https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/page/81/?d=7enhttps://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/cubs-week-in-review-with-sasaki-decision-looming-cubs-pick-up-bullpen-help-r1373/Former Twins lefthander Caleb Thielbar switched from the American League Central to the National League Central this week. Both divisions were surprisingly crowded at the top, so it's possible that the 37-year-old veteran and newest Cub is capable of helping Craig Counsell's squad to once again...1373Mon, 06 Jan 2025 12:17:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/lets-road-trip-cubs-2025-travel-preview-r1368/The 2025 season brings new elements to Major League Baseball fan travel. The Athletics now play their “home” games at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, CA, and its 14,000 seats. The Rays will still play in Tampa but at George M. Steinbrenner Field, which has 11,000 seats. Granted, both jour...1368Sat, 04 Jan 2025 17:11:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/playersprojectsroundupsamardzijalakelarussa/What is the Players Project? It's a community-driven, wiki-style project focusing on Cubs players of all stripes. It's open to all North Side Baseball users, and we've had contributions from current players, past players, and players who never even made the major leagues but played in the Cubs’...1365Sat, 04 Jan 2025 12:53:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/today-is-decision-day-for-possible-cubs-target-hyeseong-kim-r1370/Ever since the Cubs traded Isaac Paredes as part of the Kyle Tucker trade, there has been some speculation that they would pivot toward a compensatory reinforcement of their infield. On Thursday, one of their rumored targets, Josh Rojas, signed a one-year deal with the White Sox instead, but Fri...1370Fri, 03 Jan 2025 14:54:50 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/a-quick-power-ranking-of-free-agent-relievers-with-whom-cubs-could-reunite-r1369/As the Cubs consider further upgrades to a bullpen already improved directly (a trade for Eli Morgan, this week's Caleb Thielbar signing) and indirectly (the Matthew Boyd signing, pushing more of their depth arms toward relief roles) this winter, it's worth pausing a bit to consider whether the...1369Fri, 03 Jan 2025 12:52:44 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/padres-could-be-a-one-stop-shop-option-for-cubs-biggest-remaining-needs-r1366/Entering 2025, the Cubs have plenty of money. It feels almost like all they have is money. They're roughly $40 million shy of where they intend to be, payroll-wise, to open 2025, and the problem they face is that the number of good ways to spend that much money on the free-agent market is dwindl...1366Thu, 02 Jan 2025 14:34:39 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/as-the-calendar-turns-where-do-brewers-and-cubs-stand-r1362/A common refrain surrounding the Chicago Cubs is that they still have plenty of work to do this offseason. That's objectively, true. We’ve heard their name in connection with a couple of arms, and it isn’t a stretch to see them acquiring an additional position player to lengthen the bench. There...1362Wed, 01 Jan 2025 12:37:02 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/chicago-cubs-sign-free-agent-lefty-reliever-caleb-thielbar-to-one-year-deal-r1363/It's not the kind of move fans were hoping for. It's not a move that charts any kind of new course in the Cubs' bullpen construction. The team announced a one-year, big-league deal with lefty reliever Caleb Thielbar on Tuesday afternoon, just ahead of the end of the year. The signing fortifies t...1363Tue, 31 Dec 2024 19:25:00 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/heres-to-a-2025-without-the-cop-out-reactionary-nonsense-hbp-rules-proposed-by-whit-merrifield-r1361/I should be clear, though: I don't think we'll be so lucky. Back in the latter part of the 2024 regular season, Whit Merrifield was hit in the head with a pitch, and went on a tirade after the game about what he considered the danger and irresponsibility of pitchers working up and in. Merrifield...1361Tue, 31 Dec 2024 17:14:01 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/free-agent-first-baseman-connor-joe-mark-canha/Michael Busch played 152 games in 2024, starting 135 of them. Quickly, the rookie proved he didn't need to be platooned at first base, and his impressive progress with the glove eventually led the team to eschew using Cody Bellinger there for any meaningful time. The Cubs are so confident about...1360Tue, 31 Dec 2024 14:34:06 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/hey-fun-cubs-sign-ben-heller-one-of-our-offseason-handbook-minor-league-free-agent-targets-r1359/In our Caretakers-exclusive look at six minor-league free agents who could help the Cubs' pitching staff in 2025, I ranked the select half-dozen hurlers from most to least desirable. All six had things to recommend them, or else I wouldn't have profiled them, but I felt it was important to put t...1359Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:54:42 +0000https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/why-tanner-scott-might-be-the-exception-to-jed-hoyers-rule-about-long-term-big-money-reliever-deals-r1358/At his end-of-season press conference, Jed Hoyer admitted that the strategy he pursued to build a viable bullpen in 2024 was flawed and vowed that he would elect a different one this offseason. While he was right in his diagnosis, I was skeptical of the treatment he claimed to be prescribing. Th...1358Mon, 30 Dec 2024 17:04:01 +0000