Brandon Glick

The Chicago Cubs missed the playoffs in 2024, though their pitching staff (especially the rotation) held their own as the team repeated their 83-79 performance from 2023. Luckily, the team comes equipped with a strong farm system that is set to further augment that strength. During the 2024 minor-league season, the Cubs had a number of breakout performances up and down the ranks of their system. North Side Baseball’s minor-league writers voted for the awards and for an All-Star team of Cubs prospects. This isn’t a top prospect ranking or list, but a recognition of which players in the Cubs’ system had the best seasons. Each writer chose five starting pitchers, a right-handed reliever, a left-handed reliever, and two more relievers. Before we get to the All-Star pitchers, here are our 2024 North Side Baseball Award winners (and links to the articles to see who else received votes). Short-Season Hitter of the Year:Anderson Suriel Short-Season Pitcher of the Year: Jostin Florentino Minor League Hitter of the Year: Matt Shaw Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year: Brandon Birdsell Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year: Nico Zeglin Cubs Minor League All-Star Hitters Read through our choices for each position, and then discuss and cast your votes as well! Let's begin. Starting Pitchers (5) RHP Brandon Birdsell (24) - Tennessee Smokies, Iowa Cubs Acquired: Cubs 5th-round draft pick in 2022 out of Texas Tech University 2024 MiLB Stats: 8-9, 3.91 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 2.1 BB/9, 8.9 K/9 If you had asked anyone before the 2024 season who they thought would be named the Cubs’ minor-league pitcher of the year, the answer would have been Cade Horton. Instead, it proved to be the ace of the Iowa Cubs’ staff. Birdsell’s excellent control comes with two plus pitches in his fastball and slider, and he continues to tinker with a curveball and changeup. Though he gave up a few more home runs this year compared to his debut in 2023, he boosted his strikeout rate significantly while dropping his walk rate as he climbed to Triple-A. The Cubs have a lot of options for their fifth starter role (not to mention an entire offseason to acquire an outside free agent), but Birdsell is going to get his chance to prove himself to Chicagoans next year. ETA: Mid-2025 RHP Connor Noland (25) - Tennessee Smokies, Iowa Cubs Acquired: Cubs 9th-round draft pick in 2022 out of the U of Arkansas 2024 Stats: 12-5, 3.49 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 2.4 BB/9, 7.8 K/9 Another member of Iowa’s rotation by the end of the season, Noland struggled in his first taste of Triple-A in 2024, pitching to a 5.29 ERA in just shy of 50 innings. However, he was utterly dominant with the Tennessee Smokies, going 7-3 with a 2.50 ERA in 16 starts. He’s significantly more raw than Birdsell, and comes equipped with far less exciting stuff, but Noland possesses the evasive “pitchability” skill that continues to push him forward. Expect him to spend a full year at Iowa building up his arsenal before getting a chance to pitch in front of the raucous crowds at Wrigley. ETA: Early 2026 RHP Kenten Egbert (23) - Myrtle Beach Pelicans Acquired: Undrafted free agent signed on Jul. 21, 2023, out of Miami (OH) 2024 Stats: 7-2, 3.04 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 9.6 K/9 For a guy who doesn’t walk a whole lot of batters and strikes out quite a few of them, Egbert has remained conspicuously under the radar over the last year. He’s got a fastball that tops out in the mid-90s and earned a full-time job in the Pelicans’ rotation this year, though players can hit him when they’re not fooled by his lackluster secondary offerings. Still, he keeps the ball in the park (0.74 HR/9 in 2024) and profiles as an interesting candidate to rise a number of levels next season if everything clicks. ETA: Late 2026 RHP Juan Bello (20) - Myrtle Beach Pelicans Acquired: International signing from Colombia on Feb. 21, 2022. 2024 Stats: 4-5, 3.21 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, 9.1 K/9 Juan Bello is a young pitcher, but he’s got an advanced feel for how to mess with hitters. In his minor-league career thus far, he possesses a 130-to-39 strikeout-to-walk ratio; has surrendered just eight home runs in 125 ⅓ innings; and allows a batting average of .223. Like Egbert, he still needs to refine his offerings, and at 20 years of age, the Cubs can afford to be more patient with Bello. However, his name should remain on your radar for the foreseeable future, and an assignment to High-A South Bend should be on the table out of the gates in 2025. ETA: 2027 RHP Sam Armstrong (24) - South Bend Cubs, Tennessee Smokies Acquired: Cubs 13th-round draft pick in 2023, out of Old Dominion University. 