Cubs Rumors & News

Chicago Sun-Times "Third baseman Kris Bryant pointed out Saturday that the Cubs could keep their entire All-Star core together beyond arbitration years “if they want to.” “There’s certainly money out there. It’s a very profitable game,” he said. Then the..." February 17

12 Up "The Chicago Cubs might have been the most talented team in the NL last season, but they failed to make the playoffs after some woefully bad performances from many of their key players. Javier Baez crystallized why the end of the Joe Maddon era on the North Side was so haphazard, and..." February 16

Larry Brown Sports "Few players lost more in the 2017 World Series than Yu Darvish. His reputation was significantly hindered by his poor performances in Games 3 and 7 of that series, including a bad outing in the decisive Game 7. Now, given the information that has come to light, he’s feeling a bit..." February 16

Bleacher Report "Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant said Saturday the Houston Astros players who took part in the club's sign-stealing scheme "absolutely" should have received punishments from MLB. "I think it's worse than steroids,"..." February 15

Houston Chronicle "As opponents continue to assail Astros players for their electronic sign-stealing scheme and subsequent apologies, manager Dusty Baker pleaded with Major League Baseball to somehow cease the comments and stop any “premeditated retaliation.” “I’m depending on..." February 15

CBS Sports "Major League Baseball's regular season will get underway in about five weeks' time. Even so, the Chicago Cubs have yet to give third baseman Kris Bryant any assurance that he will remain with the organization heading into Opening Day. Bryant, predictably, would..." February 15

Bleacher Report "Cheating by the Houston Astros has prompted new discussions between Major League Baseball and the player's union to develop new rules to prevent electronic sign-stealing.  According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the two sides are not far apart on a deal, but..." February 14

SB Nation "One of the central goals of punishment is to discourage the recurrence of the event in question. The early read on the Astros sign-stealing penalties is MLB wasn’t nearly harsh enough. Astros players were granted immunity by Major League Baseball during their..." February 14

Lone Star Ball "Major League Baseball is raising the minimum salary for minor league players as of the 2021 season, per the AP. Short-season players will now be at $400 per week, A ball players will be at $500 per week, AA players will be at $600 per week, and AAA players will be at $700 per week, per the..." February 14

The Big Lead "In the midst of the fallout from the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal, Major League Baseball had another juicy story this week. The New York Post first reported on Major League Baseball's proposal to increase its postseason format from 10 teams to 14, as well as..." February 14

New York Post "It’s clear MLB remains under the spell of the Greek goddess Preposterous. The seductive twin sister of Ponzious, she controls the destiny of mortals blinded by greed, those who seek solutions by making bad worse. This latest postseason scheme, as revealed by The Post’s..." February 14

12 Up "Not many people know exactly what the Chicago Cubs are doing this offseason aside from the constant chatter about the launch of Marquee Network. It's clear they've been focusing a lot more on making money off this television venture than tinkering with the roster to get back to the..." February 13

12 Up "It would appear that Theo Epstein is prepared to make amends for the Chicago Cubs' lifeless offseason with one swift, gargantuan move. On ESPN1000, Dave Kaplan didn't hesitate in saying that the Cubbies are aggressively pursuing disgruntled Colorado Rockies..." February 13

Chicago Sun-Times " The question to Cubs outfielder Kyle Schwarber about how money changes people wasn’t even finished when a first baseman with rabbit ears piped in from four lockers away Wednesday. ‘‘Money talks,’’ Anthony Rizzo said, smiling. If that..." February 13

MLB.com "Major League Baseball today announced the rule changes that will be in place for its 2020 Championship Season: THREE-BATTER MINIMUM: The Official Baseball Rules have been amended to require the starting or any relief pitcher to pitch to a minimum of three batters, including..." February 12

Bleacher Report "The 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers look like a team that can't be reasoned or bargained with, much less stopped. They're coming off a season in which they won 50 more games than they lost, and they just acquired an MVP (Mookie Betts), a Cy Young Award winner..." February 12

