Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Cade Horton looked distraught Friday afternoon in Cleveland when he walked off the field in the second inning of his start against the Guardians, suffering from what was described as “forearm discomfort.” Moments earlier, he had indicated to the dugout that things didn’t feel right, physically.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Is it already time to sound the starting pitching alarm?

“I just wanted to be smart about it,” Horton said. “I’ve been in this spot before and I’ve taken the other route where I keep going, and it ends up being worse. So, I just tried to make a mature decision and end it there.”

The 24-year-old was expected to do big things this year after a breakthrough rookie season in 2025 that saw him perform as, arguably, the best pitcher in all of baseball after the All-Star break.

Manager Craig Counsell told media after the game that Horton to will get imaging to see the extent of the injury and will also be placed on the 15-day IL as he’s being assessed.

Who could take Horton’s spot?

More News: Chicago Cubs: Base thievery may be low-key secret to 2026 success

Now, however, the talk must turn to the future. Specifically, how to fill the young arm’s spot in a Cubs rotation that needs the kind of impact starter Horton was expected to be.

Veteran Colin Rea was brought in to replace Horton on Friday and it’s thought that he’ll likely be the full-time replacement until the team knows what’s in their injured pitcher’s immediate future. Last season, Rea was solid as the team’s full-time rotation fill-in, posting a 10-7 record with a 4.33 ERA in 27 starts.

Chicago also has Ben Brown and Javier Assad as possible rotation fill-ins.

Then, of course, ace Justin Steele is slated to return some time before mid-season.

But if Horton is lost for any extended period of time, the Cubs may have no choice but to reach out and try to pick up somebody outside of the organization.

Some people already have an idea of who that outside pickup should be—Lucas Giolito.

Lucas Giolito to the rescue?

In the Friday night edition of MLB Tonight, the host brought up that exact possibility:

“I keep reminding myself that Lucas Giolito is still sitting out there without a team,” he said, following the segment talking about Horton’s injury.

“He might be a Cub,” replied analyst Harold Reynolds.

Jacob Zanolla of Bleacher Nation also brought up the Giolito possibility:

“The Cubs could look to someone outside of the organization, and there does happen to be one (relatively) legitimate arm still available: Lucas Giolito.

Giolito, 31, made 25 starts for the Red Sox last season, pitching to a 3.41 ERA over 145.0 IP. But while that seems encouraging, a quick peek under the hood reveals the more troubling peripherals that are probably conspiring to keep him a free agent this long: 5.01 xERA, 4.17 FIP. But in terms of emergency fill-in options, you could do a whole lot worse than Giolito.”

Last season with the Red Sox, the 31-year-old Giolito had a good year, stats-wise. But, as Zanolla mentions, maybe the raw numbers don’t tell the full story of what’s under the 9-year veteran’s hood. There has to be a reason, after all, why he’s still unsigned when starting pitching is such an MLB-wide priority.

It remains to be seen whether he’d even be much of an upgrade over the pitchers the Cubs already have lined up as fill-ins.

But he’s somebody definitely worth looking into for a Cubs rotation already showcasing some weakness just days into the season.

The post Chicago Cubs, post-Cade Horton injury, tied to still-available veteran starter appeared first on ChiCitySports.

Chicago Cubs right-hander Cade Horton exited his start on Friday with apparent forearm discomfort and will head to the injured list.

More News: Chicago Cubs: PCA data suggests a monstrous 2026 may be on the way

Manager Craig Counsell said Horton will stay with the team one more day and travel back to Chicago for imaging. According to Counsell, Horton said he felt discomfort start in his right wrist, which moved up into his forearm. It was ultimately Horton’s decision to stop pitching, as to not do any further harm. 

Craig Counsell said Cade Horton felt discomfort in his wrist that moved to his forearm, and he will travel to Chicago to get it checked out.

An upcoming roster move is likely. https://t.co/oVdej2xNVf pic.twitter.com/oZ9lGdSsWe

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) April 3, 2026

The Cubs will make a roster move in the coming days with Horton going on the injured list. The Cubs have until April 8 before Horton’s spot comes up again. Horton was 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA and had four strikeouts in 7.1 innings.

Despite Cade Horton’s injury, the Chicago Cubs have options

Since the Cubs need another quality starter to fill in for Horton, they need to look no further than Javier Assad. Despite having a great spring, a 1.35 ERA in three games, Assad was optioned to Triple-A due to not having a spot.

Since joining the Iowa Cubs, Assad has struggled, allowing seven earned runs in seven innings (two starts). Even though Assad hasn’t done well, he’d be a quality inning-eater if and until Horton returns.

Right-hander Ben Brown is another option to fill in for the short term. Brown has done well out of the bullpen, having a 2.70 ERA and eight strikeouts in 6.2 innings.

However, in 114.2 innings as a starter, Brown has struggled, posting a 5.26 ERA. Since Brown’s stuff is more suited for the bullpen, the Cubs bringing up Assad and keeping Brown where he is seems like the best plan.

The post Chicago Cubs manager provides an update on Cade Horton appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs made a lot of moves this past offseason and are now about a week into a 2026 campaign where big things are expected.

More News: Is Chicago Cubs manager tipping new Dodgers-style late-season pitching strategy?

The biggest move, of course, was the signing of three-time All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman to a 5-year, $175 million contract.

They finally pulled the trigger on a trade with the Miami Marlins for emerging powerhouse pitcher Edward Cabrera, who they had been eyeing already for the better part of two seasons.

They also restocked a depleted bullpen with the signing of four free agent relievers (Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Hunter Harvey).

They even secured the future of the franchise with big-money six-year extensions for centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and second baseman Nico Hoerner.

Despite a tepid start to the 2026 campaign, most would agree that this Cubs team looks deep and all-around good. The starting rotation is deep, the bullpen is versatile, the defense is elite, the offensive firepower is also there.

Speed kills—opposition

More News: Chicago Cubs trade deemed both smartest and dumbest move of offseason

One overlooked strength, though, could be the key to next-level success this season—speed. Specifically, speed as it pertains to having an aggressive mindset on the bases and the ability to pile up stolen bases.

Third base coach Quintin Berry is one of the key leaders in that area, tasked, along with first base coach Jose Javier, with getting the Cubs moving on base.

Last season, Chicago was tied for third in all of baseball with 161 stolen bases in 196 attempts, marking a near elite-level success rate just above the 82% mark. This season, the team is 7-for-7 in stolen base tries.

Berry came over from manager Craig Counsell’s old team, the Milwaukee Brewers, for the 2025 season in a thus far successful attempt at replicating the Brewers’ aggressive mindset on the bases. A former Cub, himself, Berry spent his MLB playing days as a baserunning specialist.

The Cubs’ baserunning specialist

The Chicago Sun-Times recently talked with him about his role in getting the Cubs moving.

“I’m more of a peace of mind [guy] — peace for [Crow-Armstrong],’’ Berry said. “Just like, what is he thinking, what’s he doing with his body. How to keep him relaxed and be confident.

“A lot of times, guys want to be quick. They’re trying so hard. I think the harder you try, the more tense you get, the more locked up, and then you see things that aren’t there, and then you get real passive, or you get real jumpy.

“So I’m just trying to make guys feel confident, confident and comfortable.’’

While home runs and strikeouts get most of the fan and media love, stealing bases and being able to get an extra bag here and there is such an overlooked asset in baseball. It adds a level of extra pressure to an opponent and forces them to operate outside their original plan. And the Cubs have been built with an eye on speed. Up and down the lineup, with the exception of maybe two spots, there’s some serious running ability present.

Could this ability to steal bases prove to be the deciding factor in how this season finishes? As always, time will tell.

The post Chicago Cubs: Base thievery may be low-key secret to 2026 success appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs, early this season, appear to be very cognizant of what their postseason should look like and how best to optimize a run at a championship. Last year, the focus seemed to be on just making the postseason.

More News: Chicago Cubs trade deemed both smartest and dumbest move of offseason

In 2025, pitching injuries hobbled their playoff run. By the time they reached the NLDS, they were down to, maybe, two reliable starters and two or three trusted relievers. It was a sobering reality that played out at the tail end of an otherwise tremendous season.

In 2026, however, the pitching focus has seemingly shifted to depth and to pacing themselves for a more pitching-powerful postseason.

That, maybe especially, means keeping an eye on the workload of the team’s younger starters and using their long relief to greater benefit early in the season.

That mindset seemed evident in the first starts of Cade Horton and Edward Cabrera.

An early focus on workload

More News: Chicago Cubs: PCA data suggests a monstrous 2026 may be on the way

Both young arms were cooking into the sixth inning with a minimal pitch count. Manager Craig Counsell opted to take both out of their respective games.

Horton and Cabrera do have a history of injury and durability issues, so it’s no surprise that Counsell would want to be cautious with both. Horton, for example, was shut down late in the season and missed the playoffs entirely with a rib injury, after a sizzling post-All-Star break run. But Counsell’s own words to the media after the Horton game reveal, perhaps, more of a long-term team goal than a simple focus on the health of one young arm.

“If you look at history,” Counsell said, “the first three weeks of the season for pitchers are pretty delicate.”

Counsell has also talked about the benefit of having starter-capable pitchers such as Ben Brown and Colin Rea on the team.

“Having a pair of experienced starters filling in the long-reliever role is a luxury for a team,” Counsell said.

“Early in the season, we thought it could be valuable. With unforeseen weather and being cautious with the starters, I think it’s worked out and will continue to be an asset the next couple of weeks.”

It’s been speculated that the Cubs may be trying to adopt a 2025 Dodgers strategy to managing their starting corps, one where the team is ultra conservative with their starters in order to bring a strong and rested rotation into the playoffs.

Adopting the 2025 Dodgers strategy?

Last season, the Dodgers’ rotation was strained throughout much of the regular season due to injury, with only Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivering more than 112.2 innings as a starter.

They were then careful and judicious with the return of injured/recovering starters Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, and even Shohei Ohtani. Ultimately, they were able to reintroduce all three to the rotation just in time for a strong pennant push and then the postseason.

The strategy paid off as Yamamoto and the fresh, strong threesome of Glasnow, Blake, and Ohtani accounted for more than 68% of the innings pitched in the postseason en route to another World Series win for the Dodgers.

The Cubs don’t have the studs the Dodgers did, but they do have big-time depth. The team currently has seven possible starters on the big league roster and Javier Assad in Iowa, with recovering ace Justin Steele set to make his return before mid-season.

If the workload is handled just right, it’s almost a guarantee that Chicago will be able to put together a very nice four-man rotation for what they hope to be a deep postseason run.

Last season, they really didn’t have that luxury of depth—and they ultimately paid the price. This season, they’re angling for a much different end to the season.

The post Is Chicago Cubs manager tipping new Dodgers-style late-season pitching strategy? appeared first on ChiCitySports.

Prior to the start of the 2026 MLB regular season, the Chicago Cubs made one thing clear to their fans and the rest of Major League Baseball: they expect to win the division. The Milwaukee Brewers, who knocked the Cubs out of the postseason last year, have won the National League Central Division in each of the past three years. This year, the Cubs expect to end up on top.

What is more, Chicago wants to compete for, and win, the World Series, which they have not won since 2016. As such, they went about the winter piecing together a roster that many feel is one of the best in the Majors. At least on paper.

However, that high-powered and carefully constructed roster started the year 3-3.

MLB analyst wonders if the Chicago Cubs can remain consistent

Obviously, six games are far from a clear picture of what will be a 162-game season. That being said, while divisions cannot be won in March or April, they can certainly be lost. If the Cubs find themselves a game or two behind the Brewers (or another NL Central team) heading into the final week of the year, many will point to this lackluster start.

Derek Antoine of Yahoo Sports fears that Chicago’s inconsistency to start the year may end up biting them:

“The Cubs have already shown the early warning signs that kill seasons—they can be productive, but not reliably punishing. They can survive cold nights at Wrigley. They can survive one shutout. What they can’t survive is a lineup that only scores when everything lines up perfectly.

“And what happens when they start facing real pitching depth every series? Because the competition hasn’t necessarily been stellar.

“So the question is simple, and I won’t be polite about it. Do the Cubs have enough lineup length to win games when they aren’t hitting nukes? Or are they about to spend April proving that the offense is all paper?”

These are all questions that many had about the Cubs roster going into the season. Undoubtedly, when they are clicking on all cylinders, they are nearly impossible to beat.

But, as Antoine asks, what is going to happen when things are not clicking? Chicago needs to figure out how to overcome these challenges if they are going to compete for the division, much less a World Series title.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Matthew Boyd responds in strong outing in Cubs win
• Moving on from Seiya Suzuki may be Cubs’ plan A
• Craig Counsell announces exciting timeline for Seiya Suzuki return

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

The post Chicago Cubs: MLB analyst claims team’s 3-3 start signals one major concern appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs were forced to start the 2026 MLB regular season without the player they believed would be their everyday right fielder. During the World Baseball Classic, Seiya Suzuki suffered a knee injury while he was sliding into second base. As a result, he was unable to start the year on the Cubs Opening Day roster.

While it is still early, Chicago is 2-3 and in last place of the National League Central Division. They are coming off a game in which they were shutout by the Los Angeles Angles 2-0. Indeed, offense has been a bit of a concern for the Cubs in the early going.

Fortunately, help is on the way.

Chicago Cubs manager reveals likely timeline for Seiya Suzuki return

It was recently revealed that Suzuki was nearing return. Now, it is being reported that he will soon be heading out on a rehab assignment, one that is going to last just 3-7 days:

#Cubs Seiya Suzuki will begin his rehab assignment on Friday with Double-A Knoxville. Craig Counsell expects his assignment to be between 3-7 days.

— Taylor McGregor (@Taylor_McGregor) April 1, 2026

Last season, Suzuki had the best season of his MLB career, hitting .245/.326/.478 with 32 home runs and 103 RBI. It was the first time in his Cubs tenure that he hit more than 30 home runs and had 100 or more RBI.

That being said, his batting average and on-base percentage was well-below his career norms. This season marks the final year of his contract with Chicago, and he will have to perform well if he wants them to bring him back in 2027.

Bringing in a power bat to an offense that has been inconsistent thus far this year will certainly help.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Cubs drop in The Athletic‘s week 1 power rankings
• Former Cubs slugger predicts 1 achievement is in Edward Cabrera’s future
• Former Cubs and White Sox pitcher impresses in Diamondbacks debut

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

The post Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell announces exciting time-table for Seiya Suzuki retrun appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs came up short against the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday night at Wrigley Field, but there was some good news mixed into the bad of a 2-0 loss.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Matt Shaw’s options running out after Hoerner extension

The biggest piece of positivity was the performance of Ben Brown, who came into the game in the top of the sixth inning with two outs and a pair of runners on base. The 26-year-old proceeded to cook through his appearance.

Overall, the lanky right-hander pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, striking out 5 against 1 hit and 1 walk. The impressive box score numbers, alone, don’t even tell the full story of Brown’s performance, though.

Brown dazzles, Taillon hangs tough:

More News: Chicago Cubs: Alex Bregman points out major change in Cubs business mindset

The young arm dazzled with a mix of overpowering stuff and outstanding placement. He was also sporting supreme control with 39 strikes in 50 pitches thrown.

This was his second appearance of the season and he delivered much better results this time out, although he did notch 3 strikeouts against the Nationals in relief on Opening Day. Overall this early season, he’s sporting a 2.70 ERA with 8 strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched.

Brown fought his way this spring to the last bullpen spot on the roster and he’s quickly making a case for staying in the majors. If he keeps up the long-relief brilliance, he could also force himself back into the running for a rotation spot.

Starter Jameson Taillon didn’t quite dazzle Tuesday night, but he showed that he could perform well, even when he doesn’t have his A+ stuff. On the evening, the veteran struck out 3 over 4.2 innings while giving up 2 hits and 4 walks.

The reality is that he looked to be on the verge of allowing a big inning on a couple of occasions this outing, but he managed to maneuver out of trouble. Regardless, the scoreless appearance was a relief after a horrendous spring where he posted a 17.55 ERA over 5 games and experienced a significant dip in velocity. That velocity dip (the four-seamer was down to 90-91 mph on Tuesday) is still there, however, and that is definitely something to watch.

“I thought Jameson pitched well,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters after the game. “I thought he navigated it and there was really very little hard contact…They drove the pitch count up on him a little bit, but he did a really nice job.”

After the game, the 34-year-old said he felt good and expressed his relief with being able to get to Chicago and restart his pitching a bit.

A swap of roles?

But the tremendous Brown outing and Taillon’s lower-velocity outing happening on the same day kind of introduces the possibility that, maybe, there could be a swap of roles between the two before the end of the season.

The Cubs believe that Brown’s ultimate place will be as a starter and Taillon is working on the last year of his contract before becoming a free agent. If the younger, cheaper Brown can establish himself as a consistent presence over multiple innings, there could be a push to get him into the rotation and move Taillon into a swing man role, especially if there are no significant injuries in the rotation necessitating the use of both as starters.

That’s a big “if,” of course. Brown has shown flashes of brilliance in the past, before much longer stretches of struggle. Taillon, meanwhile, has shown the veteran ability to stabilize and solidify his game after a rough stretch of outings.

For now, the Cubs will let the season play on and make decisions further down the road.

The post Chicago Cubs: Brilliant Ben Brown angling to take James Taillon’s rotation spot? appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are about to kick off a 2026 season where big acquisitions were made and big things are expected. Manager Craig Counsell just released today’s Opening Day lineup for the game against the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field in Chicago (1:20 pm CT).

More News: The Chicago Cubs’ x-factor in 2026 may be this unsung hero

There are a couple of surprises in this season-opening lineup, but nothing earth-rattling.

Any surprises in the Opening Day lineup?

More News: Could Chicago Cubs top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins be the next rookie surprise?

First, first baseman Michael Busch is leading off. There were some projected Cubs lineups that had him filling that spot, but there was also the belief that maybe his power presence (34 homers last season) would be better felt somewhere near the middle of the lineup.

New Cub Alex Bregman is a good choice for no. 2 and his presence should be of great benefit to no. 3 hitter Ian Happ.

Pete Crow-Armstrong in the cleanup spot is also a bit of a surprise as he moves down from the second-half-of lineup position he worked most of last season. Is this an indication that big things are expected of the newly-extended young star this year?

Nico Hoerner in the fifth slot is, arguably, the biggest surprise of this Opening Day lineup. Hoerner, with his strong contact-hitting abilities and stellar on-base rate, is the prototypical no. 2 hitter. Leadoff would’ve also been a not-so-surprising placement.

Rookie DH Moises Ballesteros will get his first Opening Day lineup designation, batting seventh and serving as the lefty bat between righties Carson Kelly and Dansby Swanson.

Matt Shaw playing right field and taking the no. 9 spot in the lineup is not that much of a surprise given his big spring and the team’s apparent confidence in his abilities as a super utility player. A case could’ve been made for new Cub veteran outfielder Michael Conforto taking the right field Seiya Suzuki spot in this big game, but it’s not too much of a shocker that Counsell decided to go with the sophomore Shaw.

Taking the mound is Matthew Boyd

Taking the mound for the first game of the 2026 season will be lefty Matthew Boyd, who worked his way into Cubs ace status following the early-season year-ending injury of Justin Steele last April, with an outstanding 2025.

The game will be broadcast on Marquee Sports Network.

Here’s your 2026 Chicago Cubs Opening Day lineup:

Michael Busch 1B
Alex Bregman 3B
Ian Happ LF
Pete Crow-Armstrong CF
Nico Hoerner 2B
Carson Kelly C
Moises Ballesteros DH
Dansby Swanson SS
Matt Shaw RF

Matthew Boyd P

The post Chicago Cubs: Today’s Opening Day lineup is set, with a couple of surprises appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are in a position where they are expected to be one of the top teams in the sport. As a result, manager Craig Counsell is expected to lead the team to a lot of wins. They have massive expectations, and as a result, the pressure is on for the Cubs. Ahead of Opening Day, MLB posted its predictions for season-long award winners and Counsell appears to be the favorite for an award himself.

Craig Counsell is predicted to win the 2026 NL Manager of the Year Award

MLB had 57 of its site experts predict who would win each of the major awards. While more than a majority of the National League managers received votes, Craig Counsell secured the official prediction for the award. Below is the snippet that Theo DeRosa wrote about it:

“Ten of the NL’s 15 managers earned votes in our poll, but it was another Craig who led the way: Counsell, in a close vote over Pirates skipper Don Kelly. In 2025, Counsell led the Cubs to a 92-70 record and an NL Wild Card berth, with Chicago losing a tight five-game NLDS to the Brewers, the club Counsell previously managed.

“Counsell skippered Milwaukee to the postseason for four straight years from 2018-21 and again in 2023 before leaving to manage the Cubs, who posted a winning record in 2024 before making the playoffs last season. With third baseman Alex Bregman, starter Edward Cabrera and several new bullpen arms in the fold, Chicago has a chance to challenge for the NL Central crown under Counsell’s leadership.”

Counsell is entering his 12th year as a manager (third with Chicago), but never won the NL Manager of the Year Award. He has shown to be a strong manager, posting a 707-625 (.531) career record. It will be interesting to see if he can lead the Cubs to a dominant level and win the award for the first time.

The post MLB predicts Craig Counsell will win 2026 NL Manager of the Year appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are, maybe, not as secure in the starting pitching department as many thought they would be this winter.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Can Alex Bregman live up to expectations?

The names are there and there’s still an overflow of arms for the rotation, but just about every proposed starter has looked vulnerable this spring and depth has suddenly become a concern. Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Edward Cabrera, and Shota Imanaga have been beaten up in Cactus League play and that makes one wonder about backups.

Colin Rea, Ben Brown, and Javier Assad will be around, but none project as high-end starters over the long haul.

But could the Cubs have another Cade Horton surprise this season?

The next Cade Horton surprise?

More News: Chicago Cubs: Insider predicts big things for two young Cubs in 2026

Last year, top pitching prospect Horton came up from Triple-A in May, after Imanaga’s injury, and ended up blowing people away with a dominant post-All-Star break run.

This year, current top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins is being predicted by some to be the surprise pitching star of the season.

The 24-year-old Wiggins came to spring training this year as a non-roster invitee and turned some heads, despite getting touched up a bit in his limited play.

“There’s a lot of good signs with Jaxon, there are a lot of good things happening,” manager Craig Counsell told media. “The finishing touches can happen really fast is how I would describe it. But they can also take a while. That’s Jaxon’s job right now, just make himself a little bit more complete pitcher. It’s certainly very close.”

Big league expectations for Wiggins

Michael Brauner of Sports Illustrated fully anticipates the 6-foot-6 Wiggins getting the major league call-up at some point this season:

“He was never going to break camp with the team, but he certainly could be on a similar trajectory as Cade Horton last year, starting the season in Iowa.

Making an impact on the coaching staff, Wiggins established himself as a name to watch and once Ballesteros officially graduates he will become the top prospect in the organization. Jed Hoyer has spoken often about how much pitching depth is needed, and the 24-year-old is the next one up.

It would be a significant surprise to not see Wiggins’ big league debut in 2026.”

Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic echoes the enthusiasm, although he holds back in predicting a likely big league debut in 2026 for the pitcher he describes as having “one of the best fastballs in the minors.”

Per Sharma:

“The fastball is in the upper 90s and has the type of vertical rise that is impossible to ignore. He also has a strong curveball, a quickly developing changeup and a slider. So what are the next steps?

…He has a walk rate well above 10 percent in each of his pro seasons. That has to change. That he walked just 5.9 percent of batters this spring was something that was taken note of. Now bring that into the season.”

Wiggins is, arguably, the last homegrown high-end starting pitching prospect in the Cubs farm system, at least for now. Fast-tracking his development and bringing him up to the majors this coming season will probably be a last resort for the Cubs– and a sign that the rotation is in deep distress.

The post Could Chicago Cubs top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins be the next rookie surprise? appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are one of the baseball world’s early picks to compete for and win the World Series in 2026. They have made a big free agent splash, orchestrated a major trade, and have rebuilt their bullpen in an effort to get there. A day before their first regular season game, they have many people buzzing in regard to their chances.

But these things are similar to what they have done in each of the past few years. In each of the last three years, the Cubs have finished second in the National League Central Division… to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Indeed, the Cubs versus Brewers rivalry has become intense over the course of the last two years especially, and it all came to a head in the postseason last year.

The Chicago Cubs rivalry with the Milwaukee Brewers named a top MLB storyline

Chicago and Milwaukee have been fierce rivals ever since the Brewers made the move from the American League to the National League. This rivalry intensified prior to the 2024 season when the Cubs hired Craig Counsell away from Milwaukee.

Over the course of the last years, Cubs and Brewers matchups have seemed to mean more, especially to the fans in Milwaukee. But it would appear that the national media has taken notice, too. In his article in which he lists the 12 biggest storylines of the 2026 MLB season, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic listed the Chicago v. Milwaukee rivalry:

“Here we go again. The Cubs loaded up by signing third baseman Alex Bregman, trading for righty Edward Cabrera and remaking their bullpen. The Brewers pared down by trading their ace, righty Freddy Peralta, and the third- and fourth-place finishers for NL Rookie of the Year, third baseman Caleb Durbin and outfielder Isaac Collins.

“Will it matter? Does it ever matter?

“Prior to the 2024 season, the Cubs lured Craig Counsell from the Brewers by awarding him a five-year, $40 million contract, a record total for a manager. Since then, the Brewers have won two more division titles, making it four in five seasons. And Counsell’s replacement, Pat Murphy, twice has won NL Manager of the Year.

“Every year, people like me predict the Brewers’ demise. Every year, the Crew defies expectations. Their rotation without Peralta looks vulnerable, but the same was true at the start of last season, and Milwaukee won 97 games, most in the majors.

“The Brewers … remain the division’s standard. Just ask the Cubs.”

While many experts are picking the Cubs to win the division, they are doing so cautiously, stating that the Brewers have proved everyone wrong before and that it would not be a surprise if they do so again.

Therefore, it is up to the Cubs to make sure that surprise does not happen.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Where does Pete Crow-Armstrong’s contract rank in Cubs history?
• Cubs finalize contract with Pete Crow-Armstrong
• Michael Busch predicted to be 10th Cubs player to accomplish this feat

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

The post Chicago Cubs rivalry with Milwaukee Brewers named top 12 storyline of 2026 season appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are entering the third season of the Craig Counsell Era. After finishing the 2023 season 83-79 and in second place behind the Counsell-led Milwaukee Brewers, the Cubs shocked everyone in baseball by luring him away from what he had called his hometown team.

Indeed, Counsell grew up in the Milwaukee area and still resides there as his children attend high school in the area. Getting him to leave Milwaukee was an absolute shock.

Prior to leaving the Brewers, Counsell became the winningest manager in that franchise’s history, ushering in an era of competitiveness the city had not seen since the 1980’s. Yet, he never won a National League Manager of the Year Award.

Chicago Cubs skipper Craig Counsell predicted to win NL Manager of the Year

In an ironic twist of fate, Pat Murphy, who replaced Counsell as manager in Milwaukee, has been named the NL Manager of the Year in each of the past two seasons. Meanwhile, the Cubs skipper still seeks his first such honor.

ESPN, though, thinks he will win it this year:

“Counsell has now finished in the top four of NL Manager of the Year balloting six times without winning the award — all he has gotten for his trouble is a high-profile job and a record-setting contract. Is it possible at this point that Counsell could earn support because of a career recognition factor? The prerequisite is for the Cubs to have another strong season, of course. But doesn’t it seem like Counsell has to win this award at some point?”

Last year, Counsell led the Cubs to a 92-70 record and [another] second place finish in the National League Central Division. If he is able to lead Chicago to a division title, one would have to assume that he would finally win the award that has alluded him for so many years.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Cubs option top outfield prospects to Iowa
• Cubs finalizing a massive extension with Pete Crow-Armstrong
• Cubs 2026 Opening Day starting rotation appears set

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

The post Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell predicted to finally earn long-deserved recognition in 2026 appeared first on ChiCitySports.

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell made the news official on where outfielder Seiya Suzuki and right-hander Javier Assad will begin the season.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Suzuki will miss Opener, Conforto to make roster

According to Counsell, via Marquee Sports Network, Suzuki will start the season on the injured list (knee), and Assad got optioned to Triple-A. Suzuki injured his knee while sliding into second base playing for Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

In four World Baseball Classic games, Suzuki hit two home runs, drove in five RBI, and walked six times. In 6.2 innings (three games), the 28-year-old Assad had a 1.35 ERA and eight strikeouts. Assad had a 4.50 ERA in two games with Mexico during the World Baseball Classic. 

Seiya Suzuki will start the season on the IL, and Javier Assad was optioned to Triple-A, Craig Counsell announced today. pic.twitter.com/JTfCan9RQd

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) March 23, 2026

Other Chicago Cubs need to step up in Seiya Suzuki’s absence

Suzuki is one of the Cubs’ main power hitters — smashing 32 home runs last season — which leaves a void that others need to fill. First baseman Michael Busch (34) and centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (31) were the only other 30+ home run hitters last season.

Busch and Crow-Armstrong will provide decent pop, but others will need to step up. Shortstop Dansby Swanson hit 24 home runs last season and hit nine combined between April and May. The Gold Glover also has two home runs and nine RBI this spring.

Third baseman Alex Bregman will also need to provide some pop — hitting 18 home runs last season and two this spring. Bregman had 11 home runs between April and May last year. Like Swanson, Bregman also has two home runs.

Sadly, the Chicago Cubs didn’t have a place for Javier Assad

Despite him doing well, the Cubs didn’t have a place on the 26-man roster for Assad. A swing-man (both a starter and reliever), the Cubs already have right-hander Colin Rea to fill that role. Rea had a 3.10 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 20.1 innings.

Assad also had no place in the starting rotation. Left-handers Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga, and right-handers Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, and Jameson Taillon will be the starting five to begin the season. Right-hander Ben Brown will also make the Opening Day roster, offering Counsell another swing-man option. 

Assad will likely get work in the Iowa Cubs rotation to keep him ready to start in case of an injury.

The post Chicago Cubs manager provides status update for two key players appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs, for the longest time, appeared to be all set when it came to position players. The thought was that, maybe, just one bench spot (and two at the most) would be up for grabs in the spring.

More News: Chicago Cubs get interesting lineup ranking from former exec

But baseball is baseball and things happen.

In the Cubs’ case, Seiya Suzuki injured his knee in a steal attempt during the World Baseball Classic, suffering a minor sprain of the right posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) that would keep him off the Opening Day roster.

Prior to that, Tyler Austin, acquired to be the backup first baseman behind Michael Busch and a right-handed bat off the bench, suffered a knee injury that would require surgery and, maybe, the loss of at least half the season.

Uncertainty for the Opening Day roster

More News: Chicago Cubs: Pete Crow-Armstrong contract extension talk heats up

That prior certainty regarding the Opening Day roster is not quite there right now.

Patrick Mooney of the Athletic recently spotlighted the team’s possible desire to add an extra infielder to the team, either by waiver acquisition or promotion from within:

“With Suzuki sidelined, Matt Shaw could become a more prominent option in right field, limiting the scope of his super-utility role and emphasizing the need for a versatile infielder off the bench.”

Jordan Campbell of Cubbies Crib, meanwhile, offered up a possible fill for the Cubs’ needs right now:

“As it stands, Matt Shaw is the only backup infielder that the Cubs have on their roster. With Shaw expected to start in right field while Seiya Suzuki is on the IL, it would make sense for the Cubs to add to their infield depth before Thursday.

If the Cubs can’t find a veteran on the waiver wire, perhaps Owen Miller slides onto the roster as the final piece of the bench. He was a bench piece for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2023 and 2024 and has experience playing all over the infield. Miller would also add some speed to the Cubs’ bench, ranking in the 99th percentile in sprint speed last season.”

Internal options

The Cubs have internal options when it comes to backup infielders. Miller, given his past ties to manager Craig Counsell, could be considered a favorite for the gig. The Cubs also have Scott Kingery and some minor league options. Unless they see a need for a long-term bench player, they probably won’t spend too much time looking for still-available free agents or combing the waiver wire.

If veteran pickup Michael Conforto sticks with the roster after Suzuki returns, Shaw could be moved back to full-time infield duty and there suddenly wouldn’t be such a big need for another infielder.

The 29-year-old Miller has played with the Guardians, Brewers, and Rockies over the course of his major league career with playing time at all four infield spots, plus all three outfield positions. He was picked up in early February on a minor league deal.

The post Chicago Cubs: Former Counsell charge named as possible surprise roster addition appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are starting the 2026 MLB regular season this week as they wrap up Spring Training. Indeed, there is a great deal to like about this year’s roster, including the fact that top prospect, Moises Ballesteros, has already been told he made the Opening Day roster.

That being said, there are quite a few questions that remain unanswered. Is the starting rotation going to be good enough? Will the Cubs miss Kyle Tucker, whom they lost in free agency over the winter?

These questions, along with others, have some thinking that Chicago may have to wait a little longer before reclaiming the National League Central Division.

Chicago Cubs predicted to finish 2nd in the NL Central (again)

Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report recently released an article in which he predicted the 2026 record for each MLB team. And while he had the three-time reigning NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers winning seven-fewer games than they did in 2025, he still picked them to win the division.

As for Chicago, he, once again, has them coming in second:

“Cubs fans should be excited that the team added Bregman, but while he is considered one of the best leaders in the sport, he’s probably a worse player at this point than Kyle Tucker, who Jed Hoyer and company made no effort to re-sign this winter.

“Once again, the Cubs feel like a lineup where there’s a lot of good, with pieces like Bregman, Seiya Suzuki, Michael Busch, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Ian Happ. But is there a superstar that can consistently carry Craig Counsell’s lineup? That’s fair to wonder.

“There also seem to be a wide variance of possible outcomes for the starting rotation. Will Shota Imanaga pitch more like he did in 2024 than 2025? Can Matthew Boyd replicate the career-year he had at 34 years old? Will Cabrera stay healthy? A rotation that also will include Cade Horton and Jameson Taillon has a high ceiling, but it’s not difficult to imagine things going south, either.

“Overall, the Cubs feel like a good team, but owner Tom Ricketts doesn’t flex the financial muscle of the organization nearly enough, which is why they seem more likely to be an 89-win club than a 99-win one.”