2024 Stats: 5-7, 2.87 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, 7.8 K/9 After a choppy debut in 2023 when he allowed eight runs in 13 2/3 innings at Myrtle Beach, the Cubs chose to aggressively push Armstrong with a difficult assignment in High-A to open this season. All he did was respond with 3.00 ERA in 66 innings there, eventually earning a promotion to Tennessee, where he was even better. His strikeout numbers tumbled in Double-A, though he did continue to limit walks in his 50 innings (2.70 ERA) with the Smokies. Armstrong’s greatest strength is his ability to keep opposing hitters guessing, often producing weak contact that generates easy outs. Having recently turned 24, Armstrong profiles as a true starting pitcher prospect with a chance to toe the rubber at the Friendly Confines before 2026 is over. ETA: Mid-2026 Bullpen (4) Right-Handed Relief Pitcher: Frankie Scalzo (24) - Tennessee Smokies, Iowa Cubs Acquired: Cubs 14th-round draft pick in 2021 out of Grand Canyon University 2024 Stats: 3-5, nine saves, 2.14 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 3.6 BB/9, 7.9 K/9 The No. 2 finisher in North Side Baseball’s Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year voting, Scalzo continues to dominate hitters out of the bullpen. After not allowing a single run in 26 innings to open the season with the Smokies, he got a promotion to Triple-A Iowa that also came with him being stripped of his “closer” title. He spent a few days on the Development List in August, and as he settles into being a high-leverage arm at the highest level of the minors, Scalzo will continue to make headway toward a debut that will likely come in the next calendar year. ETA: Mid-2025 Left-Handed Relief Pitcher: Blake Weiman (28) - Tennessee Smokies, Iowa Cubs Acquired: signed as minor-league free agent (2/2/24) 2024 Stats: 5-0, seven saves, 2.68 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 1.4 BB/9, 9.8 K/9 Weiman spent the majority of his season at Double-A, taking over as the closer for Scalzo once the latter was promoted to Iowa. Weiman is a lefty with the ability to get hitters from both sides of the plate out, and his 0.97 WHIP reflects a pitcher who continues to evolve in terms of control and pitching instinct. He’s going to be 29 in November, though, making his status tenuous at best. If he’s going to get a crack at sticking in the Cubs’ bullpen, it’ll probably have to happen in the next year or two. ETA: Late 2025 Relief Pitcher: Nico Zeglin (24) - Myrtle Beach Pelicans, South Bend Cubs Acquired: Undrafted free agent signed Apr. 25, 2024 out of Long Beach State. 2024 Stats: 7-0, three saves, 0.95 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 2.2 BB/9, 12.3 K/9 A name that wasn’t even on the most tuned-in radars going into this season, Zeglin has suddenly become one of the most enticing relief prospects in the Cubs’ system. He went multiple innings in every appearance this season, including four starts at the end of the year, and he has the potential to convert to starting if the organization chooses to pursue that route. All of his stats from 2024 jump off the page, though his most impressive numbers include a 5.63 K/BB ratio, 0.27 HR/9, .165 batting average against, and his 0.82 WHIP. It’s hard to predict where the undrafted free agent could go from here, but if his dominance continues, a 2026 debut in Chicago shouldn’t be out of the question. ETA: Mid-2026 Relief Pitcher: Carlo Reyes (26) - South Bend Cubs, Tennessee Smokies Acquired: minor-league free agent signing on May 5, 2024, from the Dodgers organization 2024 Stats: 3-2, two saves, 1.36 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 2.3 BB/9, 12.7 K/9 As a mid-season minor league signing, expectations were practically nonexistent for Reyes, who pitched to an ugly 7.06 ERA in 21 2/3 innings with the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate in 2023. All Reyes did once the Cubs signed him was throw 13 1/3 shutout innings in South Bend to earn a promotion to the Smokies, where he struck out 37 batters in 26 1/3 frames. He’s an older prospect, as well, though the Cubs clearly discovered something with his fastball-curveball-changeup combo. He should begin next season in Double-A, with a mid-season promotion to Iowa on the table. ETA: Late 2026 So there you have it, the nine-man pitching staff of the 2024 North Side Baseball Cubs Minor-League All Stars.

The Chicago Cubs’ year didn’t end how fans were hoping, with another barely-.500 season in the books. There remain some pressing questions the front office will have to answer this offseason, namely: is this current core good enough to not just make the postseason, but actually win when the lights shine the brightest? Luckily, the team does come equipped with a strong farm system, highlighted by a number of Top 100 prospects. During the 2024 minor-league season, the Cubs had a number of breakout performances up-and-down the ranks of their system. North Side Baseball’s minor-league writers voted for the awards and for an all-star team of Cubs prospects. This isn’t a Top Prospect ranking or list, but a recognition of which players in the Cubs’ system had the best seasons. Each writer chose a catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, three outfielders, a DH and a Utility player. Tomorrow, we’ll finalize the All Star team with the pitchers. Readers will have a chance to vote for their top prospects soon. Before we get to the All Stars, here are our 2024 North Side Baseball Award winners (and links to the articles to see who else received votes). Short-Season Hitter of the Year: Anderson Suriel Short-Season Pitcher of the Year: Jostin Florentino Minor League Hitter of the Year: Matt Shaw Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year: Brandon Birdsell Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year: Nico Zeglin Read through our choices for each position, and then discuss and cast your votes as well! Let’s get started. LINEUP Catcher: Moises Ballesteros (20) - Tennessee Smokies, Iowa Cubs Acquired: International signing out of Venezuela on January 15, 2021 2024 Stats: .289/.354/.471 (.826)) with 24 doubles, one triple, 19 home runs, and 78 RBI. Firmly inside the Cubs’ top-five on most major prospect lists—as well as ubiquitous appearances on every Top 100 ranking—Ballesteros has become one of the best hitters in all of minor league baseball. Of course, the fact that he’s a catcher (for now), only adds to his value as a major threat at the plate. He’s slashing .391/.431/.717 in the Arizona Fall League as of Monday, October 28, further adding to the hype surrounding the 20-year-old. After playing 68 games with Triple-A Iowa to close out the 2024 season, a mid-season debut in 2025 doesn’t feel too far-fetched. He could reasonably be expected to handle emergency catcher duties upon his call up, though expect manager Craig Counsell to insert him into the lineup on a regular basis as the team’s DH. ETA: Late 2025 First Base: Jonathon Long (22) - South Bend Cubs, Tennessee Smokies Acquired: Cubs 9th round pick in 2023 out of Long Beach State. 