Chicago Cubs
Brett Taylor
•Apr 18, 2025
Lefty reliever Luke Little is listed on the team transaction wire as having been optioned back to Triple-A Iowa on the off-day, following his four-walk season debut in San Diego. I hate that for him, even if I understand it. We’ll see him again this season, and it was always likely to be an up-down year for him given the bullpen depth. But his upside is among the more robust…
Chicago Cubs
Michael Cerami
•Apr 17, 2025
With one everyday hitter, Matt Shaw, already demoted to Triple-A Iowa and another, Seiya Suzuki, having already missed some time with an injury, signing Justin Turner was clearly a good idea (…well, not as good of an idea as signing Alex Bregman, who’s slashing .321/.365/.564 with 4 homers and 0.8 WAR on the season, but alas). And with a few key pinch-hit RBI early in his Cubs tenure, Turner even…
Chicago Cubs
Michael Cerami
•Apr 17, 2025
Episode 7 of the Bleacher Nation Cubs Podcast is officially live! In this week’s episode, Brett and I talk about the recent West Coast road trip, the injury to Justin Steele (and how the Cubs will respond in both the short and long-term), the path for Cade Horton, the demotion for Matt Shaw and so much more! It was a busy one. After that, our game of the week is…
Chicago Cubs
Brett Taylor
•Apr 17, 2025
Some minor league Cubs notes for your big league Cubs off-day … Jefferson Rojas’s season debut was delayed by a spring hamstring injury, but he’s back in the middle infield for High-A South Bend. Rojas, who turns 20 next week, will hopefully show a little more production than last year (he was making higher quality contact than his results showed, though), and perhaps make his way to Double-A by midseason….
Chicago Cubs
Brett Taylor
•Apr 17, 2025
At MLB.com, Mark Feinsand asked a group of anonymous rival executives about the possible future of a Kyle Tucker in-season extension with the Cubs. Read it and draw your own conclusions: Will Kyle Tucker sign an in-season extension? Execs weigh in https://t.co/LFH4X5tvks— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) April 16, 2025 My main feeling as I read? I don’t love that this piece even exists. Don’t get me wrong: it merits existing. It’s…
Chicago Cubs
Brett Taylor
•Apr 17, 2025
I saved myself a draft this morning when I realized something fun about the Chicago Cubs’ stats so far this year. And then Michael had the same thought and posted it like a jerk: Pete Crow-Armstrong is currently the 7th most valuable player in MLB, ahead of even Kyle Tucker. WAR Leaderboard: 1. Aaron Judge: 1.9 WAR2. Corbin Carroll: 1.6 WARt-3. Alonso/Tatis: 1.4 WAR…7. PCA: 1.1 WAR…10. Kyle Tucker: 1.0…
Chicago Cubs
Brett Taylor
•Apr 17, 2025
With today’s off-day, the Cubs had some flexibility to play with the rotation if they wanted. Although Colin Rea got the first fill-in start for Justin Steele, it was an abbreviated one (3.1 innings), and you never know how the Cubs might want to move things around for the weekend series against the Diamondbacks. But they’re keeping things relatively traditional in terms of the five-man, but are moving guys around…
Chicago Cubs
Brett Taylor
•Apr 17, 2025
Spending too much time this morning wondering whether it matters if I soak my chia seeds or not, so I’m having a normal one. Yesterday marked the Cubs’ first series loss since Tokyo. That seems pretty good, even without considering the schedule, which has been brutal: The Chicago Cubs are facing a gauntlet of talent early in the season, and for context here’s the records of their opponents when they…
Chicago Cubs
Brett Taylor
•Apr 17, 2025
The main focus of yesterday’s Iowa Cubs win is probably the 20 runs the team scored, and the overwhelming volume of huge offensive performances from many of the org’s top prospects. Matt Shaw hasn’t even joined them yet. That lineup is just so ridiculous. But what I didn’t want lost in the shuffle, particularly given the potential impact on the big league team this year, was the start by top…
Chicago Cubs
Elias Schuster
•Apr 16, 2025
[Feldco] Can I interest you in a palate cleanser from the big league Cubs loss? The Iowa Cubs held a comfortable 7-2 lead over the Saint Paul Saints heading into the bottom of the seventh. But nobody told them that! As explosive as the big league team has been this season, they have not had an inning quite like the one their Triple-A friends had Wednesday afternoon. Jonathan Long got…