Prediction: 89-73 (Over)

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Cubs get interesting lineup ranking from former MLB executive
• Cubs latest first round pick already facing injury setback
• Cubs shed 2 pitchers, 1 infielder, from roster

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

The post Chicago Cubs 2026 record prediction sees them finishing in an all-too-familiar position appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are moving through their last week of spring training, fine tuning some things, and hoping for the best as they head into a 2026 season where big results are expected. Things, however, haven’t gone exactly as expected.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Matthew Boyd and rotation get shocking poor assessment

The Cubs’ run of bad luck may have continued on Friday night in a split squad 6-2 loss to the Athletics at Hohokam Park in Mesa, Arizona.

Javier Assad pulled from game

More News: Chicago Cubs: Counsell hints at worries over Daniel Palencia WBC usage

Starter/swingman Javier Assad had to be pulled from the game by manager Craig Counsell in the bottom of the eighth inning, 50 pitches into a relief appearance, with an apparent finger injury. Video replays subsequently showed that injury to likely be a blister-related issue.

Assad, who recently turned 28, had been having a very good spring, along with a very solid run in the World Baseball Classic as part of Team Mexico. His work this offseason seemed to bolster the case for him making the Opening Day roster, despite chatter that being one of the few Cubs pitchers with minor league options could have him opening the year at Triple-A Iowa.

As of this writing, there’s been no update on the injury or on what, exactly, it was, although it pretty clearly shows it to be a blister. The timing of this setback, though, will have big implications on whether Assad breaks spring training with the big league Cubs or finds himself starting the regular season in the minors.

This latest bit of bad news shows one more crack in the foundation of what many saw as a pretty deep and solid starting rotation. While Assad wasn’t expected to make the starting five, he was expected to be a valuable swingman and one of the key backups in case of injury or poor performance.

Taillon’s struggles continue

One of the biggest rotation concerns this spring is Jameson Taillon, who has been getting bashed around during Cactus League play to an alarming extent. The veteran starter, who will be eligible for free agency at the end of this coming season, started Friday’s game with the Athletics and delivered another disappointing outing. Despite four initial shutout innings, 2 home runs in the fifth accounted for 3 earned runs in those 4 innings pitched (although his 6 strikeouts were a nice sidebar). The 34-year-old ends the spring with a 0-4 record and a 17.55 ERA in 5 games and 13.1 innings pitched.

Needless to say, this is not the lead-in to 2026 that Taillon or the Cubs wanted.

An Assad injury just complicated issues further as it possibly takes one of the key backup options off the table for an undisclosed period of time.

As of right now, the Cubs 5-man rotation still seems to be locked in with Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Shota Imanaga, and Taillon. Colin Rea and Assad stand as swingmen who can step in as starters. Justin Steele, meanwhile, is due back around May-June after season ending elbow surgery last April.

The post Chicago Cubs: Assad leaves game with apparent finger injury, Taillon continues to struggle appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are days away from beginning the 2026 MLB season. Over the last several weeks, they have been figuring out their roster as the team participated in Spring Training. Some of their players, too, participated in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, getting valuable experience in high-leverage games.

Unfortunately, however, slugging outfielder Seiya Suzuki suffered a knee injury while representing Team Japan in the WBC. It is not yet known how long he will be forced to be out because of it.

Chicago already faces a challenge in replacing the offensive presence of Kyle Tucker, who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency. And while the signing of Alex Bregman is hopefully going to make up for that loss, the Cubs now have to find a way to fill the gap left by Suzuki, who hit 32 home runs and drove in 103 runs.

For the start of the season, at least, it sounds like they will be looking to Moises Ballesteros to help.

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell reveals role Moises Ballesteros will have in 2026

On Friday, manager Craig Counsell revealed that Ballesteros had been informed that he had made the Opening Day roster. However, with the Cubs fairly well set at catcher and first base, the two positions Ballesteros plays, the Chicago manager said that their top prospect will play primarily as the designated hitter:

“He’s going to DH for us a pretty significant amount to start the season. He has earned that, is the best way to say it. When you have a player that has [Minor League] options and it’s a young player, you’ve got to kind of beat down the door to get yourself in the lineup. And so, Moisés has earned that opportunity.

“You almost have to do a little more to get that opportunity, and I think he has. He’s shown us through his stint last year and through what he’s continued to do this spring that he deserves at-bats. And he’s going to get some.”

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Cubs urged to sign WBC star after Seiya Suzuki injury
• Former Cub Kyle Hendricks voted into “Hall of Pretty Good”
• Cubs star Ian Happ gets top-10 MLB left fielder ranking

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

The post Chicago Cubs: Craig Counsell reveals what role Moises Ballesteros will have on 2026 Opening Day roster appeared first on ChiCitySports.

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell turned some heads earlier in the spring when he flat-out told reporters that Daniel Palencia would be the team’s closer.

More News: Two Chicago Cubs named to star-studded All-Under-25 team, another gets honorable mention

It’s not the kind of talk one usually hears from Counsell, who usually keeps his cards close to his chest when it comes to roster moves and defaults to a “we’re just trying to win games/get outs” response when pressed.

This time, though, he went bold with his declaration. And there’s definitely a case to be made for that.

Palencia’s up and down 2025

More News: Chicago Cubs: Counsell talks to team, addresses huge issue ahead of 2026 run

Last season, Palencia shocked and awed as a mid-April call-up from Iowa, eventually winning the closer spot. Through the end of July, the hard-throwing righty had posted an impressive 1.40 ERA and was carrying himself with the swagger of an established veteran.

Then, came the struggles.

Over the final two months of the regular season, Palencia delivered a 7.07 ERA in 17 appearances and suffered through an IL stint after the first week of September.

It was a noteworthy fall from grace that put the young arm’s closer status in serious doubt for 2027.

Well, Palencia’s shutdown showing in the World Baseball Classic [WBC] as a member of the champion Team Venezuela has reinforced Counsell’s early spring declaration. In five high-leverage outings, the 26-year-old struck out 9, allowed no runs and no hits. He also closed the show in the championship game versus Team USA.

But, with the great WBC performance, there also come concerns.

Counsell concerned with Palencia’s WBC usage

Counsell recently hinted at, maybe, a discomfort at how his closer was used in the tournament.

“The usage is more than anybody would like at this time of year,” Counsell told media on Wednesday. “But the moment was also a moment that you want someone to experience. So if it was going to be usage that we weren’t comfortable with, we wanted to make sure it was in the moment that every player should get to experience.”

Arm health is a concern at this stage of the spring and Palencia was taxed at a mid-Summer level during the three-week spectacle.

Still, Counsell definitely sees a trade off when it comes to Palencia. The WBC experience was a shot of pure confidence into the body of a young man who could’ve entered into the spring with a few doubts after last season’s late collapse.

“It’s really a confidence thing,” Counsell said. “You’re in a really big moment, you know how you react to those moments. That’s the biggest thing when you’ve had success on the mound in a moment like that. It gives you a lot of confidence that you call on, probably when the bad stuff happens more than anything.”

Right now, Palencia is riding high. His self-belief has to be shooting through the roof, although he never really seemed to be lacking in confidence all that much before.

Hopefully, for the Cubs, this WBC experience has cemented the young pitcher’s status as a legit major league closer and that he’ll deliver a full season with the same fire he had on Team Venezuela.

The post Chicago Cubs: Counsell hints at worries over Daniel Palencia WBC usage appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs have the team in place to make a big push to a championship. On the flip side of that big opportunity, though, is the reality that much of this current roster will not be back to make a second run at a title.

More News: Chicago Cubs: This under-the-radar prospect could end up doing big things in 2026

A good portion of this team’s roster– including several core members– will either be eligible for free agency at the end of the coming season or staring down options for 2027. Atop the list of possible outgoing Cubs is Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga, and Carson Kelly.

Anyone facing that kind of uncertainty could be forgiven for suffering through at least a bit of distraction. But with a real possibility of making some waves this offseason, manager Craig Counsell has the task of keeping his guys’ eyes on the prize.

“We certainly feel very confident in our team going forward, but it’s going to look different in ‘27 than this,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer told MLB.com. “There is going to be change. Craig has talked to the players about trying to embrace that.”

Counsell addresses 2026 elephant in the room

More News: Chicago Cubs: Daniel Palencia’s message to PCA ahead of WBC Final– “I’m coming after you”

And Counsell has, indeed, already addressed the gigantic elephant in the room called ‘uncertainty.’

“[Boston Celtics head coach] Joe Mazzulla, who is one of my favorite coaches, said, ‘I go to bed questionable and wake up probable.’ None of us are guaranteed anything, and that’s really a great way to put it,” Counsell told media. “Like, why am I worried about what’s going to happen? I have to make sure I wake up the next day, so let’s just worry about what’s going on right now.

“The whole point of this is to be where your feet are, so I don’t think you worry about it. Everybody thinks about what’s next for them; that’s a natural thought for people to do. But when you have an opportunity like we have, it’s also easier to be where your feet are every day, be present, enjoy it and cherish it. That’s what we’ve talked about our goal being every single day: to enjoy what you have right in front of you.”

Focusing on the here and now

That focus on the here and now will be crucial to a successful 2026. It just takes a small handful of distracted or overly-strained players to ruin a vibe and bring a team down.

There’s hope that at least two or three of these possibly outgoing Cubs could be retained. Ideally, second baseman Nico Hoerner would be one of them. It would also be nice to see at least one of the corner outfielders– Happ or Suzuki– extended, just because of how hard it would be to sign two starter-level corner outfielders in one free agent class. People would also probably not balk at the Cubs doing everything they can to hold on to Boyd.

Ultimately, though, business is business and the Cubs will make the decisions that go best with their business plan. Hopefully, those decisions are made after a very successful 2026.

The post Chicago Cubs: Counsell talks to team, addresses huge issue ahead of 2026 run appeared first on ChiCitySports.

After several days, the diagnosis for Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki is in. Per Bruce Levine, Seiya suffered a strained PCL on the slide into second in Japan’s WBC game against Venezuela. He had an MRI done on Monday after returning to Cubs camp. It has not yet been determined whether he will go on the IL, but manager Craig Counsell seems fairly optimistic.

Suzuki update -strained PCL. Unsure of IL right now

— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) March 17, 2026

Counsell on Suzuki’s injury.

Immediately after Levine’s report, Counsell spoke to the media to give a full update. While he confirmed the strained PCL, Counsell mentioned that he will stick with baseball activities and not be shut down. He called the PCL strain “minor in nature,” and they will treat it over the next week, then determine whether he needs to go on the IL.

Seiya Suzuki has a minor PCL strain, per Craig Counsell.

Seiya will not be shut down, and will continue baseball activities as he can tolerate them. pic.twitter.com/T2Slsv9a9v

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) March 17, 2026

Counsell also confirmed that he is still limping slightly, likely due to swelling, but it’s been improving since he first returned on Monday. By next early week, we will know whether he will be moved to the IL.

This all seems like great news, all things considered. There was fear that it could be much worse. While a torn ACL did not seem likely, a more severe ligament sprain or a bone bruise could have kept him out longer. With that said, Suzuki and the Cubs are not out of the woods yet, as it has not been determined whether he will go on the IL. He could very well still, but not being immediately shut down is very good to hear.

If he’s on the IL for a shorter period, they need depth to manage. Never ideal, but not devastating if for a few weeks.

The post Chicago Cubs: Seiya Suzuki suffers “minor” strained PCL appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs took a gut shot on Saturday when Seiya Suzuki limped off the field in Japan’s World Baseball Classic quarterfinal loss to Venezuela after a failed steal attempt at second base.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Could Ben Brown be taking Jameson Taillon’s spot?

Initially pulled from the game due to right knee discomfort, the Japanese star has returned to Cubs’ camp in Mesa, Arizona to be evaluated by team doctors.

Suzuki, who had a career power year in 2025 with 32 home runs and 103 RBIs, was slated to be the Cubs’ every day right fielder, replacing the outgoing Kyle Tucker. In January, Chicago traded top prospect Owen Caissie to the Miami Marlins for starter Edward Cabrera, cinching Suzuki’s spot at the position.

Now, things are a bit up in the air, at least until there’s some confirmation as to the seriousness of the injury.

Counsell’s Plan B for injured Suzuki

More News: Could the Chicago Cubs revisit a rumored trade deadline target from last season?

Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, meanwhile, is reporting that manager Craig Counsell has a Plan B, at least for now:

“In the meantime, Counsell confirmed that Matt Shaw would be in line to take over as the club’s primary right fielder if Suzuki is sidelined for an extended period. Shaw, a Gold Glove finalist as a rookie third baseman last year, is adapting well to the new super-utility role that will shift him between the infield and outfield.”

It would be fantastical thinking, though, to assume that the sophomore Shaw, who has limited outfield experience and just started seriously taking up the position this spring, could be this team’s every day right fielder.

The Cubs still have veteran Michael Conforto, Dylan Carlson, and Chas McCormick in camp. Justin Dean had just been sent to Triple-A, but he could be brought back. They also have prospect Kevin Alcantara. All five of these options are natural outfielders and could play an adequate fill-in role for a short stretch of time.

But if Suzuki is lost for a lengthier period?

Moves that might need to be made

That would be a major concern and it could have Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer on the phone looking for a trade. Some kind of platoon situation could also be cooked up to get maximum production from the available outfielders, who were all thought to be competing for the fourth outfielder spot on the 26-man roster.

The 31-year-old Suzuki is in the last year of his 5-year, $85 million contract with Chicago and will be eligible for free agency at the end of the season. The Cubs will be staring down the choice of re-signing both Suzuki and the similarly free agency-eligible corner outfielder Ian Happ (along with pitchers Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga, and second baseman Nico Hoerner).

An injury that keeps him out of commission for an extended period of time could likely nudge the Cubs further from the possibility of bringing him back.

Before any action is taken, however, the Cubs and Suzuki need a clear idea of what’s going on with the knee.

The post Chicago Cubs manager makes right field decision following Suzuki injury appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs don’t typically target young prospects like Moises Ballesteros. The analytics-loving Cubs staff usually goes after the thoroughbred multi-tool athletes who, visually, stand out as blue chip prospects.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Matt Shaw rolling with punches, killing it this spring

Ballesteros was short and squat. He didn’t fit the bill of a blue-chipper by Cubs’ standards and, by all accounts, his defensive game was all but nonexistent.

Yet, the Cubs signed the kid from Venezuela anyway, snatching him up as an international free agent just about two months after his 17th birthday, forking over a $1.2 million signing bonus. And they did it all because they recognized that this kid could really hit.

Ballesteros’ impressive run

More News: Chicago Cubs ace Justin Steele takes next step to full comeback

Ballesteros would prove the team’s faith in him warranted. Despite being the youngest prospect at almost every level he reached in the organization, he never failed to impress with the bat. His advanced hitting prowess would carry him to Cubs Minor League Player of the Year recognition in 2023 and 2024.

In his first major league run last season, he hit .298 in 66 plate appearances split up over three separate call-ups, with an especially impressive .333 average over 39 at bats in September He’s now slotted in to be the team’s full-time DH in 2026.

This spring, the talk regarding Ballesteros has centered around his still-developing defensive game as a catcher because, apparently, everybody just assumes now that he’ll hit (and he HAS, hitting .333 in 27 Cactus League at bats so far after a late arrival due to Visa issues).

Catching is getting rave reviews

The assessments of Ballesteros, the catcher, have been positive.

“From a pitch-calling standpoint, I love the way he thinks,” Cubs pitcher Ben Brown told media. “I love the way he goes about hitters. He’s a great hitter himself. He has great plate discipline. What he can do offensively is really special, so I think he brings that into his catching.

“I think everyone, top to bottom, in all honesty, we truly believe that Bally can stick back there. There’s no doubt. He loves to learn. He’s such a good teammate. He’s such a light in the clubhouse. He’s a joy to be around.”

New Cubs starter Edward Cabrera also praised him for his work behind the plate.

“I was shocked,” Cabrera told reporters, via interpreter, following a game caught by Ballesteros, where the young catcher flipped three balls to strikes via ABS challenge. “Having a catcher who sees the zone that well gives me a lot of confidence, especially in tight counts. He did a great job guiding me through those innings.”

Bat first, everything else is a bonus

The reality when it comes to Ballesteros, though, is that he’ll make the major league roster almost entirely on the weight of his bat. Everything that he can give defensively, would be just a bonus.

“He’s been an exceptional hitter,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters late last season. “That’s the best development for Moisés, really, is that he’s come up to the big leagues and shown everybody what a natural hitter he is, (while being) put in the fire against some tough, tough competition. The rest is a bonus.”

Even as an all-bat prospect, expectations are high heading into this season. There’s even been some Rookie of the Year chatter.

Right now, defensively, he stands to be the Cubs’ third catcher, behind Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya and he’ll also be in the mix as a backup to first baseman Michael Busch. But the team would be ecstatic if he could work his way into becoming an Alejandro Kirk-like asset behind the plate. Early thoughts appear to be that he has the unconventional athleticism and work ethic to develop in that direction. He is, after all, only 22.

For now, he’ll be given the bat and asked to produce come Opening Day. Defensive nuance can wait.

The post Chicago Cubs: Ballesteros getting rave reviews and some Rookie of the Year chatter appeared first on ChiCitySports.

With all of the Chicago Cubs starting pitchers back in camp, they’ll go through the final stretch of ramp-up before the season starts. Matthew Boyd was just named the Opening Day starter, with the rest of the rotation order to be set. One of the biggest question marks heading into the season is Shōta Imanaga. He will be in the rotation, likely somewhere between the 3-5 spot. The question is, can he rebound from late last year, and does he have a short leash?

Concerns remain in Spring Training as he’s given up four homers in 8.1 innings in Cactus League play. While giving up home runs in Spring is normally not a point of emphasis, given Arizona’s hitter-friendly environment and the fact that pitchers are just working back, it’s a particular concern for Imanaga. The flyball-heavy pitcher’s struggles late last season and in the postseason raised worries about a bad trend.

Imanaga could have a shorter leash.

It’s important to note that a short leash occurs if Imanaga struggles, though he might not. He’s shown he can pitch in this league, even with the flyballs and home runs. There was going to be some regression from 2024’s 2.91 ERA season, with 27 homers surrendered and a 45.5% flyball rate, but his command allowed him to be effective over his first 45 career starts (2.98 ERA, 3.99 FIP, 244 K vs. 45 BB). Flyballs will always be a part of his game; it’s limiting the damage. Getting the whiff rate back up will be important.

However, if there are early struggles, safety valves are available. Craig Counsell was not afraid to pull Imanaga from the rotation in October when he struggled. That was when they were short on starters and opted for bullpen games, too. The current Cubs staff can go in several directions, including pivoting to Colin Rea or Javier Assad. Neither is a dominant pitcher, and going a full season with them as starters isn’t ideal, but Rea was big last year in keeping the Cubs in games while others were down.

Not to mention the return of Justin Steele, hopefully in May or June. That creates more flexibility and a bit less pressure on the rotation, assuming everything is going well with Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, and Jameson Taillon. A bonus for Imanaga is that the games at Wrigley Field before Steele’s return will likely have more favorable pitching conditions.

Imanaga’s 2026 outlook.

With a deep pitching staff that can hopefully stay effective and healthy, it takes some pressure off Imanaga. It’s really good for the Cubs if he can pitch closer to 2024, but he does not make or break the rotation. At this point in a fully healthy Cubs rotation, he’s probably the 4 or 5 starter.

He might be making $22 million in 2026, but it’s for one year. The Cubs are not obligated to make him a staple in the rotation long-term. If he needs to be moved to the pen because of struggles, and a rotation can be filled, they could do it. Hopefully, Imanaga can rebound. Even if he’s not 2024-level good, as long as he can be a solid mid-lower rotation pitcher, the Cubs will take it.

The post Chicago Cubs: Will Shōta Imanaga have a short leash in 2026? appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs’ Matt Shaw had every reason to walk into spring training bitter and discontent. The young talent, who fought his way to the starting third base gig over the course of a tough rookie season, had been outright replaced by incoming free agent Alex Bregman. He was now being asked to play a utility role off the bench.

More News: Chicago Cubs ace Justin Steele takes next step to full comeback

Instead of taking it as a blow, however, the Cubs’ 2023 no. 1 draft pick accepted the new role as a challenge and has excelled.

Tasked with playing corner outfield, center field, and most recently first base– in addition to his more comfortable third base and second base spots– the 24-year-old has adapted well, while accepting that there’s still plenty more to learn.

Through all the pressure of learning new positions on the fly, Shaw has also seemingly taken a step forward with his offense. In 35 Cactus League plate appearances, he’s hitting .333 with 1 home run, 2 RBIs, 4 stolen bases, and an OBP of .400.

Passing every test

More News: Chicago Cubs encouraged to sign still-available free agent slugger

“We’re giving him a difficult spring training experience here,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told media. “We’re moving him around a lot. You’re going to see him at first base. I respect what he’s doing this spring, it hasn’t been easy for sure. But I’d rather make it hard right now and then go into the season with at least some experience at all these things.”

Last Wednesday, Shaw played his first game ever at first base and, while clearly still learning the ropes, seemed up to the task.

“Honestly, it’s been a lot of fun,” Shaw said, referring to being moved around the field. “It feels like Little League, playing a bunch of different positions and moving around. I’ve really enjoyed it.”

This humbling experience has just reinforced the team’s opinion of Shaw as a player and as someone with a high ceiling as an every day player.

“He’s not someone that you need to worry about being professional or motivated or driven or working on his game,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner told media. “He’s a very driven young player. You look at how many great players at some point earlier in their career were bouncing around between positions, it’s just the reality of being a part of a really strong roster…he’s going to be a very valuable part of our team this year.”

Getting Shaw where he needs to be

The Cubs will try to strike a balance this season between fielding the best, most experienced team possible and getting Shaw the at bats and playing time he needs to continue his development. He’s still, for all intents and purposes, the team’s chief insurance policy when it comes to injury and, also, when it comes to possibly replacing Hoerner, who will become a free agent at the end of this coming season.

As a chief backup to at least six position player spots, he should get plenty of playing time and get plenty of opportunity to prove his worth.

The post Chicago Cubs: Matt Shaw rolling with punches, killing it this spring appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs took a gamble on Matthew Boyd prior to the 2025 season, signing the oft-injured lefty to a two-year, $29 million deal– and the bet definitely paid off.

More News: Chicago Cubs named one of the teams under the most pressure in 2026

The Cubs front office made their move based on just about two months of 2024 data following his Tommy John surgery in 2023 and other assorted physical setbacks dating back to 2020. The veteran starter came into the 2025 season without having pitched more than 100 innings since 2019.

Prior to last season, Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy talked about the general expectations of Boyd in 2025– they’d be happy with just 120 innings of solid baseball from him.

Well, Boyd far exceeded those expectations and posted a 3.21 ERA in 179.2 innings pitched over 31 starts and performed his way into becoming the rotation’s ace.

He was rewarded for that stellar season by getting the Opening Day starter nod from manager Craig Counsell.

“You earn these things,” Counsell told reporters. “And Matthew has earned this with how he’s pitched last year and since coming back from an injury. He had a great season last year. He’s a very important player for us, and we’re excited to give him the ball on Opening Day.”

Boyd speaks on Opening Day gig

More News: Chicago Cubs: Opening Day starter assignment spotlights rotation questions

Boyd, meanwhile, keeps being Boyd. Touched by the gesture of getting the 2026 opener gig, the honor weighs more heavily on him as his roots are steeped in Cubs lore, passed to him by his beloved late grandfather who was a hardcore Cubs fan.

“You don’t know if the opportunity is ever going to present itself again,” Boyd said of the Opening Day designation. “So it’s an honor. I mean, 162 games is a long season. It’s really cool to be out there to start it out.”

“Opening Day is special,” Boyd added, “but Opening Day at Wrigley is really something that is truly special. And I understand how much it means to Chicago fans.”

From the end of the line to a new beginning

For a guy who was virtually on the way out of major league baseball or, at the very least, in extreme doubt over his physical ability to pitch again, the gig has to be especially satisfying. What could have been the end of the line ended up being the start of a new beginning.

“If I don’t believe it, who else will?” Boyd said of his mindset prior to the start of last season. “I knew my best was ahead of me. What I didn’t know is if I’d get the opportunity to show it.”

Now, what’s ahead for Boyd is a 2026 where the Cubs are expected to win the NL Central Division and make a deep playoff run. There’s also a crucial career decision awaiting him. Boyd and the Cubs have mutual options at the end of the season and that could mean that the 35-year-old might be pitching elsewhere next year.

For now, though, Opening Day– and then a long, grueling season– await.

The post Chicago Cubs: Matthew Boyd speaks on Opening Day gig as contract uncertainty looms appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs will be feeling pressure this season. Unlike the situation heading into last season, where the team was expected to contend, the expectations this year are that they will win, at the very least, the NL Central Division.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Rival scout labels Cubs rookie a future “RBI machine”

Although they lost right fielder Kyle Tucker via free agency, they added three-time All-Star free agent Alex Bregman and traded for emerging powerhouse starter Edward Cabrera. They also restocked a depleted bullpen with four free agent relievers (Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Hunter Harvey).

With so many key additions and a returning core of talent from last season, the general feeling is that anything short of a division title and a deep playoff run will be seen as a major disappointment.

Cubs under pressure

More News: Chicago Cubs: Ian Happ putting on a brave face ahead of free agency uncertainty

Karl Rasmussen of Sports Illustrated recently acknowledged that pressure by naming the Cubs one of the teams under the most pressure this coming season. While he placed them outside the “World Series or Bust” category, he did put them high atop the “Postseason Run Required” list.

Per Rasmussen:

“The Cubs are in a good spot as they look to win the NL Central for the first time since 2020. Chicago acquired Alex Bregman in the offseason and should be favorites to win the division, especially after the Brewers parted ways with Peralta. The Cubs made it back to the postseason last year, snapping a four-year drought, and fans will be expecting the team to be playing into October again this season.”

Expectations are running high this spring and everyone feels it, from the front office to the coaching to the players themselves, as well as the fans. Actually, the word “expectations” has been a running theme throughout spring training.

“Everybody in this industry wants expectations,” manager Craig Counsell told The Athletic. “You work hard to get expectations. You work really hard to build a roster that has expectations, you work really hard to get on a team that has expectations. That’s what we want. We’re truly excited we have expectations. It’s not easy to get them.”

Causes for concern

And while there are numerous reasons for optimism, there are also some glaring causes for concern.

Several Cubs had career years in 2025, such as Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, Seiya Suzuki, and Nico Hoerner. There’s no guarantee that they’ll replicate their successes this season.

There are legitimate durability and health concerns in their deep starting rotation. Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, and Edward Cabrera have a history of injury, while Jameson Taillon and Shota Imanaga spent considerable time on the IL last year. Returning ace Justin Steele, meanwhile, will be coming back from elbow surgery.

Then, there’s the bullpen, which is always a wildcard on almost every team. Closer Daniel Palencia had 80% of a great season last year as he came up from Triple-A Iowa to win the bullpen shutdown spot. But he faded late in the year, delivering two months of subpar performances which suggested that, maybe, the young arm was bending under the pressure.

On paper, the Cubs would appear to be a better team than they were at this time last season. But that’s certainly no guarantee of equal or greater success.

The pressure will definitely be on.

The post Chicago Cubs named one of the teams under the most pressure in 2026 appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs have all nine positions in the field figured out except the bench.

More News: Chicago Cubs‘ Nico Hoerner has lofty goal for the 2026 season

Infielder Matt Shaw is a prime candidate to make the Cubs bench as a super-utility player, and is adding playing first base to his repertoire. Manager Craig Counsell said he knows the Cubs are giving Shaw a “kind of a difficult Spring Training experience”, asking him to play first base.

“Look, we’re giving him kind of a difficult Spring Training experience here,” Counsell said to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. “I respect what he’s doing this spring. It hasn’t been easy, for sure. But, I’d rather make it hard right now and then go into the season with at least some experience at all these things.”

Matt Shaw is embracing the idea of playing first base for the Chicago Cubs, despite never playing there

In Shaw’s entire professional baseball career, college career, and short time in the major leagues, he has never played first base. Primarily a middle infielder, playing 124 games at third base last year, Shaw is excited for the opportunity to get more at-bats by playing first base.

“Definitely, I want to get as many at-bats as I possibly can,” Shaw said. “If that means playing a lot of different positions, then I think it kind of just is what it is. If I can continue to get better at those positions, then I think I’ll be in a good place to, No. 1, get a lot of at-bats, and No. 2, give guys days off if they need it to keep our team healthy going into October.”

The Cubs’ former first-round pick (13th overall) in 2023 feels he’s covering the nuances of playing first well.

“There’s small nuances that I’m learning,” Shaw said. “But overall I feel like I covered all the basics pretty well. It’s small things that I’m learning. Obviously, it’s Day 1 ever at first, but overall I feel really, really good.”

Matt Shaw could be a decent choice to back up Michael Busch if he needs a day off

The Cubs’ primary first baseman last season and going into this season is Michael Busch. Busch had a breakout campaign in 2025, batting .261 with an OPS of .866 and 34 home runs in 155 games. Busch played 151 games at first base and had a value of two defensive runs saved.

The Cubs’ turning to Shaw to maybe play first base is because Tyler Austin will be out for months with a knee injury. Prospect Moises Ballesteros is also a likely candidate to back up Busch. But Ballesteros has high upside, and will need everyday at-bats at Triple-A.

Shaw adding first base to his repertoire will help his chances of getting playing time in 2026. However, he will need to prove he can handle playing a position he’s never played.

The post Chicago Cubs Matt Shaw expands his versatility this spring appeared first on ChiCitySports.

Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner is one of the most underrated players in baseball and doesn’t work outside of his skill set to be great.

“I was really proud of last year throughout,” Hoerner said to Jordan Bastain of MLB.com earlier this spring. “During the season, I felt like I improved, while just being a good version of myself and embracing the things I do well.”

More News: Chicago Cubs breathe a sigh of relief after the Reds’ latest injury

Hoerner is an all-around player and came into this spring training hoping to build off his slugging from the second half.

“I slugged more in the second half,” Hoerner said. “But it didn’t come from swinging harder or doing stuff that’s outside of my skillset as it is. I just felt like I had a better understanding of how I was moving, and I’m excited to build on that.”

In seven seasons with the Cubs, Hoerner has a career slugging percentage of .384 and has 36 career home runs. Hoerner has shown to be more of a doubles (128), triples (15), and steals (131) player than a home run hitter.

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell noticed Nico Hoerner’s desire to be better

In three seasons as Hoerner’s manager, Craig Counsell has taken notice of Hoerner coming into spring training with new goals. Hoerner told Counsell this spring, “I want to hit for more power.”

“Just in the three years that I’ve been here,” Counsell said, “I’ve seen him come into spring with some different goals. And now I think he sits in a place where he understands himself better and how to achieve those goals. Instead of just saying, ‘I want to hit for more power,’ it’s more understanding how his body works around that goal.”

If Nico Hoerner can hit more than 10 home runs, that would be a win for the Cubs

Hoerner has hit seven home runs in back-to-back seasons and has two seasons (2020 and 2021) with zero home runs. The Cubs’ former first-round pick’s (24th overall) career high is 10 in 2022.

Already hitting over 30 doubles in a season (35 in 2024), developing more home run potential would benefit the Cubs. The Cubs ranked sixth in Major League Baseball in home runs in 2025 (223). Hoerner hitting at least 15 home runs next season would be a win for the Cubs.

The post Chicago Cubs‘ Nico Hoerner has lofty goal for the 2026 season appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are coming off a season in which the team made the postseason and was very competitive. While they were able to do well, they lost right fielder Kyle Tucker as a free agent during the offseason. There are some exciting people in the organization who can get recognized at the end of the season for their contributions. Let’s take a closer look at one person who is a candidate to win one of the end-of-season awards.

MLB says that Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell is a candidate for the NL Manager of the Year

MLB’s Will Leitch wrote an article discussing contenders in each division for end-of-season awards. One member of the Cubs was named as the National League Central candidate as Craig Counsell was listed as the candidate for NL Manager of the Year. Below is what Leitch wrote regarding his prediction;

“Would you believe that Counsell has never won one of these? The Cubs are the clear favorite in the division, but they have not, in fact, won the NL Central in a full season since 2017. This has to be the year for them, and him, right?”

Counsell completed his first season with Chicago last season and was 83-79. The Cubs were able to secure one of the NL Wild Card spots as well, but the team is in a position to be even better in 2026. With the offseason additions of third baseman Alex Bregman and starting pitcher Edward Cabrera, Chicago is able to be a legitimate threat to win the NL Central

The division is going to be intriguing as the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds also made the postseason last season. However, Counsell has a chance to use his managerial experience without the pressure of a new job that he had in 2025. It will be intriguing to see if his 2025 concerns are evaporated in this upcoming season.

The post The Chicago Cubs have a prime candidate for this end of season award appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs walked into spring training confident about their starting rotation and enjoying the kind of depth that lets a team focus more closely on other issues.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Offseason pickup gives Cubs the ultimate vote of confidence

That sense of security, however, may be slipping away as the team gets closer to their March 26 Opening Day.

Shota Imanaga has been getting touched up this spring, despite a boost in velocity and general good health. Swingman Jordan Wicks, who some projected to have a backup role on the staff, is now on the shelf with nerve irritation in his throwing arm.

Add Jameson Taillon’s state of being to those concerns.

Taillon’s stats in his start for Team Canada on Sunday looked decent. He allowed one run in 3.2 innings pitched while striking out three. But he appeared to be fortunate to get out of jams against Panama and his 90.8 mph fastball average was concerning.

Jameson Taillon’s alarmingly bad spring

More News: Chicago Cubs: Dansby Swanson is killing the ball after rewired hitting approach

All of this is especially troubling when this spring is assessed in its totality. So far, in three Cactus League appearances, the veteran, who will become a free agent at the end of this 2026 season, has allowed 13 earned runs, 6 home runs, and 13 hits in 6 innings.

“He’s not pitching well right now,” Counsell told media after the 34-year-old’s March 2 outing. “But it’s also his third start of the spring.”

“A fly-ball pitcher is going to be a fly-ball pitcher; we’re not going to change that,” Counsell added. “This is spring training. Taillon’s going to start games for us. We’re always working with every guy to get better and improve. We do have to accept that these games are a different status than the games of the regular season and just move forward.”

