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  • Major League Notes

    Notes about the team are posted here.

    57 rumors in this category

      Bryan Jaeger

      The Cubs selected Kade Snell at #151 in the 2025 MLB Draft. Snell is a left fielder at the University of Alabama. The slot value for this pick is $465,400. 

      Here's what MiLB.com says about Snell:

      "Recruited by Auburn as a left-handed pitcher, Snell redshirted while dealing with injuries in 2021 before transferring to Wallace-Dothan (Ala.) CC and starring as a two-way player. The national junior college player of the year in 2023, he played both ways at Alabama in 2024 before becoming a full-time left fielder this spring. He's one of the more attractive discount hitters available as a Southeastern Conference performer with intriguing data and also no college eligibility remaining.

      Snell offers one of the better combinations of swing decisions, contact, and exit velocities in the college ranks. He has a quality left-handed stroke, rarely misses a fastball while handling all types of pitches, and drives the ball to all fields. While he's a hit-over-power guy, he has enough strength to provide 15 homers per year and perhaps more if he learns to lift balls in the air more regularly.

      While Snell will flash close to average speed at his best, he's more of a below-average runner with limited range in left field. He has an average arm and topped out at 93 mph with his fastball as a redshirt junior. Scouts love his competitiveness and leadership, and his all-star summer with wood bats in the Cape Cod League in 2023 is another point in his favor."

      Last season, Snell hit .363/.464/.575 with 10 home runs, 49 runs, and 52 knocked in. He has good plate vision, drawing 38 walks while only 18 strikeouts over 261 plate appearances. The lefty is a contact hitter primarily, but has the lift and exit velocity to produce runs. 

      What do you think of the pick? Add your thoughts in the comments.

      Bryan Jaeger

      The Cubs selected Kaleb Wing at #121 in the 2025 MLB Draft. Wing is an RHP at Scotts Valley High School (CA). The slot value for this pick is $623.300. The high schooler was ranked 127th on Northside Baseball's MLB Mock Draft Board.

      Here's our write-up of Wing by our draft expert, Jamie Cameron:

      "Wing is a prep-righty out of Northern California currently committed to Loyola-Marymount. He's been a two-way player for most of his amateur career and therefore hasn't focused solely on pitching for long, a fact that could play in his corner with a drafting org.

      It's a 6'2", 180-pound frame that a team will hope they can hang some more good weight on, but he's a slender-framed player. Nonetheless, his stuff took a major step forward this spring. His fastball, which previously sat in the upper 80s to low 90s, suddenly popped 95 mph. Additionally, there's a big curveball with good spin and depth, and a changeup that's more developmental. The delivery is solid, too. There's a lot to like here, with work to be done on the arsenal and developing a consistently usable third pitch. Even so, Wing has shot up boards this spring into day one consideration."

      As a senior at Scotts Valley High School, he only pitched in 10 games, but had a 1.23 ERA. At the plate, he had 108 plate appearances, hitting .307 with four home runs, 22 runs, and 24 knocked in. His dad, Ryan, was a two-way player as well, but he never went higher than Triple-A in the A's organization. Being a two-way player, Kaleb could provide a lot of production if he elects to skip college and begin his professional career. 

      What do you think of the pick? Add your thoughts in the comments.

      CBT847

      For the first time in his career, Owen Caissie has been named International League Player of the Week following an absolutely dominant series against the Omaha Storm Chasers last week.

      Caissie slashed an incredible .476/.560/1.143 hitting two doubles, four home runs and tallying six RBIs, while also scoring nine runs and drawing four walks.

      The Cubs' No. 1 prospect (MLB.com) started the series against the Storm Chasers with an 0-for at the dish before ripping off four straight multi-hit performances, which included three-hit games on Friday and Sunday.

      Caissie also launched two-homer games in consecutive contests on Thursday and Saturday, bringing his season total to 16, just six shy of his career-best mark of 22, which he set in 2023 at Double-A Tennessee.

