https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/133/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-can-win-nl-central-2024-season/The last time the Cubs won the division was in 2020, or the shortened, 60-game pandemic season. Before then, it was in 2017, the year they were outclassed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. For all the talk about how great the last Cubs’ competitive window under Theo Epstein was, they only...613Sat, 17 Feb 2024 15:08:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/2024-chicago-cubs-spring-training-position-battles-the-bullpen-r612/Quietly, the Cubs have locked in over half their bullpen for 2024, assuming health and a reasonable amount of performance carryover from 2023. Adbert Alzolay, Julian Merryweather, and Mark Leiter Jr. anchored the North Siders'  relief unit last year, and the one closest to not making the roster...612Fri, 16 Feb 2024 16:10:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/spring-training-preview-position-battles-third-base-madrigal-wisdom-shaw/The Cubs began last season with Patrick Wisdom as their starting third baseman on Opening Day. They gave Nick Madrigal his first ever start at the hot corner for game two. Those two players ended up combining to start 133 games at the position for the team last season, with Madrigal getting the...606Thu, 15 Feb 2024 12:56:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/how-playing-with-playing-time-changes-the-2024-chicago-cubs-projections-r607/It seems like projection season always leaves fans of the Chicago Cubs in varying states of dismay. Even in past winters wherein the team has been far more active or seems to feature more upside, systems like PECOTA and ZiPS don’t tend to love them—at least not as much as fans want them to. That...607Wed, 14 Feb 2024 14:15:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/jameson-taillon-2024-rotation-left-handed-batters-platoon-splits-pitch-mix/In retrospect, Jameson Taillon’s first season in a Chicago Cubs uniform almost went exactly as expected. His 4.84 ERA is a pretty big jump from his 4.00 mark for his career, but the gap isn’t yawning, at least given the fickle nature of pitchers. He still managed to throw 154 ⅓ innings, a good t...604Wed, 14 Feb 2024 12:17:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/jordan-wicks-is-a-grown-up-now-and-he-needs-a-more-mature-pitch-mix-r599/We'll have a full preview of the battle for the fifth spot in the Cubs' starting rotation later this week, but for today, let's talk about Jordan Wicks, and only Jordan Wicks. Almost a month ago, our Jason Ross broke down the shift in the way Wicks attacked hitters that took place when he matric...599Tue, 13 Feb 2024 12:14:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-two-places-where-cubs-have-greatest-need-according-to-fangraphs-r597/As you would probably guess, the Cubs rank very well at second base, shortstop, and left field, according to FanGraphs's Depth Charts projections. They're fifth at second and in left, powered by Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ, respecitvely, and they're seventh at shortstop, thanks to Dansby Swanson....597Mon, 12 Feb 2024 12:15:57 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-baseball-equivalent-michael-jordan-jackson-elvis-beatles/For weeks, now, the world has been fascinated by Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. It has become one of the most potent cultural phenomena of the 21st century, equal parts joyous crossover craze and utterly insane political firestorm. It's captured attention in a way baseball hasn't done in at leas...592Sun, 11 Feb 2024 12:14:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-trade-targets-two-marlins-pitchers-who-fit-the-roster-before-spring-training-r594/The North Siders have already made a few moves to beef up their pitching staff, signing Shota Imanaga and Hector Neris for the rotation and bullpen, respectively. They also added Yency Almonte in the Michael Busch-Jackson Ferris swap. Combined with the expected internal improvements of the young...594Sat, 10 Feb 2024 15:55:15 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/destination-the-show-episode-23-ben-badler-interview-r591/In episode 23 of Destination: The Show, Jeremy and JD are joined by Ben Badler of Baseball America. Ben talks about his journey in the baseball industry and how he ended up covering the international signing period at BA. Ben details the joys and challenges of covering baseball on Latin America,...591Fri, 09 Feb 2024 16:19:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/are-the-cubs-just-going-to-let-talent-melt-off-their-roster-this-spring-r593/The Cubs are short on middle-of-the-order bats. The only credible, relatively certain one they have right now is Seiya Suzuki, and even that statement hinges on one buying heavily into two very good months at the plate to close 2023. They're arguably one dominant relief arm and one front-of-the-...593Fri, 09 Feb 2024 12:14:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/free-agent-targets-cody-bellinger-matt-chapman-jordan-montgomery-blake-snell/Obviously, the focus for most Cubs fans over the last couple of months has been Cody Bellinger. It's Bellinger both the organization and the fan base know best, and Bellinger has been viewed as both the most likely and the best fit of this quartet. Two months ago, that was almost unquestionable,...589Thu, 08 Feb 2024 12:05:41 +0000