And, yes, it IS just spring training. But there always has to be concern when a veteran, headed into his tenth year as a major-leaguer, starts losing velocity and begins to get hit hard (and frequently).

Cubs rotation depth tested

Combined with Imanaga’s struggles and Wicks’ injury, there now seems to be some very early strain on the Cubs’ rotation depth, a little more than two weeks away from the start of the season.

Barring injury, Chicago will still make Opening Day with the same projected 5-man rotation of Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Taillon, and Imanaga and with the same rotation reserves (Colin Rea, Javier Assad, and Ben Brown). Justin Steele is also due back from elbow surgery by mid-season.

But with two of the core veterans– Taillon and Imanaga– struggling and injury/durability issues sprinkled throughout the rotation, the Cubs’ starting pitching depth suddenly doesn’t seem to offer that much of a cushion.

Taillon will get every chance to turn things around. He was a key component to the Cubs’ rotation last year, especially in the postseason, and his steady veteran presence will be needed this season as well.

For now, the Cubs move forward and hope for the best.

The post Chicago Cubs: Taillon’s continued struggles add strain to rotation depth appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs’ depth in the area of starting pitching has been well documented. If everyone stays healthy and performs up to expectations– and that’s a big “if’ – they could be carrying as many as 10 possible big league starters on their roster.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Shota Imanaga still getting crushed, despite velocity boost

Right now, the rotation seems to be Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, and Shota Imanaga. At some point, by mid-season, ace Justin Steele should be fully back from elbow surgery and ready for a spot. That would give the Cubs six capable starters, plus Colin Rea, Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks, and Javier Assad in reserve.

As things are currently playing out, though, the 28-year-old Assad may have complicated that plan.

Assad is killing it this spring

More News: Chicago Cubs: Offseason pickup gives Cubs the ultimate vote of confidence

Assad, following an injury-marred 2025 that kept him off the big league roster until August 12, is healthy and killing it this spring. He’s thrown 4.1 impressive, scoreless innings in Cactus League play and most recently pitched 3.2 scoreless innings in a start for Team Mexico against Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic.

The native of Tijuana has been an overlook asset for the Cubs, often relegated to being an afterthought in the team’s starting rotation plans. He’s been consistently successful, though, posting a 3.43 ERA over 4 years and 331 innings as both a starter and reliever.

Many feel that Assad may begin the 2026 season at Triple-A Iowa, only because he’s one of the few Cubs pitchers with minor league options remaining. He’s been so sharp this spring, however, that he may force his way on to the big league Opening Day roster.

Some might say that he’s also making a serious bid for a rotation spot.

Complicating the Cubs’ Plan A

“You don’t know what’s going to happen right now,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters. “You’ve got Plan A. It’s, ‘How long can you be on Plan A?’ At some point, you’re going to have to go to a different plan. That’s why more than the [13 MLB pitchers] is really important. And then, just how we handle building out the team, that’s not set in stone by any means.”

There still seems to be some reluctance to give Assad a full-on starter gig. The reason for that is probably tied to underlying metrics and what those numbers say about a pitcher who is clearly not an overpowering thoroughbred stud.

But if he keeps succeeding, there HAS to be a spot for him. And there’s enough history behind him to suggest that his past successes were not flukes.

“Somebody like Javy, the point is, you don’t try to figure out where they fit,” Counsell said on Saturday. “We don’t have to do that. At some point, we’re going to need Javy’s outs. When, is probably the question. But we want him pitching well and obviously he’s shown the ability to get big league hitters out and at a pretty high level.”

At some point, the Cubs will need Assad and what he brings to the team. The only question seems to be how long before he gets the spot he’s earned.

The post Chicago Cubs: Javier Assad seems set on ruining Cubs’ Plan A appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are focused on winning big this year and would seemingly have all the horses in place right now to do that. But they still have an eye on the future…and that future is making some big noise in spring training.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Dansby Swanson is killing the ball after rewired hitting approach

20-year-old shortstop Jefferson Rojas has been turning heads as their youngest non-roster invitee– and absolutely killing the ball in the process.

On Wednesday, the kid from the Dominican Republic crushed a 438-foot home run against the Milwaukee Brewers that left everyone in awe. So far, this spring, he’s hitting .318 with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs in 24 plate appearances.

Rojas is no stranger to being the youngest player on the field. Since being signed as a 16-year-old, he’s been steadily moved up the Cubs’ farm system, ahead of schedule, because of his advanced hitting prowess. He’s now, once again, playing up to the level of his older, more mature teammates– only this time at the major league/spring training level.

Jefferson Rojas is killing it

More News: Chicago Cubs: Jed Hoyer opens up about parting ways with Kyle Tucker

“Jefferson’s made a great impression,” manager Craig Counsell told media. “Just being able to see Jefferson two years ago, and where we’re at right now — wow…We’ve got a good offensive player here that’s going to impact the baseball and do some damage. He’s going to be a dangerous hitter.”

Cubs 2025 breakthrough pitcher Cade Horton has faced Rojas seven times in the minors and Rojas has homered three times off him.

“He’s really skilled for his age, and just really mature for his age,” Horton told the Chicago Sun-Times. “So I’m happy to have him on our team.”

Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly is similarly in awe of Rojas’ development. He previously marveled at the young talent’s raw ability, but is now seeing some real maturity built off of solid hard work. As a matter of fact, he recently commented to the Chicago Sun-Times that he had to double check Rojas’ age when he saw how well he was performing.

“A lot of the work that he’s done down in the minor leagues is getting into his legs and using his lower half and creating a little bit of posture,” Kelly said. “So, his swing path is really cleaned up, and just the overall efficiency of his swing, where it is right now, is generating some output. He’s hitting the ball really hard — much harder than what I thought or expected from him, especially in a major-league camp at 20 years old.”

On a quick rise to the majors?

Rojas, the Cubs’ no. 5 prospect per MLB.com, just started his Double-A run with Knoxville at the end of last season, so there’s some time to go before fans might see him at Wrigley. He also had some struggles as he moved up.

But those concerns are offset by how great he’s looked this spring as he’s worked alongside major leaguers and high-level prospects.

Scouting reports show that his “average” defensive ability at shortstop may mean that second base could likely be his spot when/if he makes his way to the majors. But Rojas is where he is because of his bat and his big league hopes will ride or die based on how well he hits at Double-A and above.

For now, though, the kid has impressed and he’s definitely leaving his mark in the minds of Cubs coaches.

The post Chicago Cubs manager marvels at surprise 20-year-old prospect: “Wow” appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs have no questions at shortstop. Their guy, barring any sort of unforeseen injury, is Dansby Swanson. They knew this was going to be the case when they signed him to a 7-year, $177 million deal prior to the 2023 season.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Top prospect proving doubters wrong with instincts behind the plate

And Swanson has been remarkably consistent as a Cub, even while dealing with injuries and general big league wear and tear. While defensively stellar, the veteran has been a league-average hitter in his 3-year Chicago run at right around the .240 mark. Last season, his power numbers were up a bit as he hit 24 home runs.

But, all in all, the 32-year-old has not been happy with his offensive production with the Cubs. That’s why he set about doing something different this offseason.

A new, natural approach to hitting

More News: Chicago Cubs: Jed Hoyer opens up about parting ways with Kyle Tucker

Rather than focusing and fixating on perceived mechanical flaws in his approach at the plate, Swanson has taken a more go-with-the-flow offseason hitting strategy, focusing on movement and athleticism rather than hyper-focused drills.

The logic is sound. On defense, he moves with grace and fluidity, improvising on the fly and relying on his agility and instincts to get the job done. He’s aiming to apply that same mindset to his hitting.

“He doesn’t think about any mechanics on defense,” Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly told the Chicago Sun-Times. “It’s just a natural rhythm and flow. So we’re trying to bring some of that into his cage work.

So far, the approach has paid off. In limited spring training work, Swanson has an OPS of 1.600. On Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he pulled a single to left and then hit an opposite field home run to right.

It’s still far too early to judge his offseason switch-up a real success, but there’s nothing but good feelings about it right now.

“I just hit”

“That’s kind of the point that I’d gotten to, was, ‘You know what, I don’t really need a drill anymore,’ ” Swanson told the Sun-Times. “I need to get back to moving naturally, being a good athlete. The seesaw had gone too far in one direction, and it needed to reverse course a little bit.”

“I just hit,” he would add. “As silly as that sounds, I just hit.”

“We get into ruts in how we practice,” manager Craig Counsell commented. “And I think what Dansby’s saying is, he got into a little rut of how he was practicing his hitting and took some ownership of it and wanted to change from it. And I think it’s a positive change.”

The 2026 Cubs need Swanson to be his usual reliable self– with Gold Glove-level defense and streaks of power and offensive production– but would be ecstatic if he could give even more with the bat on a consistent basis. The team is under pressure to make a deep playoff run this year and Swanson’s leadership by example would help them get over several humps.

Beyond 2026, too, Swanson will be an important piece of the puzzle as one of the few players guaranteed to stay on the team after several core elements become free agency-eligible at the end of the season.

The post Chicago Cubs: Dansby Swanson is killing the ball after rewired hitting approach appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs know that no. 1 ranked prospect Moises Ballesteros can hit. The experts and analysts almost universally agree that the kid’s bat will carry over into major league play.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Jed Hoyer opens up about parting ways with Kyle Tucker

The 22-year-old, after all, has risen through the Cubs’ farm system– winning Cubs Minor League Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024– on the weight of his bat, alone. He’s also expected to make the Opening Day major league roster as a bat-first prospect, playing a role as the team’s primary DH.

Last season, in a small sample size of 66 regular season plate appearances sprinkled out over three call-ups, the lefty slashed .298/.394/.474. In the month of September, he really turned heads with a .333 batting average and a .435 OBP, essentially providing the offense an injured Kyle Tucker couldn’t deliver, often placed in the middle of the Cubs lineup.

The question with Ballesteros, though, is defense.

Ballesteros as a catcher: So far, so good

More News: Chicago Cubs president comments on targeting “really nasty” Edward Cabrera

A catcher by designation, with experience at first base, his defense has lagged far behind his offense. It’s been an aspect to his game that he’s worked on diligently, even trimming as much as 20 lbs. off his squat frame to help with his agility and speed.

On this 2026 Cubs team, where versatility is highly prioritized, Ballesteros will be asked to play the field, at the very least as a third catcher behind Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya and as a backup first baseman behind Michael Busch. So, there’s an added emphasis this spring in getting the young talent some extra time behind the plate.

And…so far, so good.

While catching Edward Cabrera in Wednesday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Venezuelan made three successful ABS challenges, turning three balls into three strikes.

Ballesteros’ keen eye and feel for the strike zone did not go unnoticed.

“I was shocked [at the successful challenges],” Cabrera told reporters after the game, via interpreter. “Having a catcher who sees the zone that well gives me a lot of confidence, especially in tight counts. He did a great job guiding me through those innings.”

“It motivates me to prove people wrong”

By all accounts, Ballesteros is a hard worker and a positive, goal-oriented young man. He’s made it clear that working on his catching is a priority this spring.

“It motivates me to prove people wrong — to prove that I am a good catcher and not just a hitter,” Ballesteros told Cubs beat writer Bruce Levine.

Chicago’s coaching staff doesn’t doubt that he’ll work his way into being the catcher they expect him to be.

“Experience catching is a real goal for him and in the drill work exposure to good players, that was the goal,” manager Craig Counsell told The Chicago Tribune. “He’s not a finished product catching so we just want him to keep taking strides, and a lot of it’s just receiving work, receiving work, receiving work…He has very good instincts for the game so that part of it he’s very capable, it’s not a development goal. That part he will be very good at.”

If his bat turns out to be as good as projected over a full season, he may not need to be a stellar defensive catcher. But the goal will always be to develop a prospect into the best possible player he can be.

In Ballesteros’ case, anything above and beyond his hitting will be an absolute plus.

The post Chicago Cubs: Top prospect proving doubters wrong with instincts behind the plate appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks will meet up for another spring training matchup, which will have a fun little twist to it, with Craig Counsell’s son Brady on the Diamondbacks gameday roster.

More News: Report: Baltimore Orioles reliever possibly to start season on the IL

According to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, Brady will have his first professional at-bat today after being a 10th-round draft pick of the Diamondbacks in 2025, and got the scoop on his dad, telling his mom of the news before him. Counsell said to Rogers about seeing his son’s first professional at-bat on Thursday, “I’ll close my eyes and watch the video later.”

Brady Counsell could be a solid prospect for the Arizona Diamondbacks

Counsell (Brady) did not appear in the minor leagues after getting drafted last season and did not compete in the Arizona Fall League. In four seasons in college, Counsell batted .255 with a .786 OPS and 28 home runs in 196 games.

Counsell spent his final season in college with the Kansas Jayhawks (University of Kansas), and had a down year from the season prior with the Minnesota Golden Gophers (.287 average, .905 OPS) — batting .259 with an OPS of .851 and 12 home runs. Counsell will likely start his season in the lower levels of the minor leagues to help continue his development.

The post Chicago Cubs manager’s hilarious reaction to son playing in Diamondbacks game appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs seem pretty much set when it comes to their starting, non-pitching roster. But if there’s one minor area of debate and uncertainty, it lies with the every day designated hitter spot.

More News: Chicago Cubs no. 1 draft pick gets sky-high vote of confidence

As of right now, it appears that the Cubs’ top ranked prospect Moises Ballesteros is being targeted as the man for that job.

And, really, why wouldn’t he be?

Moises Ballesteros is a hitting savant

More News: Chicago Cubs Opening Day roster projection features a pair of shockers

The 22-year-old lefty has been a hitting savant throughout his run in the Cubs farm system, carried through each level of the organization on the weight of his bat alone. He was Chicago’s Minor League Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024, again, carried there entirely by his bit.

Last season, in a small sample size of 66 regular season plate appearances over three separate call-ups, he slashed .298/.394/.474. Down the stretch, he turned a lot of heads, hitting .333 (with a .435 OBP) in the month of September, offsetting the loss of Kyle Tucker, usually working from the middle of the lineup.

But Ballesteros IS a rookie with much more modest success against left-handed pitching. He also has defensive issues, probably with a ceiling of “adequate” at catcher and first base if used sparingly.

All of that leads to the questions of where and how to use the young hitter.

Where will he hit in the Cubs lineup?

In terms of his placement in the lineup, most everyone agrees that he will get every opportunity to click at DH. There is a difference of opinion, however, in where to place him in the order.

Cubs beat writer Bruce Levine, in a recent appearance on “Mully and Haugh” on 104.3 The Score, feels that Chicago will stick him right into the heart of the lineup:

“If you’re not paying attention to Moises Ballesteros and him batting third or fourth in that lineup this year, then you’re not paying attention…I would say right in the middle, between 3 and 5…This is a guy who is, potentially, one of the top young hitters in the National League…”

David Haugh, co-host of “Mully and Haugh” disagreed with Levine:

“I have high hopes for the kid, too, but third our fourth on a playoff team…I don’t know. That’s expecting a lot…I don’t know why he would bat higher the seventh.”

Haugh’s reasoning is solid. With so many more proven bats in the lineup, why would they feature a rookie in such a prominent spot?

However, there’s also an argument to be made for aiding Ballesteros’ progression by sticking him between established players to ensure he gets more good pitches to hit.

Cubs have confidence in top prospect

Whatever the case, the Cubs seem confident in the young star and are pointing to last year’s successes as proof positive of his “realness.”

“We kind of asked a lot of him,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told media during January’s Cubs Convention. “You saw where he was hitting in the lineup at times. I think that is a sign of a lot of confidence in a young hitter. He showed us a lot.”

As for where he might play defensively, the answer may be that he won’t be playing much in the field.

Positioned as the third catcher on the team and the second or third first baseman, he’ll likely be used exclusively as an emergency fill-in or as an in-game replacement for games that are out of reach.

Among experts and analysts, there’s a lot of excitement surrounding Ballesteros and it’ll be interesting to see how this season shapes up for him.

The post Chicago Cubs: Debate rages on where/how to use incoming no. 1 prospect appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs feel that they got quite the bargain in the 2025 draft when they signed outfielder Ethan Conrad with their 17th pick.

More News: Chicago Cubs Opening Day roster projection features a pair of shockers

The talented prospect was expected to go earlier in the first round, likely in the top 10 or even sooner, but an injury to his throwing shoulder in his final season of NCAA ball that year and subsequent surgery somewhat cooled down interest.

The Cubs, though, happily picked up the multi-tool 21-year-old when it came their time to pick.

And now, fully recovered from injury, without even a single game played in the minors, he’s being listed as the no. 3 prospect in the Cubs organization in the updated 2026 top 30 prospect rankings.

Ethan Conrad was a draft day steal at no. 17

More News: Chicago Cubs: A trade deadline shocker could become reality, per analyst

“We felt he’s somebody that, had he played out the entire season, would have been considered in the top 10,” Cubs vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz said at the time of the draft. “A pretty exceptional value in terms of getting him at 17.”

“He’s somebody that can turn a double into a triple with his speed, and I think he’s somebody that is gonna be able to put pressure on the defense in a number of different ways,” Kantrovitz continued. “His decision-making, his ability to make contact, his ability to hit for damage — all three of those pillars are there, and we think that he’s just getting better across the board.”

Many experts agree on Conrad’s projected major league ability and on the upside he carries with him. Despite zero experience at the pro level, the 6-foot-3 blue-chipper recently received some votes in Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects list.

A “five-tool” star

“Ethan is a five-tool player, who is a gamer,” Conrad’s head coach at Wake Forest Tom Walter said, shortly after the draft. “This is a great pick by the Chicago Cubs. Ethan will be a guy who will play in the big leagues for a long time and is a potential All-Star. His bat-to-ball skills are elite and he is just scratching the surface of his power potential.”

On the Cubs’ prospects list, only DH/C Moises Ballesteros and RHP Jaxon Wiggins rank above him at no. 1 and no. 2, respectively. Ballesteros is expected to make the big league Opening Day roster and Wiggins will be at Triple-A Iowa, expected to possibly see some major league time this season in Chicago.

Conrad, meanwhile, has been given a 2028 estimated time of major league arrival.

Last summer, the no. 1 draft pick visited Wrigley Field and had his first interaction with Cubs manager Craig Counsell. He left the introduction inspired and eager to get down to the business of playing baseball.

“It was awesome,” Conrad said during a broadcast both appearance during the game. “Just being able to meet him was really cool. We were just talking about playing baseball every single day and how you’ve got to be grateful for it. It’s hard, but just embracing it. That’s probably the biggest thing. I’m just excited to get to work, for sure.”

The post Chicago Cubs no. 1 draft pick gets sky-high vote of confidence appeared first on ChiCitySports.

Cubs players, personnel, and present media witnessed a rare occurrence Monday morning: Craig Counsell at an elevated decibel level. Per ESPN beat Jesse Rogers, Counsell was “raising his voice” during baserunning drills. Rogers adds it was “deserved” based on his observations.

Worth noting the Cubs made some gaffes on the bases in Sunday’s game against the White Sox. Bad baserunning has been a theme all Spring beyond one game and practice. This also includes the infamous triple play the other week. This will need to (and should) be cleaned up before Opening Day.

Counsell bringing some heat to Chicago Cubs

It speaks volumes (pun intended) that, if Counsell giving it to his squad the way he did Monday was as noticeable to someone who covers a team as it was to someone who covers a team. While he will get in the face of an umpire occasionally, he’s not one to yell or get overly animated. His mellowness has drawn criticism at times, and one can argue whether it’s really deserved.

I’m not sure I’ve ever heard Craig Counsell raise his voice but he just gave it to his team during base running drills. (They deserved it)

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) March 2, 2026

Spring Training results don’t mean much, but getting the fundamentals down does. A veteran pitcher giving up runs while working on his stuff is not a big deal, unlike continuing to make basic fundamental mistakes. Counsell clearly felt he needed to send a message to his players and staff that it has to get cleaned up sooner rather than later.

Not worrying about the situation

While annoying, especially for Counsell, it’s not a time to be overly concerned about the Cubs baserunning.

In 2025 they were the third-best team in baseball in Base Running runs above average per FanGraphs (11.0). Three of their primary position players, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Dansby Swanson, and Nico Hoerner, were in the 95^th percentile or higher in baserunning value last year per Statcast. Other veterans who don’t have the speed or agility to bring plus value on the bases should at least have the baseball I.Q. to avoid frequent misplays.

It’s not to say the Cubs haven’t had a handful of frustrating baserunning gaffes over the years. Sometimes they were on the players and other times on the coaches. Yes, having a handful of elite baserunners can mask some of the team’s bad gaffes on its advanced stat sheets. They still should be expected to be one of the better overall baserunning teams. Hopefully, the message was received.

The post Chicago Cubs: Craig Counsell sends a strong message Monday appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are trying to get infielder Matt Shaw to become a super utility player, as he has no starting role, but have another viable option in Pedro Ramirez waiting in the wings.

More News: MLB: Bruce Meyer continues to prepare for a potential 2027 lockout

A former international free agent signing with the Cubs in 2021, Ramirez won a Gold Glove in the minor leagues last season, which is no easy feat.

“They told me that winning a Gold Glove in the Minor Leagues was difficult, so I wanted to take that challenge, and I wanted to show that I could play that position,” he said to Patrick Brown of MLB.com. “I put in the work, and I just wanted to challenge myself every single day.

“Then, I went out there to work and just showcase that.”

So far this spring, Ramirez has hit .364 with three steals (caught once) and driven in two RBI in eight games.

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell wants Pedro Ramirez to expand his versatility

Ramirez is a primary infielder, playing second base, third base, and shortstop, but has also played four games in left field. The Cubs have a set infield, with Alex Bregman at third base, Dansby Swanson at shortstop, and Nico Hoerner at second base. Manager Craig Counsell would like Ramirez to “expand a little bit of his value defensively” if he’s to have a role on the Cubs.

“I think we’re trying to expand a little bit of his value defensively, because I think as you break into the big leagues, sometimes you’re not just going to be handed a position,” Counsell said to Brown. “You’re probably going to have to move around, and where the opportunity happens is where you get to play, but the fact that he’s got that attached to him means he should be able to handle new positions.”

Ramirez would be competing with infielder Matt Shaw, who will likely be Counsell’s utility man off the bench. Ramirez has done slightly better than Shaw at the plate, with Shaw hitting .308 with two stolen bases (has not been caught), and has one RBI in six games.

Pedro Ramirez will really need to open Craig Counsell’s eyes to make the Opening Day roster

It’s not out of the question that Ramirez could make the Cubs Opening Day roster, but it doesn’t seem likely barring an absolute standout performance this spring. Added to the 40-man roster this offseason to avoid him getting plucked in the Rule 5 Draft, the Cubs would have to use a minor league option on him if he doesn’t make the 26-man roster.

Shaw should get the chance to prove himself to start the season, with Ramirez likely to get a call-up at some point this season due to a potential injury or performance. Starting spring training strong at the plate and being solid defensively, Ramirez could force his way onto the Opening Day roster.

The post Chicago Cubs MiLB Gold Glove winner competes for a roster spot appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs had a roller coaster offseason with pitcher Shota Imanaga following Imanaga’s roller coaster 2025 season.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Edward Cabrera shocks and awes in spring debut– “He’s the real deal”

After a stellar 2024 debut that won him some Rookie of the Year consideration, the Japanese star had an uneven and generally disappointing sophomore year. Despite his overall numbers looking respectable on paper (9-8, 3.73 ERA over 25 starts and 144.2 innings), Imanaga never quite got back on track after an early-May hamstring injury, the first lower-body injury of his career. By the end of the season, he was getting hit hard. He gave up 20 of his 31 home runs in his final 12 starts and posted a 6.51 ERA in the month of September.

In the playoffs, Imanaga really struggled, posting an 8.10 ERA in two shortened outings versus the Padres and Brewers. By the end of the NLDS against Milwaukee, manager Craig Counsell had seemingly lost faith in the lefty and chose to bypass him on his last scheduled start.

The struggles left him feeling down on himself.

Imanaga on 2025 struggles: “I felt ashamed”

More News: Chicago Cubs: Alex Bregman takes subtle jab at Red Sox in social media post

“After we lost, I went to the locker room to clean up,” Imanaga recalled in his podcast, regarding his final poor outing of the postseason. “I thought fans might be harsh because I didn’t perform well in the postseason, but some said ‘Thank you for letting us enjoy this season.’ I felt ashamed I let them down and wished I could have shared the joy of winning with them.”

The rough 2025 led to the Cubs making some tough contract-related decisions regarding the 32-year-old.

Chicago declined their three-year, $57.75 million club option on him, which led to Imanaga declining his $15.25 million player option for 2026. Facing free agency, Imanaga instead accepted the Cubs qualifying offer of $22 million for the 2026 season.

The full-speed comeback

Now, back as a Cub for at least one more season, he’s reportedly fully healthy and focused on reclaiming the mojo he had in his rookie year.

Along with the health and determination, his velocity is reportedly back up and as strong as it’s ever been.

The low-key Counsell called the development “a little bit of a big deal.”

“If you go back on the game logs of Shota, that’s kind of the high end of his velocity in any game log — spring training, regular season,” Counsell told reporters. “That’s always encouraging. It’s a sign that you’re feeling really good. It’s a sign that your offseason went really well. It’s the adjustments you’ve made.”

Imanaga having extra zip on his fastball will make his offspeed pitches more off-putting and difficult to time, a factor that caught hitters off guard in his first MLB season.

Words of inspiration

The former Yokohama DeNA BayStars ace is apparently not hung up on the offseason contractual tussle he had with the Cubs and is, instead, eager to get things back on track and have a productive 2026. He’s giving Counsell a tip of the cap for inspiration in getting back in the right frame of mind.

“(Counsell said) in the first season I punched MLB, and then the second season MLB punched back,” Imanaga told Marquee Sports Network via interpreter. “But he made it simple, all you have to really do is stand back up.

“So looking bat at it, yes, I did get punched in the second year. But, just looking at it, what do I need to do to stand back up? What do I need to do to keep moving forward. So, I think it was a good mindset that he gave me.”

Imanaga is slated to be somewhere in the deep Cubs rotation, among names such as Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, and a soon-to-be-returning Justin Steele.

The post Chicago Cubs feeling good about recent Shota Imanaga developments appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs gave up a lot to get Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins. In the deal to acquire the right-handed power pitcher, Chicago had to give up their no. 1 prospect Owen Caissie, their no. 11 prospect Cristian Hernandez, and promising 19-year-old Edgardo De Leon.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Alex Bregman takes subtle jab at Red Sox in social media post

The Cubs, however, walked away from the trade with zero remorse. They had tried to get him prior to the 2025 season as well as at the 2025 trade deadline last season, but weren’t willing to pull the trigger. This time, working under the belief that the young talent was on the verge of breaking though to next level success, they did.

Last season, Cabrera had a career year (8-7, 3.53 ERA with 150 strikeouts in 137.2 innings over 26 starts) and many believe there’s still a much higher ceiling for the native of the Dominican Republic, who is under team control through the 2028 season.

Cabrera dazzles in spring debut

More News: Chicago Cubs: Amaya taking emergency reps at first base following key injuries

On Friday, the new Cub made his Cactus League debut versus the Cleveland Guardians at Sloan Park and looked absolutely stunning.

In two scoreless, hitless innings pitched, Cabrera struck out three. His fastball averaged an incredible 97 mph for his spring debut.

Per Yahoo! Sports’ account of Cabrera’s outing:

“Cabrera’s best pitch on Friday was his changeup. He induced three whiffs on that pitch alone, which included two swinging strike outs in the second inning. He perfectly placed his changeup at the bottom of the zone to both Gabriel Arias and CJ Kayfus. Both hitters then went down swinging.

It was an impressive spring debut for the new Cubs pitcher. He threw 20 of his 31 pitches for strikes and threw five different pitches in the game (four-seam fastball, changeup, curveball, sinker, and slider). 29% of his pitchers were either whiffs or called strikes.”

“I felt good,” Cabrera told reporters after the outing via translator. “I was trying to get all my pitches in the zone. That was my goal.”

The injury issue

Cubs manager Craig Counsell has been high on Cabrera for quite some time and is focused on keeping the young arm on the right developmental path, something which goes hand in hand with keeping him healthy.

Injuries have been the one knock against Cabrera and the reason some teams reportedly shied away from trading for him. Over the course of his young pro career, the 27-year-old has had numerous health issues, including right shoulder and elbow problems that have limited his output. Last year was the first time he pitched more than 100 innings in the majors and, even then, he spent time on the IL twice, the second time with some concerning UCL/elbow issues.

The Cubs staff is focused on keeping Cabrera healthy with advanced training techniques and common sense workload management, in much the same way they helped the oft-injured Matthew Boyd stay healthy and productive throughout 2025.

“Because he’s had some injuries, he just hasn’t put together the seasons necessarily that kind of make you go, ‘Wow,’” Counsell said after Cabrera’s first outing. “I don’t think there’s a big change that we think needs to happen here. That’s not what the trade was about.

“We just think this is a talented pitcher coming into the right part of his career. The health part of this is a real thing that we have to get right to the best of our ability.”

The Matthew Boyd endorsement

“Edward’s the real deal,” Boyd told reporters. “You’re going to see it.”

“In terms of how to fine-tune your abilities,” Boyd added, “it’s like, ‘OK, here’s how we can optimize where you are in your career health-wise and help you go forward with that.’ All those little things — at least from my experience — were huge for me last year…

“You think, ‘OK, cool, they did that with me. Let’s see what they can do with a stallion.’”

And Cabrera has the ability to be that stallion in the Cubs rotation, adding swing-and-miss power to a starting crew more known for nuance and generating weak contact.

He also brings a definite swagger to the staff.

“With all due respect to everyone here, whenever I step on the mound, I think I’m the best,” Cabrera told the Marquee Sports Network earlier in the spring. “Every time I cross that white line and I get out there and start pitching, I’m the best.”

The post Chicago Cubs: Edward Cabrera shocks and awes in spring debut– “He’s the real deal” appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs made what they felt was an ideal low-risk acquisition this past offseason when they acquired free agent first baseman Tyler Austin, who could spell starter Michael Busch in games against tough left-handed pitching. Now, that bit of a gamble might go down as a bust.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Cade Horton, Jaxon Wiggins, and their unique baseball relationship

On Wednesday, it was announced that the 34-year-old underwent right knee surgery (right patellar tendon debridement procedure) and would be out “months,” per manager Craig Counsell.

Austin, who was coming off a successful six-year run with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Japan’s Pacific League, was signed by the Cubs to be the team’s chief backup at first base and also as a right-handed impact back off the bench. His $1.2 million 2026 contract was contingent upon staying on the major league roster and also featured some incentive bonus money for plate appearances.

A four-year MLB veteran, he’s also spent time with the New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, and Milwaukee Brewers without ever having a clear, defined role as an everyday player.

Austin, Long injuries disrupt first base plans

More News: Chicago Cubs: PCA gets deep and honest on the internal pressure he feels

His injury puts a strain on the team when it comes to suitable backup to Busch, who had a breakthrough sophomore year in 2025 with 34 home runs 90 RBIs and a .261 batting average, all while playing a near Gold Glove-level first base.

“It’s opportunity for others,” Counsell told media. “I would say he had an inside track [for an Opening Day job], and it’s an option that’s off the table right now. So, it opens up opportunity for others.”

The question, though, is who those “others” might be.

On Saturday, top first base prospect and 2025 Minor League Player of the Year Jonathon Long suffered an elbow strain fielding a thrown ball in a game and will be out for an undisclosed period of time. He’s subsequently been forced to withdraw his participation from the World Baseball Classic as a member of Team Chinese-Taipei.

While Long is expected to be back before the end of spring training, the time lost will slow down his readiness for the season. For a young prospect not really expected to make the big league squad on Opening Day, anyway, this pretty much guarantees that he’ll start the season as a member of the Triple-A Iowa Cubs.

Backup for Michael Busch?

So, what can Chicago do for backup to Busch versus the occasional tough lefty or, in an absolute worst case scenario, in case of injury?

The Cubs are working on that.

On Thursday, Cubs beat reporter Bruce Levine reported that catcher Miguel Amaya will be getting some reps at first base.

“Cubs Miguel Amaya has been taking some infield at first base in case he is needed there,” Levine posted via social media. “Amaya told me he played and practiced the position a lot in the minor leagues.”

The soon-to-be 27-year-old Amaya hasn’t played first base at any point in the majors, but he’s registered 307 innings there over 38 games throughout the minors. Ideally, he could fully fill the role Austin was signed to fill while also maintaining his spot as co-starting catcher alongside Carson Kelly.

Emergency options

Another option for Chicago is rookie Moises Ballesteros, who split time between catcher and first base in the minors, but will likely earn his major league roster spot as a bat-first prospect. Comparatively under-developed defensively at catcher and first base, he may be thrust into a major league role at both positions at some point.

Left fielder Ian Happ also has some very limited first base experience, but hasn’t played the position since 2020.

In a best case scenario, Busch will simply stay healthy while also staying in games against lefties more often. Then, having Amaya and Ballesteros cycle in behind him on occasion won’t represent too much of a downgrade.

But the Cubs are also clearly preparing themselves for the worst.

The post Chicago Cubs: Amaya taking emergency reps at first base following key injuries appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are working their way towards Opening Day, 2026 in the unique position of not needing any starting rotation aid (other than continued good health).

More News: Chicago Cubs: PCA gets deep and honest on the internal pressure he feels

The five designated starters (Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga) are locked into their spots, with ace Justin Steele slated to return to the rotation some time before the All-Star break. Then, behind all of them, there are rotation insurance policies in the form of Colin Rea, Javier Assad, Ben Brown, and Jordan Wicks.

Overall, the Cubs find themselves in a pretty good position when it comes to starting pitching.

And this kind of good position also takes pressure off their top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins, who will be under no added stress to make the big league squad and can be brought along at his own speed.

But this is baseball. Injuries happen. Sometimes prospects get rushed along out of necessity.

Jaxon Wiggins and the Cade Horton path

More News: Chicago Cubs: Matt Shaw trade buzz revived after Michael Conforto signing

Last season, for example, the Cubs’ previous top pitching prospect, Cade Horton, was pushed up into a major league role in May, following the injuries of Steele and Imanaga, after being deemed not yet major league-ready in spring training.

