimately didn’t result in many big moves. Amid questions over whether the Ricketts family’s ownership has done enough to help the Cubs remain competitive in an increasingly..." April 08

Hardball Talk "Mid-February marked the beginning of contract extension season in baseball. Since February 13, 25 contract extensions have been signed, notably by many young players including Ronald Acuña Jr., Blake Snell, and Eloy Jiménez. Acuña Jr. and Snell were last year’s..." April 08

Chicago Sun-Times "After Jason Heyward’s first two-homer game as a Cub on Saturday, managerJoe Maddon said, “Jason’s hitting the ball as well as we’ve seen him.” To which Heyward responded by quickly pointing out how low he’d set that..." April 08

Larry Brown Sports "The Chicago Cubs have been one of the most surprising teams through the early part of the 2019 MLB season, and we don’t mean that as a compliment. They have set a few records while limping out of the gate, only they aren’t the types of records you would boast about. During..." April 07

The Score "Let's assume the slumping Boston Red Sox are sticking to their guns and have no problem running Ryan Brasier, Matt Barnes, or Colten Brewer in the highest-leverage innings of the game instead of bringing back Craig Kimbrel. It hasn't really been the bullpen that's gotten..." April 07

ABC 7 Chicago "Theo Epstein says to put the blame on him -- and no one else -- for the Chicago Cubs' tough start to the season. After winning their opening game last week, the Cubs have dropped six straight entering Saturday, failing both on the mound and in the field. The slide prompted..." April 07

MLB Trade Rumors "In a relatively surprising development out of Chicago, the Cubs will option Carl Edwards Jr. to Triple-A Iowa, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times (via Twitter). Mike Montgomery, meanwhile, has been put on the injured list, per ESPN’s Jesse Rogers (via Twitter), who also..." April 06

CBS Sports "The Cubs came into this season with at least 92 wins in each of the past four seasons, though the seasonal average was 97 wins. Three times they were in the NLCS and once in the World Series where they snapped a 108-year championship drought. Last season was a disappointment, though they won 95..." April 06

NBC Sports Chicago "Stop kidding yourselves — Craig Kimbrel wouldn't magically solve all of the Cubs' bullpen issues. Even if the elite closer (who is still a free agent, by the way) walked through the door of the Cubs locker room tomorrow, that doesn't suddenly make this one of..." April 05

12 Up "The 2019 season is just six games in, and many teams with high expectations are not performing as expected.  Granted, there are over 150 games remaining in the season for them to turn things around, but the performance of the Chicago Cubs has been staggering,..." April 05

Sportsnaut "The Chicago Cubs have struggled mightily in the early days of the season. In fact, they’ve struggled more than any Cubs staff has in more than 60 years. Chicago pitchers issued their 39th unintentional walk against the Braves on Thursday. Per Jesse Rogers of ESPN, no Cubs staff..." April 05

Chicago Tribune "The minor-league season doesn’t start until Thursday, and Cubs President Theo Epstein isn’t about to make changes in the wake of the team’s rocky start — particularly to a bullpen that failed to hold leads in two consecutive losses last weekend in..." April 04

Sporting News "Another MLB extension is reportedly finalized, and it isn't one many would expect. The Cubs and infielder David Bote agreed to an extension through 2024 that includes a pair of club options, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. The club confirmed the report on Wednesday. Mooney..." April 03

Awful Announcing "I was taken aback this week when I attempted to watch highlights on MLB.com. For some reason, they got rid of the damn search bar. It’s absurd. Previously, if you clicked on the videos tab, you would see a page of the most popular recent videos, with an easy to..." April 03