Bleed Cubbie Blue "Ben Zobrist missed much of the 2019 season attending to personal matters, and then became a free agent at the end of the year. Now, it appears he’s played his last major-league game:       February 12

Larry Brown Sports "Major League Baseball is considering some radical changes to its existing playoff format in order to help increase interest in the sport, but we have a proposal that is much better than the one they are considering. THE PROBLEM One of the biggest issues plaguing..." February 12

Distinct Athlete "While the trade rumor mill in MLB has gone quiet with spring training closing in, the potential for one more blockbuster trade remains a possibility. According to The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney, the Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies haven’t entirely dismissed a Nolan Arenado for Kris..." February 12

Real GM Baseball "Kris Bryant is set to report to camp with the Chicago Cubs later this week, but his future with the club remains somewhat cloudy. " February 12

The Score "Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein isn't fazed by the lack of high-profile moves his team has made over the winter after a disappointing 2019 campaign. The Cubs were expected to be active during the offseason with stars such as third baseman Kris..." February 12

12 Up "Joe Maddon has been one of the most well-liked and highly revered people in baseball since his days managing the Tampa Bay Rays. He's gotten results too, as he brought the Rays to their first-ever World Series in 2008, and in 2016 he led the Chicago Cubs their first World Series in 108..." February 12

12 Up "Major League Baseball is reportedly hoping to make a radical change to the playoff format. 14 teams would make the postseason and there would be byes, three-game opening series, and teams picking their opponents on live TV. This would serve as one of the more extreme..." February 12

Hardball Talk "Yesterday someone at Major League Baseball leaked a new postseason idea they have brewing for 2022. The upshot: wild cards would be eliminated, there would be seven playoff teams in each league, up from five, and from there the format of the postseason would radically..." February 11

WKYC "While it's been a foregone conclusion for weeks now, it appears Jason Kipnis' time with the Cleveland Indians is officially coming to an end. According to ESPN Chicago's Jesse Rogers, the Chicago Cubs are "zeroing in" on signing Kipnis to a minor league contract..." February 11

The Score "Since taking over as commissioner of Major League Baseball five years ago, Rob Manfred has worked tirelessly to create the illusion that he's doing The Important Things That Baseball Needs. The game is too long - and the pace of it too slow - so Manfred implemented a bunch of..." February 11

Sportress of Blogitude "Joe Maddon has opened up about the ending of his tenure with the Chicago Cubs, and the new Los Angeles Angels manager revealed that philosophical differences between himself and the organization played a significant role in his departure. Now with time to reflect on his Chicago..." February 11

The Big Lead "Major League Baseball floated a radical change to its postseason and it feels like a version of liquidating assets for a nice short-turn return without pause for what it will mean in the big picture. One of the motivating factors of expanded playoffs is to increase inventory for..." February 11

12 Up "On Monday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred made perhaps the most absurd proposition in the history of the game, leaking the potential expansion of the playoff field to seven teams per league, and allowing the top seeds to choose their opponents. It's an interesting prospect, but one..." February 11

Chicago Sun-Times "This time, the trade rumors hit harder. “It might hurt,” All-Star catcher Willson Contreras said Monday between unofficial workouts, a day before Cubs pitchers and catchers officially report for spring training. “But it’s part of the..." February 11

MLB Trade Rumors "While he’s already said to be considering multiple offers from other organizations, righty Taijuan Walker is going to throw for at least one team in hopes of boosting interest. He’s in Cubs camp readying to audition, ESPNChicago.com’s Jesse Rogers reports on..." February 10

Larry Brown Sports "Major League Baseball is considering the possibility of adding more playoff teams and making significant changes to its postseason format, and the new system could be in place as soon as 2022. According to a report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post, MLB is seriously weighing the..." February 10

New York Post "A year ago, a far-from finished Hot Stove League dominated our annual “30 teams, 30 questions” feature, always published around the time pitchers and catchers report. This year? The big names have signed. The dust has only begun to settle, however, from the illegal..." February 10

Chicago Sun-Times "As if losing a grievance hearing and spending the winter on the trading block weren’t indignities enough for Kris Bryant, now some nerds at MLB Network calling themselves “The Shredder” say the recent MVP is no longer a top-10 player among third basemen. The..." February 10

