https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/145/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/lets-talk-about-the-cubs-options-with-regard-to-kyle-hendricks-r395/Under the terms of the long-term contract to which the Cubs signed Kyle Hendricks in March 2019, they hold a $16-million option on his services for 2024. A year ago, that looked unlikely to be picked up, but he had a solid 2023. That changes the calculus quite a bit, because $16 million doesn't...395Wed, 18 Oct 2023 11:15:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-phillies-are-the-blueprint-for-the-cubs-buy-stars-figure-it-out-later-r394/Even if you didn’t know it, you probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the guy running the Phillies is Dave Dombrowski. The eccentric executive has long been known for his wheeling and dealing, in both the trade and free-agent markets. He’s got something of a reputation for “draining and d...394Tue, 17 Oct 2023 14:05:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/north-side-baseballs-2023-chicago-cubs-pitcher-of-the-year-r392/As we get down to the four final teams in the circuit and speed toward the crowning of another MLB champion, I only have one thing on my mind: What are the Cubs going to do this offseason? As hungry as I am to rinse the sour grapes out of my mouth and look forward, there is value in looking...392Tue, 17 Oct 2023 12:16:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/one-part-of-cubs-offseason-plan-needs-to-be-modernizing-the-bullpen-r393/Going into that series, the Cubs had a one-game lead over the Miami Marlins for the final Wild Card spot. Three games and three losses later, combined with the Marlins taking two of three from the New York Mets, the Cubs’ playoff chances were all but gone, entering the final series of the season...393Mon, 16 Oct 2023 11:22:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/chicago-cubs-free-agent-target-mitch-garver-r391/It's possible that Mitch Garver will use his long-awaited free agency this winter to seek out a team who views him as a full-time catcher. That's always been his primary position, and he takes pride in the improvements he's made as a defensive catcher over the years. It's likely that he finds th...391Sun, 15 Oct 2023 11:22:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/two-cubs-outfield-prospects-are-still-playing-very-important-baseball-r390/For Kevin Alcantara, the big roster clock in the sky is already ticking. The fact that he needed to be placed on the 40-man roster last November is one reason why he was available to the Cubs in the Anthony Rizzo trade the previous July. Teams always have one eye on the countdown to when a playe...390Fri, 13 Oct 2023 11:43:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/welcome-to-the-era-of-the-six-man-starting-rotation-r388/When MLB expanded to 30 teams in 1998, just over 42 percent of all starts were made with five or more days of rest. By then, the four-man starting rotations that prevailed in the 1960s and 1970s were receding rapidly into memory, but every team was doing their utmost to field a consistent five-m...388Thu, 12 Oct 2023 12:08:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/north-side-baseball-2023-chicago-cubs-mvp-r386/Here are the voting results for the MVP of the 2023 Chicago Cubs, as voted on by Northside Baseball contributors: Honorable Mention Ian Happ, LF Stats: .248/.360/.431 After an up-and-down first five years of his career, Happ seems finally to have found some stability and consistenc...386Wed, 11 Oct 2023 15:12:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/how-much-money-do-the-cubs-have-to-spend-to-win-in-2024-r387/In 2023, the Cubs assiduously navigated the season in such a way as to avoid exceeding even the first threshold above which they would have had to pay the luxury tax. Their full-season payroll figure, by the reckoning of the Competitive Balance Tax (which takes the annual average value of every...387Wed, 11 Oct 2023 12:06:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/north-side-baseball-2023-chicago-cubs-rookie-of-the-year-r381/The Cubs have not had a National League Rookie of the Year winner since Kris Bryant’s electric debut in 2015. That… will not change here in 2023, though for the first time in a while, there were serious contributions to the major league team from the Cubs’ rookie class (even if there could have...381Tue, 10 Oct 2023 12:36:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/how-would-the-2024-chicago-cubs-line-up-if-the-season-started-monday-r385/It's tempting to try to skip ahead, at this time of year. After the bitter disappointment of the Cubs' late-season collapse, the fan's impulse is to chase big names and start vicariously spending Tom Ricketts's ill-gotten money. That's a natural and sufficiently noble exercise, but it won't take...385Mon, 09 Oct 2023 12:10:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-cubs-decision-to-retain-david-ross-will-set-the-franchise-back-r384/This is effectively a part two to my article advocating for the Cubs to fire Ross following their embarrassing September collapse, though clearly the people in charge of our favorite franchise skipped over that piece (or disagreed with my argument). In case you didn’t see it, Jed Hoyer confirmed...384Sun, 08 Oct 2023 12:21:01 +0000