https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/148/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/shohei-ohtani-contract-structure-deferrals-dodgers-460-million/After a couple days spent finalizing the details and clearing the necessary roster spots for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani's megadeal became official Monday. In the process, reporters laid out the particulars of the deferral structure that was alluded to in less exact terms on Saturday,...498Tue, 12 Dec 2023 14:12:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-joyously-uncomplicated-possibility-of-emmanuel-clase-r499/There's nothing complicated about Emmanuel Clase. The Guardians' closer is just a rear-back-and-fire guy. He throws a cutter and a slider, and the cutter hums in at very nearly 100 miles per hour. It takes little more than that to be an elite relief pitcher, and for the last three years, that's...499Tue, 12 Dec 2023 12:35:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/chicago-cubs-free-agent-target-spencer-turnbull-r497/Things did not end well between the Tigers and Spencer Turnbull. The 2014 second-rounder out of Alabama climbed through the Detroit farm system over the next few years, and was occasionally impressive for his first few years in MLB. Early in 2021, though, he seemed to have turned a corner. That...497Mon, 11 Dec 2023 12:42:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/destination-the-show-episode-15-winter-meeting-draft-lottery-rule-5-draft-r495/The boys are back to recap the slow Winter Meetings. There's a detailed breakdown of the Draft Lottery including winners and losers, revenue sharing comp picks, a summary of first day picks and bonus pools for the Brewers, Cubs, and Twins, and how MLB could make the draft lottery broadcast bette...495Sun, 10 Dec 2023 13:15:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/shohei-ohtani-will-not-be-a-cub-thats-probably-for-the-best-r496/At $700 million (even given massive deferrals), Shohei Ohtani was not a fit for the Cubs. I would argue that he's not even a fit for the Dodgers at that number, but they have it to spend and he's an extraordinary player, so now, he's a Dodger. The Cubs didn't land Ohtani despite their second ear...496Sun, 10 Dec 2023 12:56:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/thinking-about-six-months-from-now-as-the-present-r494/Being a sports fan is a funny thing. There's a season, and there's an offseason, and while plenty happens during the offseason, they don't call it the "low season," as opposed to the "high season". No. Baseball is a binary condition. It's either being played, or it isn't. (Plainly, it's not that...494Fri, 08 Dec 2023 12:52:03 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/can-matt-chapman-unlock-his-offensive-upside-again-by-changing-his-approach-r493/It's hard not to see the match between the Cubs' roster construction and free-agent third baseman Matt Chapman. Last winter, faced with a market that priced them out of the elite offense they had wanted to build, the team pivoted and tried to win by assembling an elite defense, instead. Dansby S...493Thu, 07 Dec 2023 19:30:03 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/lets-establish-the-ground-truth-around-christopher-morel-r491/There's an uncomfortable (and, perhaps, ultimately unreconcilable) tension between Christopher Morel's approach to baseball and the milieu of the modern game. Morel is a smart player, but he keeps things simple. He swings hard. He runs hard. He throws hard. He doesn't have Javier Baez's physical...491Wed, 06 Dec 2023 20:27:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-shohei-ohtani-rumors-bubble-over-into-confusion-and-more-rumors-abound-r490/In the blizzard, the absolute onslaught of things that have been said and slung about the Cubs' pursuit of Shohei Ohtani as that pursuit has gained steam in the last week, there's something that ought to have been said just a bit more persistently: the Cubs aren't likely to sign Shohei Ohtani. I...490Wed, 06 Dec 2023 13:16:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/what-rhys-hoskins-could-and-couldnt-do-for-the-cubs-r489/According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network and FOX Sports, the Cubs and Rhys Hoskins's representation (i.e., the Boras Corporation) have discussed both one- and multi-year deals. Hoskins, of course, is this year's Michael Conforto, a talented player with clear strengths and weaknesses who missed the...489Tue, 05 Dec 2023 21:07:49 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-rule-5-draft-success-stories-catcher-jody-davis-r485/Background  Jody Davis was born in 1956 in Gainesville, Georgia, a city of 42,296 people according to the 2020 census. It is about 45-50 miles northeast of Atlanta. He graduated from North Hall High School in 1974 and headed to Middle Georgia State University in Macon for a year.  The New...485Mon, 04 Dec 2023 17:15:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/trade-candidate-framber-valdez-alex-bregman-jordan-wicks/To be clear, The Athletic Astros beat writer Chandler Rome didn't say the Astros are looking to trade Framber Valdez. On the contrary, they're still viewing themselves as right in the thick of their competitive window, even if the Rangers' win over them in the ALCS and their thinning farm system...483Sun, 03 Dec 2023 20:56:15 +0000