CBS Sports "For the sake of keeping you, the baseball enthusiast, informed of the latest hot stove moves, we present our 2019-20 MLB Free Agent Tracker. In this post we'll keep tabs on the top 50 free agents, as determined by our panel of MLB experts: R.J. Anderson, Katherine Acquavella, Mike..." February 09

MLB.com "There has been a lot of talk all offseason about a superstar getting moved in a trade, and it wasn’t until this week that such a blockbuster was finally agreed to, with 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts (along with left-hander David Price) reportedly going from the Red Sox to the Dodgers..." February 07

ESPN "For anyone who has wondered whether the Chicago Cubs could actually go through with trading a former league MVP and one-time face of the franchise in Kris Bryant, this week's Mookie Betts blockbuster served as an important reminder about the lengths a team is..." February 07

Yardbarker "Steve Cohen’s deal to purchase a majority ownership stake in the New York Mets is dead, and the deal falling apart will hinder the billionaire’s chances of ever buying an MLB team in the future, according to a report. Reports first emerged on Tuesday saying..." February 07

Beyond The Boxscore "This past week the Tampa Bay Rays signed Johnny Davis to a minor league contract. That seems like a non-event, especially considering that they had Davis on their roster last year and let him leave via free agency. He didn’t find any suitors via free agency and the..." February 07

Hardball Talk "Today Major League Baseball announced a number of changes in the Commissioner’s Office. The most notable move: Joe Torre, who had been head of baseball operations since February 2011, and whose title was most recently “Chief Baseball Officer,” is being eased to the side in..." February 07

MLB Trade Rumors "With spring training right around the corner, the time for teams to make meaningful additions to their rotations by way of free agency has likely passed. There are very few starters remaining on the open market, though there’s a possibility – albeit slight – that pitcher-needy..." February 06

94 Wip Sports Radio "Kris Bryant is back on the trade block, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, and the Phillies are showing interest. The Nationals are also reportedly interested in Bryant.       

February 05

Yardbarker "The Cubs have been in contact with free agent second baseman Jason Kipnis, tweets MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. The Chicago organization was also tied to Scooter Gennett recently, and Bastian notes that the Cubs are considering left-handed options at second base to..." February 05

Bleacher Report "Kris Bryant's future with the Chicago Cubs is suddenly clearer and yet still marked by questions. Remember the grievance Bryant filed in 2015, in which he and agent Scott Boras alleged that the Cubs had improperly manipulated his service time? According..." February 04

MLB Trade Rumors "Regardless of whether you’re a fan of the outspoken Scott Boras, there is no denying he is one of the most successful and influential agents in the history of sports. Boras’ skill in landing mega-bucks for his clients has been on full display this offseason – a winter he..." February 04

12 Up "Anthony Rizzo has had an incredibly successful MLB career, and the Cubs star decided to give back to his roots. Rizzo made a very generous donation to Stoneman Douglas High School's baseball field, giving the high school $150,000 and raising additional funds in order to help install..." February 03

Hardball Talk "The Super Bowl was yesterday. Yes, you’re still reading our baseball site. Don’t worry. What I mean by pointing out that the Super Bowl was yesterday is that once the final pass is thrown and the last knee is taken, we’ll be in the nascent hours of baseball..." February 03

12 Up "With player movement as popular as ever in baseball, it's never been more pressing for MLB franchises to lock down their top assets for the foreseeable future, especially before they're ready to hit free agency. We've seen a number of deals go down over the last few years,..." February 03

Washington Post "The messy, ongoing standoff between Major League Baseball and its affiliated minor league franchises over an MLB-proposed contraction plan has roared back into public view this week, with increasingly vitriolic rhetoric that has escalated the tension between the sides in this months-old..." January 31

CBS Sports "It stands to reason that the longer the Boston Red Sox discuss Mookie Betts trade scenarios with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, the likelier a deal becomes. Where Betts ends up, and when he ends up there, still remain anyone's guess...." January 31