Brandon Glick

Edward Cabrera brings frontline stuff and cost-controlled youth to the Chicago Cubs' rotation, but is the 27-year-old's injury history too blinding to ignore? View full video

Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner finds himself the subject of trade rumors as the team continues to swing and miss on free-agent targets. Should the Cubs actually try to deal one of their best, most consistent players this offseason? View full video

Image courtesy of © Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images Compared to star closers like Edwin Diaz and Devin Williams — both of whom signed long-term contracts in free agency this offseason — the Chicago Cubs' bullpen remodeling has been about reeling in a bunch of small fishes, rather than a giant one worth posing with. Phil Maton has been the only multi-year splurge made by the front office; other additions include a reunion with Caleb Thielbar, and one-year pacts with Hoby Milner and Jacob Webb. The team's latest signing of Hunter Harvey fits that same model, though he brings a bit more heat (literally and figuratively) to a relief corps in desperate need of some true high-leverage horsepower. All of the Cubs' reliever additions this winter have one thing in common: they don't throw fast. Thielbar, Milner and Maton ranked toward the very bottom of the league with fastballs that averaged less than 90 mph in 2025, and Webb was below average in that category as well. Daniel Palencia should be a reliable leverage arm moving forward, but as the primary (only?) source of meaningful velocity in the bullpen, Craig Counsell was going to have to get really creative with piecing together outs from the relief corps Jed Hoyer had assembled. Luckily, Harvey can add some gas to the fire. His fastball averaged more than 96 mph this past season with the Kansas City Royals, and in 2022-23, he was pumping it in around 98.3 mph. Even if injuries have sapped some of his juice, there's clearly a high-powered arm attached to the 31-year-old. Of course, injuries are a big part of the equation for the right-hander, who has struggled to stay healthy since turning pro. Despite turning in a 0.00 ERA and 1.35 FIP this past season, he only made 12 appearances (10 2/3 innings) due to a teres major strain and a separate Grade 2 adductor strain. In fact, he's only made 50 appearances in a season once (2023), and his healthiest three-season stretch (2022-24) only saw him tackle about 150 innings. He's just not durable, hence the short-term nature of his deal. As long as he can stay relatively put together for 2026, that's of no great concern to the Cubs. He's struck out 27.4% of opposing hitters since the start of the 2022 season, and his walk rate plummeted to 2.6% in 2025. That's a wildly intriguing combination, even if hitters tend to crush the ball (40.7% hard-hit rate, 92.4 mph average exit velocity allowed) when they make contact. Those batted-ball trends can likely be chalked up to the fact that he relies so heavily on his four-seam fastball and lives so frequently in the zone; he still generates whiffs and chases at a solidly above-average rate. Harvey makes a living off his high-rise fastball and bowling-ball splitter, featuring them about 80% of the time, give or take a few pitches each season. Peculiarly, he absolutely feasts with run on his pitches rather than any real cutting action, which is somewhat of a departure from the norm for the Cubs. Perhaps there's some work to be done with his slider and curveball that he continues to oscillate favor with, as both pitches represent his best chances to work away from right-handed hitters (he's worked reverse splits quite often, including his small sample in 2025). Still, the whole point of adding Harvey was adding premium velocity to a bullpen short on it. Insofar as his fastball doesn't fall off a proverbial cliff in 2026, that one pitch alone should make him a breath of fresh air for Craig Counsell and Cubs fans alike. View full article

Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Shota Imanaga's return to the Chicago Cubs' rotation — after a bizarre double-opt-out that required the qualifying offer to mend — should be a boon at large for the team in 2026, even if his home run problems render him less effective than the pitcher he was in 2024 and the first half of 2025. However, his presence (and the looming return of Justin Steele from elbow surgery) puts the Cubs in a weird spot when it comes to one of their best depth arms. Javier Assad took 29 starts for the North Siders in 2024, and he entered camp with an eye on yet another job at the back of Craig Counsell's rotation. Unfortunately, an oblique strain had other ideas, holding him out until August 12. That long layoff limited him to just seven starts (plus one bullpen appearance) and 37.0 innings, but he was more or less the pitcher fans have come to expect when stepped back onto the mound — he recorded a 3.65 ERA, 47.4% ground-ball rate, while pitching to about 1.0 fWAR per 100 frames. His strikeouts were down, but so too were the amount of walks and home runs he surrendered. He pitched to contact effectively, letting the Cubs' superlative defense take care of the many balls in play. In other words, he was Javier Assad. Long one of baseball's best FIP-beaters (a topic our @Jason Ross explored in depth here), the 28-year-old's expected stats continued to betray his actual production. His 4.24 FIP this past season was more than a half-run higher than his ERA; his expected ERA (xERA) was 4.79, clear of his actual mark by more than a full digit. It's no secret why a contact-manager like Assad continues to outperform his FIP; the stat hones in on the outcomes a pitcher controls (strikeouts, walks, hit-by-pitches, and home runs). It may be a better indicator of a pitcher's potential to dominate, but it hardly accounts for a pitcher who knows how to pitch to his defense's strengths as well as Assad does. A lot of what drives his success is a seven-pitch mix that includes three fastballs (a four-seamer, a cutter, and a sinker), two distinct slider shapes (a traditional slider and a sweeper), and a curveball and a changeup. None of these pitches are actually incredible, mind you — in a small sample, his sweeper and four-seamer were the only offerings to generate an xwOBA below .300 this year. He gets by on a quantity-over-quality approach, which works when you're able to differentiate movement profiles as much as Assad does. *Chart courtesy of Baseball Savant Again, that sheer diversity doesn't lead to dazzling results. His strikeout rate has never been above 21% in a single season, and he routinely ranks toward the bottom of the league in inducing whiffs and chases. Were it not for a proven ability to miss barrels and generate ground balls, Assad probably wouldn't even be in the league. And yet, he has proven, time and time again, to have that ability, expected stats be damned. Putting him in a Keegan Thompson-esque, multi-inning-fireman role is simply not the right play here. Assad is a starter, plain and simple. Thanks to that seven-pitch arsenal, he tends to get better as he gets deeper into games. He's also significantly better with runners on base, which would sound like a load of small-sample nonsense if he hadn't repeated the same feat four years running. So, what's the plan here? He isn't taking a spot from Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Cade Horton, or Imanaga in the rotation, and Steele would have the inside track on the fifth job if and when he's healthy. Plus, Colin Rea is still a factor after his strong effort in 2025, and Jordan Wicks and Ben Brown are still clogging up space on the 40-man roster. Would the Cubs really stash Assad in Triple-A (he has two option years remaining) until a need arises? Will they try to treat him like a true swingman, á la the way the Cincinnati Reds have used Nick Martinez the past few years? It's something of a good problem to have since Assad has proven so effective in his opportunities, despite what the expected metrics suggest. He's not so good that he'll cause internal strife by ringing up 15 Triple-A hitters a night, but it's also a waste of his talents to have him soak up mop-up duty on either side of a blowout. What the Cubs need is an Alec Mills or Keegan Thompson. What they have is Javier Assad. If they can find the balancing act between those two distinct archetypes, perhaps a brighter future lies ahead for both team and player. View full article

The Chicago Cubs' quiet offseason continues, as the team made two more savvy signings in Caleb Thielbar and Tyler Austin while waiting out the top end of the free-agent market. View full video

The Chicago Cubs didn't do much at the Winter Meetings, but as their signing of reliever Hoby Milner proves, they're clearly planning to be active throughout the rest of the offseason. View full video

The Chicago Cubs wisely scooped up strikeout artist Phil Maton for their depleted bullpen, but their need for velocity and more relievers still stands out like a sore thumb on the roster. View full video

It's that time of year again! North Side Baseball invites you to discuss your favorite players and moments from the 2025 Chicago Cubs season! View full video