That call-up went spectacularly well as Horton found his footing and became one of the best pitchers in all of baseball from July until his season-ending rib injury in late September. When the dust settled on his 2025, the young arm posted a 2.67 ERA with an 11-4 record in 23 appearances and finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

This year, Wiggins is taking the Horton role in spring training as a not yet big league-ready pitcher with big-time potential. But, seeing how things played out with Horton last season, Wiggins is certainly being eyeballed as a 2026 major league fit.

Horton and Wiggins, little league foes

An interesting sidenote to this Horton-Wiggins tie-in is that the two 24-year-olds, who were both fast-tracked through the minors, are also childhood competitors dating back to their little league days in Oklahoma.

“Jaxon’s always been a guy that’s been so gifted athletically,” Horton told MLB.com. “Electric arm. I remember in Little League, he was the hardest thrower. It was always an elite arm…

“I know what Jaxon’s about…I know the work he puts in and how bad he wants it.”

In Horton, Wiggins has the kind of sympathetic ear that Horton lacked last spring. Horton knows, intimately, everything Wiggins is going through and might go through if he gets the big league call-up.

“It’s all about being where your feet are,” Horton said, referring to advice he may offer to Wiggins. “That really helped me last year — not getting so caught up in the future and what could happen. He’s going to be a big part of this team, and so just being where his feet are is the biggest thing, I think. That allowed me to go out there and play free and not really necessarily worry about things you can’t control.”

High hopes in 2026

Hopes are high for the hard-throwing 6-foot-6 Wiggins. In 2025, across three levels, he posted a 2.19 ERA in 78 innings with 97 total strikeouts. He’s being regarded by many as potentially the last homegrown Cubs starting pitching prospect for a good, long while.

“He made a lot of progress last year,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “To a point where, another step forward, and he’s certainly in the conversation. … He’s just got to get a little more consistent, execute at a little higher level. Be competitive with a bigger percentage of pitches. There’s not necessarily pitch development, in terms of new pitches, that needs to happen. It’s just, harness his stuff.”

Wiggins, himself, doesn’t seem to be overwhelmed by pressure as he works out with the Cubs as a non-roster invitee in Mesa.

“The only goal I have is just to do what I do — try to be the best version of myself,” Wiggins said. “And when that opportunity comes, I want to take advantage of it.”

The post Chicago Cubs: Cade Horton, Jaxon Wiggins, and their unique baseball relationship appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are looking to solidify their 26-man roster, as the early portion of Spring Training is underway. There are a lot of different options, but one player is off the list due to injury. Let’s take a deeper dive into who it is and what the severity of the injury is.

Tyler Austin is out indefinitely with a knee injury for the Chicago Cubs

The Cubs were hoping that first baseman Tyler Austin could be a backup option at multiple positions this season, but it appears they will have to wait for him to see the field. Manager Craig Counsell announced on Wednesday that Austin underwent knee surgery on Tuesday and will miss “months”. He required right patella tendon debridement surgery after his knee did not respond well to workouts.

Austin has not played in the majors since the 2019 season. Over his career, he has played in 209 games and posted a .743 OPS with 33 home runs, 91 RBI, and 75 runs scored throughout four seasons. The 34-year-old’s injury does not have a timeline to return to the team.

It appears that rookie Moises Ballesteros will begin taking reps at first base and fulfill backup duties for first baseman Michael Busch. Counsell spoke about his options on Wednesday, including prospect Jonathon Long.

“You kind of go through the exercise in Spring Training. Of like backup plans on top of backup plans. You just can’t be covered, ideally, in every single situation. This may change, where we have [an area] we’re very deep to a place we’re not very deep. But Johnny Long is still a good option. Whether he’s with the big league team or whether he’s in Triple-A, he’s a day away.”

It will be interesting to see how long the recovery for Austin is and if he will make the big league team at any point this year. It is also intriguing to see which player will take his perceived roster spot out of Spring Training.

The post Chicago Cubs offseason addition out for months with knee injury appeared first on ChiCitySports.

There was some uncertainty if there would be a 2026 reunion between the Chicago Cubs and left-handed starting pitcher Shota Imanaga. The Japanese southpaw dazzled in his first season in Major League Baseball. As a rookie in 2024, he was named an NL All-Star, finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting, and came in fourth for NL Rookie of the Year.

But Imanaga struggled in 2025, and some did not think the Cubs would bring him back for a third season with the club. However, he accepted a one-year $22 million qualifying offer, guaranteeing his return on a very hefty salary.

On Tuesday, he told reporters the mindset he is taking from manager Craig Counsell as he looks to bounce back to his 2024 former.

Chicago Cubs LHP Shota Imanaga got good advice from manager Craig Counsell

As a rookie in 2024, Imanaga was 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. It appeared that Chicago had a true ace on their staff who would be dominant for years to come.

But 2025 saw the southpaw go 9-8 with a 3.73 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. His strikeout numbers plummeted, though he was able to keep his walk totals down.

So as he reported for Spring Training, Counsell had a message for Imanaga, one that the left-hander revealed to reporters:

“(Counsell said) in the first season I punched MLB, and then the second season MLB punched back. But he made it simple, all you have to really do is stand back up.”

Shota Imanaga said his conversation with Craig Counsell gave him more confidence for 2026

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) February 24, 2026

“(Counsell said) in the first season I punched MLB, and then the second season MLB punched back. But he made it simple, all you have to really do is stand back up.

“So looking bat at it, yes, I did get punched in the second year. But, just looking at it, what do I need to do to stand back up? What do I need to do to keep moving forward. So, I think it was a good mindset that he gave me.”

Of course, boxing analogies are common throughout all sports. It is interesting, though, that Counsell used this one in this case.

A great deal has been made in the past that Counsell was replaced on the Milwaukee Brewers by his own bench coach, Pat Murphy. However, what is often forgotten is that Murphy was Counsell’s baseball coach in college. He is also a former boxer.

There is very little doubt that the lesson Counsell have to Imanaga is a similar one he heard from his old mentor at Notre Dame.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Cubs All-Star’s fiery words could ignite rivalry with Dodgers
• Cubs trade for Pete Crow-Armstrong could haunt Mets for years to come
• Cubs pitching depth makes Ben Brown a “dark horse” for 2026 Opening Day roster

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

The post Chicago Cubs: Shota Imanaga reveals inspiring message from Craig Counsell ahead of 2026 season appeared first on ChiCitySports.

Now that Moisés Ballesteros has made it to Cubs camp, manager Craig Counsell has shed light on the plan for the 22-year old prospect. Per Cubs beat Bruce Levine, Counsell says that Ballesteros will get reps at catcher and firstbase this Spring. Counsell also mentioned he will be starting his hitting and running at a slower pace.

https://x.com/MLBBruceLevine/status/2025638437681041460

Cubs giving potential DH defensive reps.

Ballesteros had been lauded for his hitting abilities in the Minors, sporting a career .289/.371/.457 slash in 466 MiLB games, not as much so for his defense. Despite catching 2,376.2 innings in the Minors, he was not ready to catch in the Majors last year. Reese McGuire took the second catcher duty, and Carson Kelly was pushed up to first after Miguel Amaya went down (twice). Ballesteros saw just six innings behind the plate in the 20 MLB games he played in.

Note that those six innings he caught were in game 162, when the Cubs had postseason seeding clinched. He also played 4.0 innings at first in the Majors last year, where he totaled 434.1 innings in the Minors.

If Ballesteros indeed makes the team, his primary position is still going be DH. Giving him reps could give the team more reliable depth at catcher and first base if needed. The two primary catchers are set with Amaya and Kelly, with Michael Busch at first and Tyler Austin being the backup/platoon. Even if Austin does not work out, it would not make sense to platoon the lefty Ballesteros with the lefty Busch outside of just giving Busch a breather. Either way, injuries happen, and building more depth is good. Plus, it adds more value to Ballesteros.

Ballesteros working his way back.

It’s frustrating and unfortunate that the Visa issues delayed Ballesteros from getting to camp. He might not be where the others are currently, but it’s still just mid-February. There does not seem to be much concern.

He will be a focal point this Spring, especially while many of his teammates are playing in the World Baseball Classic. DH is an important position, and his readiness will dictate the direction of the position at the start of the season.

The post Chicago Cubs: Moisés Ballesteros to get defensive reps this Spring appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs left spring training last year under the impression that they had their closer locked in and ready to go. The team had acquired veteran former closer Ryan Pressly from the Houston Astros that offseason after a failed bid to sign free agent closer Tanner Scott.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Justin Steele delivers great injury update news

Unfortunately, Pressly turned out not to be the Cubs’ late inning shutdown man and was eventually released.

Daniel Palencia, however, DID turn out to be that man, at least for a good, long while.

Palencia was called up from Triple-A Iowa in mid-April and would soon lay claim to the closer gig in an eye-catching run that made him a Wrigley Field fan favorite. As August began, the hard-throwing righty from Venezuela had posted an impressive 1.40 ERA and was working with the swagger of an accomplished veteran.

Then, things just kind of fell apart.

The late collapse of Daniel Palencia

More News: Chicago Cubs face big dilemma in Seiya Suzuki

Over the last two months of the season, Palencia fell to pieces. He posted a 7.07 ERA in 17 appearances during that stretch, with an IL stint after the first week of September to boot. In the playoffs, after clearly having drifted outside manager Craig Counsell’s circle of trust, he was just passable, with a 3.52 ERA in six appearances.

So, it was a fairly big surprise earlier this spring training when Counsell affirmed that, as of right now, the 26-year-old Palencia is their high-leverage man in the ninth inning.

“No one sitting here a year ago thought that he’d be pitching as a closer, pitching huge innings in the middle of the game in the playoffs,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer told media. “He did an amazing job. I think his maturation was obvious to everyone. We’re super excited about him.”

That optimism is not shared by all. To be honest, it’s hard to be all that optimistic about Palencia’s 2026 when he looked so vulnerable in the last part of 2025.

A media vote of confidence

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report, however, stills views Palencia with rose-colored glasses, recently naming him the Cubs’ “Breakout Pitcher” of 2026.

Per Reuter:

“The rise from fringe roster candidate to a 22-save season might already look like a breakout, and it was in many respects, but there’s still another gear for a pitcher with the stuff to be one of baseball’s elite closers. A few bumps in the road and a late injury kept Palencia’s 2025 from being a true ascent to elite status, but an early vote of confidence from manager Craig Counsell this spring and a fastball (99.6 mph)/slider (39.4% whiff) combo few can match hint at more to come.”

Palencia will sink or swim in 2026

With Palencia, the talent is clearly there. As mentioned above, he was exceptional for most of the season and cleanly won that closer job on a team clearly headed to postseason play. But then, he seemed to buckle under the pressure late in the season.

Will his mindset be different heading into 2026? If he fails to be the closer the Cubs need, that job will fall to incoming free agents, the oft-injured Hunter Harvey or Phil Maton. Maybe Counsell would commit to a closer-by-committee plan.

Meanwhile, Palencia, himself, seems confident that the end of 2025 will not extend through 2026.

“I learned that’s a tough situation,” Palencia said. “The game is on the line. Just trying to be calm, be myself. Trust myself.

“I always knew I was that guy. I know I’m that guy for that situation.”

As is always the case, time will tell.

The post Chicago Cubs: Will 2026 be doom or bloom for Daniel Palencia? appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs got hit with a stunner very early last season when ace Justin Steele went down with an elbow injury. After just his fourth start of 2025– a seven-inning blanking of the Texas Rangers– the veteran lefty was lost for the year (and beyond).

More News: Chicago Cubs face big dilemma in Seiya Suzuki

Shortly after the injury, it was reported that Steele had undergone a “left ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) revision repair.” It wasn’t a full Tommy John surgery, which is a reconstruction of the UCL, but the procedure still meant he’d be out of commission for all of 2025 and a good portion of 2026 as well.

The 30-year-old is currently in Mesa with his teammates and working his way to a comeback. On Saturday, he visited the Cubs broadcast team at Sloan Park and gave an injury update brimming with positivity.

Justin Steele offers update on recovery process

More News: Chicago Cubs: Power numbers way down in 2026, per projection

“I’m feeling very good,” Steele said. “Bullpens have been progressing well lately. I’m throwing two a week, Tuesdays (plus) Fridays and/or Saturdays. I had one yesterday (Friday), recovering well from that. The next one will be 35 pitches. Throwing four-seam, sinkers, and sliders right now. I’m gonna be introducing changeups into the bullpens next week, I believe. At that point, I’ll be at curveballs to catch play. That’s kind of the progression were going with as far as getting pitches back into the game mound.”

This isn’t the first reporting of Steele’s recovery being a bit ahead of schedule. Steele, himself, has previously talked about how good he feels.

An ahead-of-schedule Steele, though, does present an interesting dilemma for manager Craig Counsell.

A good dilemma to have

Would the Cubs consider bringing him back into the rotation earlier than the mid-season return previously targeted? With five capable and healthy (as of this moment) starters in the rotation (Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga) and two quality reserves (Colin Rea, Javier Assad), there’s really no burning need for them to hurry Steele back into the mix.

The best move would probably be to target that mid-season return and limit innings for awhile, in hopes of getting Steele at 100% for the end of the season and through the playoffs.

With the goal of making a deep postseason run, the Cubs would definitely like to see Steele back on the mound at 100%. Over the last four years, he’s been Chicago’s most reliable and effective starter, posting a 3.18 ERA over 82 starts.

The idea of the team going to a six-man rotation or possibly piggybacking starters in a single game to keep pitchers fresh and healthy has been brought up, especially in connection with Steele and how they may want to handle his return.

No rush to bring Steele back

But, again, there’s no rush, right now, to wedge him into the rotation before it’s absolutely safe to do so.

This isn’t Steele’s first time dealing with major surgery to his throwing arm. Back in 2017, when he was still a minor league prospect, he underwent full Tommy John surgery. That experience is helping him get through this latest recovery process.

Late last month, Steele talked about the depth of the Cubs’ rotation and how that affords him the opportunity to recover properly and at a healthy pace.

“That definitely eases your mind,” Steele said. “Knowing that it’s not a race to get back for Opening Day or something…So there’s definitely some comfortability knowing that I don’t have to rush.”

Currently, projections for his comeback range from late May to the All-Star break.

The post Chicago Cubs: Justin Steele delivers great injury update news appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are all set to dive into the heat of spring training, pushing towards an expected deep playoff run in 2026. And all the pieces are in place right now, except one– projected DH and backup catcher Moises Ballesteros.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Power numbers way down in 2026, per projection

The 22-year-old rookie is still in South America, waiting on visa issues to resolve so he can get to Arizona and join his teammates. The native of Venezuela was unable to acquire his visa in time to enter camp with his fellow Cubs and is still battling the apparent immigration bureaucracy, apparently made more complicated by current geopolitical turmoil.

MLB insider Bruce Levine recently updated the situation, reporting that Ballesteros will now be trying to make his US entry through Colombia and the hope is that he’ll be in Mesa by this weekend.

The importance of having Ballesteros in camp

More News: A look at the Chicago Cubs’ greatest under-the-radar 2026 strength

For the Cubs, having him in camp as soon as possible is the goal, especially given the role he’ll be playing this season and the expectations attached to his development.

Last season, the Cubs’ current no. 1 prospect slashed .298/.394/.474 in only 66 regular season plate appearances spread out over three separate call-ups. Down the stretch, though, he turned a lot of heads, hitting .333 (with a .435 OBP) in September, picking up the slack for an injured and struggling Kyle Tucker.

Ballesteros, despite his short, pudgy build, is regarded by many as a hitting savant, carried to recognition as a two-time Cubs Minor League Player of the Year (2023, 2024) on the weight of his hitting ability alone.

An eye-opening MLB debut

“We kind of asked a lot of him,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters during January’s Cubs Convention. “You saw where he was hitting in the lineup at times. I think that is a sign of a lot of confidence in a young hitter. He showed us a lot…

“There’s a lot of contact, and the ball went all over the field. That was probably the two things that impressed me, is that just where the ball went. He doesn’t have to pull a ball. It’s going everywhere with all types of pitches, and then there’s just a lot of contact. That’s generally just a good formula. Hits it hard.

“Those are all three really good things to do that make you tough to defend, and he’s doing it again at a really young age.”

MLB insider and former MLB exec Jim Bowden recently named Ballesteros one of the 2026 rookies to watch because of his prodigious hitting ability.

Per Bowden:

“Ballesteros, 22, has a “hit” tool that is going to carry him, as he’s one of the most advanced hitters in this rookie class. He has above-average bat-to-ball skills and can hit all types of pitches, including high velocity, sharp breaking balls and off-speed offerings. He’ll use the entire field to hit line drives with elite exit velocity. His raw power far out-paces his in-game power to date, but the homers will come in time. His best position is designated hitter, but he can backup both first base and catcher when needed with below-average defense. The bat is going to play.”

Hopes for a resolution

The hope for this spring was to develop Ballesteros’ game behind the plate so that he could become a true backup catcher and not just an occasional emergency fill-in. The visa delay has already cost him valuable time that could’ve been spent on defense and on building a rapport with the pitchers.

Not being in camp is not a total spring training buzzkill just yet, but the time is fast approaching where it could be. For what it’s worth, the Cubs are confident that their young prospect will be with the team soon enough.

“We’re optimistic right now that he’s going to be here shortly,” Counsell told Cubs.com. “If that should happen, I think we’re in a good place. He’s going to be behind in terms of when you see him in a game, but with kind of the normal Spring Training schedule, I feel confident in the number of games we’re looking at here.”

The post Update: Chicago Cubs top prospect remains stalled over visa issues appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs made a good problem for themselves when they signed free agent third baseman Alex Bregman to a 5-year, $175 million contract this offseason.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Cade Horton is being brutalized by pessimistic 2026 projections

With the three-time All-Star coming aboard, they would have to move Shaw from the Cubs’ third base spot he was pegged to occupy for the foreseeable future.

Last year, Shaw, the Cubs’ no. 1 draft pick in 2023, basically got his starting gig because the front office came up short in their efforts to sign Bregman that offseason. But, despite some significant early struggles with the bat (and a brief return to the minors because of them), the rookie did well enough to earn rights to the hot corner in 2026– until Chicago made their second– and successful– bid for Bregman.

What to do with Matt Shaw

More News: The Chicago Cubs’ biggest 2026 battle may be internal– expectations

So, the post-Bregman problem facing the Cubs was centered around what to do with the 24-year-old Shaw.

Although always considered a bat-first prospect coming up, Shaw has played all around the diamond. Throughout the minors and college, he played every position but catcher, pitcher, and first base before settling down at second and third in the Cubs’ organization.

Now, the new role for Shaw seems to be as a super utility player off the bench who can spell starters and facilitate in-game switches. Most surprisingly, the Cubs seems to be looking at him as a fourth outfielder.

Shaw and Suzuki platooning in right?

MLB insider Bruce Levine recently talked up an even bolder possible plan for the sophomore– as part of a semi/quasi platoon at right field with Seiya Suzuki.

“Craig Counsell said that Shaw is definitely going to be getting a lot of time in the outfield,” Levine said during an interview on 104.3 The Score. “And when there’s a left-hander on the mound, you could probably bet that Matt Shaw is in the outfield and Suzuki is your DH…You’re going to see Suzuki most of the time in right field, but when I pressed Counsell yesterday about at bats for a young player like Shaw, are there enough at bats to keep the progression of his player development going, he said ‘yeah, we’re going to have ten guys that get enough at bats” and I think that included [Moises] Ballesteros and Shaw.”

Although this right field platoon idea seems mostly to be coming from Levine and not directly from Counsell, it’s still an interesting idea that’s, honestly, not too far off from what Counsell generally likes to do with his roster.

Lots of questions

There are some concerns, though, about Shaw’s ability to see more than a sprinkling of innings in the outfield. He surprised many by playing a stellar defensive third base last year, but it’s simply not likely that he’ll be as stellar moving between four or five positions.

Levine, himself, questions whether he’s up to the task.

“I think he’s a baseball athlete that can do that, but honestly, it’s biting off an awful lot, especially for a guy that’s still trying to prove himself as a hitter in the major leagues,” Levine said. “I think there’s an awful lot going on. I think he’s all about challenges, and I think he’ll respond to that, but I just think there’s a lot at this point.”

Also per Levine, though, Counsell doesn’t expect Shaw to be “superlative” defensively in his utility role, “just good.”

Lost in this still-theoretical right field shuffle with Suzuki and Shaw is the affect it will have on rookie hitting phenom Moises Ballesteros, who would then become a platoon DH, getting most of his at bats against right-handers.

But it’s still very early in spring training. Right now, ideas are just ideas. Whatever the case, though, the Cubs are in a better spot, depth-wise, than they were at this time last year.

The post The Chicago Cubs’ risky plan for right field laid out by MLB insider appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs made some significant waves this offseason. They made moves that, in other years and under different circumstances, would’ve been hard to fathom.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Cade Horton is being brutalized by pessimistic 2026 projections

After letting right fielder Kyle Tucker walk away without a struggle, for example, they signed free agent third base man Alex Bregman, who they made a play for last offseason. They spent big (5-years, $175 million) to get him, too.

They made another big splash when they traded for Miami Marlins starting pitcher Edward Cabrera, giving up their top prospect OF Owen Caissie, their no. 11 prospect INF Cristian Hernandez, and another infield prospect.

Before those two moves, they restocked their depleted bullpen with four free agent relievers, using a significant chunk of change to do so.

Big expectations for 2026

More News: Chicago Cubs’ Edward Cabrera brings swagger to rotation: “I’m the best”

With all these moves (plus the re-signing of Shota Imanaga and Caleb Thielbar), there are big expectations coming into this 2026 season. The Cubs are projected to win the NL Central division by every stats-based projection system. PECOTA, for instance, has them finishing in first place, almost ten games ahead of the second place Milwaukee Brewers, who won the division last year and even eliminated the Cubs from the NLDS.

Actually, the word “expectations” has been an early theme this spring training, thrown out by coaching, front office, and the players themselves.

“Everybody in this industry wants expectations,” manager Craig Counsell told The Athletic. “You work hard to get expectations. You work really hard to build a roster that has expectations, you work really hard to get on a team that has expectations. That’s what we want. We’re truly excited we have expectations. It’s not easy to get them.”

Similarly, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has talked about the high expectations coming into 2026.

“I know the expectations are high, which I think is great,” Hoyer said. “It’s what you want. The excitement in camp is palpable. The players are talking about it. The coaches are talking about it. They’re excited about our team. They’re excited about our group, both from a talent standpoint and from a camaraderie standpoint.”

From front office to coaching to players

Individual players have also used that “e” word as spring training kicks off, talking about the expectations created from stellar performances last season

“That’s the thing about the second year,” pitcher Cade Horton told media, looking back on an incredible rookie season that saw him deliver as, statistically, the best pitcher in baseball from the All-Star break to his season-ending injury in late September. “Now people have expectations. But the expectations don’t change for myself. I’m going to go out there and give my team a chance to win. That’s my expectation. Everyone else’s expectation doesn’t really have a say in how I go about my day.”

But, realistically, expectations do sometimes weigh heavily on people. When much is expected, the pressure gets amplified, especially if things don’t go all that well early on.

The pressure of outdoing the “best case” 2025 Cubs

Last season, the Cubs ran off to a tremendous early success that allowed them to stay afloat as a playoff-bound team through a less-than-stellar second half of the season. Guys like Horton, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, Daniel Palencia, and Seiya Suzuki had career years. Carson Kelly was an offensive juggernaut over the first couple months of the season, but below league-average the rest of the way. Matthew Boyd pitched his first healthy season since 2019. Brad Keller and Drew Pomeranz, now ex-Cubs, came out of nowhere to become bullpen anchors.

Everything seemed to fall in place last season.

This coming season, though, the Cubs are expected to perform better– and accomplish more– than last year’s “best case scenarios” team did. That’s real pressure. People expecting big things is a good problem to have. It means the front office did a good job of filling holes and getting pieces to their puzzle. But it also makes for some tough mental patches.

None of this is to say that the 2026 Cubs can’t or won’t outperform the 92-win 2025 Cubs. On paper, this squad is an overall better team in so many regards.

But to get to the same place they did last year, they’ll probably have to push harder and be more persistent. This season should be interesting.

The post The Chicago Cubs’ biggest 2026 battle may be internal– expectations appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs had been eyeballing Edward Cabrera for quite some time. They had reportedly explored acquiring him following the 2024 season and then, again, at the trade deadline last season.

More News: Chicago Cubs need for their gamble on this “black cat” to pay off

The team loved his stuff, his raw potential, and the fact that he seemed to be putting everything together for next level success. They also loved the fact that the young arm was under firm team control, not eligible for free agency until after the 2028 season.

This offseason, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer finally pulled the trigger on a deal to bring Cabrera to Chicago. It was a big, bold move that cost the Cubs their no. 1 prospect OF Owen Caissie, their no. 11 prospect SS/2B Cristian Hernandez, and INF Edgardo De Leon.

Cabrera is “ready to take off”

More News: Chicago Cubs projected to win NL Central by a ton, but…

It was a heavy price to pay for a farm system already tapped and moving in the wrong direction, from top-tier to lower-third. But a 27-year-old with an upside like Cabrera’s who could give the team three full years at a budget price is not something you really want to pass up, especially if your plan is to challenge for a championship in the here and now.

“What we see in Edward [Cabrera] is just a pitcher who’s ready to take off,” manager Craig Counsell said during Cubs Convention. “We have to try to figure out how to get him to the next place. And that’s what’s fun about coaching — we’re going to help him get to that place.”

Last season, the native of the Dominican Republic had a career year, posting a 3.53 ERA over 137.2 innings and 26 starts. Many analysts feel that 2025 was the year he turned the corner in his development and began to become the pitcher many felt he would become. He struck out more, walked a lower percentage, and, overall, just seemed more commanding as an in-your-face power pitcher.

Bringing swagger to the Cubs’ rotation

Coming into spring training with the Cubs this season, Cabrera brings a swagger that stands out among the team’s reserved, low-key rotation.

“With all due respect to everyone here, whenever I step on the mound, I think I’m the best,” Cabrera recently told the Marquee Sports Network through an interpreter. “Every time I cross that white line and I get out there and start pitching, I’m the best.”

“It gets me excited to contribute here,” Cabrera continued. “Just to help them out because I always knew before getting here that this was a very competitive team…a team that is always in the race.”

For all his self-confidence, though, Cabrera does not come without risk.

Edward Cabrera, the risks

The hard-throwing righty has a significant history of injury. Last season was the first time that he pitched more than 100 innings in the majors and, even then, he spent time on the IL twice, the second time with some concerning UCL/elbow issues.

“I’ve talked to people around the league who were kind of surprised he cleared medicals,” Marquee Sports Network’s Lance Brozdowski said on the North Side Territory podcast, at the time of the trade. “Talking with teams who communicated with the Marlins about Cabrera; this was a hang-up for other teams.”

Some feel that, given his power-pitching style and the apparent strain on his elbow, Cabrera is due for a physical breakdown that may require Tommy John surgery at some point.

The Cubs were willing to take that risk, confident that perhaps some mechanical tweaks and careful watching of innings will keep Cabrera healthy and productive. Chicago DOES have the rotation depth to limit his innings and give the occasional extra day of rest to ease the wear and tear.

But, risks aside, Cabrera brings legit power to a rotation more known for nuance and provoking manageable light contact. He also clearly brings a heaping dose of ace-level confidence.

The post Chicago Cubs’ Edward Cabrera brings swagger to rotation: “I’m the best” appeared first on ChiCitySports.

In 2023, Owen Miller was suited up for Craig Counsell under the Milwaukee Brewers. Two seasons later, he now is rejoining his former skipper as a member of the Chicago Cubs.

Miller’s deal with the Cubs is a minor league deal, meaning there’s no guarantee that he will play in the big leagues for Counsell. However, if he does get to Chicago, the hope is that he can rekindle some of the success he previously had.

Owen Miller looking to rekindle 2023 breakout under Craig Counsell with Chicago Cubs

Miller, a Wisconsin native, joined his home state via trade prior to the 2023 season starting. He did a little bit of everything under Counsell that first year, including seeing game action at first base, second base, third base, left field, and right field. As a staple in the lineup from Opening Day, that year he also managed to impressively carry a batting average over .300 through the middle of June, before falling into a deep slump and being demoted to the minor leagues in August.

A year later, after a disappointing 2024 season, Miller was traded to the Colorado Rockies. He made just nine appearances in 2025 with the Rockies and now will have to battle his way back up to the big leagues.

As a versatile ballplayer capable of handling multiple positions and with a proven track record of having success at the major league level, Miller is a quietly savvy addition. If he’s able to tap back into any of the breakout form he showed in 2023, if given the opportunity, a potential call-up could end up being a significant win for Chicago.

The post Owen Miller looking to rekindle 2023 breakout under Craig Counsell with Cubs appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs started off the 2025 season hot.

More News: Cubs having trade conversations on Matt Shaw, another INF: Report

However, the Cubs suffered a few major injuries (Justin Steele) to the pitching staff and didn’t do enough at the trade deadline to boost a roster that was leading the NL Central at the All-Star break.

Chicago lost star right fielder Kyle Tucker to the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency. But the team added third baseman Alex Bregman in an aggressive bid to be competitive in the National League in the upcoming season.

While the roster has key pieces, Cubs manager Craig Counsell has some concerns with his pitching staff before the season. He’s especially worried about the bullpen.

“The bullpen is where the team has turned over the most and looks different the most,” Counsell said in January, via MLB.com. “Also, we know that’s an area of volatility on all teams. So, I don’t think we’ll have solid answers on that for a while.

“I think we’ve brought what we think is a talented group to form a really good unit. But, like roles? It’s going to be into the season before we kind of probably establish some things.”

The Chicago Cubs have depth issues in the bullpen

More News: Chicago Cubs: Good Riddance Kyle Tucker?

Jordan Bastian expects these pitchers to be locks to make the bullpen on Opening Day: RHP Hunter Harvey, RHP Phil Maton, LHP Hoby Milner, RHP Daniel Palencia, LHP Caleb Thielbar and RHP Jacob Webb.

It’ll be interesting to see what the Cubs do with their bullpen during the season. Chicago surrendered too many games in late innings last season. The Cubs couldn’t trust Ryan Pressly as its closer.

Chicago’s bullpen ranked N0.24 with an ERA of 4.27 in 2025.

Daniel Palencia appears to be the man to be the closer in 2026. Last season he earned a 2.91 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 3.08 FIP, 10.4 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 in 52.2 innings pitched. However his postseason numbers were worse, earning a 3.52 ERA.

The Cubs will need their bats and starting pitching to be strong until Counsell sorts out an issue that has haunted the team for the past few seasons.

For More Chicago Sports:

Follow me on Twitter at @JordanSig, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Jordan Sigler via email at jordanmsigler@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

The post Chicago Cubs manager concerned about pitching staff appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs had a big bullpen issue facing them after the 2025 season came to a close. They were facing the possibility of a mass exodus that could, conceivably, leave them with just two relievers on staff (Daniel Palencia, Ben Brown) from the NLDS roster.

More News: Chicago Cubs: The Alex Bregman for Kyle Tucker swap

And, ultimately, the depletion of the bullpen DID come to fruition. But as arms were leaving, the Cubs front office was busy adding new arms.

All in all, Chicago brought in four free agent bullpen pieces (Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Hunter Harvey) while re-signing 2025 holdover Caleb Thielbar.

New bullpen, usual concerns

More News: Chicago Cubs’ last move: Outfielder or pitcher?

Heading into 2026, the Cubs have a significantly different looking bullpen with some strong role players and established swingmen who could handle long relief as well as rotation duties. The bullpen outlook is more assuring than it was last year at this time when the ‘pen looked to be cobbled together on the fly.

But, of course, this is baseball. Things can go sideways fast and the bullpen is especially subject to wild shifts of fortune.

The Cubs will most likely need some of the bullpen holdovers and second-tier arms to contribute, as well as the newcomers, over the course of a long season with a hopeful deep postseason run.

Of all the possible potential x-factors on the fringe of the roster, perhaps none are as intriguing as Porter Hodge.

Porter Hodge’s polar opposite seasons

The soon-to-be 25-year-old had two wildly different years in his first two seasons as a major leaguer. In 2024, he came from the minors to dazzle with a 1.88 ERA and 9 saves in 39 appearances. In 2025, following early debate over whether he should be the Cubs’ closer, he completely tanked, posting a 6.27 ERA in 36 appearances. Injuries also hobbled him as he dealt with a left oblique strain in May and then a right shoulder impingement in July. His velocity subsequently dipped and he got hit hard– too hard to be kept on the major league roster.

Hodge will be going into 2026 with no defined role in the bullpen and with most not even projecting him to be on the opening day Cubs roster.

But it could prove to be a huge deal if he can get back to anywhere near 2024 form.

Hopes of a much appreciated comeback

A fully healed, productive Hodge could give the Cubs the co-closer fans and analysts have been campaigning for since the middle of last season. He’d be much-appreciated insurance for a Daniel Palencia who is still less than five full months into the role of closer. Maton and Harvey were acquired to possibly be that insurance, but one can never have too much backup.

“A Porter Hodge season, bouncing back,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell recently told media, “that’s going to be important.”

“No doubt,” Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins echoed. “He’s kind of the guy people aren’t talking about a ton, but he was doing what Daniel Palencia was doing two years ago. The stuff is in there…

“It’s, ‘How can he be consistent with that stuff?’ When he’s landing his fastball, when he’s commanding it, he’s a really, really solid reliever who can get outs in the back half of games. That’s something he’s focused on this offseason.

“It’ll be really fun to see him come into camp and hopefully earn a spot on the club.”

As things stand right now, Hodge’s 2025 has made him an afterthought in 2026, a depth piece in a bullpen picture stockpiled for depth. But he’s already proven his ability to be a killer at the major league level and a full comeback isn’t too much of fantasy scenario.

The post Chicago Cubs’ overlooked bullpen x-factor could be key asset appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs pretty much made the biggest of all possible moves this offseason when they signed free agent third baseman Alex Bregman to a 5-year, $175 million deal. The news was received with elation late on a Saturday night as the Bears began their remarkable playoff comeback win against the Packers.

