https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/77/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-2025-chicago-cubs-bench-dudes-power-rankings-r1537/Before we dig in, this bench needs a nickname. The Bench Mob? The Squad? The Bearded Men? The Splendid Splinters? Might need to be a poll!  This is intended to be power rankings. Since we have no games (that count) to go by, though, the aura of the player will be the sole determinant. Sprin...1537Thu, 27 Feb 2025 00:02:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-suddenly-superb-pitching-depth-will-force-tough-choices-while-hitters-have-some-space-r1535/It's beginning to feel inevitable that the Cubs will lose someone they really like from the pitching staff by the end of camp. They'll do everything they can to cultivate and maintain depth, because injuries will intrude, and being able to pivot to desirable fallback plans depends on having held...1535Wed, 26 Feb 2025 14:06:20 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/matt-shaw-probably-isnt-going-to-japan-so-cubs-have-a-little-more-time-to-think-r1534/Matt Shaw continues his recovery process from a mild oblique strain that sidelined him before Cactus League games could even begin. He's hitting in the cage and doing "normal" defensive drills, the team shared Tuesday. By no means is his arrival in the team's lineup for live spring training game...1534Wed, 26 Feb 2025 12:16:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/kevin-alcantara-is-making-himself-hard-to-send-down-r1531/Kevin Alcántara made his MLB debut in 2024, but he collected just one hit in 10 at-bats. Spring training 2025 has been a much different story. In 11 at-bats so far this spring, Alcántara boasts a .545 batting average, with an OPS of 1.272 and four runs driven in. He has collected not only a hit,...1531Tue, 25 Feb 2025 14:30:54 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/this-version-of-brad-keller-is-a-must-keep-pitcher-even-in-a-crowded-cubs-picture-r1532/If you were disposed to skepticism, you might not have bought into the velocity readings Brad Keller put up in his first appearance of spring training, last week against the Dodgers in Glendale, Ariz. He sat at 96 miles per hour and touched 98 in a five-out appearance, which represented a bump o...1532Tue, 25 Feb 2025 12:41:16 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-starter-matthew-boyd-makes-spring-debut-with-a-very-different-slider-r1530/In two scoreless innings of work Monday in Arizona, Matthew Boyd struck out two and sat just over 92 miles per hour with his fastball, which is what that pitch averaged in 2024. It was an excellent first outing in that regard for Boyd, 34, who signed a two-year deal in the fall worth $29 million...1530Mon, 24 Feb 2025 22:02:36 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/the-cubs-5th-starting-pitcher-will-be-one-of-these-nine-hurlers-but-which-r1528/The fifth spot in the Cubs’ rotation was a huge weak spot in the 2024 season. Despite an encouraging 2023 season, a second decline came fast for Kyle Hendricks just one season later. In 24 starts, he posted a 6.27 ERA. Those 24 starts (and the fistful that went to other hurlers as the team scram...1528Mon, 24 Feb 2025 15:31:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/how-much-is-kyle-tucker-in-line-to-get-in-free-agency-r1527/When Juan Soto signed an eye-popping 15-year, $765-million contract with the New York Mets in December, it seemed to confirm what many had already begun to assume about salaries at the top end of the free-agent market in MLB: that there's almost no ceiling, and that a superstar's floor is quickl...1527Mon, 24 Feb 2025 12:04:55 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/week-in-review-cubs-get-off-to-hot-start-in-arizona-r1526/In his media interactions leading up to the official start of spring game action this week, Craig Counsell, in his second year as skipper of Chicago's North Side club, was direct in his messaging for where this season's Cubs baseball team ought to be in just under eight months from now. Speaking...1526Sun, 23 Feb 2025 22:10:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/two-minor-league-signings-build-cubs-outfield-depth%E2%80%94but-for-which-reason-r1525/The Cubs signed outfielders Greg Allen and Travis Jankowski to minor-league deals Friday, and both players are reporting to big-league camp. Both are 30-something guys with very little power and ample speed. Jankowski, who will turn 34 in June, hit an appalling .200/.266/.242 in 2024 and became...1525Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:26:56 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/lets-road-trip-cubs-2025-trip-11-from-clydesdales-to-canada-r1472/St. Louis Cardinals - August 8-10 Busch Stadium - Capacity 44,383 2024 Attendance: 2,869,783 (Averaged 35,872, ranked 6th out of 15 NL parks, 7th overall MLB) The Cubs don't have any cool trips to St. Louis this season, only steamy ones. Busch Stadium should be rocking for this classic...1472Sun, 23 Feb 2025 14:09:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/lets-road-trip-cubs-2025-trip-10-two-big-rivals-close-to-home-r1471/Chicago White Sox - July 25-27 Rate Field - Capacity  40,615 2024 Attendance -  1,976,344 (ranked 8th out of 15 AL teams, 19th overall MLB) The cross-town battle in August 2024 saw the Cubs take two from the floundering White Sox on the South Side. Both games were decided by two...1471Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:03:02 +0000