https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/page/164/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/the-roster-and-payroll-impacts-of-cody-bellinger-re-signing-with-the-cubs-r624/In true Cubs fashion, they have signed a fan favorite at the last minute. Eight years ago it was Dexter Fowler that signed on February 25th to much fanfare and applause from both players and fans at the outset of Spring Training. This year, it’s Cody Bellinger who gets to receive a grand re-welc...624Sun, 25 Feb 2024 16:23:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/belly-up-cubs-re-sign-cody-bellinger-to-intriguing-deal-r564/You can finally stop holding your breath and stamping your feet. The best player on the 2023 Cubs will be back in 2024. For how long? We shall see.  After a months-long staring contest, Jed Hoyer and Scott Boras got together on a deal that will keep Cody Bellinger on the North Side of Chicag...564Sun, 25 Feb 2024 07:28:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/drew-smyly-and-luke-little-are-the-lefty-relievers-youve-been-waiting-for-r623/After years of carrying one or zero left-handed relievers, the Cubs will have a pair of (very) different southpaws in their bullpen in 2024. Last year at this time, the Chicago Cubs had one left-handed reliever projected to make the Opening Day roster: Brandon Hughes. When he was sidelined w...623Sat, 24 Feb 2024 19:21:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/cubs-future-infield-roster-michael-busch-christopher-morel/With Spring Training closing in on the calendar and the “Boras Four” still at large, the Cubs need to prepare to open 2024 with a pair of youngsters as the infield bookends. Things are far from settled on the positional side for the Chicago Cubs this year. Two of the biggest bats still on th...622Sat, 24 Feb 2024 15:30:31 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/if-an-expansion-draft-happened-this-spring-whom-should-the-chicago-cubs-protect-r617/Expansion in MLB has been a hot topic for the last week or so. If it really became reality, though, what would it mean for the Chicago Cubs roster? The last time baseball expanded was in 1998, with the addition of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. This brought the total of M...617Fri, 23 Feb 2024 16:12:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/chicago-cubs-2024-spring-training-storylines-hayden-wesneskis-role-r621/As spring training reaches full steam with the start of Cactus League play this weekend, the Chicago Cubs have several key storylines to watch. One vital one will be the development and role assignment of one of their most intriguing young arms. Following a 2022 debut in which he threw 33 in...621Fri, 23 Feb 2024 12:18:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/chicago-cubs-2024-x-factors-winning-without-velocity-in-the-rotation-r619/In 2023, Chicago Cubs starting pitchers averaged 91.5 miles per hour on their fastballs, dead last in MLB. Yet, that unit was a strength of the team, not its weakness. Can they sustain success this way? Even at the peak of their domination over the rest of the league (circa 2015 and 2016), t...619Thu, 22 Feb 2024 12:19:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/is-tom-ricketts-lying-or-are-cubs-about-to-spend-big-r620/This week, as the Chicago Cubs began full-squad spring training work, owner Tom Ricketts met the media and made some controversial remarks about the team's payroll. Let's take a closer look. In a brief scrum with reporters (an annual rite of spring for most of the league's owners), Tom Ricke...620Wed, 21 Feb 2024 22:56:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/christopher-morel-third-base-defense-spring-training-options/As the Chicago Cubs undertake the project of trying to turn one of their best hitters into a credible defender at a key position of need, the big question will be how high a bar he needs to clear. That question has a few wrinkles to it, so let's examine them. Minor-league outfield signings s...618Wed, 21 Feb 2024 12:52:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/2024-chicago-cubs-x-factors-what-impact-can-cade-horton-have-in-2024-r598/When the Cubs selected Cade Horton seventh overall in 2022, many fans were concerned the Cubs had drafted a flash in the pan from the College World Series and someone who would eventually end up in the bullpen. Now, though, he sure looks like a member of the starting rotation. Could that come so...598Tue, 20 Feb 2024 12:19:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/spring-training-position-battles-rotation-assad-wesneski-wicks-smyly/After some offseason shuffling in the rotation, the Chicago Cubs are set to have a fierce and lengthy spring training battle for the fifth starter job.   As things currently stand, there are four Cubs who are locked into their places in the rotation following their 2023 seasons: ...614Mon, 19 Feb 2024 12:12:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/you-have-to-stop-talking-about-a-winter-deadline-for-hot-stove-movement-r616/The 2023-24 MLB offseason has been frustrating, if you've chosen to let it be so. It's been the kind of crisis that can spur major change, if you're the kind of person who embraces dangerous change on a whim. Taking a clearer view, though, it's really just been another episode of Greedy Billiona...616Sun, 18 Feb 2024 15:42:34 +0000