More News: Chicago Cubs: 3 prospects earn big-time recognition as majors-ready talent

One wouldn’t blame Matt Shaw for not being one of those celebrating the move.

The 24-year-old Shaw went through ups and downs in 2025 before finally settling in as the Cubs’ every day third baseman. His .226 batting average was nothing to crow about, but he did show the wherewithal and resolve to overcome adversity and uncertainty in his rookie year, working his way to a much improved defense and near-league average hitting. More development was expected of him in 2026.

But now Bregman is in the picture and the Cubs will obviously be going with the three-time All-Star at the hot corner.

Matt Shaw opens up about uncertainty ahead of new role

More News: Chicago Cubs: Alex Bregman reveal might settle Nico Hoerner trade rumors

This leaves Shaw with a new role on the team and plenty of question marks regarding his sophomore season. As of right now, that role seems to be as a utility asset coming off the bench.

He addressed the issues at hand on Friday at the Cubs’ annual fan convention.

“Of course, you’re kind of looking at it like, ‘Oh, man, where am I going to play?’” Shaw told media. “And you get a little anxious about those things, because the team knows me good enough at this point to know I just want to be prepared when the season comes around.

“So, of course, I immediately have questions like, ‘Am I going to go here? Am I going to go there?’ And they’ve been transparent with me, just kind of helping me to understand the role of moving to different positions, giving guys an off-day here and there. I’m pretty excited about it.”

Where Shaw will play in 2026

The Cubs’ 2023 first round draft pick is likely to still get plenty of playing time this season. He’ll be the principle backup to Bregman at third, the principle backup to Nico Hoerner at second, and third string at shortstop behind Dansby Swanson and Hoerner. There’s also talk about him playing in the outfield.

“I played outfield growing up a lot,” Shaw said. “So I look forward to running around out there. Outfield’s definitely fun.”

Super-utility

In his two years in the Cubs organization, Shaw played every position but pitcher, catcher, and first base as the team decided where best to play him. Always considered a bat-first prospect, his defensive development has been a point of interest in his maturity as a ballplayer.

Having a true utility asset on the bench will help a Cubs team that struggled through the lack of one last season.

“I don’t think we have enough guys yet,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell chuckled to reporters at the Cubs convention. “If you think there’s too many, I don’t know what you’re looking at.”

Counsell remarked that the team was fortunate last season in their ability to mostly avoid injuries to their principal position players. However, the strain was clearly felt in the dulled performance of guys like Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ian Happ, and Dansby Swanson down the stretch after having to play almost every inning of every game at their respective positions.

“We’re now protecting a lot against what can happen, but I think that’s an important part of building a roster and building a team,” Counsell said.

The post Chicago Cubs: Matt Shaw speaks on Bregman signing and his future with the Cubs appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs, so far, have not been making the kinds of headlines that their fans had hoped for this offseason.

More News: The Chicago Cubs are winning the offseason by dodging free agent bullets

The team’s only moves have involved restocking an emptied-out bullpen (with free agent acquisitions Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, Hunter Harvey, and the re-signing of Caleb Thielbar) and the addition of depth piece first baseman Tyler Austin and utility man Scott Kingery.

What still needs to be done

More News: Chicago Cubs gut punch: Insider casts doubt on Cubs pursuit of Alex Bregman

Still on their “to do” list?

Chicago needs a durable high-end starting pitcher to bolster a rotation that has durability question marks running all through it.

They also need an offensive presence to help make up for the almost guaranteed loss of outgoing right fielder Kyle Tucker.

At the moment, it’s not looking all that likely that the Cubs will step outside their budgetary comfort zone to pick up the impact talent they need. They’ve already come up short when it comes to reported pitching targets Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Japanese import Tatsuya Imai. Their chances of landing free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, meanwhile, seem to grow smaller and smaller by the day as more aggressive teams are reported to be bypassing the Cubs as favorites to sign the three-time All-Star.

That’s why when/if the team pivots to a significantly less sexy option to fill at least one of their roster needs, it really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

The unglamorous fallback

Nick Martinez may end up being that pivot.

The 35-year-old righty is pure mid-tier pickup in this free agent class, a full step-and-a-half below guys like Cease, Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez, and Zac Gallen. He does, however, satisfy a team need as well as satisfy ownership’s desire to keep the payroll well below the luxury tax threshold while leaving money to spend on in-season acquisitions.

Martinez has been a workhorse the last couple seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, logging 308 innings over 82 games in 2024 and 2025, while showcasing his chops as both a starter and reliever.

Since coming back from a four-year stint in Japan (2018-2021) and pitching two seasons apiece with both the Reds and San Diego Padres, the veteran has earned a reputation as a versatile and hard-working swingman.

After a career-best 2024 where he registered a 3.10 ERA in 42 appearances, Martinez gambled on 2025 by taking the Reds’ qualifying offer and hoping to hit the 2026 free agency market red-hot after a second consecutive stellar season. The gamble didn’t exactly pay off, though, as he had his worst year since returning from Japan.

Last season, he went 11-14 with a 4.45 ERA while allowing more hard contact than in previous seasons and a significantly reduced ground ball rate (around 38%) than the plus-50% rate previously registered. The 1.88 ERA in his last ten regular season appearances (all relief), though, helped rehab some of his lost shine.

The value in Nick Martinez

The Cubs would find value in Martinez’s ability to move from the rotation to the bullpen and perform solidly in both spots. And, let’s not kid ourselves, they’ll also find value in the kind of contract involved in getting him.

Current contract projections have him signing for either two-years at about $24 million or for one-year at about $14-$16 million.

The Cubs’ rotation currently consists of Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga, and either Colin Rea or Javier Assad as a fill-in in until Justin Steele’s mid-season return from elbow surgery. Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks also lurk on the fringes, vying for a rotation spot. There will be the temptation, internally, to say that things will be just fine with some firm reinforcement rather than a costly and risky big-ticket acquisition.

Martinez definitely fits the bill in that regard.

He’ll be someone who embraces the swingman role and, like Rea last season, can plug holes in both the bullpen and the starting rotation. He’ll also bring added flexibility to the pitching staff, something which both manager Craig Counsell and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer value greatly. A short-term deal, also like Rea, will be appealing to the team as an ugly labor dispute looms at the end of the 2026 season and uncertainty swirls about.

Again, this won’t be the sexiest offseason acquisition for the Cubs and, as a last “big” move, it will be seen as downright disappointing. But it’s totally in keeping with who the Cubs are and what they might decide to settle on for the coming season.

The post Chicago Cubs’ practical fallback free agent signing would infuriate fans appeared first on ChiCitySports.

John Counsell, the father of Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell and a longtime figure within the Milwaukee Brewers organization, has passed away at the age of 83. Counsell spent years working in professional baseball and left a lasting impact on the Brewers franchise, while also playing a significant role in shaping the baseball life of his son, who now leads the Cubs.

Father of Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell passes away at 83 years old

On December 16, 2025, John Counsell passed away. He grew up in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, went to the University of Notre Dame, where he later coached, and signed with the Minnesota Twins in 1964. He also worked in the Brewers organization from 1978-1988. His song, Craig, was a player for Milwaukee in 2004, 2007-2011, and manager from 2015-2023.

John’s career in baseball spanned multiple roles, reflecting a lifelong dedication to the sport. Whether as a player or coach, he was widely respected. His influence extended beyond his own career, helping shape the baseball path of his son Craig, who has gone on to become one of the game’s most respected managers.

According to his obituary, a celebration of John’s life will take place on Saturday, January 10th, at 9:30 a.m. for visitation with a Funeral Mass to follow at 11 a.m. at Holy Family Parish in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin.

John will be remembered not only for his accomplishments in baseball, but also for the relationships he built along the way. His legacy will continue to be felt through the many lives he touched, both on and off the field.

 

The post Father of Cubs Manager Craig Counsell passes away at 83 appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs Have frustrated many fans with their slow, methodical approach to offseason talent acquisition. Actually, some may use terms other than “slow and methodical,” like “tepid and aggravatingly conservative.”

More News: Chicago Cubs tied to two major free agents by former MLB exec

So far, the Cubs’ entire offseason push consists of signing relievers Phil Maton and Hoby Milner, re-signing Caleb Thielbar, and picking up MLB castoff/NPB reclamation project, first baseman Tyler Austin.

Chicago Cubs being left behind?

More News: Chicago Cubs lose another bullpen anchor, then get more disappointing bullpen news

Meanwhile, as the Cubs dawdle and cut coupons, just about every top free agent closer has been snatched up. Sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso have been signed. Starting pitchers Dylan Cease signed with the Blue Jays and Michael King re-signed with the Padres.

Time is moving fast and, as talent gets scooped up by other, more daring teams, one can’t help but feel that the Cubs will once again be a team standing on the sidelines looking for bargain buys because they just couldn’t/wouldn’t invest outside their comfort zone.

But what if the team’s off-putting conservative approach was actually more purposeful strategy than collective team quirk?

When it comes to their bullpen, at least, that totally looks to be the case.

Is “cheap” a team strategy?

Speaking to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer talked about his strategy when it comes to putting together a bullpen, one which doesn’t really include investing in big-money pickups.

“Every team has to make their own decisions on how they allocate resources,” Hoyer said. “Other teams may choose to put really big blocks in the bullpen. That’s up to them. How I see it is: I would rather use those big chunks of money to go get (something else), whether it’s starting pitching or position players.”

One can debate whether this is a sound practice or not. However, it’s not a particularly pleasant thing for fans to hear as a playoff-capable Cubs team walks into the deep end of the offseason with roster holes to fill and rumors of acquisitions buzzing all around.

In Hoyer’s defense, he HAS been able to patch together some solid bullpens on a relative shoestring budget. Last season, for instance, was a bit of a marvel in terms of how much the team got from a crew mostly comprised of castoffs, call-ups, and reclamation projects.

The ups and downs of frugality

The Cubs’ ability to rekindle careers has definitely also given them a leg up in signing more pitchers looking to rebound from rough career patches.

“We’ve done a good job bringing the best out of guys, so I think that certainly is noticed,” Hoyer pointed out. “We’re not alone in that, but I think that when we do Zooms, and we talk to different pitchers, they’re aware of that.”

Manager Craig Counsell seems to endorse Hoyer’s strength-in-volume approach to building the relief corps. Counsell’s ability to mix-and-match arms with team necessities helped turn the bullpen from an early mess to a solid crew. That couldn’t have been done without Hoyer’s constant stocking of potentially viable arms.

“We ended up pitching pretty well,” Counsell told The Athletic. “Maybe it wasn’t the guys that we expected to do it. It just shows (you) get a bunch of good arms and kind of see what happens, and have enough abilities to pivot when you have to during the season.”

On the flip side, however, elite bullpens win championships and the Cubs’ model of shorting bullpen investment almost guarantees that the team won’t ever have an elite bullpen.

At some level, Hoyer himself acknowledges this reality. Last season, he made an unsuccessful bid at big-ticket closer Tanner Scott and this year he swung and missed on Devin Williams and, to a lesser degree, Emilio Pagan and Ryan Helsley.

When push comes to shove, though, the Cubs seem set on falling back to their conservative ways, ostensibly setting aside bullpen money for higher purposes (like starting pitching and position players). But, as everyone has seen, that money often doesn’t get spent on those higher purposes, either.

So, for now, it’s wait-and-see time for Cubs fans. Will another offseason go by without a major free agent acquisition, in deference to gambles wrapped around budget buys?

The post Chicago Cubs president confirms disappointing strategy on offseason spending appeared first on ChiCitySports.

Since Craig Counsell has taken over as manager of the Chicago Cubs, several of his former players have reunited with him in the Windy City. The list includes, but is not limited to, pitchers such as Colin Rea, Drew Pomeranz, and most recently Hoby Milner. It also includes current coach Quintin Berry.

According to multiple reports, that list of connections is now growing by one more as 34 year old first baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin has signed a one year, Major League deal with the Cubs. Austin was a former top prospect with the New York Yankees who made his big league debut with them in 2016, but last appeared in a Major League game in 2019 as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Tyler Austin, connected to Craig Counsell from his time with the Milwaukee Brewers, has signed a Major League deal with the Chicago Cubs

Back in 2019, the Brewers went on a magical “Criaigtember” run over the final month and made the playoffs as a wild card team. Austin was a part of that Milwaukee team, appearing in 17 games that month. Notably his biggest impact came during a game against the Cubs, hitting a pinch hit three run home run off Jon Lester.

Once that season ended, Austin spent the next six seasons playing in Japan, in the Nippon Professional Baseball league. He played in 403 games for the Yokohama Bay Stars and slashed .293/.377/.568. This includes hitting 20 home runs in 2020, 28 in 2021, and 26 in 2024. Defensively, he plays first base as well as the corner outfield spots.

The post Another Craig Counsell connection signs with Cubs, this time from the NPB appeared first on ChiCitySports.

A reunion between Craig Counsell and Devin Williams may sound like a storyline built for offseason speculation, but it’s one that makes plenty of sense. After years of thriving under Counsell’s management in Milwaukee, Williams could find himself in an ideal environment if the two were to team up again. This pairing might be a great opportunity for the former All-Star reliever and the manager who helped shape his rise.

Craig Counsell – Devin Williams reunion could be perfect fit

Under Counsell’s leadership, Williams delivered some of the finest seasons of his career, earning NL Rookie of the Year honors in 2020, two Trevor Hoffman Reliever of the Year awards, and a pair of All-Star selections. From 2019–2023, he posted three seasons with an ERA under 2.00 and another at 2.50, capped by a 36-save campaign in 2023.

Stress fractures in his back sidelined Williams for much of 2024, Counsell’s first year managing the Chicago Cubs. Before the 2025 season began, Williams was traded to the New York Yankees, where he endured the toughest campaign of his career, posting a 4.79 ERA and allowing more earned runs than he had in the previous three seasons combined.

Despite his struggles, MLB Trade Rumors ranks Williams as the second-best reliever on the market and the 16th-best free agent overall. His rough 2025 season may limit him to a shorter or less lucrative contract, creating a prime opportunity for the Cubs to pursue him on a deal featuring options and/or incentive-based bonuses.

If Chicago were to sign Williams and reunite him with Counsell, he could immediately step into ninth-inning duties. And if he recaptures his previous form, it could position him for the lucrative payday he’s aiming for in free agency, one far greater than what he’s likely to receive this offseason.

In the end, a Counsell–Williams reunion feels like a move that benefits everyone involved. Williams would return to the manager under whom he thrived, giving him the best chance to rebound and rebuild his value. Meanwhile, the Cubs desperately need to rebuild their bullpen that saw a vast majority of key contributors depart for free agency.

The post Craig Counsell–Devin Williams reunion could be perfect fit appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs have been making a lot of moves following this year’s World Series, tying up some loose ends as the team heads into the offseason.

More News: Chicago Cubs not in market for big-ticket free agent relievers, says insider

Some of those moves have been of the controversial variety as the decision to not pick up the option of lefty starter Shota Imanaga has raised some eyebrows. Trading deadline bullpen acquisition Andrew Kittredge back to the Baltimore Orioles was also widely questioned.

The contract decisions made on Thursday, however, were not the least bit surprising.

Chicago Cubs will bring back Colin Rea on restructured deal

More News: Chicago Cubs linked to future Hall of Famer Phillies star in wild trade proposal

The Cubs decided to hold on to veteran swing man Colin Rea, who was waiting on the team to decide on their $6 million club option. In the end, Chicago would go above and beyond exercising the option.

Rea’s restructured contract is worth $6.5 million in 2026 with a team option in 2027, reportedly worth $7.5 million.

The decision on the 35-year-old righty was pretty much a no-brainer, even as the Cubs have worked to cut payroll so far this offseason.

The former Brewer and Padre was brought to Chicago as a free agent last offseason on a modest one-year, $5 million deal. At the time, he was acquired as purely a swing man who could eat innings in the bullpen and occasionally spot start when needed. However, he would eventually become an essential part of the Cubs’ starting rotation amid a stretch of injuries that saw Justin Steele go down for the season in April and Imanaga and Jameson Taillon spend significant time on the IL.

Rea as the “glue” of a taxed Cubs rotation

Overall, Rea was 11-7 with a 3.95 ERA over 32 appearances (27 starts) and 159.1 innings. It could be said that, at times, he helped carry a strained starting rotation through some rough patches. His solid performance solidified down the closing stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs, where he worked a 1.17 ERA over 7.2 innings from the bullpen.

“Colin was exactly what we had hoped for and probably more,” Manager Craig Counsell, who had previously managed Rea in Milwaukee, told reporters during the playoffs. “Man, he’s just been the glue. He’s been a lot of glue for us, is the best way to describe it.”

Bringing Rea back for 2026 was an easy decision, especially considering his comparatively cheap salary and the versatility he brings to a Cubs team which now has considerable question marks in both the bullpen and starting rotation.

Cubs parting ways with Justin Turner

Another easy decision for the Cubs on Thursday centered around letting Justin Turner go.

Chicago opted to decline their part of a mutual option on the soon-to-be 41-year-old veteran, who was picked up in the offseason on a one-year, $6 million deal as a bat-first backup to first baseman Michael Busch and possible fill-in at third base.

As things would turn out, Turner’s greatest contribution to the 2025 squad was as a clubhouse leader. Although he had a respectable .276 batting average in limited at bats against left-handed pitching, his overall .219 average, combined with low power output (3 home runs) and subpar fielding, made him expendable– especially with the Cubs facing a $10 million team option on him.

Some have speculated that Turner could be brought back as a member of the Cubs’ coaching staff, as current bench coach Ryan Flaherty is reportedly in the running for a couple of major league manager positions.

As of right now, though, the affable veteran will head off to free agency in possible pursuit of at least one more major league run.

The post Chicago Cubs make their decision on two veterans– one stays, the other goes appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs finished the 2025 season with a bit of a whimper, losing in Game Five of the NLDS to the Milwaukee Brewers, after one last, defiant push to battle back from a 0-2 series deficit.

More News: Report: Chicago Cubs removed themselves from Shohei Ohtani pursuit

It’s hard to argue that this wasn’t a successful campaign after the team made postseason play for the first time since the abbreviated 2020 season and won its first actual playoff games since 2017. Two series into a playoff run is a pretty good start in a buildup to future postseason success.

Still, there’ll be a lot of uncertainty facing Chicago as they make their way to 2026.

Will free agency take Kyle Tucker away? Can the starting rotation, manned with pitchers facing injury histories and questions regarding consistency, hold together for a full season? Can the bullpen, with as many as eight pitchers possibly leaving via free agency, almost entirely rebuild on the fly? Will the 2026 squad be able to avoid the extended lulls in productivity it experienced in 2025?

For the most part, with the exception of Tucker’s right field, the team appears to have set the 2026 roster when it comes to starting position players. Third base, though, seems to still be an open-ended question to some observers.

Are there still questions about Matt Shaw at third base?

More News: Chicago Cubs: Will Japan loom large in Cubs’ 2026 plans?

23-year-old rookie Matt Shaw was favored to be the Cubs’ starting third baseman before spring training even began. And, despite a rocky start that saw him sent back to the minors in mid-April, he made his way back to the big league Cubs and eventually outlasted the pack of backups amassed behind him to become the team’s only starting third baseman.

But, still, there’s fan and media chatter all over the place about moving on from Shaw. Already, before any moves have been made by anyone, names such as Alex Bregman, Eugenio Suarez, Nolan Arenado, and Japanese import Munetaka Murakami have already been brought up as possible replacements for Shaw.

On the surface, this buzz could be attributed to the fact that the Cubs seem pretty secure at every other position and, well, people need things to talk about. So, why not pick on the least secure positional spot?

The logic behind moving on from Shaw

But there’s also some logic behind pointing the finger at third.

Shaw’s defense was surprisingly stellar. However, he finished the year with offensive numbers slightly below league average on the season (.226 bating average, .690 OPS), even if his post-All-Star break stats were actually a little above league average (.258 batting average, .839 OPS). The argument is that, with Tucker likely to be gone, the Cubs will need to enhance their offensive prowess at the traditionally offense-heavy hot corner.

While Shaw did hit 13 home runs last season (11 of them after the All-Star break), the thought is that Chicago needs even more pop from that spot.

There’s also the belief that Shaw’s promise as a blossoming prospect would make him appealing trade bait in pursuit of a front-of-rotation pitcher.

Chicago Cubs seem “all-in” on Shaw

The Cubs, as of right now, have not shown any inclination of moving on from Shaw and have actually seemed to double down on their belief in him.

“I think we should all be really proud of what Matt’s done this year,” manager Craig Counsell told The Athletic in August. “He was hit in the face in the big leagues, (you see) how tough it is to be a hitter in the big leagues and survived it.

“The resiliency to continue to search for and know success is in there is an important trait. One you need to be successful. He’s done that. You don’t get defeated and beat, you just keep coming to work to try to find better answers. I think Matt’s continued to do that no matter what’s going on. It’s a sign of a good player. Now, some of the offensive talent that we all knew was in there is starting to come out a little more.”

There’s also the cold, hard reality that Shaw is making league-minimum salary and the Cubs probably really love the bang they’re getting for their buck. There’s no reason that the conservative, frugal Cubs will move on from someone working with a cheap contract who’s doing perfectly fine.

But maybe “perfectly fine” is not good enough to push this team forward in 2026. That’s what the Cubs will have to take into consideration this offseason when it comes to Matt Shaw’s future.

The post Will the Chicago Cubs move on from Matt Shaw in 2026? appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs will have to make some big decisions this offseason, ahead of a 2026 where the team hopes to improve upon a promising 2025.

More News: Chicago Cubs: PCA contract projection may mean cheaping out on Kyle Tucker

Finding a way to keep free agent right fielder Kyle Tucker is probably the most headline-friendly issue facing the team right now. The Cubs will have to decide on picking up their option on pitcher Shota Imanaga. Rumors have also been floated regarding the possibility of picking up a high-end starting pitcher like Dylan Cease.

But maybe the toughest task facing Chicago will be in almost completely reassembling the team’s bullpen.

Rebuilding the Chicago Cubs bullpen

More News: Chicago Cubs pitcher, defense win big honors

As things stand right now, six of the eight relievers on the NLDS roster may be gone by next season, with non-roster arms Ryan Brasier and Taylor Rogers also likely to be lost to free agency.

That means the Cubs will have to build around the last bullpen asset Daniel Palencia while hoping for the best from struggling pitchers like Ben Brown, Porter Hodge, Eli Morgan, and Jordan Wicks.

The loss of Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, and Caleb Thielbar will hit especially hard as the trio finished the year as the anchors of manager Craig Counsell’s pieced-together bullpen.

MLB insider on the fates of two free agent Cubs

Jim Bowden, a former MLB exec now working as an MLB insider for The Athletic, however, believes that at least Keller and Pomeranz have a good chance of remaining a Cub.

Bowden lists the Cubs as the best fit when it comes to picking up the contracts of both Keller and Pomeranz when the pair become eligible for free agency after the World Series.

Per Bowden:

Brad Keller

After a career spent mostly in the rotation with Kansas City, Keller made 14 of his 16 appearances in 2024 out of the bullpen, splitting the season between the White Sox and Red Sox. This year, he was in the bullpen full-time after joining the Cubs. He embraced the role, appearing in 68 games and posting an impressive 2.94 FIP, while being an integral part of the Cubs’ bullpen success. He’s set himself up for a bright future as a high-leverage reliever.

Drew Pomeranz

After beginning the season in the Mariners’ farm system, Pomeranz was traded to the Cubs for cash in April. He then was promoted to the big leagues and appeared in 57 games for Chicago, posting a 3.01 FIP with 10.5 K/9 and an ERA+ of 178. He made six appearances for the Cubs in the postseason, allowing one run in six innings. This season was his first pitching in the big leagues since 2021. His fastball run value ranked in the 85th percentile and his strikeout percentage was in the 84th percentile. Batters hit just .207 against his four-seam fastball and .220 against his knuckle curveball.

Keller and Pomeranz as “must keep” success stories

The career comebacks of both Keller and Pomeranz are tremendous stories.

Keller was a non-roster invitee to Cubs’ spring training after a failed multi-year run with the Royals, Red Sox, and White Sox. He finished 2025 with a 2.07 ERA in 68 appearances, eventually working his way into Counsell’s circle of trust to become a high-leverage bullpen asset.

Pomeranz, meanwhile, was all but out of baseball entirely before he got one last chance with the Cubs in 2025. He hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2021 and seemed bound for forced retirement. He ended the 2025 campaign with a 2.17 ERA in 57 appearances.

Bowden is estimating Keller’s contract as 2-years for $15 million and Pomeranz’s as 1-year for $5 million.

History shows, however, that the Cubs are not receptive to re-signing bullpen arms, even after stellar breakthrough seasons. They generally shy away from any even marginally lucrative deals for relievers, especially middle relievers. This front office’s strategy has always been to bargain hunt for bullpen arms and fill up the roster with cheap rehabilitation projects in hopes that one or two or three will stick.

But in this case, staring down so much turnover, it would be wise to maybe buck their standard operating procedure and bring both Keller and Pomeranz back on short-term deals. This team needs a stable bullpen.

The post Chicago Cubs favored to retain two key free agents, per insider appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs’ 2025 season has come to an end. With the 3-1 loss to the division rival Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday night at American Family Field, the Cubs have been eliminated from the NLDS. They will have to move on to thoughts of next year as the Brewers move ahead to face the Dodgers in the NLCS.

Despite the loss, it’s hard to come away from this year with feelings of failure.

Prior to the season, hopes centered around simply making the playoffs and accounting well for themselves once there. Baseball Prospectus projected 90.6 wins for them. In the final 2025 tally, the Cubs won 92 games in the regular season, beat the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card Series, and then battled back from a 0-2 deficit against the Brewers in the best-of-five NLDS to force a Game Five.

There was plenty to criticize in this particular playoff run, like the team’s woeful 5-for-40 mark with runners in scoring position throughout the postseason and the 4-for-27 mark in the NLDS. Saturday’s series-deciding loss stung especially hard because of how tremendous the team looked in the previous two games.

But, all in all, 2025 was better than most anyone could’ve imagined last offseason.

After the tough defeat, the Cubs ruminated on the sweet and sour of this season. They expressed their disappointment and their love for one another, as well as their heartfelt belief that the Cubs fan base deserves more and better from them.

Craig Counsell provides perspective

“I think it’s the five games we played at Wrigley Field in the playoffs kind of tells you what means so much to it,” manager Craig Counsell told reporters. “I think it meant so much to our players to do that, to provide that for our fans. And that’s what you do: You honor the uniform; you honor the place. That’s like not the results goal, but that’s always like what our job is to do, is to do those two things.

“And we did that. We didn’t get it done today, and that hurts. Man, it doesn’t feel good, but I think when you zoom back a little bit, we did some good things as well…I’m disappointed, I’m sad. I think this team did a lot to honor the Chicago Cub uniform.”

PCA on the sting of losing and sad goodbyes

Pete Crow-Armstrong, the team’s 23-year-old burgeoning superstar, spoke to reporters after the game, red-eyed, holding back tears, with his voice trembling with emotion. Equal parts upset over the loss, the disappointment of the Cubs fans, and having to say goodbye to some outgoing 2025 teammates, he spoke from the heart.

“We all go hug each other and stuff, but I don’t think that really does a full year’s justice,” Crow-Armstrong said. “That will be the toughest part moving forward, kind of understanding that it may not be the same faces in here next year, and that’s gonna suck…

“We owe more playoff baseball to this fan base.”

The motivation in this elimination

Lefty starter Matthew Boyd, who bounced back from a horrendous Game One drubbing to lead the team to victory in Game Four, put being a Cub into perspective. He vowed to use the sting of Saturday’s loss as motivation for next year.

“I think when you get to put on those pinstripes, it’s really special and it’s something you realize it’s bigger than you,” Boyd told reporters. “I think we all collectively know that. From spring training, Couns reminded us of that, and I believe we left it all out on the field.

“We came up short, we’re going to get better from it, but we did leave it all out on the field. We gave it everything we got. We’re going to use that experience to get to where we want to go next year and do everything we can to avoid this feeling next season.”

Lefty starter Shota Imanaga, still smarting from two poor postseason outings, echoed Boyd’s vow to take this negative and make it a positive.

“Feel that pain of that loss and carry that into the offseason and use that,” Imanaga said via interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “So for me, it’s just I feel that, and I don’t want to forget that feeling, and that’s going to help me build to become a better player.”

Crow-Armstrong showcased the right mindset in his closing words to the press on Saturday night.

He vowed to carry with him all of the positive moments of this postseason and use that as motivation to grab at those highs year after year.

“Those were two of the best games of my life,” he said of the two NLDS games against the Brewers at a raucous Wrigley Field. “I think that that’s just, again, more motivation to be able to do it year in and year out.”

The post Chicago Cubs dejected, but defiant after NLDS loss: “We owe more playoff baseball to this fan base” appeared first on ChiCitySports.

. .The Chicago Cubs have called a bit of an audible by naming Drew Pomeranz as their starter for Saturday’s Game Five of the National league Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field.

Despite the momentum generated from two straight elimination game victories and being able to push the best-of-five series to a fifth game, the Cubs still had some doubt and uncertainty moving into this upcoming scuffle with their division rivals.

Imanaga was still thought to be the favorite for Game 5

Due up next in the short-staffed starting rotation order was Shota Imanaga. However, the Japanese southpaw was manhandled by the Brewers last Monday.  He gave up four earned runs via 2 home runs in 2.2 innings. Prior to that, he was touched up by the San Diego Padres in Game Two of the Wild Card Series, allowing 2 earned runs in 4 innings pitched.

Even with a combined 8.10 ERA in his two playoff starts this postseason, Imanaga was still believed to be the favorite to get the start this Saturday. With Matthew Boyd having pitched on Thursday and Jameson Taillon going fairly deep into the game on Wednesday, Imanaga was pretty much the last starter standing, aside from longshot swing men Colin Rea and Aaron Civale.

All hands on deck for NLDS finale

The move to use Pomeranz as Saturday’s Game Five opener is a noteworthy flipping of the script. It doesn’t deviate all that much, though, from manager Craig Counsell’s assertion on Friday that just about everyone should be ready to glove up and lend a hand.

“This is a game where we’re going to have everybody available,” Counsell told media. “With the exception of Matt Boyd, everyone’s going to be available.”

“It’s cliche here, but we’ve got 11 pitchers to figure out how to get 27 outs,” Counsell added. “And that’s how we’re treating it.”

The left-handed Pomeranz has been a shutdown bullpen presence this postseason, delivering five no-hit, no-run innings in five appearances in the Cubs’ two playoff series. On Thursday, he pitched a 1-2-3 inning versus the Brewers to help secure the Cubs 6-0 Game Four victory.

The 36-year-old has been rock solid all year for Chicago, posting a 2.17 ERA over 57 appearances and 49.2 innings.

Acquired from the Seattle Mariners in a late-April trade for cash considerations, Pomeranz had not pitched in the majors since 2021 and was close to hanging up his glove before getting this last shot with the Cubs.

The Chicago Cubs’ brilliant pickup

“When I pitched in my first game back,” Pomeranz told USA TODAY Sports back in late May, “you wouldn’t believe how many text messages I got from people saying, ‘Is that you? I thought you retired.’ It’s been pretty surreal being back.”

“You have such a different perspective when something is taken away from you,” Pomeranz added. “There are so many times I thought this day would never happen again. I basically retired last year. I would get so close to being back in the big leagues, but then I’d get knocked down again. It sucks. You start to count out yourself out, to be honest.”

Pomeranz has made the most of this last shot. He’s become an indispensable part of a surprisingly solid Cubs bullpen mostly made up of castoffs, longshots, and rehab projects.

Counsell’s plan will most likely involve using Pomeranz for an inning or so. Then they will move on based on what matchups make sense. It wouldn’t be too surprising to even see Imanaga, get a few innings in this all-important “must win” series finale.

With a victory on Saturday, Chicago would move on to the NLCS versus the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning Monday.

The post Chicago Cubs reveal shocking starter for NLDS must-win Game 5 appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs may have evened up the National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t still walking a pitching tightrope with zero margin for error.

Heading into the series-deciding Game Five at American Family Field in Milwaukee, the Cubs are facing the same pitching dilemma they’ve faced throughout the postseason– How to get the best from their limited starting pitching options.

A week before starting the Wild Card Series with the San Diego Padres, rookie phenom Cade Horton went down with a fractured rib. The 24-year-old had dazzled over the second half of the season, going 8-1 and posting a mind-boggling 1.03 ERA since the All-Star break.

Losing their most effective starter just days before the playoffs began had the potential to be a team death blow. To the Cubs’ credit, though, they’ve pushed through and have managed to get by without Horton’s dominant presence.

Can Cade Horton pitch in the playoffs?

Still, there’s hope that maybe, possibly the Rookie of the Year candidate could still see some action this postseason.

Technically, Horton was eligible to be activated off the IL on Friday, but few thought that would actually happen. Instead, the former Cubs no. 1 draft pick pitched his second bullpen session, going two simulated innings.

Manager Craig Counsell would immediately shut down the fringe whispers about Horton possibly coming back for Saturday’s game in Milwaukee.

“No,” Counsell told media, flat and cold, when asked about the possibility.

But what if the Cubs beat the Brewers and move on to the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers?

Horton wants to be part of the Chicago Cubs postseason

Horton, himself, is working under the assumption that a postseason return is still in the cards.

This past Tuesday, he pitched his first real bullpen session and felt good enough to double down on his feeling that 2025 isn’t over for him.

“At this moment, I’m pain-free,” Horton told reporters before the workout. “Really not trying to push it. But for right now, I’m feeling good.”

“Absolutely, I think that’s the plan,” Horton replied, when asked about pitching this postseason. “That’s kind of why we’re getting on the mound today and progressing as normal.

“I plan to just throw a normal bullpen. Obviously, I’m not going to be in there throwing upper 90s, but, yeah, just normal bullpen day.”

The road back

Horton had been keeping his stamina up during his down time by throwing from his knees, being careful to not put too much stress on his ribs. From there, he went on to play light catch, always working with the idea that he’d be back.

“Everything’s been smooth,” Horton affirmed. “So just continuing to build off that.”