Todd Hollandsworth is a former professional baseball outfielder who spent 12 years in MLB, including parts of two seasons with the Chicago Cubs. Originally drafted in the third round of the 1991 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Hollandsworth eventually made his MLB debut following the 1994 strike. A versatile outfielder who could play all three positions, Hollandsworth served as the Dodgers' fourth outfielder for years before being moved to the Colorado Rockies at the 2000 trade deadline. Thus began the journeyman phase of his career. Hollandsworth played for the Rockies, Rangers, and Marlins from 2000-03, struggling to stay healthy while drawing sporadic playing time. Eventually, he landed with the Cubs prior to the 2004 season, just after helping the Marlins shock the Cubs (and the world) in the 2003 NLCS with three hits in three pinch-hit plate appearances. The fourth outfielder thrived in his maiden campaign in Chicago, hitting .318/.392/.547 in 57 games (167 plate appearances). He continued to dominate as a pinch hitter as well, going 9-for-17 with two home runs off the bench. Unfortunately, yet another injury derailed his season, as Hollandsworth left a game on June 27 against the Chicago White Sox and would miss the remainder of the year. He returned healthy in 2005 and took over the starting left field job following the offseason departures of Moises Alou and Sammy Sosa. He struggled with that new responsibility, racking up -0.9 bWAR while batting .254/.301/.388 in 107 games. He was ultimately dealt to the Atlanta Braves just before the August waiver trade deadline for pitching prospects Todd Blackford and Angelo Burrows. Hollandsworth wrapped up his career with brief stints with the Braves, Cleveland, and the Reds, retiring at the conclusion of the 2006 season. After hanging up his cleats, he returned to Chicago to become an analyst and broadcaster. In 2008, he was a sports commentator on Comcast Sports Net Chicago, and from 2009-16, he was the network's pre-and-post-game analyst alongside David Kaplan. He also held broadcasting roles with the Miami Marlins in the ensuing years. View full player

As the Chicago Cubs plot their course for the offseason, which free agent and trade targets should they prioritize pursuing? How would Dylan Cease or MacKenzie Gore look at the top of the rotation? Would Bo Bichette be a fit in the infield? How about Steven Kwan roaming the outfield? View full video

Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-Imagn Images Ian Happ is so much more than just the longest-tenured member of the Chicago Cubs. He's now a four-time reigning Gold Glover in left field, a remarkable achievement considering the team had no idea where to put him for the first five seasons of his career. He's also got a career 116 wRC+ and 20.6 fWAR to his name, not to mention a few clutch postseason hits that span across the last relevant Cubs core and this one. In a vacuum, Happ is one of the most consistent players in the sport. He's been above average at the plate without fail, posting a wRC+ figure between 106 and 132 in every season of his career. Narrow the scope to just the last four seasons, and that margin becomes impossibly thin; Happ's wRC+ hasn't fluctuated more than six points since the start of 2022, sitting between 116 and 122. He's also been worth a reliable amount of WAR in that span, contributing between 2.8fWAR and 3.7fWAR to the cause every season. On the surface, he's as dependable as it gets. He plays 150-plus games per campaign—a mark he hasn't fallen below since 2021, when he played in 148 contests. He walks a ton, working a 13.2% free pass rate since 2023. He plays quality defense in left field. He's no superstar, but he's the kind of franchise "glue guy" that puts in the work and gets the job done on an annual basis, no questions asked. Except, if you know anything about Happ, you know he's really one of the streakiest hitters in the sport. On just a month-to-month basis in 2025, his performance looks like what the main character would achieve in a C-student's high school interpretation of Jekyll and Hyde on a baseball diamond: March/April: .722 OPS, 108 wRC+ May: .684 OPS, 98 wRC+ June: .779 OPS, 115 wRC+ July: .638 OPS, 86 wRC+ August: .835 OPS, 134 wRC+ September: .892 OPS, 148 wRC+ October (Postseason): .490 OPS, 31 wRC+ If you were to get even more granular and take a look back at his individual games and series, the contrast would be even more stark and unnerving. Seriously, go and look through North Side Baseball's repository of Happ-related articles—it won't take long before you find two diametrically-opposed pieces using equally-valid evidence to support extreme hypotheses about Happ. Here's one from Aug. 10 reassuring Cubs fans that everything would be all right after a disastrous July, and here's one literally two weeks later vouching for Happ to be benched for top prospect Owen Caissie. Over the course of a 162-game season, you can live with peaks and valleys if the end result is reliable and predictable. In the one-mistake-and-you're-out environment of the playoffs, though, it's harder to swallow that pill. Happ may have hit two (seemingly, at the time) crucial home runs against the Brewers in the NLDS, but he also struck out in 39.4% of his plate appearances in October. That just won't fly. However, that's not necessarily the reason the Cubs should consider trading Happ this winter. Nor is the fact that top prospects Owen Caissie and Kevin Alcantara (who is out of minor league options) are banging on the door and in need of playing time in a crowded outfield picture. This is purely an argument about long-term planning, which the Cubs haven't done the best job of in recent years. As things stand, the only guaranteed money on the books after the 2026 season is the remaining $81 million on Dansby Swanson's contract. Yes, there are various options and players bound to earn millions of dollars via arbitration, but the only payout the Cubs will be forced to make in 2027 as of this moment is for Swanson. That obviously means that there's plenty of room for a long-term contract or two or three to be added to the payroll this offseason, but it also means the Cubs aren't taking any risks when it comes to the impending 2027 lockout. They've structured the roster in a way to ensure that, no matter what happens in next year's CBA negotiations, they won't be caught off guard. In a pragmatic sense, what that amounts to is the fact that a vast majority of the veterans on this roster are due to become free agents in a year's time. Right now, that list includes: C Carson Kelly (mutual option) C Reese McGuire 2B Nico Hoerner LF Ian Happ RF Seiya Suzuki SP Jameson Taillon SP Matthew Boyd (mutual option) SP/RP Colin Rea (club option) That's a comical amount of talent to lose in one offseason, and you can be sure the team will at least broach the extension conversation with a number of those players. But, seeing as everyone on that list besides Hoerner is already at least 30 years old, it might be time to start consolidating the roster. The Milwaukee Brewers have been pulling this trick for ages -- they've traded Corbin Burnes, Yovani Gallardo, Devin Williams, and now potentially Freddy Peralta when they were one year out from free agency -- and have made it out unscathed every time. And each of those players were dominant pitchers in their prime, a decidedly more valuable asset than Happ is right now with his one year of control remaining at a $19 million salary. It doesn't have to be Happ of course. I maintain my belief that trading Jameson Taillon while the iron is hot after his second-half performance could yield long-term dividends, Hoerner is probably too valuable to move thanks to his defense and contact skills, but Suzuki could bring in a nice return from a team in need of power if the Cubs don't mind purging all of the Japanese talent from their roster in the same offseason. And this doesn't have to be the path the team takes. They can commit to this roster for 2026 and go all-in on their last year of certainty before the CBA expires. But, that would require a level of commitment that this team hasn't been accustomed to in quite some time—it'd be several steps further than how they treated 2025 with the Kyle Tucker trade. Given his inconsistencies and the team's directionless path forward, trading Happ may be a necessary evil. The Cubs wouldn't need him to bring back top prospects in a deal (they'd certainly prefer major-league-ready talent, especially on the pitching side), and his excellent defense, switch-hitting prowess and season-long reliability would tempt a lot of other teams in trade talks, especially given how barren the outfield market is in free agency after Tucker and Cody Bellinger. It feels wrong to suggest given his importance to Chicago as the last remaining piece from 2017 and before, but Ian Happ might be better suited as a trade chip than a Cub this offseason. View full article

The Chicago Cubs sit on the precipice of their most important offseason in a decade, though their commitment to the short-term window remains a genuine question. View full video