2024 Stats: .283/.391/.461 (.851) with 21 doubles, 17 home runs and 70 RBI. The ninth-round pick from 2023 has quickly become one of the best pure hitters in the Cubs system, posting his best stats (.983 OPS) in a 46-game cup of coffee with Double-A Tennessee. As a right-handed hitting first baseman, Long will have to keep hitting to find a place with the Cubs with Michael Busch entrenched at the cold corner. The Cubs did try him out at third base and the outfield this season, though his below-average speed will keep him from being a defensive asset anywhere on the diamond. Still, his feel in the batter’s box is advanced, and he should continue pushing his way up the system, with an eye on a mid-2026 debut. ETA: Mid-2026 Second Base: James Triantos (21) - Tennessee Smokies, Iowa Cubs. Acquired: Cubs 2nd round pick in 2021 out of high school in Virginia. 2024 Stats: .300/.346/.427 (.773) with 23 doubles, six triples, seven home runs and 52 RBI. Triantos was a second-round pick as an 18-year-old in 2021, and now he’s knocking on the door of the major leagues at 21 (he turns 22 in January). He could be a replacement for Nico Hoerner at second base if the front office elects to trade their all-star second baseman, though Triantos has the arm to make a living in one of the outfield corners if he’s pushed there out of necessity. He won the Arizona Fall League Offensive Player of the Year last autumn (417/.495/.679 slash line), and his bat-to-ball skills are the best in the farm system, bar none. He should be able to hit for a high average the moment he steps into the big leagues, which could come as soon as Opening Day 2025 if he breaks out in spring training. ETA: Early 2025 Third Base: Matt Shaw (22) - Tennessee Smokies, Iowa Cubs Acquired: Cubs 1st round pick in 2023 out of the U of Maryland. 2024 Stats: .284/.379/.488 (.867) with 19 doubles, four triples, 21 home runs and 71 RBI. Arguably the top prospect in the system right now, the MLB Futures Game participant put on an offensive show with the Smokies and Iowa Cubs this season, further cementing his status as one of the best bats in all of the MiLB. Shaw has shifted to third base since being drafted as a middle infielder, though Isaac Paredes could feasibly block him at the hot corner if he ever reverts back to his Tampa Bay form. Regardless, Shaw’s bat is good enough to push for playing time with or without a permanent defensive home, and his presence (along with Triantos) could make Hoerner expendable. Anticipate a much-hyped debut for the 2023 first-round pick sometime next season. ETA: Early 2025 Shortstop: Cristian Hernandez (20) - Myrtle Beach Pelicans, South Bend Cubs Acquired: International signing out of the Dominican Republic on January 15, 2021. 2024 Stats: .261/.374/.381 (.755) with 27 doubles, five triples, five homers and 59 RBI. It feels like Hernandez has been in the Cubs’ system forever, though he’s still only 20 years old (21 in December). The smooth-fielding shortstop finally reached South Bend this year, though his bat continued to struggle against older pitchers at the High-A level. His bat speed is still unbelievable, and his performance in Myrtle Beach earlier in 2024 (.788 OPS) does offer some hope that he’ll be able to figure things out at the plate with more reps. His speed (44 stolen bases this year) remains one of his trademark traits. ETA: 2027 Outfielder: Owen Caissie (22) - Iowa Cubs Acquired: Acquired from Padres with four other players for Yu Darvish and Victor Caratini on December 29, 2020 2024 Stats: .278/.375/.473 (.848) with 29 doubles, three triples, 19 home runs and 75 RBI. For this writer’s money, this is the best prospect in the Cubs’ farm system. Caissie is a powerful, knowledgeable hitter that draws a healthy amount of walks to offset a somewhat alarming strikeout rate. His exit velocity numbers are some of the best in the minors, and the power will translate against major-league pitching. He has steadily progressed through the Cubs’ organization, spending the entirety of the 2024 campaign in Iowa. He’s a true corner outfielder with a strong arm and average range, which could pose an issue with Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki entrenched in the outfield as of right now. Still, Caissie’s potential is far too promising to ignore, and if he can show a bit better swing selection in Iowa, he should be hitting bombs at Wrigley before long. ETA: Mid-2025 Outfielder: Jacob Wetzel (24) - Myrtle Beach Pelicans, South Bend Cubs Acquired: Undrafted free agent signed on June 26, 2020, from Frederick CC (MD) 2024 MILB Stats: .253/.372/.456 (.829) with 17 doubles, 12 triples, eight homers and 43 RBI. The Pretzel Man (I am coining that nickname) was technically an undrafted free agent from the shortened, five-round 2020 draft, though he was a priority signing for the Cubs once the festivities concluded. He hasn’t been able to get past High-A yet, and his prospect clock is ticking, though his bat still holds a lot of untapped potential. Perhaps most positively, the outfielder worked a 77-55 strikeout-to-walk rate in Myrtle Beach this year, which will hopefully portend a quick ascent through the upper levels of the minors. ETA: 2027 Outfielder - Andy Garriola (24) - Myrtle Beach Pelicans, South Bend Cubs Acquired: Cubs 17th round draft pick in 2022 out of Old Dominion University. 