He’s also been chomping at the bit to be a part of this compelling playoff run.

“It sucks, but [I’m] just trying to be the best teammate I can,” Horton said. “It’s been fun watching the guys. We still got some baseball to play. Just one day at a time and being the best teammate I can be.”

Realistically, it’s not very likely that he’d be ready for Monday’s NLCS if the Cubs get by the Brewers on Saturday. There’s always the World Series after that, though.

But, first, the Cubs actually have to beat the Brewers in Milwaukee– and that’s a decidedly tall order.

From there, everyone can start talking Cade Horton once again.

The post Chicago Cubs: Cade Horton wants in, Counsell offers clarity on playoff comeback appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs, with their stunning 6-0 win over the division rival Milwaukee Brewers, have now evened the best-of-five NLDS 2-2, battling past back-to-back elimination games at Wrigley Field.

On Thursday, the windows of Wrigleyville rattled and vibrated with the noise of Cubs fans who showed up early and just never shut up, in firm belief that their guys could pull off another crucial win in a do-or-die playoff game.

If pure energy could will a win into reality, Thursday’s game was proof positive.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy felt the fans’ impact. The Cubs, also, most definitely felt the impact.

Chicago Cubs fans help push team forward

Game Four starter Matthew Boyd, who turned in 4.2 scoreless innings to avenge the drubbing he took in Game One, talked up the Wrigley loyal showing up in full support. Forty minutes before game time, as he was jogging and warming up, the stands were already packed and “going crazy.”

“There’s nothing like that,” Boyd said of the Cubs fan base. “It’s really special. They create such an environment here. It makes it a great place to play when you’re a Cubbie and it’s a hard place to play when you’re not.”

Left fielder Ian Happ gave the fans reason to cheer in the first inning when he hit a three-run home run off Brewers starter Freddy Peralta to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead. Up until that moment, the veteran Cub– and the last remnant of past Cubs winning playoff teams– had been batting .095 in the postseason.

“To do it in that atmosphere, in front of these fans,” Happ told media after the game, “they’ve been here every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Tuesday in the middle of June, they’re here. To give them that experience and to hear that roar was really special.”

“The crowd was incredible tonight,” manager Craig Counsell told reporters afterwards. “I’ve never seen a baseball game like that. That was just amazing what they did tonight.”

A team deserving of rabid support

And if there’s one team deserving of such a rabid and game-swaying fandom, it’s this 2025 Cubs team.

One can take shots at the ownership’s frugality and the front office’s frustratingly conservative mindset. One could point at the many roster holes facilitated by the failures and/or flaws of the suits in charge. But the team, itself, is special.

From spring training to the present, the 2025 Cubs have worked as a unit, putting the team ahead of personal glory, and proudly, without ego, admitting that when they falter as individuals, they know their teammates will have their backs.

This aspect of the Cubs’ character led directly to what everyone saw on the field Thursday.

From ultra-veteran Justin Turner overseeing pre-game batting practice for the struggling Pete Crow-Armstrong and Matt Shaw to Matthew Boyd’s motivational role in reviving and reinvigorating reliever Daniel Palencia after a disastrous Game One, the Cubs are showcasing the kind of constitution that leads to great things.

Building on this foundation

They, most assuredly, have their deficiencies and roster holes. It’ll be a tall task to ask very much more of them this postseason.

But this team won’t roll over for anybody and, even as things look darkest, it’ll be hard to keep them down for long. Whether they win or lose on Saturday, they’ve proven their point.

Hopefully, the higher-ups build upon the foundation established this season with this crew of Cubs. Greatness is within reach.

The post Chicago Cubs are all about the intangibles — character, resiliency, and the Wrigley rabid appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs’ season may be over on Wednesday afternoon. The North Siders are down 0-2 in the best-of-five NLDS against the division rival Milwaukee Brewers and will be taking the field at Wrigley facing the harsh reality that their season is over if they can’t come up with a win.

Judging by how the first two games played out, the Cubs have an uphill battle ahead of them.

In games one and two of the series, the Brewers out-played, out-fought, and out-executed Chicago in just about every area. At times, the Cubs simply looked overmatched.

A rebound in this series will not only buck historical precedence (only 10 teams have come back from a 0-2 deficit to win a 5-game Division Series in 90 series since the revised playoff format in 1995), but also fly in the face of what everyone has seen of both teams so far this postseason.

Chicago Cubs establishing the right mindset

But the game will go ahead and the Cubs need to find the motivation and the strategy to stay alive.

“Part of being great at this is responding to the bad stuff and running towards it, man,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said during Tuesday’s team workout at Wrigley Field. “That’s part of this. And you can’t be afraid of it. You got to look forward to it.

“It happens sometimes. We put ourselves in a hole this series, no question about it. We get to decide how the story ends.”

Taillon takes the mound

Jameson Taillon will be taking the mound for this crucial game and will be looking to turn in the same kind of masterful performance he delivered last Thursday when the Cubs were also facing elimination in Game Three of the Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres. In that do-or-die outing, the veteran right-hander delivered 4 scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

Taillon understands the importance of this game, but is assuming the ‘let’s take this game-by-game’ mental approach of Counsell and the team as a whole.

“Games 1 and 2 didn’t go the way we wanted,” Taillon told media on Tuesday. “That being said, all we can focus on is tomorrow. If we want to make a run at this thing and try to come back, we have to win tomorrow. You can’t look too far ahead…It starts tomorrow and obviously being a starting pitcher, hopefully I can do my job and set the tone. And see where that can take us.”

Taillon is 11-7 with a 3.68 ERA in a season affected by two separate stints on the IL, although he’s been brilliant since his September return to the roster. Against the Brewers this season, he’s notched a 4.50 ERA in three starts, with two excellent performances and one disastrous outing.

The Brewers’ Game Three starter, Quinn Priester, meanwhile, has a 6.28 ERA in three starts versus the Cubs, also boasting two excellent starts against one terrible showing.

Taillon’s challenge will be one of several in Wednesday’s game as the team also looks to re-energize a stagnant offense and stave off general frustrations.

Counsell counts on Wrigley Field energy

Counsell is hoping that the raucous Wrigley atmosphere, bolstered by the emotion of rabid Cubs fans, will provide the right jolt.

“Wrigley is a special place,” Counsell said. “Your moments here are remembered, and that’s the biggest thing. What I’ve learned is that this place — when you think it can’t provide more, it provides more.

“I think it did it for us last week…But I think it’s just the place. The place has a wonderful way of doing it.”

If Chicago does manage to win on Wednesday, the uphill battle of staying afloat will continue on Thursday as they face a huge issue regarding the game’s starter. A taxed and flat Matthew Boyd, who was battered in Saturday’s series opener and pulled after just two-thirds of an inning, will be the only option.

But that’s a worry for another day. For the Cubs, right now, there’s only today.

The post Chicago Cubs get motivation ahead of do-or-die NLDS Game 3 versus Brewers appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs have put themselves into a deep, and possibly inescapable, hole with their 7-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday at American Family Field. Down 0-2 in the best-of-five NLDS, they now face elimination at Wrigley Field on Wednesday.

It’s easy to lay the blame for the Cubs’ woes on the starting pitching, which has been horrendous this series and has been unable to make it past three innings in either game. But everyone knew that the Cubs’ pitching would be a huge question mark coming into the postseason.

The real fail of this NLDS so far has centered around the team’s offense, which was once considered their strength and actually helped propel them to a stellar first-half that all but clinched a playoff spot as early as the All-Star break.

After the break, however, the Cubs’ powerful offense turned pedestrian. And that shrinking output has extended into the playoffs.

The Chicago Cubs’ flat-lining offense

In the postseason this year, the Cubs have managed just 12 runs in 5 games, and 9 of those runs have come via home run (6 solo homers and Seiya Suzuki’s 3-run shot on Monday). At this point, the offense gives off the vibe of having no plan other than the hope of an occasional pitcher’s mistake resulting in a home run.

Sam Olbur of the Locked on Cubs podcast had the same observation:

“This is now 12 consecutive postseason games of three runs or less for the Chicago Cubs…It just looks like we’re hoping to hit a home run… ‘Maybe PCA will get into one. Hey, maybe Happ…’”

Actually, according to Talkin’ Baseball, the Cubs have now set the MLB mark for the longest streak of postseason offensive impotence, with 13 straight playoff games of 3 or fewer runs scored.

The problem right now, though, is in the present tense against a Brewers team that is actually playing like a cohesive unit, capable of straining opposition pitching with tenacious at-bats and a smart, efficient mindset.

At one point, early in the season, the Cubs carried that same reputation. That’s most definitely not the case anymore.

Feeble numbers

Over the five games of this postseason: Kyle Tucker is hitting .176 with no home runs and no RBIs, Pete Crow-Armstrong is hitting .222 with no home runs and one RBI, Ian Happ is hitting .105 with one home run and one RBI, Dansby Swanson is hitting .176 with no home runs and one RBI, and Matt Shaw has yet to even get a hit.

“We as an offense have to find a way to put up a few more and help out pitchers a little more,” Ian Happ told the media after Monday’s loss. “That’s the one thing going into Wednesday, we’ve won a few games here in the playoffs, but haven’t scored a bunch of runs. Hanging up a few crooked numbers will help a lot.”

Fixing the holes

The problem is how to put up those “crooked numbers” when so few Cubs are actually getting on base. And even when they do somehow manage to get on base, the other Cubs aren’t driving them in. In the five postseason games this year, Chicago is 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position.

“The first two innings we did a nice job,” manager Craig Counsell said after Monday’s game. “We had two at-bats with runners in scoring position today. That’s a pretty good sign that we’re not creating enough pressure. That’s gonna add up to a lot of zeroes.”

Part of the Cubs’ problem has to do with facing amped-up postseason elite-level pitching, of course. But these recent failings in the playoffs extend deep into the regular season as well.

There’s just no ready-made answer for what’s ailing the Cubs’ offense, and certainly nothing overly impactful that could be employed with, possibly, only one game left in their season.

Maybe the best Chicago can hope for is some more patience from their hitters, a greater focus on small ball, and some slippage from the mostly outstanding Brewers pitching.

The Cubs brain trust will then have to spend the offseason figuring out how to fix an offense that suddenly and inexplicably disappears when needed most.

The post Chicago Cubs’ failed offense needs major retooling appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are walking into American Family Field Monday night with their backs against the wall.

On Saturday, they were hammered by the Milwaukee Brewers 9-3 in the opening game of the NLDS, deflated and defeated with a 9-1 deficit after the second inning. Starter Matthew Boyd and his relief Michael Soroka were touched up for 9 runs in the first two innings and, from that point forward, focus shifted to doing better in Game Two.

There was some fan and media discussion around who would get the start on Monday, but, realistically, there was only one choice– Shota Imanaga.

With rookie phenom Cade Horton injured and Jameson Taillon on three days rest after his last outing, Imanaga is really the only option for a high-leverage, high-pressure starter.

So, the Japanese righty will have to be THE guy.

Mixed feeling on Shota Imanaga

At this particular moment, however, that doesn’t instill a whole lot of confidence.

In a season where he missed almost two months due to a hamstring strain, Imanaga finished with a whimper, posting a 6.51 ERA in the month of September while giving up 10 home runs in 27.2 innings pitched.

Last Wednesday, in Game Two of the Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres, Imanaga took the mound in the second inning after opener Andrew Kittredge and pitched well until the fifth. That’s when he was, for some reason, allowed to pitch to Manny Machado with a runner on second and first base open, and proceeded to give up a two-run home run.

This time around, manager Craig Counsell has opted not to use an opener for Imanaga and has doubled down on his full faith in the elite-level chops of his starter.

Shota has to be the man

“The thing that I love most about Shota is that he is a competitor. I think he’s like a thinking man’s competitor, and he also pitches with a lot of joy on the mound, while competing at a really high level,” Counsel told reporters.

“He’s trying to figure out a way to get you out. He’s trying to figure out a way to be better,” Counsel affirmed. “That’s going on pitch to pitch, that’s going on between starts, and he’s really good at that part of it…We’ve seen him pitch for two years, and we’ve seen him succeed for two years, and that’s how he does it to me. He’s a fun player to watch compete. There’s no question about it.”

Against the Brewers in 2025, Imanaga has been solid. In three outings, he’s delivered a 3.56 ERA, but is just 1-2. In two starts facing the Brewers in Milwaukee, he’s 1-1 with a 4.22 ERA.

Despite the shaky finish to the regular season and the even shakier end to his start in the Wild Card Series, the hope is that Imanaga will rebound on Monday. Known as “The Throwing Philosopher” in Japan, he’s widely lauded for his ability to adapt and reconfigure his pitching strategies from appearance to appearance.

Chicago Cubs are confident

Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy was generally pleased with what he saw from Imanaga in his last start and is already talking up the changes being worked on for this upcoming appearance.

“He was able to move the fastball around,” Hottovy told The Athletic. “That’s one of the things we’ve been talking about a little bit more. Not just relying on the fastball up, but moving it around and using it down in the zone. Pitching in, pitching away, keeping the hitters a little bit more honest.”

With a fully rested bullpen after Sunday’s off day and another off day on Tuesday, it’s a sure thing that Counsell will have Imanaga on a short leash in Monday’s game. The Cubs, however, are hoping that it won’t be necessary to pull him until much later in the game.

The post Chicago Cubs: The sweet and sour of Shota Imanaga starting Game Two of the NLDS appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs were done by the end of the second inning in Saturday’s opening game of the NLDS versus the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field.

By the top of the third, a deflated Cubs team was already down 9-1 and focus shifted to a comeback in Game Two on Monday.

Actually, the Brewers’ brutal 6-run first inning probably sealed Chicago’s Game One fate– and that deathblow can be traced to one major error in judgment by Cubs manager Craig Counsell.

Working off three days rest for only the third time in his career as a starter, Matthew Boyd, who started the opening game of the Wild Card Series versus the Padres on Tuesday, was tabbed to be the starter for Game One of the NLDS versus the division rival Brewers. The lefty, by the way, was also warmed up in the ninth inning in the Wild Card Game Three on Thursday.

Flat, strained Matthew Boyd gets rocked

The 34-year-old came out and looked flat from pitch one, giving up three straight doubles and a walk before a crucial Nico Hoerner error at second. After giving up a single following the error, Counsell removed Boyd after 30 pitches, four hits, and a walk in two-thirds of an inning. By then, the game was already out of reach.

Boyd looking flat was understandable, given his workload this season after several years of injury-related inactivity. He hadn’t pitched over 100 innings in a season since 2019 and, coming into 2025, the Cubs were viewing 120 innings as a reasonable goal for their oft-injured free agent acquisition. As of Saturday’s game, Boyd has thrown 184.2 innings between the regular season and the playoffs.

Counsell’s reasoning for pitching Boyd, however, centered on the fact that he only had a 58-pitching outing in Wild Card Game One.

Counsell owns up

“We picked Matt Boyd to pitch,” Counsell told reporters after the loss. “I don’t know what to say. He pitched, it didn’t go well. We’ve got to make decisions. We went with Matt.

“We’re very comfortable — I was very comfortable — putting Matt Boyd on the mound today. The whole organization was comfortable putting Matt Boyd on the mound today.”

“Probably since Matthew got to the dugout in Game 1 [of the Wild Card Series], he was thinking about pitching this game,” Counsell added. “If this was a normal start and he threw 90 pitches, we wouldn’t consider this. But because he threw so few pitches, he knew he was going to be able to recover, and we thought he’d be able to recover quickly.”

It should’ve also been noted that Boyd had turned in some pretty bad numbers versus the Brewers this season, albeit in a small sample size. In his two 2025 regular season starts against Milwaukee, he had a 7.84 ERA in just 10.1 innings– easily two of the worst starts in an otherwise outstanding season.

Chicago Cubs had viable alternatives

Meanwhile, starter Colin Rea was left on the bench, allowed just 1.2 innings pitched this postseason so far after a very good end-of-season run to cap off a very solid 2025. Starter Javier Assad was left off the postseason roster entirely.

Either Rea or Assad would’ve been preferable over a stretched-out Boyd, even though Rea has put up some weak numbers versus his former team.

Jumping the gun on Boyd not only cost the Cubs Saturday’s game, but it also may have removed him from the rest of the NLDS– another brutal blow for a team already hurting from the loss of their hottest starting pitcher, Cade Horton.

Even a failed gamble in starting Rea in Game One would’ve allowed Boyd two extra days of rest for a go at Game Two.

Now, the Cubs’ backs are against the wall just as the series starts.

The post Chicago Cubs: Counsell’s brutal tactical error has team reeling ahead of NLDS Game Two appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs looked like the worst version of themselves on Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field, just 24 hours after looking really solid.

With their 3-0 loss to the San Diego Padres, the best-of-three Wild Card Series now stands at an even 1-1 with Thursday’s game left to determine whether 2025 was an excellent year or a whole lot of false hope ending with an anticlimactic fizzle.

The Cubs just never got off the ground on Wednesday. Their offense was stymied by starter Dylan Cease and fully nullified by relievers Adrian Morejon, Mason Miller, and Robert Suarez. And while their pitching was mostly solid, it also faltered at key times in a game where there was zero margin for error.

Craig Counsell on the hot seat

For all the accolades that Cubs manager Craig Counsell rightfully received for his handling of the pitching staff on Tuesday, there will be just as many criticisms lobbed his way for his decisions in Wednesday’s game.

Right off the bat, Counsell’s decision to start righty reliever Andrew Kittredge backfired when the veteran gave up back-to-back singles to Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Arraez to start the game, something which would result in the Padres getting the only run they needed to win.

Shota Imanaga, who took the mound in the second inning, pitched two solid innings and a somewhat shaky third, before the wheels fell off the cart a bit in the fifth inning, something which is being at least partially blamed on Counsell.

With one out in the fifth, Imanaga walked Tatis, who mas moved over to second by Arraez on a sacrifice bunt. With an open base at first and righty Michael Soroka warmed up in the bullpen, Counsell faced the decision of either walking the right-handed Manny Machado to face the left-handed Jackson Merrill or pulling the southpaw Imanaga in favor of a righty vs. righty Soroka-Machado matchup.

Counsell did neither and the end result was Machado smacking Imanaga’s first pitch into the left field bleachers to put the Padres up 3-0.

Facing fierce criticism

The Counsell non-decision generated an instant wave of criticism among fans and media.

“I cannot believe they let Shota Imanaga face Manny Machado with first base open. But they did,” tweeted Padres beat reporter AJ Cassavell. “And Machado made the Cubs pay on Imanaga’s first pitch. It’s a two-run homer, and the Padres lead 3-0.”

“Still don’t get it,” Cassavell continued. “Like, the whole point of using an opener in the first place was basically to avoid Machado-Imanaga, right? Welp, them’s the breaks, and the Padres sure capitalized.”

The Chicago Cubs had one of those days

The only real positive to be found after Wednesday’s game was that Mason Miller, who has looked absolutely dominant in the first two games of the series and set a postseason velocity record with his 104.5 mph strikeout pitch to Carson Kelly, will probably not see action for a third straight game.

And that is really scraping the bottom of the barrel in looking for any sort of silver lining in this game two dark cloud. It was just one of those days.

After the game, the Cubs announced that veteran Jameson Taillon would get the start on Thursday, which really wasn’t much of surprise. In his final six starts of the season, after coming back from his second stint on the IL, Taillon registered a 1.59 ERA and looked at his absolute very best.

He’ll need that positive mojo heading into this all-important must-win game three.

On Thursday, the bats need to return and every pitcher must be ready to dive in and contribute or the season is over.

The post Chicago Cubs: Counsell takes heat after feeble Wild Card Game Two loss, makes plans for Game Three appeared first on ChiCitySports.

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell is looking to follow up his masterful handling of the Wild Card Series game one pitching staff with an equally masterful planning of his game two pitching.

Shortly after the Cubs secured a 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres in Tuesday’s opener of the Wild Card best-of-three series at Wrigley Field, Counsell announced his outside-the-box decision on who will start the possible series-clinching next game.

Taking the ball first for the Cubs on Wednesday will be righty reliever Andrew Kittredge. As soon as the second inning, though, southpaw Shota Imanaga should move in and take over.

Imanaga’s 7.20 ERA in the first inning this season is at the heart of the decision.

Counsell and the Cubs have called this type of audible before, and usually with good results. They hope to replicate the success this time around.

The Chicago Cubs’s feel-good Game One

On Tuesday, there was plenty of feel-good success all around– at least after the start of the fifth inning.

Through four, things looked grim as Padres starter Nick Pivetta blanked the Cubs and seemed to absolutely stymie their hitters. With Pivetta cooking and San Diego’s MLB-best bullpen waiting in the wings, things seemed to be heading into one of those frustrating no-offense afternoons.

Then, the mood shifted.

Daniel Palencia came in to relieve starter Matthew Boyd with one out in the fifth inning and down 1-0, with a runner on base. The 25-year-old righty, who was just activated from the IL the week before the playoffs, was absolutely electric in 1.2 innings pitched, mowing through the heart of the Padres’ order along the way.

The Palencia showing, especially in the fifth, gave off the vibe of a momentum-shifter.

“I think to me, that’s the out of the game that was critical,” Counsell told reporters after the game. “You need outs from your starters in these games. You can’t do that every day. But him throwing up five outs in five hitters and going through the top of their lineup, the game made sense after that to me. Know what I mean? There was a real path right there. Credit to Danny for putting the game back together.”

Back-to-back explosions

In the Cubs’ half of the fifth, the Wrigley crowd went from atomic to mega-atomic after back-to-back home runs from Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly to give the Cubs the 2-1 lead.

“Simply put, it was fantastic,” Suzuki told media via his interpreter, Edwin Stanberry. “You just felt the passion of the fans, them cheering us on. Rounding the bases, I felt some nerves, obviously, but great feeling overall.”

With the solo shot, Suzuki has now become the first player in MLB history to hit four home runs in his last four regular season games and continue that streak with a homer in the first playoff game.

“I can’t really explain it,” Suzuki said, regarding his incredible streak. “I think with the past week coming into this game, I feel like there’s been a playoff switch that’s been turned on.”

Local Chicago product Carson Kelly, who had a career year in his first season as catcher with the Cubs, was equally as psyched about his solo shot.

“You dream about those moments as a little kid getting into the postseason and hitting the game-winning home run, right?” Kelly said. “You feel like you’re on cloud nine running around, just how much this fan base cares for Cubs baseball. And watching the Cubs’ day games as a little kid, and seeing the energy, seeing the crowd and getting to do it in real life is truly an honor.”

The Cubs would add an insurance run in the eighth, but wouldn’t need it, thanks to the Cubs’ bullpen.

Counsell’s role

Also among the game one heroes, though, has to be Craig Counsell, who made all the right moves with his pitching staff and helped facilitate the on-field heroics. His bullpen delivered 4.2 scoreless innings of no hit, no walk relief on Tuesday against a potent Padres lineup.

But now the slate is wiped clean and, for Counsell and the Cubs, it’s now all about Wednesday’s game and closing out the series.

The post Chicago Cubs make bold pitching move following Wild Card Game One excellence appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs have announced their starting pitcher for Tuesday’s opening game of the Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres.

Lefty Matthew Boyd will be taking the mound at Wrigley Field to kick off the best-of-three series against the Padres’ ace Nick Pivetta. And, while the announcement most certainly gave off a feel-good vibe all throughout the day on Monday, there’s also plenty of foreboding that comes with the Cubs’ choice.

Boyd’s season numbers (14-8, 3.21 ERA in 179.2 innings pitched) don’t really tell the complete story of the veteran’s 2025.

A tale of two Matthew Boyds

The Cubs’ offseason free agent acquisition was absolute killer over the first half of the season, posting a 2.34 ERA before making the All-Star Game for the first time in his career.

Things took a decided turn for the worst over the second-half, though.

Since the All-Star break, Boyd has been 4-5 with a 4.63 ERA. In his last 11 starts, he’s posted a 5.16 ERA. Aside from the solid 5.1 innings he gave against the Mets in his last start, he’s looked flat for quite awhile, perhaps worn down by the increased innings output in his first full, healthy season since 2019.

When looking at the situation right now, with Cade Horton on the IL and Shota Imanaga also looking a bit flat, the Cubs really had no choice but to make the game one choice that they did.

Whatever the case, Boyd is getting the ball and he’s embracing the emotion of not only pitching in the postseason after injuries had threatened his career, but also of pitching in the postseason for his beloved deceased grandfather’s favorite team.

Boyd’s emotional reaction to being the game one starter

“You think about a career,” Boyd told reporters, regaining his composure after fighting off tears. “It’s cool because you never know when the opportunity is going to present itself…I waited my first eight years to get the chance in the postseason. Didn’t really get to be a part of it on the field. I only threw one out. You never know when the opportunity is going to come again.”

“To do it with the Cubs, to do it with this group, it will never be like this again,” Boyd added “I mean, if we come back here, the personnel will not be the same. It’s a special group. It’s a good group of guys, and it’s unique to this moment. And that’s it…

“To get to think that I would have got this opportunity knowing everything about my grandfather growing up here, it’s cool, it’s cool stuff. He would be extremely happy.”

The 34-year-old will be coming into Tuesday’s game with one extra day of rest and a 1-1 record against the Padres this season with a 1.59 ERA in two games and 11.1 innings pitched (Padres starter Pivetta is 1-1 with a 4.00 ERA versus the Cubs this season).

The Chicago Cubs’ winning gamble

“We’re lucky to have Matt,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told media. “He’s a big reason why we’re here. He’s been our consistent take-the-ball-every-time starter and you’re happy to hand the ball to a guy like that.”

The Cubs took a major gamble on the veteran free agent this past offseason when they signed him to a 2-year, $29 million contract after a multi-year run of health issues, including Tommy John surgery in mid-2023. In 2024, he only threw 51.1 innings, combining regular season and postseason appearances for the Cleveland Guardians. In the four years before 2025, he had only managed a combined 202.2 innings and hadn’t pitched over 100 innings in a single season since 2019.

When Boyd’s right, he’s easily an ace-level presence. The shaky part, however, is that Boyd hasn’t been “right” for awhile. Expect a quick hook from Counsell for this all-important game one of the Cubs’ first playoff appearance since 2020.

The post Chicago Cubs’ Game One Wild Card starter brings considerable risk appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs finally clinched home field advantage for the upcoming three-game Wild Card Series on Saturday with a 7-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field.

It wasn’t the divisional title they would’ve liked earlier on in the season, but all things considered, it was the best case scenario for what they could reasonably hope for right now.

But the celebrations after Saturday’s win were nowhere near as joyous as those on September 17, when they clinched a guaranteed playoff berth. Part of the reason for that was the simple fact that there will be a quick turnaround to Tuesday’s Wild Card Series opener against the San Diego Padres. The other reason may be related to the horrible news they got earlier in the day.

Before the game, the team announced that pitcher Cade Horton had been placed on the 15-day IL with a right rib fracture.

A good news/bad news day for the Chicago Cubs

The 24-year-old, who had become the Cubs’ most effective starting pitcher over the last half of the season, was pulled from his last start on Tuesday after just three innings and 29 pitches due to back stiffness. At the time, the quick exit was talked up as a purely cautionary measure and that the Rookie of the Year candidate would be “a go” to pitch in the Wild Card series, according to Cubs manager Craig Counsell.

Counsell would reveal on Saturday, however, that the Cubs knew of the rib fracture and had wanted to see if Horton could pitch through the injury, as the young star had hoped to do.

By late Saturday morning, though, it became apparent that the righty could not pitch through the pain and discomfort. So, the call was made to put him on the IL, retroactive to Thursday.

Cade Horton goes on the IL after all

“It’s a blow. There’s no question about it,” Counsell told media after the Cubs’ win over the Cardinals. “Losing players to injury at this time of year — it’s not fun. Everybody knows that. And it hurts.”

“It means that other guys are going to get an opportunity,” Counsell continued. “To have a chance to impact the game, have success and control what happens.”

The impact of losing Horton, who had notched an 8-1 record with a 1.03 ERA since the All-Star break, will be felt. Technically, he’ll be eligible to return on October 10, a day before game 5 of The NL Division Series, if necessary. Realistically, though, a return this year is highly doubtful.

In Horton’s place

In his place, the Cubs will have to go with Jameson Taillon or Colin Rea in Horton’s place, alongside lefties Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga. The veterans Taillon and Rea have been outstanding in recent performances, with Taillon notching a 1.59 ERA in 5 starts since a return from the IL while Rea has posted a 2.63 ERA in his five September starts. Taillon got the win on Saturday, moved up a day on the pitching schedule, to accommodate a possible start in game two or three of the Wild Card Series.

On the bright side, the Cubs HAVE looked spectacular these last couple games, very similar to the powerhouse offensive days of earlier on the season. And, of course, at least the team is in the playoffs.

But that’s, apparently, where the good news may end. The anticipated struggle to achieve an extended postseason run just got infinitely more difficult with the loss of Cade Horton.

The post Chicago Cubs clinch and lose ace in sweet and sour day appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are playoff-bound no matter what. Where they’ll play in the opening series of the playoffs, however, is still up in the air. As of right now, their magic number for clinching the top Wild Card seed– and home field advantage throughout the three-game Wild Card series– remains at 2.

With three games left in the regular season, things haven’t entirely been settled when it comes to postseason play.

One of the biggest question marks now centers around the team’s starting pitching and who, exactly, will be taking the mound in the Wild Card series versus the San Diego Padres and in which order they will go.

Cade Horton’s back issues

Rookie of the Year candidate Cade Horton seemed to have assumed the position of favorite to start game one, until reported back stiffness forced him to be removed from his last start on Tuesday, just three innings and 29 pitches into his outing.

At the time, Cubs manager Craig Counsell explained away the back issue as a byproduct of a lingering illness and a recurrent cough that Horton had developed. Counsell (as well as Horton, himself) addressed the quick hook on Tuesday as purely a precautionary measure.

A subsequent MRI, however, made the situation a bit murkier as “areas of concern” were identified, even as Counsell was insisting that Horton would be ready to pitch in the playoffs, which kick off this coming Tuesday.

Chicago Cubs comment on Horton’s readiness

“Cade is on track still,” Counsell told media prior to Thursday’s loss to the New York Mets. “There’s some areas of concern in the ribs in the MRI. We’re going to continue to get more information on it and see where that leads us [and] use time on our side.

“But right now, Cade is a go.”

With three games and an off day left before the Wild Card series, Counsell and the Cubs are feeling out the situation and exploring their options, while seeing just how hard and long Horton can go.

“This is what we want to get more information about,” Counsell said. “That’s why we’re trying to make sure we know exactly what we’re treating, and I think as the days go on, rule stuff in and rule stuff out. And Cade progressing, we’ll kind of know how he’s feeling, and then we’ll be able to make a good decision.”

Reading between the lines

That last statement doesn’t exactly instill confidence that the Cubs know, exactly, what they’re dealing with. It also blows out of the water the idea that the 24-year-old will absolutely, positively be ready to pitch during the first round of postseason play.

Remember, this is also the same Cubs team that hasn’t exactly been forthcoming with information regarding injuries to players. Last year, it was never revealed that Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner were playing through injury for most, if not all, of the season. This season, Counsell and company allowed right fielder Kyle Tucker to play through a hairline fracture in his hand, with the injury only being acknowledged by Counsell about two months later, after a report on the injury was published by ESPN.

So, who really knows what’s the true nature of Horton’s injury right now? All we do know is that the Cubs need the arm that’s become top pitcher in the rotation, marking an incredible 8-1 record with a 1.03 ERA since the All-Star break.

For what it’s worth, Horton was seen throwing in the outfield prior to Friday’s series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field.

The post Chicago Cubs issue murky update on Cade Horton injury appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs, with a win on Wednesday and a San Diego Padres loss, now walk into Thursday’s game with the New York Mets with their magic number for the top Wild Card seed at 2. This means that they are just two clicks away from having home field advantage throughout the opening three-game Wild Card series.

The team and the fans at Wrigley Field had a great time in getting to this point on Wednesday, when the early-season Cubs reappeared and stomped the Mets 10-3 in a game that featured just the right blend of offense, pitching, and Cubbie dramatics.

Just about 24 hours ago, though, things were looking quite different.

Chicago Cubs: From gloom to glee in a day

There was still no real target date for a Kyle Tucker return. Closer Daniel Palencia had yet to be activated from the IL. Matthew Boyd was coming into his last start of the regular season with a long string of subpar performances behind him. Rookie of the Year favorite Cade Horton, meanwhile, had been pulled from the game prior with back stiffness.

But what a difference a day makes.

Kyle Tucker’s ETA, Daniel Palencia’s return

“I think our goal right now, and I talked to Kyle today about it, is to be in the lineup on Friday,” manager Craig Counsell told reporters before Wednesday’s game, finally offering a firm target date for the four-time All-Star’s return. “I think we’re trending towards that. I don’t have a report on today, but in talking to him before the day started and while the day was going on inside, we were on the same page with that.”

The return comes with a caveat, though. Tucker will likely DH first and be urged to not go full-out.

“I don’t think the symptoms are gonna be gone, but I think he’s in a place where he agrees that we’ve gotta go,” Counsell said. “We’ve gotta see what it feels like to play. I think maybe the games can help him here and give him some confidence in a certain situation.

“We’ll probably put a governor on it. I will encourage him to not go all out when you don’t have to. And to keep it 80-90% but that’s kinda where we’re at.”

Nice.

Then, also prior to Wednesday’s game, closer Daniel Palencia was activated from the IL.

The 25-year-old would go on to pitch two-thirds of an inning in a low-leverage, low-stress situation in direct relief of starter Matthew Boyd. In the 10 pitches thrown, he was touching triple-digits again and seemed to have his normal stuff.

Matthew Boyd, PCA are back?

And, speaking of Boyd, The lefty, who had been the Cubs’ rotation MVP over the first four months of the season, delivered a pretty solid outing, giving up 2 earned runs over 5.1 innings. To see at least one more solid outing from the veteran after a string of poor ones was a major positive, especially considering the importance of his presence in the postseason.

Even Pete Crow-Armstrong was back to doing Pete Crow-Armstrong things Wednesday night. The speedy 23-year-old would dash his way to score from second base on a wild pitch in the fifth inning, creating all kinds of emotion along the way.

PCA is geared up and ready for his first October postseason run.

