https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/page/168/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/away-away-away-how-kyle-hendricks-faded-the-league-in-resurgent-season-r559/The Cubs' erstwhile workhorse almost had his career careen into what would have felt like a premature end. Instead, he reasserted himself, in the least conventionally assertive way possible. The oldest orthodoxy in pitching is: away, away, away. Even Bob Gibson (one of history's most famous...559Thu, 18 Jan 2024 17:38:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/the-cubs-are-betting-big-on-internal-improvements-r557/The Cubs have been exceptionally patient this offseason, much to the chagrin of their fans. Though things have finally gotten kickstarted, the front office largely appears content to bet the outcome of their 2024 season on the development of the players already on the team. After the signing...557Thu, 18 Jan 2024 12:15:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/projecting-the-cubs-2024-opening-day-roster-v-20-r558/The Cubs' offseason is far from complete, but they've made enough moves in the last two weeks to merit a refresh of the roster projection we did for them last month. Let's tackle the task. One month ago, I wrote up the most likely 26-man roster for Opening Day 2024, which then looked an awfu...558Wed, 17 Jan 2024 12:50:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/blake-snell-free-agency-pitch-arsenal-200-million/All offseason, the Cubs have been locked in a slow, dangerous tango with Scott Boras, and nearly all of the rumors and musings have centered on Cody Bellinger, Jordan Montgomery, and/or Matt Chapman. There's one more big name on Boras's client list, though, and it's time to tackle him. I und...554Tue, 16 Jan 2024 11:32:44 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/too-many-people-are-dismissing-shota-imanagas-upside-based-on-velocity-r552/The Cubs' newest starting pitcher doesn't throw especially hard, and because of that fact, some outlets have tabbed him as a back-end arm. That kind of lazy, radar gun-only scouting should be left in 2014. Ten years later, we know better. It's true: Shota Imanaga doesn't throw all that hard....552Mon, 15 Jan 2024 14:48:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/what-did-jed-hoyer-mean-by-that-r551/Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer let loose--kind of. During Cubs Convention, Hoyer had some interesting things to say about the current state of the ballclub. One remark really stood out to me, and I figured, why not get to the bottom of it? Call him Chef Hoyer-dee, because he...551Sun, 14 Jan 2024 16:34:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/new-cubs-reliever-yency-almonte-and-why-it-matters-what-you-call-his-breaking-ball-r550/Though he quickly became a secondary consideration once the full scope of the trade was known, the Cubs added an interesting relief pitcher in Thursday's trade with the Dodgers. Let's talk more about him, and about how modern pitching analysis works. For parts of the last two seasons, Yency...550Sun, 14 Jan 2024 12:23:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/cubs-fixed-julian-merryweather-slider/On January 17th, 2023, the Chicago Cubs claimed Julian Merryweather on waivers after he was designated for assignment by the Toronto Blue Jays. Despite showing upper 90's velocity, the then-31-year-old-reliever had been, at best, tepid, posting a 5.63 ERA to go along with 4.13 xFIP and being wor...544Sat, 13 Jan 2024 13:13:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/arbitration-salaries-steele-merryweather-alzolay-tauchman-madrigal-leiter/The deadline to settle arbitration deals this offseason passed on Thursday night, and the Cubs avoided arbitration with all of their eligible players. Let's take a look at the terms, and consider the implications. For context: if the arbitration deadline passes without the player and team re...549Fri, 12 Jan 2024 17:17:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/michael-busch-scouting-report-pitch-recognition-velocity-issue-milb-data/In a shocking trade, the Cubs dealt top-10 prospect Jackson Ferris and 2023 draft pick Zyhir Hope to the Dodgers for Yency Almonte and Michael Busch. On the surface, Busch struggled in his first attempt at the major leagues. With a deep dive, however, how much should you worry about the long-ter...547Fri, 12 Jan 2024 12:21:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/michael-busch-first-base-third-base-defense-metrics-scouting-reports/The Cubs made a crucial upgrade in their lineup with a trade Thursday, adding left-handed thump. The question is what, exactly, they just did to their defense. Within the same calendar day on which their deal with Shōta Imanaga was announced, the Chicago Cubs swung a major trade, too. In thi...546Thu, 11 Jan 2024 22:06:14 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/chicago-cubs-news/cubs/destination-the-show-episode-19-r543/Draft tandem JD Cameron and Jeremy Nygaard team up for a new podcast to discuss prospects on their way to the big leagues. In this episode, we break down the ins and outs of the international signing window, which opens on January 15th. In this episode, Jeremy and Jamie discuss the ins and o...543Thu, 11 Jan 2024 20:33:00 +0000