2024 Stats: .246/.319/.484 (.803) with 29 doubles, one triple, 18 home runs and 72 RBI. Another older outfield prospect that has yet to make it to Tennessee, Garriola has a major flaw in his game: strikeouts. He struck out 134 times (against just 41 walks) this year, which will only get worse as he climbs the proverbial ladder in the team’s organization. Still, he produced 48 extra-base hits in 2024, and his career slugging percentage in the minors stands at a robust .428. There’s a long road between Garriola and the major leagues, though few players possess his pop and ability to do damage on mistake pitches. ETA: 2028 Designated Hitter: Alexander Canario (24) - Iowa Cubs Acquired: Acquired from Giants with Caleb Kilian for Kris Bryant (7/30/21). 2024 Stats: .243/.336/.514 (.850) with 13 doubles, 18 home runs and 47 RBI. It feels like Canario continues to be on the precipice of breaking out, and he’s already garnered 42 at-bats with the MLB team across 2023 and 2024 to legitimate success (136 OPS+). However, it seems that the Cubs don’t feel that Canario is ready for a full-time role in the MLB, and as such he continued to tee off on Triple-A pitching while waiting for his chance. Besides Caissie, no one in the organization has the raw power that Canario does—his 18 homers came in just 64 minor-league games this season. With a strong performance in winter ball, Canario should be considered a favorite for a bench job heading into spring training. ETA: ASAP Utility Player: Felix Stevens (25) - South Bend Cubs, Tennessee Smokies Acquired: International free agent signing from Cuba on March 15, 2019 2024 Stats: .237/.354/.445 (.799) with 18 doubles, two triples, 20 home runs and 62 RBI. Stevens hit 20 home runs across two levels (High-A & Double-A) this season, marking his second consecutive year with 20+ homers. He benefits from an unusually high BABIP (.348 this year, .346 in his MiLB career), though that speaks to his ability to square the ball up when he does make contact. Unfortunately, that power does come with a giant hole in his swing, as his 47 home runs over the last two seasons are combined with a whopping 315 strikeouts in just 234 games. Until and unless the first baseman/corner outfielder can get his swing-and-miss habit under control, he’ll remain on the periphery of prospect discussions. ETA: Late 2026 There you have it, the North Side Baseball Cubs Minor League All Stars for 2024. It's a pretty solid group of top prospects, guys who put their name more-firmly into potential plans. Would your All-Star offense look any different?

First thing’s first: this isn’t a guide about how to own the Chicago Cubs. That’s going to require a lot of connections and networking, limitless knowledge about the inner workings of an international brand, a positive-ish reputation in the larger Chicago area… oh, and roughly 4.3 billion dollars. I’m just a writer without any good advice to give on that front, and unless you’re one of the 50 richest people in America, you won’t have the resources to pull off an acquisition of that size. Instead, this reflects the different ownership groups that have controlled the Cubs over their long and winding history. If you ever wanted to know who owned the Chicago Cubs at any point in time, this is the primer for you. Click any link below to jump to a history of that ownership group/individual. Complete List of Chicago Cubs Owners 2010-Present: Joe & Thomas (Tom) Ricketts 1981-2009: The Tribune Company 1922-1980: The Wrigley Family 1916-1921: Charles Weeghman, J. Ogden Armour, Albert Lasker, William Wrigley Jr., More 1915-1915: Charles Taft 1906-1914: Charles Murphy 1903-1905: James Hart 1882-1902: Albert Spalding 1876-1881: William A. Hulbert 2010-Present: Joe & Thomas (Tom) Ricketts Date of Sale: January 22, 2009 Amount Paid: $845,000,000 Regular Season Record: 1,162-1,166 (As of end of 2024 season) Unlike their distant past, there’s no ambiguity in the answer to the question of “Who is the current owner of the Chicago Cubs?”. It’s Tom Ricketts, the son of Joe Ricketts, the patriarch of the Ricketts family. Joe Ricketts made his fortune by founding First Omaha Securities, a brokerage firm that eventually became TD Ameritrade. He also founded and owns High Plains Bison (the official Bison vender of Wrigley Field), The American Film Company, and the now-defunct DNAinfo.com. He’s been a part of some controversies over his 15-year stint as Cubs owner, including an anti-union bust of multiple websites he once owned and a racist, anti-muslim email scandal. His son, Tom, is the chairman of the Cubs, while Joe remains as a hands-off financier. It’s somewhat fitting that the team is almost exactly .500 under Ricketts’ stewardship. They’ve gone through oscillating periods of rebuilding and championship contention since 2010, with four seasons under 72 total wins and four over 90. Of course, the team’s crowning moment during the Ricketts era was in 2016, when they won 100 games for the first time since 1935. Oh, and they also won their first pennant since 1945. And then, they did the impossible, breaking the greatest drought in sports history during the best game in baseball history. It’s been an up-and-down roller coaster with the Ricketts family at the controls, with unparalleled highs and some really disturbing lows. It’s hard to ignore some strong recency bias when evaluating this group - the most recent “Letter to the Fans” left a lot to be desired - but that World Series victory bought them a lot of goodwill and a legacy as the owners that finally broke the curse. 