Pitchers and catchers are reporting? It's the Spring Training Thread!

[Rcal10]

In an effort to post something that doesn’t age well, I will say I believe we are done for the off season. I think what we see is what we get. Maybe a minor league signing, but that is it. I don’t think Gallen or any other major leaguer will be added. 
Now, really hope this one comes back me soon.😅

[squally1313]

Corbin Carroll with a broken hamate bone pretty much locks in PCA as a starting outfielder for Team USA. Hopefully him and Buxton don't kill each other on a ball in the gap. 

[mul21]

12 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Corbin Carroll with a broken hamate bone pretty much locks in PCA as a starting outfielder for Team USA. Hopefully him and Buxton don't kill each other on a ball in the gap. 

You can probably get away with just the 2 of them out there and add an extra IF to prevent that from being a possibility. 😜

[Bertz]

FWIW we have early season series against both the Dbacks and Mets.  We won't miss Lindor and Carroll but we'll probably get the power-sapped versions.

[Bertz]

Kind of shocked that Palencia is the anointed closer and not just "in the mix".

 

[Bertz]

Watched the presser, nothing too crazy which is probably good news:

- Jed made it sound like they were done with big transactions and just continuing to hunt for depth

- HOWEVER Bruce Levine tried to get him to bite on a thinly veiled question about Zac Gallen and Jed got a big horsefeathers eating grin on his face and said something about having plenty of resources

- No one is hurt that we didn't already know about.  Carter mentioned Steele and Trent Thornton rehabbing but no one else is currently hurt.

- Apparently Hunter Harvey was absolutely gushing about the Cubs pitching and medical staffs.  He's come from some particularly backwards orgs but still feels notable

- A question about the roster cliff came up.  Jed then mentioned the young SPs and how good they feel about them

- Michael Busch is apparently getting the opportunity to play every day against LHP?  

[Stratos]

10 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

In an effort to post something that doesn’t age well, I will say I believe we are done for the off season. I think what we see is what we get. Maybe a minor league signing, but that is it. I don’t think Gallen or any other major leaguer will be added. 
Now, really hope this one comes back me soon.😅

Yeah most likely right, unless some deal falls into their lap they can't pass up.  LT payroll is at 265m so hard to see Tom wanting to keep pushing

Edited February 12 by Stratos

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, Stratos said:

Yeah most likely right, unless some deal falls into their lap they can't load up.  LT payroll is at 265m so hard to see Tom wanting to keep pushing

I don’t think they are at $265M right now. 

[CubinNY]

Big Mo and Assad are not in camp yet due to Visa problems. I was hoping we'd get a shot of slimmed-down young men. 

[mul21]

3 hours ago, Bertz said:

Kind of shocked that Palencia is the anointed closer and not just "in the mix".

 

That doesn't surprise me a ton after what Counsell asked him to do in the playoffs being the bridge from the starters to the rest of the pen and also mostly being a fireman in those situations coming into dirty innings.  I have to believe that instilled a ton of confidence in him.

[Dfan25]

Orioles were one of the main teams on Gallen . 

[Bertz]

7 hours ago, Bertz said:

- HOWEVER Bruce Levine tried to get him to bite on a thinly veiled question about Zac Gallen and Jed got a big horsefeathers eating grin on his face and said something about having plenty of resources

👀

[Stratos]

6 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

I don’t think they are at $265M right now. 

That's what fangraphs LT payroll page estimate says. 

[Rcal10]

56 minutes ago, Stratos said:

That's what fangraphs LT payroll page estimate says. 

I saw $243M. I don’t think they are at $265M.  

[Stratos]

1 hour ago, Rcal10 said:

I saw $243M. I don’t think they are at $265M.  

You're right, I accidentally looked at the wrong team.  Lame payroll, let's sign Gallen now.

[Geographyhater8888]

I’m glad Jed doubled on addressing the bullpen and the bench in the offseason. No more in season try outs in both the bullpen and the bench, figuring horsefeathers out on the fly.

Edited February 12 by Geographyhater8888

[Geographyhater8888]

How deceptive can Cabreras 94 mph changeup be when it’s within a few mph of his average fastball velocity?

[Jason Ross]

20 minutes ago, Geographyhater8888 said:

How deceptive can Cabreras 94 mph changeup be when it’s within a few mph of his average fastball velocity?

Incredibly. The pitches don't distinguish themselves via velocity but do have distinct movement differences. This creates a very difficult decision point for a hitter; with a larger velocity gap it would help create an easier way to identify the pitch. The changeup has much more vertical drop and runs more arm side than the fastball. This both increases whiff% as well as better batted ball data. 

[Geographyhater8888]

3 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

Incredibly. The pitches don't distinguish themselves via velocity but do have distinct movement differences. This creates a very difficult decision point for a hitter; with a larger velocity gap it would help create an easier way to identify the pitch. The changeup has much more vertical drop and runs more arm side than the fastball. This both increases whiff% as well as better batted ball data. 

It’s an effective pitch. It looks like a sinker and his sinker has some arm side run like a 2 seamer. The radar gun checks out. They all look like a variations of fastballs. One of them is a changeup in principle because of his grip. Not a big deal. Fun time to watch MLB pitching. 

[Bertz]

Felix Hernandez and Zack Greinke both did the "changeup almost as fast as my fastball" thing.  Unfortunately neither guy did it early in their career when they still had primo velocity.  It was a lot of 92 MPH fastball with an 89 MPH change, but it worked exceptionally well.

[CubinNY]

5 minutes ago, Bertz said:

Felix Hernandez and Zack Greinke both did the "changeup almost as fast as my fastball" thing.  Unfortunately neither guy did it early in their career when they still had primo velocity.  It was a lot of 92 MPH fastball with an 89 MPH change, but it worked exceptionally well.

I think our boy Kyle Hendricks was one of the best at that. He had so many different speeds to his change-up. Late-career  Maddux was great, too. 

[jersey cubs fan]

On 2/10/2026 at 12:32 PM, Hot Sauce said:

 

[Jason Ross]

14 hours ago, Bertz said:

👀

Just to add fuel to the fire, Tyler Zombro had already been following Zac Gallen on socials. The Cubs "Scout of the Year" just added Gallen as well.

[Neuby]

20 hours ago, CubinNY said:

Big Mo and Assad are not in camp yet due to Visa problems. I was hoping we'd get a shot of slimmed-down young men. 

Mo's been posting hype videos of himself working out all offseason on his instagram stories , not sure if he's lost weight but he' putting in the work.

[Hot Sauce]

Bregman has such a pretty, effortless swing.