https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/163/?d=7enhttps://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 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-minor-league-hitter-of-the-year-2023-r380/Under Theo Epstein, the Cubs’ design philosophy was to prioritize elite college hitters and projectable high school athletes, leading them to build the best farm system in baseball after a few years of rebuilding. That system was highlighted by position player prospects, from Kris Bryant to Javi...380Sat, 07 Oct 2023 12:20:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/dear-2023-chicago-cubs-thank-you-for-turning-the-switch-to-on-r383/Dear 2023 Chicago Cubs, I have spent a few days pinpointing what you were to me. I try to separate logic and love as best as I can, but the fan in me always seems to be the loudest voice.  It seems like it was just yesterday that I ran down to Wrigleyville to get a Dansby Swanson jerse...383Sat, 07 Oct 2023 12:10:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/chicago-cubs-milb-relief-pitcher-of-the-year-2023-r379/The Cubs have been among the leaders of the bullpen revolution that’s taken over the baseball landscape during the last decade, often finding ways to put together highly efficient groups of relievers for relative pittances. Part of that process has been developing relief prospects internally; wh...379Fri, 06 Oct 2023 13:13:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-minor-league-starting-pitcher-of-the-year-2023-r378/The Cubs have done a lot of work since their infamous 2019 draft in overhauling their organizational pitching infrastructure, introducing the Pitch Lab during the pandemic and hiring luminaries of the pitching world like Carter Hawkins for prominent positions (General Manager in Hawkins’ case)....378Thu, 05 Oct 2023 16:23:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/sizing-up-the-cubs-offseason-needs-and-top-priorities-part-three-r382/In Part One of this series, I wrote about the starting pitchers who could fill out the front end of the rotation, and about the urgency of bringing back Cody Bellinger. In Part Two, we discussed the hurlers who could transform the back end of the bullpen, and those who can give the middle of the...382Thu, 05 Oct 2023 12:35:37 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/sizing-up-the-cubs-offseason-needs-and-top-priorities-part-two-r377/In Part One of this series, I talked about the broad salary limitations within which I think the Cubs are working, about the need for them to retain Cody Bellinger, and about how they can upgrade their rotation. Down the stretch, though, we definitely saw some further needs than those that the f...377Wed, 04 Oct 2023 12:28:45 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/sizing-up-the-cubs-offseason-needs-and-top-priorities-part-one-r375/With a top-five farm system in baseball and plenty of money to spend, the future does look bright. Here are some ways that they can address their top needs this off-season.  A couple caveats to start with: Payroll: My guess is payroll will end up in the $250 million range. The e...375Tue, 03 Oct 2023 16:46:00 +0000