1981-2009: The Tribune Company Date of Sale: June 15, 1981 Amount Paid: $20,500,000 Regular Season Record: 2,217-2,347 The Tribune Company (also known as the Chicago Tribune) was founded in 1847 as one of the first print publishing companies in the country. Much of their fortune was amassed once the company moved into broadcasting in 1924, starting with WDAP, which was eventually rebranded to WGN. In 1981, they purchased the Chicago Cubs for $20.5 million dollars from the Wrigley family, and functionally served as their ownership group and broadcaster from 1981 on. Eventually, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy thanks to a debt that was larger than $13 billion, making it the largest bankruptcy in the history of American media. The Tribune Company would be forced to sell off their assets, including the Cubs, Wrigley Field, and a 25% ownership stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago, which were taken over by the Ricketts upon the completion of their purchase of the baseball franchise. The Cubs struggled badly during this period for the most part, save for a few seasons in which they got agonizingly close to the World Series. The North Siders won 96 games and the NL East in 1984, though they blew a 2-0 lead against the Padres in the NLCS (back when the series was best out of five) thanks to Leon Durham’s famous error in Game 5. The Cubs also won the NL East in 1989 but were dismissed in the NLCS by way of a gentleman’s sweep against the Giants. They would only make it back to that stage once more under the leadership of the Tribune Company, losing to the Marlins in 2003 in a series that is far too painful to recount in any great detail. Outside of those three failed attempts at winning the pennant, the team only made the postseason on three other occasions in the 28 years under the Tribune Company (1998, 2007, 2008), getting swept in the NLDS each time. 1922-1980: The Wrigley Family Date of Sale: 1921 Amount Paid: N/A Regular Season Record: 4,549-4,667 When did the Wrigley family’s tenure as the owners of the Chicago Cubs actually start? This is a piece of history that remains hotly debated to this day, as chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. bought shares of the franchise as early as 1916 from Charles Taft, the owner of the franchise in 1915. However, he was part of a very large syndicate of Chicagoans that were actually brought together by Charles Weeghman. It was only in 1919 when Wrigley bought out Weeghman’s stake, and later in 1921 when he did the same with other parties with controlling interest such as J. Ogden Armour and Albert Lasker, and became the sole majority owner of the franchise. As such, we’ll consider that their run began the season following that buy out, which lasted all the way until the Tribune Company made their purchase in the summer of 1981. The Wrigley Family was the longest standing owner of the Cubs, operating the franchise for nearly 60 years during the middle of the 20th century. William Wrigley Jr. ran the franchise for a decade, from 1922-1932, amassing a total record 932-758 and making two World Series appearances (1929, 1932). In 1926, the team’s ballpark was renamed from “Cubs Park” to the now-iconic “Wrigley Field”. Once Wrigley Jr. died of a heart attack in 1932, his son Philip K. Wrigley took over the team from 1933-1977, posting a record of 3,394-3,646 as the controlling owner. The team made three World Series in that time, all during the first third of his tenure (1935, 1938, 1945). They wouldn’t make the playoffs again until the Tribune Company took over and guided the Cubs to that heartbreaking loss in the 1984 NLCS. During Philip’s term, the team employed some of its most iconic franchise legends, including Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins, and Ron Santo. Finally, Philip’s son William Wrigley III took over the franchise once Philip died in 1977. He owned the team for just three years, from 1978-1980, accumulating a 223-263 record. Eventually, William Wrigley III would sell the team to the Tribune Company in order to settle his estate and massive tax bills following his mother’s death. 1916-1921: Charles Weeghman, J. Ogden Armour, Albert Lasker, William Wrigley Jr., More Date of Sale: January 20, 1916 Amount Paid: $503,500 Regular Season Record: 439-444 This was a tumultuous period of Cubs ownership, as the franchise never had a defined party running the operations. Weeghman was the spearhead of the group, earning his fortune and fame from “Onearm-lunch” operators and restaurant chains that specialized in quick service. He failed to acquire the St. Louis Cardinals in 1911, and would eventually help found the Federal League as owner of the Chicago Whales. Once that league went defunct, he created the group that owned the Cubs briefly before the Wrigleys took over, and moved the major league team into the stadium he built for the Whales - Weeghman park - that would eventually become Wrigley Field. The team struggled during this time, finishing 18 or more games out of the National League pennant in every season but 1918, when they lost to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. Weeghman lost control of the Cubs in 1919, and the whole group of owners that he had brought together left the team in 1921 once William Wrigley Jr. took over. He died in 1938 while serving as an assistant manager at a Fort Lee, New Jersey restaurant. 