https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/80/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/call-to-the-pen-nsbb-writers-bold-predictions-for-the-2025-chicago-cubs-r1629/The 2025 Cubs will be a fascinating team, one way or another. They're at a stage of the competitive cycle wherein desperation is right at the doorstep, but they also have the talent required to win their division—and perhaps even make a deep run into October. Here are some of our writers' specif...1629Thu, 27 Mar 2025 11:09:54 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/diamondcentric-staff-predicts-the-2025-mlb-season-r1627/Ok, soothsayers we (probably) aren't, but 33 writers across the DiamondCentric family of sites tried their hands at predicting the season to come. Here's how it shook out. The Standings AL East There's no question that the Red Sox won the winter, among the teams vying for supremacy in t...1627Wed, 26 Mar 2025 23:01:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/ben-brown-wins-chicago-cubs-starting-rotation-battle-over-colin-rea-r1623/When I'm watching a Major League Baseball game, sometimes I am watching specifically for the arm up on the bump. Other times, I'm watching for the guys behind the arm, with the pitcher becoming a mere facilitator for the more interesting parts of the game—as the founders of the sport would have...1623Wed, 26 Mar 2025 11:23:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/dansby-swanson-and-the-importance-of-being-early-when-youre-fast-r1624/In his second season with the Cubs, Dansby Swanson had very similar strikeout and walk rates to the ones he posted in his first campaign with them. He hit the ball hard more often (42.7%, up from 39.7%), and had a virtually identical average exit velocity. Based on raw batted-ball data, he shoul...1624Tue, 25 Mar 2025 22:05:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/with-de-facto-deadline-looming-cubs-remain-interested-in-padres-ace-dylan-cease-r1622/The Cubs are one of multiple teams still checking in with the Padres on Dylan Cease in the final hours before Opening Day, according to league sources. We already knew that the team had made calls to free agents Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson this month, as they try to amass sufficient depth to surv...1622Tue, 25 Mar 2025 11:56:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/3-cubs-pitchers-due-for-regression-and-how-they-can-make-it-not-matter-r1616/  The Cubs relied on a trio of arms last season who performed well but looked a bit suspect. With the 2025 season around the corner and each of these arms returning, it’s worth looking at what we could expect this season and how they can overcome the inevitable regression and continue their...1616Mon, 24 Mar 2025 17:13:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/heavily-home-tilted-spring-slate-was-another-juicy-bit-of-compensation-for-cubs-tokyo-trip-r1618/There are valid reasons to feel annoyed that the Cubs had to travel halfway around the world to play games that count in the standings of their domestic league, but let no one say that the league didn't make every effort to ease the burden for them. As the team gears up for a two-game exhibition...1618Mon, 24 Mar 2025 13:05:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/visualizing-miguel-amayas-swing-overhaul-makes-clear-how-it-raises-his-ceiling-r1619/On Sunday night, Baseball Savant released their latest orgiastic set of detailed data on the game we all love. It details where batters set up in the batter's box, relative to the front of home plate and to the inside edge thereof. It also shows us how they move throughout their swings, with dia...1619Mon, 24 Mar 2025 11:19:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/will-matt-shaw-flick-a-quicker-stick-when-the-regular-season-resumes-r1617/There are few injuries a ballplayer hates to deal with as much as oblique strains. The danger of recurrence, once you have one, is maddeningly high. The prescribed course of treatment (usually, rest is the main thing, and the player is barred from advancing through each stage of rehab until they...1617Sun, 23 Mar 2025 19:00:13 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/week-in-review-cubs-drop-two-in-tokyo-reset-for-remainder-of-season-r1615/The Cubbies and their personnel have landed back stateside after having gotten a look at what they've got, like a katana-sharp ace in Shota Imanaga and the promise of Kyle Tucker, the electrifying right fielder whose face you'll see on storefronts everywhere from Rogers Park to Bridgeport. ...1615Sun, 23 Mar 2025 11:52:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/matt-shaw-tokyo-series-swing-speeds-batted-ball-data/In the weeks leading up to the series in Japan, there was plenty of curiosity as to whether or not Matt Shaw would even make the trip. An oblique injury stalled him early in camp, allowing only six Cactus League games under his belt before the team departed Arizona. But Shaw fared well in that s...1612Fri, 21 Mar 2025 11:15:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-option-jordan-wicks-and-eli-morgan-to-triple-a-iowa-leaving-just-one-more-pitching-decision-r1613/When the Cubs open the season in earnest against the Diamondbacks in Phoenix next Thursday, they'll start with a rotation of Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd, and Colin Rea. It's vaguely possible that Steele will land on the injured list while he ramps up more fully, a...1613Thu, 20 Mar 2025 22:10:02 +0000