https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/25/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/edwin-diaz-robert-suarez-cubs-closer-options-free-agency/It's never been Jed Hoyer's style to pay top dollar for relievers—even great, relatively reliable ones. When Theo Epstein was still with the Cubs, they did sign Craig Kimbrel to a three-year deal in 2019, but those were special circumstances, and Hoyer isn't Epstein. Last winter, however, Hoyer...2297Tue, 04 Nov 2025 14:27:07 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-1985-cubs-have-more-lessons-to-offer-chicago-today-r2294/In a previous article (read it here!) we discussed the Chicago Cubs' pitching staff from 1984 to 1985, and what lessons the modern Cubs could take away from those 40-year-old mistakes. This piece will focus on the bats. Larry Bowa was a fill-in shortstop in 1984 and into 1985. The Cubs were...2294Mon, 03 Nov 2025 12:52:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/clocks-ticking-cubs-impending-free-agents-have-decisions-to-make-as-offseason-dawns-r2296/  The offseason begins the moment the World Series ends, and even though the 2025 World Series ended in spectacular, exhausting fashion, teams have to start making choices immediately. The Chicago Cubs, for instance, have until Thursday to decide whether to exercise their club options on Co...2296Sun, 02 Nov 2025 15:36:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/do-the-st-louis-cardinals-possess-the-answer-to-the-cubs-rotation-problem-r2295/It's bound to be a weird offseason with a potential lockout looming for 2027. Teams may try to load up on one-year deals, while only negotiating longer term with some of the marquee names. Teams on the edge of contention may opt to sell some of their impending free agents to create some payroll...2295Sat, 01 Nov 2025 11:50:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-free-agent-targets-npb-posting-munetaka-murakami-kazuma-okamoto/Though neither Kazuma Okamoto nor Munetaka Murakami qualified for the batting title in Japan this year, if you bring down the required number of plate appearances to 200, they sit atop the leaderboard for offensive production. Okamoto, 29, batted an eye-popping .327/.416/.598 in 69 games and 293...2293Fri, 31 Oct 2025 11:32:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/how-big-a-role-will-cubs-play-in-2026-world-baseball-classic-r2292/Three years ago, in early 2023, there were several Cubs storylines attached to the World Baseball Classic. Though an oblique strain sidelined Seiya Suzuki for the tournament, it was poignant to see his jersey hanging in the dugout for Samurai Japan throughout their run to the championship. Meanw...2292Thu, 30 Oct 2025 17:21:55 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/chicago-cubs-history-1985-collapse-offers-important-lessons-for-2026-cubs-to-follow-r2290/It's an old sports adage that the final leap to true contention is the hardest to make. It's one thing to improve, like the 2025 Chicago Cubs, from 83 wins to 92. The next season is the key. Making the final leap is the most difficult one. For a (not so fun) example, let's look back 40 year...2290Wed, 29 Oct 2025 23:02:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/chicago-cubs-arbitration-decisions-projections-javier-assad-r2289/SP, Javier Assad Age on Opening Day: 28 2023 Salary: League Minimum  2024 Salary: League Minimum  2025 Salary: League Minimum  2026 Salary Projection: $1,900,000 Background:  Javier Assad was signed out of Mexico as an international free agent back in 2015. Not considered one of...2289Wed, 29 Oct 2025 11:57:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/jordan-in-cleats-shohei-ohtani-continues-to-mirror-career-arc-of-his-only-real-comp-r2288/The list of comparable phenomena in the history of sports is short. Shohei Ohtani is the best baseball player ever, without a close or serious rival, and the way he's swept up the sport—advancing it as a global interest while simultaneously wrapping the whole apparatus around himself, becoming t...2288Tue, 28 Oct 2025 16:52:11 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/miguel-amaya-unlikely-to-achieve-super-two-eligibility-this-winter-easing-path-to-playing-time-r2287/The offseason is right around the corner, and Miguel Amaya is poised to enter it with 2 years, 130 days of MLB service. That's very close to the cutoff for Super Two eligibility for arbitration in recent years, but according to a review of the players who make up the pool of candidates for that...2287Tue, 28 Oct 2025 13:15:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/chicago-cubs-arbitration-decisions-projections-justin-steele-r2286/SP Justin Steele Age on Opening Day 2026: 30 Service Time: 4.1 years 2023 salary: League Minimum 2024 salary: $4,000,000 2025 salary: $6,500,000 2026 projected salary: $6,550,000 Background: Justin Steele was drafted by the Chicago Cubs out of high school way back in 2014. A m...2286Tue, 28 Oct 2025 11:58:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/how-pete-crow-armstrongs-second-half-answered-one-of-cubs-historys-biggest-what-ifs-r2285/For Cubs fans of a certain age, there are a host of haunting 'what-if' scenarios attached to the team's 2003 season. On the whole, that was a great year, featuring the team's first division title in 14 years and almost as many postseason games (12) as they'd played from 1945 through 2002 (13). I...2285Mon, 27 Oct 2025 17:29:18 +0000