1915-1915: Charles Taft Date of Sale: 1915 Amount Paid: N/A Regular Season Record: 73-81 Charles Taft was the controlling owner of the Cubs for only one season before selling to the Weeghman group, though he was the financier of Charles’ Murphy’s purchase of the team in 1905, as well Horace Fogel’s purchase of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1909. Taft attended Columbia Law School and became a partner of the Sage, Haacke & Taft law firm. He would also have a strong career in politics, getting elected to the Ohio State Legislature in 1869 and a member of Congress from 1895-1897. His claim to fame remains his time as a newspaper mogul, which included owning the Cincinnati Enquirer and serving as editor for the Cincinnati Post. The 1915 season was nondescript for the Cubs, as Charles H. Thomas (Charles Murphy’s secretary) was asked to run the club. The team finished below .500 and 17.5 games out of first place in the National League. Following this season, Charles Weeghman and company would purchase the franchise from Taft. 1906-1914: Charles Murphy Date of Sale: October, 1905 Amount Paid: $125,000 Regular Season Record: 879-497 Finally, we have arrived at the period when the Cubs were baseball’s foremost dynasty. Hard as that may be to believe, the team had a whopping .653 winning percentage under Murphy, won the 1907 and 1908 World Series, and made two others (1906, 1910). The team never had a losing record during this time, finishing with more than 100 wins four times and three more seasons in which they finished with 90+ wins. Murphy was a sportswriter for much of his life, working for the Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati Time-Star for decades before joining the New York (baseball) Giants’ front office in 1905. Charles Taft financed his bid to buy the Cubs, though Murphy did make money from his eventual sale of the team to Taft in 1915, financing the construction of the Murphy Theater in 1918 in Wilmington, Ohio. 1903-1905: James Hart Date of Sale: 1903 Amount Paid: N/A Regular Season Record: 267-177 Admittedly, this is when details start to become a little scarce. James Hart managed the Louisville Cardinals of the American Association, the minor-league Milwaukee Brewers, and Boston Beaneaters of the National League in the late 19th century. He would also go on to manage multiple teams at the same time in the National League of Baseball of Great Britain as part of an effort by Albert Spalding to grow the game internationally. Once Hart succeeded Spalding as Team President of the Chicago Colts in 1891, he served as a minority owner until taking over in 1903. He was the one who renamed the team to the “Chicago Cubs” (from the “Chicago Orphans”, which was a name that stuck around for only a few years at the turn of the century), and guided them to a number of solid season, including back-to-back 90+ win campaigns in 1904 and 1905. During his tenure, the team never made the playoffs (at the time, the World Series was the only postseason round). 1882-1902: Albert Spalding Date of Sale: April 10, 1882 Amount Paid: N/A Regular Season Record: 1,464-1,234 Spalding is, of course, one of the most recognizable players from the founding era of baseball, as he served as a player, manager, and executive in the 19th century. Spalding was the first pitcher to reach 200 career wins, though he retired from playing in 1878 at the age of 27. He remained as the Team President and part-owner of the then-Chicago White Stockings. William Hulbert was one of the team’s founders and enlisted Spalding as the team President in 1876 once the team was created. He would eventually take over complete ownership of the team ahead of the 1882 season following Hulbert’s death. Baseball success is much harder to judge looking back at the “dead ball era” nowadays, as the team routinely finished 20+ games above .500 but has no hardware to show for it. They did lose the 1886 World Series to the St. Louis Browns (now the Cardinals), though they tied with them in 1885 (3-3-1). Spalding was an important figure in Chicago sports history and remains a legendary figure in the annals of baseball (he created the National League along with Hulbert), though his tenure as principal owner of the Cubs is hard to gauge. 1876-1881: William A. Hulbert Date of Sale: N/A Amount Paid: N/A Regular Season Record: 221-127 Hulbert is perhaps best known for his decision to ban four members of the Louisville Grays for life following their decision to throw the pennant and lose games in exchange for money. However, he was also one of the founders of the National League, along with Spalding, and was one of the founders of the Chicago White Stockings and their first official owner. Notably, the team was founded in 1870, though Hulbert wouldn’t take over as owner until 1876, following the Great Chicago Fire. The team performed exceptionally well during its formative years, posting a record of nearly 100 games over .500. They won the National League in 1876, 1880, 1881, and 1882, though there was no official championship series to determine the league’s winner during that window.

