Brandon Glick

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

Reed Johnson is a former professional baseball outfielder who spent 13 years in Major League Baseball, including parts of four seasons with the Chicago Cubs. After becoming the first Cal State Fullerton player to score 100 runs and collect 100 hits in a season, Johnson was drafted in the 17th round of the 1999 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He quickly rose the minor league ranks as one of the best hitters in the Jays' farm system, making his MLB debut in 2003. He then broke out with a career-best campaign in 2006, hitting .319/.390/.479 and accruing 5.1 WAR as the team's starting left fielder. He also currently holds the MLB record for most times hit by a pitch in a game (three), something that happened to him on three occasions with the Blue Jays (also a record). A difficult 2007 season led to Johnson getting released prior to Opening Day in 2008, and he immediately signed with the Cubs. He became Jim Edmonds' platoon partner in center field (Felix Pie also factored in occasionally) and played well when called upon, batting .303/.358/.420 in 333 at-bats. Despite his impressive maiden campaign in the Windy City, Johnson did not play at all in the Cubs' Divisional Round loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs. Johnson followed up that strong 2008 season with a mediocre encore in 2009 (.255/.330/.412), which was exacerbated by a foot fracture sustained near the trade deadline. The Cubs petered out and missed the playoffs that year, and Johnson was left to fend for himself in free agency. After a relatively successful one-year stint with the Dodgers, Johnson came back to the Cubs in 2011 on a minor-league deal. Now rebuilding, the 2011 Cubs were able to give Johnson a bigger runway to playing time. Splitting his time between all three outfield positions (primarily right field), he hit .309 with an .816 OPS that season, leading the team in batting average (Carlos Zambrano technically hit .318 that year, but he only drew 48 plate appearances and thus, didn't qualify). Johnson got off to a similar roaring start in 2012 (.302/.355/.444) and was eventually dealt, alongside starting pitcher Paul Maholm, to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for prospects Arodys Vizcaíno and Jaye Chapman. After a successful half-year with the Braves, Johnson played one more season in Atlanta before wrapping up his career with short stints with the Miami Marlins (2014) and Washington Nationals (2015). He retired after being released by Washington in April 2016. View full player

Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, and Pete Crow-Armstrong brought home Gold Gloves for their defensive efforts in 2025, as the Cubs were rewarded for their conscious decision to build a defense-first team. View full video

The Chicago Cubs executed a pair of cost-cutting maneuvers with their pitching staff by declining the option of Shota Imanaga and trading Andrew Kittredge, leaving questions about their desire to seriously compete in 2026. View full video

Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-Imagn Images Shota Imanaga has proven, invariably, that he is a MLB-caliber starting pitcher over the last two years. Since signing a complicated contract with the Chicago Cubs, the Japanese southpaw has authored a 3.28 ERA in 318.0 innings. He's also got a 4.24 FIP, 3.75 xERA, 1.01 WHIP, 23.1% strikeout rate, and 4.3% walk rate to show for his efforts. Though he received no accolades for his truncated 2025 performance, Imanaga's rookie campaign was dazzling, as he finished top-five in NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young voting, on top of earning a spot on the Senior Circuit's Midsummer Classic roster. With that résumé, it's a bit of a wonder that the Cubs chose to decline what was effectively a three-year, $57 million option on Imanaga for the 2026-28 seasons. That passed the baton off to the 32-year-old, who rightfully said no to his $15 million player option for the 2026 season. He is now a free agent, and given how his tenure ended—not to mention the fact that he will surely receive more than the $19 million per year Chicago just declined to give him—it's all but a certainty that Imanaga has thrown his last pitch in a Cubs uniform. This merry-go-round of decisions feels more disappointing than jarring after the way Imanaga collapsed down the stretch this year, but it's nonetheless a sad turn of events. It felt like a lock in August that the Cubs would pick up the option; by the middle of October, the odds had swayed all the way in the other direction. In truth, this decision was really made in Game 5 of the NLDS, when the Cubs' braintrust collectively decided to hold Imanaga out of the most important game of the season, despite being on full rest. Matthew Boyd had gotten his revenge on the Milwaukee Brewers a game earlier while facing elimination, but Imanaga had become so untrustworthy by that point that Craig Counsell elected to go with a bullpen game in the sudden-death affair. It sort of worked—the carousel of relievers, including bulk-eater Colin Rea, only allowed three runs—but the Cubs still lost the game, and thus, their season. And it's hard to blame Counsell for that choice. Imanaga was the ace of the staff heading into the year, but his home run issues had gotten so pronounced by the playoffs that he was simply unplayable. Over his final nine starts of the regular season, Imanaga allowed at least one home run in every appearance, including multi-homer efforts in five of his final six starts. That trend continued into the playoffs, as the lefty surrendered three home runs in just 6 2/3 frames, including two in less than three innings against the Brewers in Game 2 of the NLDS. The Cubs declined his option today, but they had made their decision on Imanaga weeks ago. Funnily enough, both parties' decisions regarding this pseudo-mutual option are directly tied to the impending 2027 lockout. The Cubs have been terrified of it since the last CBA was ratified, as can be seen in their curiously-constructed payroll. A majority of their "core" veterans are due to be become free agents after next year, as the franchise is clearly prioritizing payroll flexibility in the future. Removing Imanaga's salary from the books only furthers that directive. This team will not be caught off guard by the new economic parameters of the sport, current contention window be damned. Imanaga, likewise, surely feels the same pressures. A one-year, $15 million deal hardly approximate his current value regardless, but this could be his best chance to secure a multi-year contract before the new CBA rules potentially harm his earning potential. This was more of a Cubs choice than an Imanaga one, and once they declined the contract, he was all but guaranteed to reciprocate. Ultimately, this confluence of events leaves the Cubs in a difficult state heading into the offseason, with Justin Steele's recovery and Cade Horton's continued development taking on even more outsized importance in the team's immediate fate. Those two, plus Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd, can form the skeleton of a strong rotation, but after watching the Dodgers march through the postseason with an elite group of starters, the Cubs lack the talent (and depth) to be considered in that echelon. Of course, the team could close the gap by reinvesting the money it is saving on Imanaga in a free agent like Michael King or Dylan Cease. But, given the lockout fears and how we saw them operate after salary dumping Cody Bellinger last offseason, I wouldn't hold my breath. View full article