“Wrigley’s already got it in ‘em,” Crow-Armstrong told media after the game. “Everybody that shows up — they’re ready to party. Everybody knows that we’re getting close to October baseball, and with that feeling in the air, being able to embrace that is the most fun thing ever.

“…I love playing here, and I love it more and more each day. That sounds cliche, but it’s so, so true.

“…Being able to give these fans October baseball, that’s going to be real special. It’s gonna be special for me, experiencing it for the first time, and then Ian [Happ], being able to be back and doing it again.”

Coming off a season-worst five-game losing streak, a day like Wednesday is definitely a godsend. Now, the task is to extend that forward momentum into the playoffs.

The post Chicago Cubs: From gloom to glee in 24 hours (Tucker, Palencia, PCA, Boyd) appeared first on ChiCitySports.

Late in the month of September, the Chicago Cubs look bad. They’ve saved their worst stretch of losses for the absolute worst time of the year– right at the end of the season, now less than a week before their opening playoff series. Their push to take home-field advantage in the Wild Card best-of-three series has also been stalled after losing their last five games.

To make matters even gloomier, they still can’t offer a firm answer on whether star right fielder Kyle Tucker will be ready to play anytime soon.

Tucker, the four-time All-Star and linchpin for the Cubs lineup, has been on the shelf with a left calf strain since September 2, and the lack of a firm answer on when/if he might be able to return has been exceedingly frustrating.

As the Cubs were celebrating the clinching of a playoff berth last Wednesday, Tucker was headed back to Tampa Bay to work with his personal physical therapy team in hopes of speeding up the recovery process.

“I didn’t really want to leave the team,” Tucker said. “I was just trying to work with some guys that I’ve known for 10 years that probably know my body better than I do. It was good. I’m excited to be back here and play out the rest of this year…Hopefully, we can have a lot more of those kinds of celebrations and I’ll be here.”

The latest Kyle Tucker update

He was back in Chicago on Tuesday to confer with the Cubs and work on some sort of time frame regarding his condition and his ability to rejoin the team. He had already begun running and was put through some agility tests prior to Tuesday’s game against the New York Mets.

“There’s probably a few more boxes that I got to check off before everyone’s comfortable with me going out there,” Tucker told media. “Myself, the coaching staff, training staff and everyone, we just got to work through that the next couple days and try to get back out there as soon as possible.”

“We’ve made progress, for sure,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters on Tuesday. “We’re just going to treat this day to day as much as we can, and just try to keep having good days. There’s time urgency here — there’s no question about it. But, we just want to keep having good days.”

The Chicago Cubs need an answer

With just five games to go before the end of the season and then one day off before the start of the Wild Card series, time is definitely of the essence. The Cubs would also like to get Tucker back in time to get some regular-season at-bats before the playoffs start.

Tucker seems cautiously optimistic about the likelihood of coming back before the end of the season.

“We’ll talk about it on a day-to-day basis and try to get in there at some point this series or next series before the playoffs start,” Tucker said. “We’ve got to take it day by day in those conversations.”

Tucker’s importance

Tucker, who many feel will be lost via free agency at the end of this season, played a significant part in motoring an elite Cubs offense over the first several months of the season. An extended career-worst slump in August-September, plus this latest injury, have gone hand-in-hand with the team’s recent offensive decline.

Whether the following days or weeks are his final as a Cub, the team would still benefit greatly in the here and now from his healthy, productive return.

The post Chicago Cubs: Kyle Tucker’s immediate future still in doubt appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs’ magic number to clinch home field advantage for the Wild Card series remains at four. The stalled path to clinching is mostly due to the Cubs, themselves, as they’ve now lost a season-high five in a row with Tuesday’s frustrating 9-7 loss to the New York Mets at Wrigley Field.

To make matters worse for the North Siders, a wave of “oh no” washed over everyone when Rookie of the Year favorite and possible playoff game one starter Cade Horton was pulled from the game after three innings and just 29 pitches.

The initial report was that the 24-year-old was experiencing stiffness in his back and that his removal was a cautionary measure. It was later revealed that Horton’s back tightness was most likely caused by a lingering illness that had been pestering him the last several days, along with others on the team.

Counsell, Horton speak on abbreviated outing

“We’ve had a couple guys sick,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters after Tuesday’s game. “The illness has caused (Horton) to be coughing a lot. That may be it. That’s what we feel like it probably is. We wanted to be extra careful during the start tonight, so we stopped it.

“We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. The next couple days will be important. He wanted to keep going tonight, and we said no.”

At the very least, a cough/illness-related back issue is much better news than a purely physical (muscle/bone/tendon) issue. The Cubs’ 2020 no. 1 draft pick was also pitching pretty well at the time of his removal. After giving up a solo home run on the second pitch of the game to Francisco Lindor and a follow up single to Juan Soto, he shut the Mets down the rest of the way.

“I felt really good, pitching-wise,” Horton told media. “I was hitting my spots and attacking guys. It was just in between innings that I started to get a little stiff. The breathing started to play a factor. Everything started to tighten up…In between innings, my breath started to bother me. I just wanted to get on top of it early while we have time, rather than keep going and potentially harm the next start.”

Cade Horton and the playoffs

In this particular case, Horton’s next start will be in the opening series of the playoffs, which The Cubs are still hoping to host at Wrigley Field.

When asked whether he’ll be ready for that important playoff outing, Horton didn’t hesitate with his response.

“For sure,” he said. “That’s why we made the move we did tonight…It sucks. Hate it, but it’s the right move.”

Chicago Cubs bullpen collapse

What also “sucks” is the way the Cubs crumbled shortly after Horton’s early exit, carrying a 6-1 lead into the top of the fifth before everything fell to pieces following a rare Dansby Swanson error at shortstop.

The other bad news behind the abbreviated Horton outing was the general unsteadiness of a bullpen that has frequently been a surprising saving grace of the team’s late season run.

Michael Soroka gave up three hits and walked one in 1.2 innings behind Horton. Taylor Rogers gave up two earned runs on two hits in one inning of relief. The usually superb Caleb Thielbar turned in a poor outing, also allowing two earned runs and two hits in one inning of relief.

All in all, the bullpen was asked to give six innings of relief on Tuesday and the Cubs had to use six pitchers to do so. None, other than Andrew Kittredge, left without being touched up a bit.

Horton, though, remains the primary concern for the team. Everyone will surely be monitoring his progress the following week.

In the big picture, the Cubs as a whole need to figure out a way to stop this late-season skid.

The post Chicago Cubs get a scare with star pitcher, show troubling signs of collapse appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs have clinched a spot in the playoffs and, despite some poor play recently, seem pretty much set to clinch the top NL Wild Card seed, guaranteeing them home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

With the postseason in sight, focus obviously turns to fielding a winning team that will produce a deep run in the playoffs and, hopefully, a shot at a World Series appearance.

There are some major questions and concerns, though.

There are doubts about the bullpen and the state of the starting rotation. Pete Crow-Armstrong’s extended slump at the plate is also extremely troubling.

But, arguably, the biggest concern the Cubs face as the regular comes to an end is Kyle Tucker and whether he’ll be healthy and ready for the playoffs.

Kyle Tucker goes down and stays down

The four-time All-Star right fielder has been out of commission since September 2 with a strained left calf. The Cubs initially thought that it would be a relatively simple injury to walk through and decided to hold off on an IL stint. However, as time passed and Tucker’s injury didn’t seem to be responding, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and put their multi-tool star on the 10-day IL.

Those ten days came and went, though, without any improvement to Tucker’s condition. It’s now almost a week past the point where he was eligible to return, but he remains inactive, opting to return to Tampa to work with his personal physical therapy team. He’s due to return to Chicago this Tuesday to confer with Cubs staff on his progress or lack thereof. According to reports, he hasn’t begun running yet.

Counsell offers somewhat of an update

At the moment, Cubs manager Craig Counsell seems just as befuddled and low-key frustrated as the fans (and likely Tucker, himself).

“He’s hitting, yes,” Counsell told reporters prior to the Cubs’ 1-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark on Sunday. “We’ve got to figure out when, and if, he’s going to be available. We’ve got six games left.”

The clock is most definitely ticking on Tucker and the Cubs with now just over a week left before the Wild Card series begins. It only stands to reason that the team would want Tucker back before the playoffs for at least a couple games to get back his rhythm at the plate.

Can Tucker come back for Chicago Cubs playoff run?

Having Tucker back in time for some regular season tune-up at bats has been a topic of conversation as the right fielder’s recovery has dragged on. Some feel that, with his relaxed approach to hitting, Tucker won’t be in dire need of live at bats before the playoffs. Others feel that coming back cold, playing in high-stakes playoff games, could be a recipe for failure.

“Nobody knows the right answer to that question,” Counsell said, regarding an absolute need for tune-up at bats before the postseason. “We have history on both sides of it. We have examples on both sides of it…

“The beautiful part about it, for him, is I really don’t think it’s going to help him. I don’t think he’s wired that way…He had a tremendous September last year coming off a similar [extended injury] situation.”

On Tuesday, everyone will be one step closer to knowing what’s what when it comes to Tucker and his readiness to play. As of right now, though, things don’t look good.

The post Chicago Cubs: Return of Kyle Tucker is now an ‘if’ and not a ‘when’ appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are headed to the playoffs for the first time since the abbreviated 2020 season. They’re aiming to win their first postseason games since 2017. They hope to make a deep playoff run after a season of ups and downs that tested the team’s overall resiliency.

In spring training, the highest hopes seemed to be simply making the playoffs. After a huge first few months, motored by a dynamic and sometimes overwhelming offense, the talk shifted from merely making the postseason to actual World Series chatter.

Now, Chicago enters into the final week of a regular season that saw them struggle in the second half. A playoff berth has been clinched, but the hopes are once again modest.

But the explosiveness that propelled them to such an outstanding first half is still potentially there. The physical pieces, with the exception of still-injured star right fielder Kyle Tucker, are mostly all there, anyway.

The most bombastic of those potentially explosive Cubs offensive assets is sophomore center fielder and rising star Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Unfortunately, “PCA” has been more wick than dynamite these last couple months.

Before making his first All-Star game, there was legit MVP talk when it came to the 23-year-old. He had hit 25 home runs and registered 71 RBIs before the break, with a .265 batting average and 27 stolen bases. The kid seemed to be on an easy path to a 40-40 year, while delivering Gold Glove defense in center.

The fall of PCA

Then, things changed drastically.

Since the All-Star break (prior to Sunday’s game with the Reds), Crow-Armstrong is hitting .209 with just 4 home runs and 19 RBIs.

From August 1 to the present, he’s slashing a feeble .175/.230/.260, with a 34 wRC+– making him the statistically worst hitter in baseball among players with 100+ at bats in that stretch of time.

Although he’s turned in a couple of solid offensive performances in the last week or so, the downward-bound realities of his at bats are evident.

Chicago Cubs have no answers

Manager Craig Counsell recently interrupted a reporter with a terse “I don’t know” in the middle of a question regarding the reasons behind the young player’s struggles.

“It’s a daily question, and no offense to that, but I don’t know what to tell you,” Counsell said. “I have a hard time breaking down Pete’s swing every single day. Swing at good pitches. Hit ‘em hard. Use the barrel. That’ll work.”

Even more baffling is the fact that analysts are not really seeing any difference in the way opponents are pitching to him. Everything just doesn’t seem to be falling in place and nobody really has any answers.

What PCA still brings to the game

In the meantime, PCA continues to deliver in center field, playing an elite-level defense that, in and of itself, makes him a valuable asset. He’s also got the kind of explosive speed that makes him a major, potentially game-altering, disruptor when he does manage to get on base.

The bat needs to return, though. At least partially. If Tucker can’t get healthy by the playoffs or finds himself mired in another extended slump upon return, the Cubs will need Crow-Armstrong’s bat, as well as everything else he brings to the game.

At this point of the season, however, Counsell and the Cubs have no PCA strategy other than hoping for the best.

The post Chicago Cubs: PCA is the worst hitter in baseball appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are laboring right now, in the midst of a three-game skid after clinching their first playoff berth since the abbreviated 2020 season.

There’s definitely some cause for concern in their recent flat performances this late in the season and nobody’s expecting their postseason run to be smooth. Among the concerns facing the team is the postseason viability of the bullpen.

On September 7, the Cubs lost their designated closer Daniel Palencia with a right shoulder strain and have been working under manager Craig Counsell’s closer-by-committee plan-B since then. And while results have mostly been positive, having a true shut down closer takes on an exaggerated level of importance in the playoffs, as elite-level teams perform at their very best in must-win games.

Daniel Palencia makes first rehab appearance

On Saturday, the 25-year-old Palencia came off the 15-day IL and began his rehab assignment with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs.

Facing the Toledo Mud Hens, Palencia relieved top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins in the fifth inning and delivered mixed results that leaned towards the positive.

In two-thirds of an inning, the righty reliever allowed one unearned run on two hits. He struck out both batters he retired. In total, he delivered 21 pitches and got 15 of them across as strikes. The greatest bit of positive news, however, was that he was reportedly topping 100 mph with his fastball. He’ll likely have at least one more rehab outing before the major league Cubs decide on when/if to bring him back.

All in all, the turnaround on his injury– especially for a shoulder injury to a hard-throwing power pitcher– is outstanding. It leads one to believe that maybe this IL stint was only partially about a physical issue. After an ugly 5-run outing that capped off an extended stretch of poor performances, Palencia may have been in need of some physical rest and a mental reset. From August 1 to that September 7 shellacking, he was sporting a horrendous 8.03 ERA over 15 appearances, allowing 21 hits and 5 walks in 12.1 innings pitched.

The rise and the subsequent uncertainty

Up until August 1, though, Palencia was a true revelation, winning the closer gig shortly after being brought up from Triple-A in mid-April. He had notched a stellar 1.40 ERA with 14 saves until his late season struggles.

With no prior experience as a full-time closer and certainly no history of having to handle high-pressure postseason situations, he would’ve been a question mark even if he hadn’t struggled and fallen to injury. Some have pointed to the Cubs’ inability/unwillingness to acquire a more experienced closer at this year’s trade deadline as a major mistake in the wake of Palencia’s fall.

Big decisions for the playoffs-bound Chicago Cubs

Whatever the case, the Cubs will have to decide quickly on what to do with their returning closer as they enter into the final 7 games of the regular season.

Last year’s closer and this season’s projected set-up man, Porter Hodge, was recently sent back down to Iowa, thereby reducing the pool of qualified, available high-leverage possible closers as the Cubs head into the playoffs.

If Palencia does come back in time to be added to the playoff roster, it’s a guarantee that he will have a short leash, like every other bullpen arm under Counsell’s watch.

The post Chicago Cubs: Daniel Palencia makes first rehab appearance, has mixed results appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs have one urgent issue ahead of their first playoff appearance since 2020– offense. It could also be said that the team is where it’s at right now BECAUSE of their offense.

That’s what makes the team’s post-All-Star break offensive doldrums so frustrating.

In the first half of the season, the Cubs absolutely battered opposition pitching with a mix of power, speed, and high-leverage execution. The wins put on the ledger early in the season were enough to ensure a smoother run to the playoffs over the rougher patches in the latter part of the year.

At this moment, though, there is legitimate doubt when it comes to Chicago’s offense and its ability to thrash its way through the high-end playoff-caliber pitching about to come into picture. With right fielder Kyle Tucker nursing a calf strain that is not responding to therapy and has kept him out of commission since September 2, things look problematic. Add to that the recent slumps of Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki, and the outlook seems bleak.

The Chicago Cubs’ offensive x-factor?

However, the Cubs could have an x-factor up their proverbial sleeve, a fresh shot of juice into the vein of an inconsistently productive offense.

That x-factor is Moises Ballesteros.

The 21-year-old has excelled with the bat at every level of professional ball he’s played, and that seems to now extend to the major leagues.

Since his most recent call-up on September 12, Ballesteros is hitting .333 with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs. While this is only over 24 at bats, the left-handed DH is definitely giving off the vibe of someone very ready to deal with big league pitching.

Moises Ballesteros excels with the bat

Per Brandon Glick of North Side Baseball:

“Since getting the call back to the bigs on Sept. 12, Ballesteros has played in every game for the Cubs (save for Friday night’s affair against the Reds) as the starting designated hitter, batting cleanup. In those 27 plate appearances, he’s batting .333/.407/.667 to go with two home runs and a triple. In conjunction with his impressive 11.1% walk rate, Ballesteros’ 189 wRC+ in that span is the best on the team.

He’s doing the things you’d expect a quality big league hitter to do during this hot streak; his hard-hit rate (38.9%) is up, he’s deploying a solid all-fields approach, and luck has been on his side (.375 BABIP). Sure, his ground-ball rate is an alarming 61.1%, but when you’ve got the bat control and power of Ballesteros, it’s easy to punch those ground balls through the infield.”

Just what the Cubs need

The knock on the portly Ballesteros has always been centered around his lack of defensive prowess and his inability to really play any position on a consistent basis. But for the Cubs, right now, a DH-only bat is just fine. And it’ll be especially fine if Tucker isn’t able to make it back in time for the playoffs and current DH Seiya Suzuki has to remain the full-time fill-in for Tucker in right field.

Throw a hot Ballesteros into the mix with a red-hot Nico Hoerner, along with a few other offensive assets on a streak, and the Cubs may be able to push ahead without Tucker and with a cooled-down Crow-Armstrong.

“It’s not on one guy to do this,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell recently said, regarding the secret to reigniting the offense. “The consistent offenses take turns at being productive. Look, if we’re going to play a lot of October baseball, some of these guys are going to have to do special things. Which ones? It doesn’t really matter, but some of these guys are going to have to do some special things.

“We got a lot of candidates, and I think that’s why we’re capable of playing a lot of games in October. But we’re going to need some special offensive performances.”

Ballesteros is quickly proving himself to be one of those guys capable of pushing the team along.

The post Chicago Cubs rookie could be surprising catalyst to stagnant offense appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs, even with a tough 7-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Friday, took another step closer to clinching top seed status in the NL Wild Card race, and the opening series home field advantage that goes along with it.

With the White Sox beating the San Diego Padres 4-3, the Cubs’ magic number for clinching that top seed moves down to 4, with 8 games left in the season. Barring something disastrously awful, Chicago is all but guaranteed that top Wild Card slot.

What happened during Friday’s game, however, may give some real cause for concern when it comes to the team’s chances of making a deep postseason run this year.

Specifically, starter Shota Imanaga had yet another subpar outing, marked with multiple home run shots.

Shota Imanaga (again) killed with the long ball

The southpaw Japanese import would give up 4 runs (3 earned) in 5 innings, with all 3 earned runs coming via long ball.

Counting Friday’s game, Imanaga has given up 29 home runs in 139 innings pitched, topping his total of 27 home runs in 173.1 innings last season. His home run-per-9 innings rate is 1.88, the third worst in the majors this season, among pitchers with 100+ innings.

The 32-year-old is inherently a fly ball pitcher who, by nature, is going to give up a smattering of homers here and there. That’s understandable. And it’s also worth noting that he generally gets touched early before settling down and performing well the rest of his outing. 24 of his 29 home runs allowed have been solo shots, so he’s done well at limiting the damage of his slip-ups.

Big concerns over playoff performance

Friday’s game, still, however, has to add to the concerns over just how well he’ll perform come playoff time. Whether or not it’s via solo home runs very early in his outing, you simply can’t give a playoff opponent a head start.

Imanaga is aware of this as well.

“That’s a topic I need to work on: lower the amount of home runs,” Imanaga said via his interpreter, Edwin Stanberry. “That’s something I’ve been trying to work on, but it seems like the opposing hitters have the upper hand there. I think I need to continue to make adjustments…

“It’s something I need to take a deeper look at and then see what we need to do…

“I want to pitch well for the next start and hopefully build momentum going into a start in the playoffs.”

Chicago Cubs weigh in

For what it’s worth, Cubs manager Craig Counsell doesn’t see all that much wrong with Imanaga, despite the box score results.

“I thought two of the pitches were pretty good pitches,” Counsell told media after Friday’s game. “There wasn’t a lot of other hits, right? He pitched really well other than that. So, those two homers, they were a little confusing to me. I thought they were pretty good pitches that, normally, he gets fly balls on those pitches.”

“That’s what’s still encouraging is there’s not hard contact kind of the rest of the way,” Counsell added. “His split-finger was really good tonight. His slider was really good tonight…There was some really good stuff in there, too.”

The problem is that Imanaga’s numbers have been trending down for a little while now. Over his last 4 starts, his ERA has been 4.91 and he’s given up 8 home runs in 22 innings in that stretch. When added to Matthew Boyd’s recent downturn (5.34 ERA over his last 10 starts), Imanaga’s issues take on an exaggerated level of importance heading into postseason play.

There’s still some time to figure things out for the Cubs’ “throwing philosopher,” but there’s not a whole lot of it.

The post Chicago Cubs’ co-ace offers real cause for playoff concern appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs have clinched their first playoff berth since the abbreviated 2020 season. They’re also close to clinching top Wild Card seed status, which will grant them home field advantage throughout the three-game Wild Card series.

Now, with just a handful of games left in the regular season, the attention has to shift to fielding the best possible team in the postseason.

There are concerns, though.

Right fielder Kyle Tucker’s lingering calf injury is a very big deal and puts into question the strength of the Cubs’ outfield. Similarly, center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong’s extended slump brings another huge question mark to the postseason.

There are a few other concerns, too. Like, for instance, the playoff viability of the bullpen and the overall strength of the bench.

The Chicago Cubs’ playoff starting rotation

The starting pitching, meanwhile, has its own questions marks, with the order of the three-man Wild Card rotation being the biggest topic for debate right now.

Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, and Shota Imanaga seem to be the designated front three for the series (although Jameson Taillon and Colin Rea are making strong cases for themselves with recent performances).

A few weeks ago, Boyd as the no. 1 would’ve been a foregone conclusion. That’s definitely not the case anymore as he’s struggled of late, posting a 5.34 ERA over his last 10 starts. Even Imanaga has faltered a bit lately, delivering a 4.76 ERA in his last 3 starts.

That leaves the Rookie of the Year-favorite Horton as the statistically best option for game one of the Wild Card series, although conventional baseball wisdom might steer one away from using a 24-year-old rookie in such a high-pressure postseason game.

Cade Horton favored for game one?

However, judging by the announced probable Cubs starters over the weekend and the overall layout of the likely pitching schedule, manager Craig Counsell may actually be leaning towards Horton for the big playoff assignment.

This Friday, Shota Imanaga is scheduled to start. On Saturday and Sunday, Javier Assad and Jameson Taillon, respectively, will get the starts.

That will leave Horton to likely take the mound on Tuesday against the Mets in Wrigley Field for the next-to-last series of the regular season. That will also give him a full week to rest before game one of the Wild Card series.

Boyd and Imanaga will also likely have one more start apiece over the final week of the season, but they will be afforded less rest time leading into the postseason than Horton.

At this point, though, the playoff rotation order is pure conjecture, maybe even to Counsell, himself.

No seniority, no favoritism

“We’re at a point where we’ve created a game plan to be able to be flexible,” Counsell told media before Thursday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.

Counsell also doesn’t seem at all concerned over seniority or player pride when it comes to staffing a postseason run.

“Look, I think when you get to the playoffs, when you get to this time of year, guys understand,” Counsell said. “And you work really hard to get to these spots, and the game changes. Not tonight, necessarily. But when you get to October, the game changes.

“And the game changes, because [in Game 1 of a Wild Card Series], we’re two games from elimination. It changes your decisions. It just does.”

Time will tell who takes the mound first in which game. One thing is for certain, though, everyone will have a short leash.

The post Chicago Cubs close to making a playoff rotation decision? appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs have an elite-level asset in Cade Horton and the young pitcher has not only worked his way to betting-favorite status in the Rookie of the Year race, but is also busting out historical feats along the way.

Over his last 11 starts, the 24-year-old is 8-1, with just 6 earned runs allowed– an achievement that has him rubbing elbows with the elite in MLB history.

Per OptaSTATS:

“In the modern era, the only other MLB pitcher to have 8+ wins & 6 or fewer runs allowed over an 11-start span in a single season was Bob Gibson [of the St. Louis Cardinals] in 1968.”

Rookie of the Year?

When it comes to Rookie of the Year honors, he appears to be leading the pack this year, ahead of Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin and putting up the kind of numbers that would affirm his favorite status.

Back in 2014, for example, Jacob deGrom had a 9-6 record in 22 games with a 2.69 ERA and took the award with 95% of the vote.

Overall this season, Horton is 11-4 in 22 games so far with a 2.66 ERA. Since the All-Star break, though, he’s been insanely good, logging a 0.93 ERA.

“Look, Cade, he deserves that recognition,” manager Craig Counsell recently told MLB.com. “And he absolutely should be in that conversation. And he’s absolutely deserving. That’s what he’s earned. And there’s no question about it — he’s earned it.”

Steadying the Chicago Cubs’ ship

ROY or not, his second-half success story, in many ways, has helped steady a Cubs team that had been brimming with inconsistencies and uncertainties leading into the final half of the season.

Chicago has now clinched a playoff berth for the first time since the abbreviated 2020 season and they seem to be on their way to taking the top seed among Wild Card teams. But this team easily could’ve folded early on after some legit bad luck.

Things actually looked quite bleak very early in the 2025 campaign. Ace starter Justin Steele went down for the season with an elbow injury after just his fourth start of the year and, just about a month later, co-ace Shota Imanaga was forced on to the IL with a hamstring injury. Starter Javier Assad had also been injured in spring training and didn’t seem anywhere close to a return.

Ironically enough, however, the Imanaga injury would end up opening the door for what has been a saving grace for the team in general and for the starting rotation, specifically.

The story so far

Horton came to the big leagues sporting the tag of a top prospect rushed along by necessity. There were caveats everywhere about the Cubs’ 2022 no. 1 draft pick, who had missed most of 2024 in Iowa due to injury. The belief was that he was still a work in progress and that 2025 may eventually see him return to Triple-A for further seasoning before a serious run at major league success next year.

At the All-Star break, the caveats seemed to on the money.

While Horton had shown himself to have mound maturity beyond his years and high-end stuff, there were still some inexperience-related inconsistencies. At the All-Star break, he was 3-3 with a 4.45 ERA in 11 games.

Things have certainly changed since then. Although the Cubs have been careful to take care of his young arm by watching his pitch count, Horton has become the team’s key starting rotation piece as Matthew Boyd runs through a series of subpar outings and Jameson Taillon looks to put his two IL stints behind him.

As the playoffs approach, the rookie will be asked to take on an even greater role of importance as one of the featured starters in the upcoming three-game Wild Card series.

Characteristically, Horton wants all the smoke.

“I love pitching in high-stakes moments,” Horton recently told MLB. “I feel like it’s something I’ve loved my whole career. It’s a lot of fun to go out there and compete when you’re in the thick of it.”

The post Chicago Cubs’ Cade Horton: Rookie of the Year and so much more appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs know they have something special in Pete Crow-Armstrong. There’s no real way to gauge, however, just HOW special.

Earlier in the season, the “PCA” hyperbole was insane. Some were talking him up as almost the second coming of Willie Mays, the perfect combination of speed, power, and defense, with more than a touch of magic behind him as well.

The excitement was understandable as the 23-year-old was a human highlight film over the first four months of the season and had earned starting center fielder honors at his first All-Star game. At the break, he had already notched 25 home runs and 27 stolen bases while playing stellar defense in the outfield. He came back from the Mid-Summer Classic pretty hot as well, finishing off the rest of July with a .333 batting average, 2 home runs and 7 RBIs.

PCA coming to life?

Then, August came.

Since August 1 and coming into Monday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, Crow-Armstrong was hitting a measly .162 with 1 home run and 9 RBIs.

Monday, however, was a different story.

PCA would go 2-for-4 on the night. He hit the ball well, logging a double (and stealing third base afterward) and pulling a 414 ft. home run into the right field stands. It was his first home run since August 22 and his first RBI in a week.

Although it was just one game, the importance of a hot and explosive PCA is not lost on anyone.

“I think it’s important for us offensively when he has good nights,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters after the game. “It’s just ‘do your share,’ right? Yesterday it was Nico Hoerner, today it was Pete with some big hits, a couple of runs scored. Taking our turns…that’s how we get consistent offense.”

The importance of a hot PCA

With right fielder Kyle Tucker sidelined, suffering setbacks in his recovery, and DH Seiya Suzuki inactive while dealing with an undisclosed illness, it’s clear that the young star will have to be more than just one of the contributors as the team pushes to finish the season and secure a playoff spot.

“It’s great. That’s what I’m working to do every day,” Crow-Armstrong told media. “It’s just nice to find the barrel a couple times and walk away feeling like my at-bats were somewhat productive.”

Starting pitcher Jameson Taillon, who threw 6 scoreless wins en route to the 4-0 win on Monday, talked up PCA’s game and just how important his presence is in the lineup.

“It’s huge,” Taillon told reporters. “In the first half, when we were putting up a ton of runs, he was a focal point of our offense. He was really the centerpiece for us. Tonight: double, homer, stolen base, that’s just awesome to see him running all over the field.”

A vital Chicago Cubs postseason element

Being a streaky hitter is just the nature of who Crow-Armstrong is and who he’ll probably always be. But even with hot and cold spells at the plate, his defense and overall speed make him a true every day asset. With Monday’s performance, he once again becomes the team leader in WAR, boosting himself to a 6.1 over Nico Hoerner’s 6.0.

If Tucker can’t get healthy and, especially, can’t get healthy in time for the playoffs, Crow-Armstrong will have to get mature beyond his years, fast, and assume a greater team leadership role. The Cubs may, conceivably, advance in the playoffs without Tucker, but they can’t survive without Tucker AND without PCA being the first-half PCA, making up for Tucker’s absence.

That’s a lot of pressure to put on a 23-year-old, but it’s just the way things are shaping up.

The post Chicago Cubs can’t survive without a red-hot Pete Crow-Armstrong appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs got an on-the-road win on Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-0. With the victory, they took another step towards guaranteeing a playoff berth and, also, a spot as the no. 1 seed among National League Wild Card teams.

They didn’t get there, however, without some pretty bad news.

Four-time All-Star right fielder Kyle Tucker, who was eligible to come off the 10-day IL on Tuesday after a left calf strain, will not be activated. This, alone, wasn’t much of a surprise as manager Craig Counsell told reporters, as recently as Friday, that a Tuesday return was unlikely. The discouraging part of this scenario is that Tucker, who’s been out of commission since September 2, just doesn’t seem to be making any progress with his injury.

Bad news on Kyle Tucker

“Not much progress, frankly,” Counsell told media prior to Monday’s game in Pittsburgh. “We’ll see if we can move forward. If not, we’ll just be kind of status quo until we can have some improvement on the symptoms.”

Tucker, himself, seems to have no answers when it comes to his possible return, beyond the obligatory vow to keep working hard and smart until he gets fully healthy again.

“It’s not really where I want it to be, which isn’t ideal, but I’m just trying to get back to feeling at least as close to game-ready as possible to get out there,” Tucker told reporters on Monday. “All I want to do is just play baseball. So whatever I can do to try and get back to that, I’m trying to do, but it hasn’t gone as quickly as I would have hoped.”

Playoff concerns

Losing a star player and an offensive linchpin will always be a problem. Losing one about two weeks before the playoffs is potentially disastrous.

It doesn’t take a baseball analytics savant to understand just how crucial the 28-year-old is to the Cubs’ offense. When running on all cylinders, Tucker anchored the middle of the team’s lineup and helped facilitate the success of all those around him. With Tucker gone– or in the deep recesses of his recent career-worst slump from July 1 to around the middle of August– Chicago is simply not the same team.

All of this makes for great concern as the Cubs head towards their first postseason run since the abbreviated 2020 season.

Two weeks is normally a good amount of time to deal with a calf strain, especially after two weeks of recovery already. But this injury was supposed to be a minor one and it was treated as such, as the Cubs kicked the can on an IL stint in favor of day-to-day status and an eye on a quick return.

Tucker still being unable to play leads one to believe that the strain is significantly more serious than the team has let on.

Doubting the word of the Chicago Cubs

This wouldn’t be the first time Chicago withheld information on a Tucker injury. As recently as June, the Cubs kept quiet about Tucker suffering a hairline fracture in his hand– an issue that may have led to a mechanical hiccup that brought about his extended slump. Counsell and the Cubs came forward with the truth regarding Tucker’s injury more than two months later, only after a report on the hushed-up fracture surfaced on ESPN.

So, obviously, there isn’t a whole lot of faith in the Cubs’ word regarding this latest Tucker setback.

Meanwhile, the Cubs have to be developing a plan B for the opening round of the playoffs if Tucker can’t play.

Seiya Suzuki, who’s been flat-lining offensively since the All-Star break, will probably move from DH to right field. Rookie Moises Ballesteros and Justin Turner might share time at DH, although there could be other options with that lineup spot.

Any way you slice it, though, any backup to Tucker would be a tremendous all-around downgrade.

Then, of course, Tucker, who cost the Cubs a small fortune in their offseason trade with the Houston Astros, is likely to pack his things and move on to another team when the free agent offers start flying after the World Series.

But that’s an issue for another day.

For now, the Cubs would like at least one more month from their star.

The post Chicago Cubs: Bad news on Kyle Tucker, Cubs must prep for playoff life without star appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs pulled off a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday at Wrigley Field to take the three-game series before a road trip that starts Monday. Second baseman Nico Hoerner was a big reason the team walked away with the “W.”

That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise if you’ve been following the team closely, especially in this latter half of the season. Since the All-Star break, the 28-year-old has hit .328 with an OPS of .822. In his last 18 games, he’s been on a fierce tear, batting .366 with 10 RBIs and 12 extra base hits. With runners in scoring position, he’s registered an NL-leading 50 hits while logging a .362 batting average.

From trade bait to MVP

Not bad at all for a player widely rumored to be on the trading black this past offseason and one who many viewed as a dispensable part of this Cubs team.

During this latest stretch, it seems as though a good part of Cubs offense has somehow involved Hoerner.

On Sunday, his presence was felt once again as he went 2-for-4, while driving in 3 of the Cubs’ 4 runs. His seventh-inning double, which drove in Willi Castro and Matt Shaw to put Chicago on top, was the key moment in the game.