Though Corbin Burnes was traded to the Baltimoe Orioles back in late January, the ace righthander is well known around these parts as one of the figureheads of the most recent iterations of the always-solid Milwaukee Brewers. He responded well in his new digs, accumulating 3.4 WAR and a 2.92 ERA in 194 1/3 innings, earning the start for the American League in the All-Star Game (his fourth consecutive appearance at the Midsummer Classic). The Orioles failed to advance past the Wild Card round of the playoffs, prematurely ending Burnes’s tenure in Maryland, assuming the notoriously frugal O’s don’t loosen their purse strings for a payday that will certainly reach well into nine figures. Burnes is probably the best pitcher who is expected to hit the free agent market this winter, though other former Cy Young winners--namely, Shane Bieber and Blake Snell--and other pitchers who’ve had strong performances in recent years (Max Fried, Jack Flaherty, Nathan Eovaldi) round out a stronger-than-usual crop of starters. If a team is in the market for an ace, or a bounce-back candidate with a strong track record, or even just a plain old “high-risk, high-reward” play, this year’s crop of free-agent hurlers is a good place to go window-shopping. The Cubs very clearly fit that category of teams that need another starter, as rookie import Shota Imanaga--the team’s MVP for the 2024 season--was the only pitcher who remained reliable and healthy for the entirety of the 2024 campaign. Justin Steele still clearly has ace potential and should be a fixture on the North Side for years to come, but he failed to crack 135 innings pitched this year while dealing with elbow and hamstring injuries that bookended his season. Javier Assad proved himself worthy of a long-term spot in the rotation, but he blew past his career high in innings with 147 this year, and he declined in September as that workload piled up. Jameson Taillon still has two years on his contract and certainly had a strong second season with the team, but some of his success has to be chalked up to the pitcher-friendly way that Wrigley Field played all season. Beyond those four, the team has a lot of enviable depth: Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks, Brandon Birdsell, Cade Horton, and Hayden Wesneski are the most prominent options. It’s easy to figure that at least one of those guys will take the job for the fifth spot in the rotation and run with it, and it’ll be a fun competition to watch. However, the team is very clearly lacking the Batman to Steele and Imanaga’s Nightwing and Robin, which is where someone like Burnes slots in. It’s worth noting that for all his recent success, Burnes isn’t the same pitcher who won the Cy Young award in 2021. His durability since then has been beyond impressive (three straight seasons of 190+ innings), but his strikeout rate (35.6% in 2021, 23.1% in 2024), walk rate (5.2% to 6.1%), home run rate (1.1% to 2.8%), and average exit velocity allowed (84.9 MPH to 87.1 MPH) have all taken a turn for the worse. To be sure, his numbers from this season are all still excellent, but he’s more touchable now than when he could make a serious claim as the “best pitcher in the world”. For reference, his 3.55 FIP this season was more than double the league-leading mark he posted in 2021 (1.63). Those caveats shouldn’t scare off the Cubs, though. Burnes is still an ace who is capable of taking over games, as evidenced by his dominant eight-inning performance in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series earlier this month. If anything, the Cubs may be able to use Burnes’s declining metrics as a way to get a discount on a pitcher who still averaged more than 95 miles per hour on his cutter this season. The size of the soon-to-be 30-year-old’s contract will scare off some suitors, though it shouldn’t break the bank like Juan Soto’s will. The Cubs currently have roughly $152.5 million in luxury tax salaries accounted for heading into the 2025 season, which gives them about $88.5 million in space from the projected first threshold of $241 million. Given that the team surpassed the first competitive balance tax threshold in 2024, it wouldn’t be too unreasonable to expect them to do it again in a make-or-break year for baseball operations chief Jed Hoyer. If the Rickettses give the front office the true green light, the team may have more than $100 million to spend this offseason. It’s worth noting that Burnes has a pre-existing relationship with manager Craig Counsell, who was the dugout leader in Milwaukee when Burnes brought home the Holy Grail of pitching hardware. It would be surprising if Counsell didn’t actively advocate for the front office to aggressively pursue his former ace. While the Cubs have needs elsewhere on the roster--finding a middle-of-the-order bat is a more pressing issue--passing up the opportunity to bring in a surefire No. 1 starter would be a level of foolishness to which even this team seems immune. What do you think? Does Corbin Burnes make sense as a priority target this winter for the Cubs? Or should they focus their efforts elsewhere on the free-agent market?

The Chicago Cubs will only be playing 79 home games next year, as opposed to the normal slate of 81. That’s because of the Tokyo Series games against the L.A. Dodgers that will kick off next season, which the Cubs are technically “hosting”. Don’t fret, though, season ticket holders! Just in case you thought that would mean that total prices would come down, the Ricketts family has you covered. We don’t need to belabor any doom-and-gloom points about the 2024 iteration of the Chicago Cubs. They’re not going to make the playoffs. They haven’t made the postseason since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when they barely won a non-competitive NL Central and got swept by the barely-.500 Miami Marlins in the first round of the expanded playoffs. They haven’t won a postseason game since falling to the Dodgers in the 2017 NLCS. Everything is getting more expensive in this world. Inflation exists, and the value of the dollar yesterday was more than the value of the dollar today. You don’t need a degree in economics to understand what’s going on, just like the Rickettses don’t need a degree in customer service to continue price gouging you for a mediocre team. These price increases will affect every ticket for next year, from the bleachers to the suites. No matter where in Wrigley you like to soak in the action, you’re going to have to cough up a few more bucks per game to do so in 2025. The more cynical take on this development is that this is the Ricketts family’s way of passing along the losses of passing the first threshold of the luxury tax along to the fans. Indeed, the team chose to spend on players (however unwisely), and despite their failure to make the playoffs, there are financial penalties to be paid for crossing the