https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-annual-cubs-bullpen-reckoning-is-here-r2769/By mid-May 2024, the Cubs were in trouble. They'd built their bullpen plans around three right-handed pitchers: flamethrower Julian Merryweather, coming off a 2023 season in which he'd gone from an unnoticed waiver claim to a relief ace; analytics darling Yency Almonte, part of the Michael Busch...2769Fri, 24 Apr 2026 11:52:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/for-cubs-run-production-will-hinge-on-being-productive-with-runners-in-scoring-position%E2%80%94all-year-r2757/It's not just you. The Cubs' offense has been boom-or-bust this season. The offense is completely dependent on sequential hitting, which leads to some frustrating nights in front of the TV. The Cubs, who lack a reliable 40-homer hitter to anchor the lineup, rely on clusters of hits to score. The...2757Thu, 23 Apr 2026 11:37:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/dansby-swanson-abs-power-production-rob-deer-smaller-strike-zone/Have you seen the new Peacock show "The Miniature Wife"? Yeah, me neither. It's baseball season. The NBA playoffs are here. My nephew played the lead in his high school's production of Anastasia last weekend, and I have a new niece and a new nephew to fawn over, and I really should clean out the...2765Wed, 22 Apr 2026 22:05:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/edward-cabreras-cubs-legacy-is-only-getting-started-r2760/A filthy, lockdown starting pitcher changes the fortunes and the perception of a Major League Baseball team. He can make a fringe club competitive and a contender close to unstoppable. Look no further than the likes of the back-to-back American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, Paul Ske...2760Wed, 22 Apr 2026 21:02:12 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/nico-hoerner-and-the-power-of-the-pulled-line-drive-approach-r2763/If you want to play with some selective endpoints, you can end up pretty deeply impressed by Nico Hoerner these days. He blasted his fourth home run of the season in the Cubs' seventh straight win on Tuesday night, and since last August 24—I did warn you the endpoints would be selective—he's bat...2763Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:57:20 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/outfield-defense-is-a-rising-tide-pete-crow-armstrong-is-an-airplane-r2758/Pete Crow-Armstrong is the best defensive center fielder in baseball. As recently as last season, there was at least a modicum of debate about that—Ceddanne Rafaela of the Red Sox won the prestigious Fielding Bible Award for center field, and might even have deserved it. Now, though, Crow-Armstr...2758Tue, 21 Apr 2026 16:40:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/baseballs-best-division-cubs-staring-down-unfriendly-gauntlet-in-nl-central-r2756/With roughly a week and change left in April, and roughly 90% of the MLB regular season left to go, it’s time to check in on how the rest of the NL Central is doing. As of 4/21, here are the current standings:  Reds: 15-8 Pirates: 13-9 Cubs: 13-9 Cardinals: 13-9 Brewers:...2756Tue, 21 Apr 2026 15:00:03 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-cubs-zombie-closer-and-his-immortal-fastball-r2755/The Chicago Cubs might not have their closer, Daniel Palencia, and an army of useful relievers at the moment, but don’t fret: Caleb Thielbar is here. Nobody in the Cubs’ bullpen can replace Palencia’s sheer power and upside, but Thielbar has certainly given fans some peace of mind with his perfo...2755Mon, 20 Apr 2026 22:12:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-week-in-review-wins-pile-up-but-so-do-injuries-r2753/You could call the Cubs' rash of injury troubles a bug, but lately, that feels insufficient. With the club's fiery closer Daniel Palencia the latest to go down with an oblique strain, the "bug" this squad is up against is more akin to one of Godzilla's adversaries than a gnat you swat away while...2753Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:25:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/so-far-seiya-suzuki-isnt-on-time-r2754/Since Seiya Suzuki’s return from injury on April 10, the Chicago Cubs’ offense has started to figure things out. Heading into action on that day, the North Siders had a 95 wRC+, according to FanGraphs, meaning that the offense was five percent worse than the league average. Since then, they've h...2754Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:53:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/you-are-craig-counsell-get-27-outs-today-good-luck-r2751/It's about to get a little nutty at Wrigley Field. The Cubs have managed to win four games in a row this week, flipping the narrative that had begun to surround a rocky start to the season. However, even as they've done so, they've been further depleted by injury. Matthew Boyd and Cade Horton ha...2751Sun, 19 Apr 2026 17:08:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/moises-ballesteros-swing-changes-portend-a-very-bright-cubs-future-r2749/Moises Ballesteros entered 2025 as a top prospect who had already performed at the Triple-A level at 20 years of age and looked primed to make an impact with the big-league club. After a very brief and less-than-stellar debut in May, he rejoined the club in September and put together a .999 OPS...2749Sat, 18 Apr 2026 16:00:00 +0000