“Big moment,” Hoerner told reporters after the game. “Flip a game the other direction. Definitely one of the bigger swings of the year for me personally. Felt like it was a moment to seize. Win the final game of a series and happy flight, all that good stuff. It matters.

“This group has done a lot throughout the year to put us in a strong place. And I think, regardless of standings, finishing with positive energy and excitement and doing that at home is a big deal.”

With Sunday’s showing, Hoerner passed team leader in WAR Pete Crow-Armstrong (6.0 to 5.8), He also upped his batting average on the year to .299, inching up on NL batting leader Trea Turner’s .305.

Nico Hoerner has been really, really good

“I don’t know what he’s hitting this month, but it’s felt like a lot,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told media on Sunday. “There’s a lot of base hits in there. He had two big hits today. Drove in three of the runs today. And just a big swing. A big swing when we needed one.”

Jordan Bastian of MLB.com has crunched the numbers on Hoerner’s excellence and consistency this season:

“That has been a theme for Hoerner, who has a slash line of .362/.418/.457 in 158 plate appearances this season with runners in scoring position. His elite contact rate (89.9% overall and 96.8% on pitches in the zone) and peskiness at the plate play into his success in those moments. (Hoerner’s 14.0 plate appearances per strikeout rank second to Luis Arraez in the Majors.).”

The Chicago Cubs’ unsung hero

All in all, on a team plagued with offensive inconsistency and stalled by hitters languishing through extended slumps, the young veteran has been his usual reliable self while showcasing some real team leadership chops. Eligible for free agency at the end of next season, there’s now some buzz about the Cubs possibly extending him right now rather than risk losing him.

“He makes so much contact, he’s such a good base runner, he’s so good at second,” Pitcher Jameson Taillon said back in June.

“He’s a really smart baseball player. He understands how guys are going to attack him. He understands if (a pitcher) needs a swing-and-miss, where they may go against him and where he should look. He’s got a really good understanding of the situation.

“He’s a great defender, he has great hands, a great internal clock and he understands the game. But a lot of his really nice defense comes from some want-to. He loves taking hits and runs away. You can feel it. He gets after it. He’s attacking the baseball. It’s an edgy defense.”

The plucky, old-school Hoerner, on a team full of star-level talent, may have worked himself into being the Cubs’ 2025 MVP.

The post Chicago Cubs: This Cub has gone from trade bait to MVP appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs got another helping of bad news on Saturday– aside from the frustrating 5-4 loss suffered at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays at Wrigley Field.

Rookie right fielder and Cubs no. 1 prospect Owen Caissie has been put on the shelf, per MLB concussion protocol.

What put him there was a fluke accident that saw the 23-year-old take a tumble into the brick and ivy outfield wall, apparently hitting the back of his head, while catching a fly ball.

Owen Caissie, out of commission

The play in question happened in the third inning with Colin Rea still on the mound. Rays shortstop Carson Williams hit a deep fly ball into the gap in right-center. Caissie and center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong were both in pursuit of the catch, but Crow-Armstrong slid to make way for the right fielder. Ironically, the slide to prevent a collision resulted in Caissie, who did make the catch, being tripped up and crashing against the wall.

The young outfielder would stay in the game, going 0-2 at the plate, before being removed in favor of Willi Castro in the sixth inning. Shortly thereafter, the Cubs announced their decision to put Caissie on pause.

“Owen has concussion symptoms,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters. “We’ll just evaluate him moving forward. He just kind of got gradually worse after running into the wall. About 45 minutes later, he couldn’t continue.”

“That thing’s brick, and it doesn’t give,” Cubs left fielder Ian Happ told the media after the game. “Owen did a great job of catching that ball and tracking it. He just got tripped up a little bit. Hopefully he’s all right, but that’s a tough one going headfirst into that thing.”

The prospect had just been recalled from Triple-A Iowa prior to Saturday’s game.

Chicago Cubs’ backup to the backup

Outfielder Kevin Alcantara, who had been sent down to the minors when Caissie was brought up, will come right back to Chicago to fill the now-open roster slot. He’ll be needed, as the Cubs are currently in a bind when it comes to outfielders with Kyle Tucker on the IL and Seiya Suzuki having missed some time due to undisclosed illness. Alcantara will likely share time in right field with Willi Castro until Caissie, Tucker, or Suzuki come back at full speed.

This brief cameo was Caissie’s second major league run this season, after being the subject of trade rumors during the offseason and in the lead-up to the July 31 trade deadline. Remaining on the Cubs’ roster appears to be a result of Chicago’s uncertainty of re-signing free agency-bound Kyle Tucker and of Caissie’s own potential as a heavy-hitting corner outfielder.

In 26 big league at-bats this season, the Canadian prospect is hitting .192 with 1 home run and 4 RBIs, logging an OPS of .568. For the Iowa Cubs, he’s had a breakthrough season with 22 home runs and 55 RBIs with a .286 batting average and a .937 OPS.

The thought in initially swapping Alcantara for Caissie was that, with Tucker out for at least a week and maybe longer, the Cubs would need Caissie’s power more than Alcantara’s speed. Now, however, that is a moot point.

MLB concussion protocol

MLB concussion protocol allows for a shorter 7-day IL stint as the injured player passes a series of steps to ensure full recovery from symptoms of concussion. A failure to pass each designated step in recovery pushes the player back to the initial step. With just 14 games to go in the season, a step backwards for Caissie at any point in the process will likely cost him the rest of the season.

The post Chicago Cubs lose another outfielder after ugly tumble into the brick and ivy appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs, this past offseason, took an uncharacteristic gamble on an elite-level acquisition in Kyle Tucker…and it may be backfiring now.

The move, itself, was sound enough. The Cubs traded for the multi-tool right fielder, in hopes of an “all-in” push to the postseason. After all, the thinking had been over the last couple years that the team needed a “star” impact player to be a linchpin for transforming the team from “good” to a championship contender. In acquiring Tucker from the Houston Astros, Chicago gave up third baseman Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Wesneski, and no. 1 draft pick Cam Smith. They also picked up the headache of having to try and re-sign Tucker as he moved on to free agent status at the end of 2025.

But, for awhile, the Cubs’ front office gamble seemed to be paying off…until it stopped paying off.

Bad News on Kyle Tucker

The latest news on the four-time All-Star is bad. It appears as though he won’t be activated and ready to play after his 10-day IL stint after all. He was originally expected back and recovered from his calf strain this coming Tuesday, September 16.

“I would say Tuesday is unlikely right now,” manager Craig Counsell told media on Friday.

“He is doing activity,” Counsell said. “The symptomatic stuff is the running right now. We’re on a bike, we’re hitting still, throwing. We’re hoping to have a weekend of no symptoms of doing that and that’ll lead us back onto the field and the running. And go from there.”

The Cubs had initially hesitated on placing Tucker on the IL, hoping that the discomfort he felt, starting on September 2, would resolve after some time on the bench. As the days piled up and he wasn’t getting better, though, the team finally bit the bullet and placed him on the 10-day IL, retroactive to Saturday, September 6.

And now, apparently, this injury is a bigger deal than anyone has been told.

Did the Chicago Cubs drop the ball again?

This stall comes just 11 days after Tucker seemed to have closed the door on a career-worst slump brought on by a hand injury that seemed to have messed with his batting mechanics.

To make matters more frustrating, this latest Tucker injury issue comes right after the earlier one and it appears that both have roots in the Cubs not pulling the trigger quickly enough on an IL decision.

When the story broke in late August of Tucker having suffered an early-June hairline fracture in his hand, critics blasted the team for allowing their star asset to play injured for over two months, languishing at the plate most of the way. This time around, it looks like they, again, took too long to definitively put Tucker on the shelf.

This latest failure to act, however, comes dangerously close to the playoffs, where Tucker’s presence will be absolutely essential.

The linchpin to success

Throughout the first few months of this season, Tucker did appear to be the linchpin the team had wanted/needed. With his steady excellence on the field, everyone else around him looked better. The team was an offensive dynamo and built up so many early wins that they were all but a lock to make the postseason by the All-Star break.

The Cubs haven’t been nearly as successful with Tucker slumping and sitting out games.

This latest news of a setback in Tucker’s recovery is now making the Cubs’ decision to trade for him look like a losing gamble. His lack of output in the second half of the season is one issue, but the bigger issue centers around his health for the playoffs. Then, of course, he may just pack up and leave for another team, anyway, after this season.

For now, the Cubs and their fans will just have to cross their fingers and hope for the best when it comes to Kyle Tucker.

The post Chicago Cubs: Bad news on Kyle Tucker has some questioning the Cubs’ offseason gamble appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs got a terrible jolt of reality when closer Daniel Palencia was pulled from last Sunday’s game against the Washington Nationals with a painfully evident shoulder injury. The injury came after a disastrous 5-run blown save where the 25-year-old failed to retire a single batter.

As just about everyone expected, that gut punch of bad news was followed by the announcement that the Cubs had placed Palencia on the 15-day disabled list.

While Palencia’s performances had been trending downward for about a month already, the loss of the team’s designated closer was a bitter pill to swallow, especially in the home stretch of a season where the team is all but guaranteed a playoff spot.

The Chicago Cubs bullpen has been crazy-good

In the four games since Palencia’s injury, though, the Cubs bullpen could not have responded better to manager Craig Counsell’s closer-by-committee backup plan.

Since September 8, Chicago’s bullpen has been insanely good and efficient, with a .68 ERA in 13.1 innings while allowing just 3 hits and no walks. In the last 3 games, the pen has been completely lights out, allowing no runs and 1 hit in 11.1 innings.

“It’s as simple as trying to get 27 outs. And however that lines up, it lines up,” Counsell said, back when Palencia was placed on the IL, referring to a backup plan that he insisted was really just business as usual. “[The other relievers] don’t have to step up. They just have to continue doing what they’re doing. That’s the answer. The other guys in the bullpen, just keep doing what you’re doing.”

So far, everything has run extremely smoothly. If the last two games are any indication of where things will be headed, Counsell might be settling in on the idea of Brad Keller and Andrew Kittredge being the late-inning high-leverage men.

2025 vs. Conventional baseball wisdom

It should also be pointed out, though, that the Cubs have been playing the Braves and the Rays these last few games and the dynamic will be completely different once the team is into postseason play.

Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, and Caleb Thielbar have been season-long assets who were regarded by most as mere depth pieces when brought on to the team. They have proven themselves to be indispensable. Kittredge, with the exception of a couple of subpar outings, has been solid since coming over from the Orioles at the trade deadline. Last year’s closer, Porter Hodge, appears to be healthy now and ending an awful 2025 on a high note.

So, despite conventional baseball wisdom saying that the Cubs will need a dedicated lockdown closer in the playoffs, most of the current Cubs’ bullpen has been consistently good for quite awhile.

Good news on Daniel Palencia

Meanwhile, as everyone prepares for a postseason life without Palencia, there’s been a bit of positive news on that front that gives hope for a return sooner than many expected.

Palencia played catch before Friday’s 6-4 win over the Rays at Wrigley Field and, apparently, it went well.

“He had a good day,” Counsell told reporters. “It was a good day of catch. We will move forward tomorrow with more catch, maybe a little higher intensity. But he had a very good day…It was like diagnostic catch, maybe is the way to say it. Let’s play catch to see how it feels. We’re hoping it feels good and then we’ll keep moving forward.”

At the very least, this adds the possibility of having one more arm in the bullpen for the opening Wild Card series and (hopefully) beyond.

The post Chicago Cubs bullpen has been crazy-good. Meanwhile, there’s good news on Daniel Palencia appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs have placed right fielder Kyle Tucker on the 10-day IL…finally.

The team had been stalling and hesitating over the decision to make this move ever since Tucker was pulled from the September 2 game with the Atlanta Braves with right calf tightness. The four-time All-Star has not played since then.

As fans and media pushed to have Tucker sit down and take the IL stint in order to ensure 100% health by the playoffs, the Cubs opted to not pull the trigger on that move. Instead, they hoped that a couple days off and some rest would facilitate his recovery and a return to a lineup in need of an offensive jolt.

Those “couple days off,” however, stretched to a full week and the decision was made to put Tucker on the shelf. His IL placement is retroactive to Saturday, so he would be eligible to return on September 16.

Doubts on Tucker’s readiness upon return

But being ready to go upon his return no longer seems like a given.

When Cubs manager Craig Counsell, who was previously confident about his outfielder not needing an IL stint, was asked about Tucker returning at full speed, he was disturbingly non-committal.

“At this point, I don’t know,” Counsell said. “I’m hopeful, but I think I was wrong in terms of avoiding the IL. We just have to get to a point where he’s not symptomatic and not feeling it doing baseball activities.”

Another botch on a Kyle Tucker injury?

Counsell and the Cubs had taken some extreme heat less than three weeks earlier, when it was revealed that Tucker had been allowed to play with a hairline fracture in his hand suffered in early June, an injury that would eventually alter his hitting mechanics and result in an extended career-worst slump. The overwhelming public opinion was that the Cubs should’ve placed Tucker on the IL rather than have him try to tough his way through the injury.

“He was sore for a little while, but was able to play,” Counsell told reporters at the time. “We did some more imaging and it showed a small fracture that was healing. And that’s it. Is it possible that this, through the playing through it, changed some things? Yeah, absolutely. I think it’s probably likely that at some point that happened. But, he wanted to play.”

Frustratingly, this latest Tucker injury came just as the multi-tool star had seemingly got his hitting back on track. In the 11 games since being temporarily benched for a “reset” and September 2, he had batted .400 with 4 home runs and 11 RBIs.

After this latest time off, Tucker had reportedly felt better and was close to a return. On Monday, though, he ran through some drills to test the calf and, according to Counsell, “it didn’t respond well.”

The Chicago Cubs’ (and Tucker’s) plans going forward

“I was hoping to feel good today and coming in and hopefully getting in there,” Tucker said on Tuesday. “But obviously, it didn’t really work out like that, so that part is kind of frustrating. I’ve just got to kind of take care of it for now and get back whenever I can.”

“Obviously, you’ve got to take it day by day,” he added. “I mean, I was hoping to play today, but that’s not really going to happen. That’s my goal — do everything I can to try to get back as soon as the amount of time’s up.”

In the meantime, the Cubs will have Seiya Suzuki and Willi Castro sharing right field duties. They’ve also called up Moises Ballesteros from Triple-A Iowa as an added left-handed bat.

Among fans and media, now, the talk has shifted from whether the Cubs will re-sign the free agency-bound Tucker to whether he will be of any use to the Cubs this postseason.

The post Chicago Cubs (finally) put Kyle Tucker on the IL. What now? appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs and their fans took a real gut punch when Daniel Palencia got shellacked by the Washington National on September 7 and then left the game with an apparent shoulder injury. The second gut punch came shortly thereafter when the Cubs placed him on the 15-day IL, putting into question the likelihood of him being able to return this season.

Palencia had been a revelation for the team, assuming the role of dominant closer shortly after his mid-April call-up from Triple-A. Without him, Cubs manager Craig Counsell will rely on a closer-by-committee plan for the remainder of the season and into the playoffs.

So far, that plan has gone well, at least judging by the last couple of games. On Wednesday, for instance, five relievers took the mound to deliver 4.2 scoreless, one-hit innings en route to a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta.

The Comeback?

One of those five flawless arms coming from the bullpen belonged to right-hander Porter Hodge. It would be the fourth consecutive scoreless/hit-less outing from the 24-year-old sophomore, who is at the tail end of a wildly disappointing and frustrating 2025 season.

After serving as the Cubs closer in the second half of 2024 and registering a dominant 1.88 ERA over 43 innings pitched with 9 saves, many felt that he should be the favorite to land that high-leverage back-of-game role in 2025.

Instead, the Cubs opted to roll the dice on veteran Ryan Pressly, who they acquired from the Houston Astros in the offseason. By the time the 36-year-old Pressly definitively failed in the closer’s role, Hodge was too mired in his own issues to be considered for the job.

Porter Hodge’s bad breaks

On May 20, Hodge was placed on the IL with an oblique strain. A subsequent hip impingement would delay his ability to return to the big league roster until June 24. A little over two weeks after his return– and after a disastrous 6-run outing against Minnesota Twins– he would be placed on the IL again with a right shoulder impingement.

He’s been good to go since his latest return in September, limping into the final full month of the season with an ugly 6.93 ERA. He’s been so “good to go,” as a matter of fact, that Counsell had been itching to test him in higher-leverage situations. He got that opportunity on Wednesday.

“The way the game sequenced, I thought we had a really good spot to introduce Porter into a bigger inning,” Counsell told The Athletic. “And he delivered. Absolutely take note of it. We talked about it (the other day), but we’re optimistic that he had turned some things around and could be important. Tonight was another step.”

A key piece of the Chicago Cubs’ puzzle

Wednesday’s starter Jameson Taillon, who’s also just returned from the IL, talked up the importance of a healthy and effective Hodge for the Cubs right now.

“Very important,” Taillon told reporters. “He was closing games for us last year, he was electric. We’ve seen glimpses of it this year, we know it’s in there. I was excited to get him back up here. I think his last couple outings, he looked awesome. He can get big outs.”

The importance of a fully “back” Hodge is obvious at this point, as the team works around losing a closer who’s been lights out up until fairly recently.

Right now, and for the foreseeable future, Counsell may not name any pitcher the Cubs’ closer. But for the team to succeed down this last stretch of season and into the playoffs, they’re going to need a lot of guys capable of closing.

Hodge, with a history of doing that and the ability to produce some electric stuff when healthy, needs to be one of those guys.

The post Chicago Cubs: This reliever’s rebound is absolutely crucial to postseason success appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs officially placed closer Daniel Palencia on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder strain on Monday– a move that was hardly a surprise after leaving Sunday’s game in clear discomfort without retiring a single batter.

The 25-year-old right-hander came into the ninth inning of Sunday’s game against the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field, looking to hold a 3-1 lead. Instead, he gave up a solo homer, a single, a walk, and then a three-run homer. After giving up a triple on his next pitch, he bent over in pain and slapped the mound dirt with his left hand in frustration. The Nationals would go on to win 6-3.

After manager Craig Counsell removed Palencia from the game, he was reluctant to make any definitive declaration as to the reliever’s status. It was widely assumed, however, that Palencia would be headed to the IL.

In a corresponding move, the Cubs recalled righty Ethan Roberts from Triple-A Iowa. Roberts has logged a 6.00 ERA over 9 innings pitched, divided over two separate and brief major league stints.

A Daniel Palencia timeline

When asked about Palencia’s status for the rest of the season and postseason, Counsell had no answers on Monday.

“I don’t think I know the answer to that question right now,” Counsell told reporters. “We put him on the injured list. We’re going to take these three days to treat him. And then Friday in Chicago, we’ll probably have a better idea what direction this is going to go.”

Palencia had been a godsend for much of the season, stepping into the closer role shortly after being called up from Triple-A in mid-April, replacing the ineffective Ryan Pressly. And, for about three months, the Cubs couldn’t have asked for a better closer.

Coming into August, he was sporting a brilliant 1.40 ERA with 14 saves.

Late-season struggles

However, things would change drastically. From August 1 to the present, including Sunday’s cataclysmic outing, Palencia has an 8.03 ERA in 15 outings. He has also given up 21 hits and 5 walks in 12.1 innings pitched over that period.

As it became apparent that he was struggling late in the season of his very first run as a full-time closer, the Cubs’ front office began taking heat for their inability and/or unwillingness to acquire a more experienced closer at the July 31 trade deadline. That heat has grown more intense following the full-on collapse and injury of the young closer.

“And that’s what happens when, at the deadline, you prospect hoard to the degree that you don’t get an established closer on a team at that point that knew ‘we’re probably going to the postseason,’” MLB analyst David Kaplan blasted on his REKAP podcast.

The Chicago Cubs’ plan B

For now, the Cubs have to devise a quick Plan B for the back end of the bullpen as the playoffs approach.

Brad Keller, who’s been excellent all season and hasn’t allowed an earned run since July 12, seems to be the logical choice for high-leverage outings. Behind him, Caleb Thielbar, Drew Pomeranz, and trade deadline acquisition Andrew Kittredge will likely be the most trusted trio. The injured Porter Hodge has also shown added life in his arm since returning to the major league roster.

Injured deadline acquisition Michael Soroka is reportedly close to coming back, and he should boost the depth of the bullpen upon his return. It was also just announced that Javier Assad would be shifted to the bullpen to make room in the starting rotation for the returning Jameson Taillon.

Counsell, though, appears set on a closer-by-committee arrangement and is focused on staying the course despite the loss of Palencia.

“It’s as simple as trying to get 27 outs. And however that lines up, it lines up,” Counsell said. “[The other relievers] don’t have to step up. They just have to continue doing what they’re doing. That’s the answer. The other guys in the bullpen, just keep doing what you’re doing.”

The post Chicago Cubs place Daniel Palencia on the IL, Counsell affirms bullpen plans appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs have had to endure a lot of bad news over the last week or so.

Closer Daniel Palencia was recently placed on the 15-day IL with a shoulder strain after a disastrous outing in Sunday’s game against the Washington Nationals. There are doubts over whether he’ll be able to return this season at all.

Meanwhile, Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong remain hobbled by injury, presiding over an offense that has once again flat-lined.

But, among the few good-news Cubs morsels out there, pitcher Cade Horton is, arguably, the most feel-good.

The rise of Cade Horton

The 24-year-old rookie has logged a 2.78 ERA and a 9-4 record since his May call-up, but has been especially dominant over the last two months or so. The Cubs’ 2022 first-round draft pick has been lights out since his first start in July, working his way to a 1.23 ERA in his 11 starts since then and earning regard as the Cubs’ ace over the second half of the season.

His excellence on the mound has opened eyes and is now, rightfully, earning him Rookie of the Year recognition, even among a stacked 2025 rookie class.

Rookie of the Year?

In a recent piece for The Athletic, MLB analyst and former major league executive, Jim Bowden, places Horton in the top 3 when it comes to Rookie of the Year honors.

Per Bowden:

“Horton, 24, began the season in Triple A and made his major-league debut in May. It took him a little while to hit his stride in the big leagues, but since late July, he’s been the Cubs’ best starter. He has allowed just four earned runs total in his last nine starts, going 6-1 with a 0.77 ERA in 47 innings, allowing just 24 hits with 44 strikeouts and 14 walks.

His success is thanks to his elite secondary stuff that includes his sweeper (.178 BAA), his curveball (.167 BAA) and his changeup (.111 BAA). His breaking stuff is so good it ranks him in the 85th percentile in the sport. Horton hasn’t racked up a ton of strikeouts, but he’s limited walks and hard contact and induced a lot of groundballs. He’s quickly become the ace of the Cubs’ rotation.”

Bowden’s placement of Horton at no. 3, behind Drake Baldwin and Nolan McLean, for ROY consideration can be debated. What can’t be debated, though, is the young right-hander’s impact on a Cubs pitching staff that has been rocked and hobbled by injury over the course of the season.

The Chicago Cubs’ 2025 revelation

“It’s no surprise when he takes the ball for us and he’s able to do what he does,” Cubs catcher Reese McGuire told media after Horton’s most recent shutout performance. “His confidence, with how young he is and being in this league, getting the experience, he’s impressing a lot of people here.”

“There’s just an attack mentality with quality pitches,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s fun to watch, man. It’s been a really, really impressive start to a Major League career. He’s doing a heck of a job.”

Despite the string of impressive performances, however, there are some causes for concern.

Horton has never thrown more than 88.1 innings in a single season in his baseball career. He’s also had a history of injury, undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2021 while in college and having last season in Iowa shut down in late May with a subscapularis strain in his right shoulder. This season, between the minors and the majors, he’s already logged 132.2 innings, with the playoffs and the rest of the regular season still to go.

Because of that, Counsell has put a loose pitch count on Horton to preserve his arm. That strategy led to Horton being pulled in the fifth inning of his last start, even though he was working on a no-hitter at the time.

Horton was fine with the decision and actually welcomes the pitch count as motivation to work more efficiently.

“It’s almost like it is a challenge,” Horton told reporters.

Whether he takes the Rookie of the Year award or not, Horton has impressed. He’s not only excelled on the mound, but he’s showcased poise and maturity well beyond his years.

“I feel like I’m supposed to go out there and do that. That’s my job,” Horton told media after his last masterful outing against the Atlanta Braves. “But also, at the end of the day, it is really cool that I’ve put up those numbers. But I’ve got a start in six days and face the same lineup, so [it’s], ‘Go out there and do it again.’ It’s just never really getting complacent.”

Horton will take the mound Tuesday night against the Braves in Atlanta.

The post Chicago Cubs rookie revelation contends for major honor, per insider appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The story of the Chicago Cubs’ 2025 season seems to be edging more towards “the agony of defeat” than “the thrill of victory.” That’s the vibe, anyway, if you take into account all of the hard luck that has piled up on the North Siders’ plate this year.

The latest bit of bad news came on Sunday, when closer Daniel Palencia got shellacked in the ninth inning and then had to leave the game with an apparent shoulder injury.

This Palencia thing, by the way, comes as both Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker are sitting out injuries. And it comes at the tail end of a season that has seen, among other things, the Cubs’ ace Justin Steele get sidelined with a season-ending injury, three of the remaining starting pitchers sidelined with significant IL stints, and multiple players suffering through extended, simultaneous late-season slumps.

But the Cubs are not without hope. They’re going to make the playoffs and likely have home-field advantage throughout the Wild Card series. They also have a talented enough roster– and enough healing time until the postseason– to field a very solid playoff team.

Here, though, are 3 secret weapons the Cubs may have up their sleeve to push them through the regular season and beyond

Michael Soroka as the “X-factor”

In a recent piece for The Athletic, Sahadev Sharma called trade deadline acquisition Michael Soroka the Cubs’ “X-factor” headed into the playoffs. The former Washington National was injured just two innings into his first outing as a Cub and is scheduled to have his first rehab appearance this Wednesday.

Per Sharma:

“He won’t be the starter the Cubs hoped they were getting at the trade deadline, but as Michael Soroka rehabs, it sounds like his velocity is back and he could help the team out of the bullpen down the stretch. His numbers in that role last season were impressive, and if he can come close to matching them, he could help the team win and give time off to key relievers like Brad Keller and Andrew Kittredge as the Cubs try to stay fresh and healthy heading into the postseason.”

A month or so of best-case-scenario Soroka would definitely help the Cubs, especially in a bullpen that is suddenly in tatters.

Owen Caissie to the rescue?

The Cubs’ top prospect had a few memorable moments in his brief major league stint, but he just wasn’t given enough playing time in an overstuffed outfield to see what he could really do. If Kyle Tucker goes on the IL, as many expect he will, Caissie will likely be called up to play a more meaningful role in right field.

The team will need the power his bat could bring to the lineup with Tucker gone. And if something horrible happens and Tucker can’t play in the playoffs, Caissie’s presence could be indispensable.

A surprise Iowa call-up

The Cubs’ top pitching prospect, Jaxon Wiggins, survived trade talk and pushed his way from Double-A to Triple-A this season. Although there’s been concern over fatigue and his total innings tally, there’s at least some buzz about the Cubs potentially looking into the 23-year-old with the triple-digit fastball as a short-relief major league option if Palencia misses time.

The precedent is there when it comes to exploring an option like Wiggins. In 2023, the Cubs pondered the possibility of bringing up a still-green Cade Horton straight from Double-A in hopes that his raw stuff would be enough to bring him success in short relief.

In the present, there was enough interest in the 6-foot-6 Wiggins right now that manager Craig Counsell made a point of watching the young pitcher’s first start in Triple-A live. He would later affirm that Wiggins was “on the radar.”

The highly-ranked prospect wouldn’t be eligible for postseason play if he were promoted to the majors now, but he could be a useful asset down the regular season stretch. The team could also get a sneak peek at how he works with major league hitting.

For the sake of the Cubs, though, it would obviously be better not to have to rely on any “secret weapons.” In the meantime, fans will just have to cross their fingers and wish for the best.

The post Chicago Cubs: 3 desperate, secret Cubs weapons down the stretch appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs finished the weekend with another gut punch.

Closer Daniel Palencia, who had been an absolute revelation this season, stepping in as the closer after a mid-April call-up, got crushed in a 6-3 loss to the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field on Sunday, allowing 5 earned runs in the ninth inning without retiring a batter. Worst of all, though, he had to leave the game due to injury.

“Danny felt some tightness in his posterior right shoulder,” manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com. “Docs have looked at him. That’s all we have right now. Probably let him just kind of calm down a little bit and see how we are in a couple days, a day or so.”

Fans, media enraged over Chicago Cubs trade deadline fail

Of course, losing the team’s closer so close to the playoffs has pushed media and fandom into an absolute meltdown. Fingers have already started pointing at Cubs president Jed Hoyer and the front office over their inability or unwillingness to acquire a more established closer as insurance at the July 31 trade deadline.

Per David Kaplan on his REKAP podcast, post-game:

“And that’s what happens when, at the deadline, you prospect hoard to the degree that you don’t get an established closer on a team at that point that knew ‘we’re probably going to the postseason.’

…You decide, according to your general manager Carter Hawkins, ‘we have to worry about the 2025 Cubs as much as the 2032 Cubs.’ And that’s what happens when Philly goes and gets Jhoan Duran from Minnesota or Helsley from the Cardinals goes out east or the Yankees add a bunch of guys and you don’t. That’s what happens. And, today, it came back to bite you yet again.

…That’s what happens when you don’t push your chips in when you have a chance to win. And as a fan, you should be furious. Just keep packing the ballpark. Just keep spending your money. But, guess what? When you got a chance to win, they’re not gonna push the chips all in. And that sucks as a fan.”

“I told you so.”

The fall of Palencia has provided a real “I told you so” moment for those concerned over the 25-year-old’s lack of any experience as a full-time closer at the big league level, especially late in the season in a pennant race. To support the doubts, the right-hander came into Sunday’s game with a 4.38 ERA since August 1 with several shaky outings along the way.

Moving forward

Matthew Trueblood of North Side Baseball has offered his belief that Palencia’s injury might be the real deal and require a quick restructuring of the bullpen ahead of postseason play.

Per Trueblood:

“That could be a lat issue, something in his teres major, or one of the major shoulder structures (labrum and rotator cuff) we think of more readily, but whatever the case, it’d be a minor miracle if he avoids the injured list.

These do not tend to be false alarms, and even mild versions of such injuries tend to take weeks, rather than days, to heal. The Cubs should plan not to have Palencia available at least until the Wild Card Series, and even then, it’s not a sure thing. Counsell will have to make a new plan for his pen, on the fly—and then, perhaps, he might get lucky and get Palencia back quite soon, after all.”

The Cubs and “getting lucky” don’t seem to be going hand-in-hand this season, as injuries and odd setbacks have tossed obstacle after obstacle on their path to the playoffs.

For now, expect Brad Keller to be moved to the top of a closer-by-committee arrangement as the team assesses Palencia’s injury and marches towards the postseason.

The post Chicago Cubs take major heat after Daniel Palencia collapse appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are inching their way to the playoffs, every day getting a bit closer to making postseason play for the first time since the abbreviated 2020 season. Current projections give them right around a 99.8% chance of getting there.

Their placement as the no. 1 Wild Card seed also seems secure at the moment.

But what about once IN postseason play? How do the Cubs match up with their playoff rivals?

That’s the big question and one which gives plenty of cause for concern considering the team’s second-half inconsistencies.

The offense, which is greatly responsible for getting them to their current standing, needs to get fully back on track. That’s a given. But what about everything else?

Chicago Cubs get low ranking in starting pitching

MLB analyst Eno Sarris, in a recent piece for The Athletic, spotlighted one area of concern for the Cubs that may eventually be their downfall. In assessing the projected top 3 starters of all presumed playoff teams, Sarris ranks the Cubs a lowly no. 10 among the 12 teams.

Per Sarris:

“The projections say the Cubs should be last on this list. The Cubs’ top trio of Shota Imanaga, Cade Horton and Matthew Boyd have the second-best ERA to date of any playoff trio. A bit of a conundrum.

ERA is not predictive, so this ranking hews closer to those projected numbers than the ones the Cubs’ starters have put up so far this year. We care more about what they will do than what they have done, after all. So why aren’t they last? Only a handful of playoff teams have seen Horton, who throws a unique fastball that could defy projections. The rookie seems to be coming into his own. Their X-factor.”

The rotation question marks

That’s a pretty harsh assessment, but it’s hard to argue with it, especially considering the insecurity the team is facing when it comes to their playoff rotation.

Matthew Boyd, who performed his way to ace status after Chicago’s offseason gamble on signing him to a 2-year contract, has been stellar up until recently. As of this writing, Boyd has posted a dismal 5.09 ERA over his last 7 outings. His 2.94 ERA this season is deceiving given his recent form and it would be crazy to discard fatigue as a possible cause for his decline. Suffering through Tommy John surgery and assorted other injuries over the last several seasons, Boyd hadn’t pitched over 100 innings in a season since 2019. Could further fatigue or even injury be in his immediate future?

Shota Imanaga should have the freshest arm of the rotation, given that he missed about seven weeks earlier in the season with a hamstring issue. He also has ace-level acumen. But he’s never pitched in an MLB postseason game before.

Cade Horton has been an absolute revelation this season after the injury to Imanaga forced a call-up from the minors much earlier than expected. Except for a couple of hiccups along the way, the 23-year-old has shined, posting a 2.78 ERA for the season so far. His 1.23 ERA since July 3 may end up winning him a Rookie of the Year honor.

But with 132.2 innings logged, between the minors and the majors, so far this season, he’s far surpassed any previous innings tally. Combining the workload with his recent history of injury, Horton presents a lot of question marks from here until the postseason. Manager Craig Counsell is already monitoring his workload and has him working under a loose pitch count.

Close your eyes and cross your fingers

The Cubs will also have Jameson Taillon, Colin Rea, and Javier Assad to throw into the playoff rotation mix if necessary. Trade deadline acquisition Michael Soroka will also be a wild card in this equation if/when he gets healthy enough to take the mound.

But, overall, Sarris’ ranking rings true-ish. There’s just a lot of “close your eyes and cross your fingers” when it comes to the Cubs starting pitching the rest of the way.

The post Chicago Cubs get bottom-barrel ranking among playoff teams in one key category appeared first on ChiCitySports.