initial competitive balance tax line. Owning a team is a business, and as operating costs grow more expensive, so must the product, lest profits don’t continue setting records year after year. Alternatively, you can be a bit more optimistic. Perhaps these price hikes aren’t the consequence of a fluke spike in spending, but rather a sign that the spending will continue. Maybe the ownership group has informed Jed Hoyer and company that their jobs are on the line, and the team plans to loosen the purse strings in free agency this winter. Surely, anyone reasonable would pay a few more bucks for seats if it means Juan Soto is patrolling right field at the Friendly Confines for the next decade. If you take a grander landscape view of baseball, the Cubs were already one of the most expensive teams to see in the league. Using research from Money Geek, the average price for a family of four to see a Cubs game this year is $154 ($87 for tickets, $14 for parking, $53 for food and drinks). That’s above the MLB average of $140, and way above the Miami Marlins’ mark of $83, though the experience is more reasonably priced than seeing a Dodgers ($219) or Yankees ($161) game. Again, that’s for individual game tickets, so price increases will impact those tickets more severely than those of season ticket holders. Take this news how you will. There’s something to be said for the fact that it’s a better sign that tickets are getting more expensive rather than less, as that would portend another rebuild--which exactly zero Cubs fans want to sit through. Yet, there’s also an argument to be made for making the great game of baseball more accessible, rather than less so. For every effort Rob Manfred and the league office make to appeal to a more casual audience, the owners take another step in the opposite direction: cultivating a smaller number of customers willing to pony up many more dollars than those casual fans and working-class families. Whether it’s more expensive tickets, local game blackouts, streaming service exclusive games, or RSN bankruptcies, it feels like baseball will just never be able to get out of its own way. For those of us with an inelastic demand for baseball games, this financial hit isn’t going to push us away. It’ll make us cringe a bit when we look at our receipts, but it’s just the price of doing business with professional sports teams in 2024. We're the suckers the Ricketts family and their ilk are counting on. For those who are a little less serious about their fandom, though, the idea of going to a Cubs game just became less appealing.

Remember when the Cubs were good? Like, not just “a few games above .500” good, but really, genuinely good? Good enough to win the division and 100 games in the regular season? Good enough to make it to the National League Championship Series year after year? Good enough, even, to win the one thing everyone who loves this sport truly wants? Moral victories exist in sports. Even the best franchises go through down seasons. Each of the stars the Cubs dealt in 2021 have failed to live up the lucrative contracts they signed in the ensuing years. Whatever platitude you whisper to yourself to sleep easier at night, though, there’s not many positives to take away from the weekend series against the New York Yankees. The Cubs salvaged a hunk of the three-game set with a 2-1 win on Sunday, but they fell further behind the Mets and Braves in the Wild Card race by dropping the first two games of the series. Now five games out of the final playoff spot and with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies looming on the schedule, the season is down to its final gasp for Chicago. The Cubs’ “recovering” lineup averaged 0.67 runs per game against the Yankees. From Aug. 16 to Sept. 4, the Cubs went 13-5, culminating in the Shota Imanaga-led no hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates. While that was a strong run, it wasn’t exactly impressive. Their opponents during that stretch, in order, were: the Blue Jays (last in the AL East), the Tigers (4th in the AL Central), the Marlins (last in the NL East), the Pirates (last in the NL Central), the Nationals (4th in the NL East), and the Pirates again. They took care of business, sure, but that 18-game window was bookended by a sweep against the Guardians (1st in the AL Central) and the series loss to the Yankees (1st in the AL East). When the Cubs chose to trade away their World Series heroes just over three years ago, it was under the guise of a more promising future. That core had run its course, and it was better to commit to rebuilding rather than trying to recapture the glory days. I’m not going to make a definitive statement on that. The farm system is loaded, and better times may be ahead. This is merely an obituary on a 2024 season that never really got off the ground. Things began according to plan, as the Cubs were 18-12 on May 1. They then went 21-34 during May and June, practically negating their 31-20 stretch during the dog days of July and August. Now, following a series loss to the very Yankees team Rizzo was dealt to, one thing has become increasingly obvious: the rebuild that began when Rizzo and his championship-winning brethren were traded away is still ongoing. You can argue that baseball - or anything in life, for that matter - doesn't exist on a binary scale; even in a sea of negatives, you can always find positive takeaways. And while that is true, what is also true is that these Cubs simply aren't built for the playoffs. They're not good enough to play with the top dogs of this sport we love so much. They weren't good enough last year, when they collapsed in September; and they weren't good enough this year, when they were so bad in May and June that a late-season collapse wasn't necessary. Rizzo went just 2-for-10 in the batter’s box this series. He’s been worth -0.5 WAR in what’s been a lost season. By every notable measure, he’s been worse than Cubs first baseman Michael Busch, who has cemented himself as the future at the cold corner. Keeping him, or Kris Bryant, or Javier Báez, or Yu Darvish, or Kyle Schwarber, or anyone from that team, probably wouldn’t have changed the team’s fate. In all likelihood, the Cubs are better off now, because they made the difficult decision to set dynamite at the feet of their waning championship roster. That doesn't change the fact that this season is all but over for the North Siders. Rizzo’s return to Wrigley was celebratory because of the sentimentality behind it. It was joyous to see the ostensible face of the franchise from the curse-busting roster finally come back home. But now, he’s left to go back to his new home in New York. Just like the last time he left for the Big Apple, the immediate feeling is the same: the Cubs’ season is over. All that’s changed is the names on the backs of the jerseys. And, of course, three years have passed the Cubs by.