      His torrid start to July comes on the heels of a monster June, where he slashed .316/.435/.605 with five home runs and 13 RBIs in 22 games.

      The headlining prospect return piece as part of the Yu Darvish trade with the Padres in the winter of 2020, his peak is coming at the perfect time for the Cubs, who might want to use the 2025 MLB All-Star Futures Game participant to headline a trade package for a top-of-the-rotation arm at the deadline.

      Brock Beauchamp

      Kyle Tucker has earned his fourth All‑Star nod—but this time as a National League starter, joining the Cubs after a blockbuster offseason trade. This season he’s slashing an impressive .290/.393/.533, with 17 homers, 20 steals, and a .923 OPS. Although Tucker has been one of the best players in the game for years, this marks his first All‑Star start, coming after three previous reserve selections with Houston.

      Pete Crow‑Armstrong, the 23‑year‑old Cubs center fielder, has turned heads this season and is the first All‑Star selection as an NL starting outfielder. Offensively, he’s recording a .265/.301/.537 line with 21 home runs and 25 steals, ranking first in NL bWAR (4.5) and second in fWAR (4.0). His defense has been equally elite, leading NL outfielders in defensive runs saved. Crow-Armstrong has quickly become a fan favorite, and this is the first time he has been voted into the starting lineup for the All‑Star Game.

      Matthew Lenz

      The Chicago Cubs have optioned starting pitcher Ben Brown to Triple-A Iowa to make room for reliever Porter Hodge who is returning from an oblique injury.

      Brown, 26, has struggled this season churning out a 6.13 ERA, 4.08 FIP, albeit with a decent 17.8% strikeout-minus-walk (K-BB) rate. After a solid start to the season, he seems to benefit from a bit of a reset with the Iowa Cubs. The move paves the way for the anticipated return of Shota Imanaga on Thursday.

      Hodge, 24, has also struggled with the big-league club with a 5.12 ERA, 4.16 FIP, and a lowly 9.5% K-BB rate due to control issues. He will likely slot in as a low- to medium- leverage option out of the Cubs' bullpen.

      Matthew Lenz

      The Chicago Cubs have recalled Nate Pearson from Triple-A Iowa. The right-handed reliever will likely cover low- to medium-leverage situations out of the Cubs' bullpen.

      This is Pearson's second stint with the big-league club. After producing a 10.38 ERA in his first eight appearances, he was optioned to Iowa in mid-April.

      In 24 1/3 innings for the Iowa Cubs, Pearson carried an impressive 2.22 ERA, 3.94 FIP, though with an extremely high walk rate. Control was something he has always struggled with and has been the reason he hasn't been able to reach his ceiling as an effective high-leverage reliever.

      Do you think the Cubs should address the bullpen at the trade deadline?

      Matthew Trueblood

      Let's be honest here. Maybe Vidal Bruján is a trifle more broadly talented than Emmanuel Rivera, but in practice, he's a worse player—especially for the current Chicago Cubs. The Cubs need a righty batter who can occasionally work their way on base without being deployed as a pinch-runner, and one who can capably handle the hot corner with the glove. Much though all Cubs fans wish that either Bruján or Jon Berti met those descriptions, right now, they don't.

      Emmanuel Rivera does, though. Rivera, who turns 29 at the end of this month, has hit just .232/.302/.275 for the Orioles this season, so it's hard to fault them for designating him for assignment. However, that's against a career line of .243/.306/.363—no star slugger's line, but a fine one for a solid defensive infielder off the bench. That's precisely what Rivera is. He's been worth 5 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) even in very limited action for the Orioles at third this year. He can also play some first base. Against lefties, he's a career .254/.318/.381 hitter, much better than what Bruján can offer as a backup to Matt Shaw at third base.

      Rivera is a good floor to reset for third base. The Cubs should be able to acquire him for cash, and if the front office is smart, they'll place a quick call to Mike Elias in the wake of this news.

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