Mark DeRosa is a former professional baseball utility player who spent 16 seasons in MLB, including two years with the Chicago Cubs. [This page comes courtesy of @matto1233, who previously wrote up DeRosa's fun career in a "Remember Some Cubs" article.] In many ways, Mark DeRosa was always the versatile athlete that he would come to be known for in his professional baseball playing career. He was both a baseball and football star while growing up in New Jersey–so much so that he would go on to start at both quarterback and shortstop for the University of Pennsylvania. Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the seventh round of the 1996 MLB Draft, DeRosa made his MLB debut in 1998. He was mostly a utility player for the Braves until 2004, when he was given the starting third base job out of spring training. After watching him hit just .239/.293/.320 and tear his ACL in September, the Braves declined to offer DeRosa a contract, making him a free agent. DeRosa played as a stopgap for the Texas Rangers in 2005, and finally had his breakout in 2006, becoming a full-time player and hitting .296/.357/.456. This led to the Cubs signing him to a three-year, $13 million contract as a part of their spending spree in the offseason between 2006 and 2007. Thus began the legend of Mark DeRosa in Chicago. He played an integral role on Cubs teams that won back-to-back division titles in 2007 and 2008. In those two campaigns, he hit .289/.373/.451, with 31 total home runs. DeRosa started most often at second base for those Cubs teams, but in a lot of ways, he was Ben Zobrist before Ben Zobrist. In addition to the keystone, DeRosa appeared in games at third base, right field, left field, first base, and even shortstop. I have a confession to make: Because I was an impressionable middle-school kid at the time, those Cubs teams hold a very special place in my heart. Sure, I have memories of 2003, and of Sammy Sosa blasting home runs onto Waveland Avenue, but 2007 and 2008 was the first time the Cubs were good at a point when I was also old enough to appreciate and absorb them. In retrospect, I recall DeRosa being both a fan favorite, and the heart and soul of those Cubs teams. It seemed he was almost everybody’s favorite player–my grandma included. I am not ashamed to admit that my online video game username, that I still use to this day, includes the number ‘7’ because of DeRosa. But was he actually good? Or did the much younger version of me simply appreciate the way he played baseball and latch onto him for different, unknown reasons that only kids can understand? Across the 2007 and 2008 seasons, DeRosa was fourth on the Cubs in overall WAR, according to FanGraphs. His 6.6 WAR trailed only Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, and Ted Lilly. He produced more WAR than both Derrek Lee and Carlos Zambrano, who were rightly viewed as cornerstone players of that era. He was a vital piece of those teams. However, after those two seasons, that would be it for DeRosa in a Cubs uniform. He was traded to Cleveland that offseason for a package that included Chris Archer, and things just weren’t quite the same in Chicago. The Cubs disappointed in 2009, as they failed to make the playoffs, leaving many wondering if DeRosa was the glue that held everything together. But things weren’t quite the same for DeRosa, either. He still proved himself a valuable player in 2009, but after being traded to the Cardinals at the trade deadline, he hit just .228/.291/.405. While he would go on to play four more seasons for the Giants, Nationals, and Blue Jays, he racked up just 538 plate appearances in those seasons, and hit .227 with eight home runs in that time. Now, you’ll find DeRosa as a studio analyst with MLB Network. He was the manager for Team USA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, leaving many to wonder if managing a big-league team might be in his future. DeRosa was the perfect player for the Cubs at the perfect time. He contributed two-thirds of his 10.1 career fWAR in just two seasons with the Cubs, and the Cubs won the division in both of those seasons. We’ll never know what would have happened had the Cubs kept him around for the 2009 season. Here is something that we do know: Chris Archer, who was the headline piece coming back to the Cubs in the trade that sent him away, was eventually traded to Tampa Bay for Matt Garza. Garza was eventually traded to the Texas Rangers for Mike Olt, Justin Grimm, and Carl Edwards Jr. Grimm and Edwards would both go on to record very important outs out of the bullpen in the 2016 playoffs for the Cubs. So, in a roundabout way, DeRosa was still contributing to the Cubs and helping them win a World Series in 2016. That, alone, should make us remember him even more fondly, and makes me feel validated in my childhood appreciation of him. View full player

Jonathan Lucroy is a former professional baseball catcher who spent 12 years in MLB, including part of the 2019 season with the Chicago Cubs. Known by most as a fundamental piece of the 2010's Milwaukee Brewers, Lucroy was originally a collegiate star for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns before being selected in the third round of the 2007 MLB Draft. Though he never emerged as a top prospect, it wasn't long before Lucroy usurped Gregg Zaun and George Kottaras as the Brewers' starting catcher. He made his MLB debut in 2010 and by 2011, Lucroy was the unquestioned starting backstop in Wrigley North. Admittedly, Lucroy was great with the Brewers during his tenure. From 2010 through the 2016 trade deadline, Lucroy hit .284/.342/.436 in 805 games. He was worth 17.2 WAR while making the NL All-Star team in both 2014 and 2016, with the former campaign representing a high-water mark for Lucroy. That season, he finished fourth in NL MVP voting while batting .301/.373/.465 with a league-leading 53 doubles. Alongisde Ryan Braun and Price Fielder, he was one of the faces of the franchise during some lean years in Milwaukee. Funnily enough, Lucroy was never all that effective against the Cubs. In 85 career games against the North Siders (a majority with Milwaukee), Lucroy hit just .213 with seven home runs. That certainly didn't prevent him from being one of the best all-around catchers in baseball with the Brewers, but it's the truth that Chicago knew how to stymie him in a way that most other teams didn't. By the 2016 trade deadline, Lucroy wanted to be moved to a contender, and so the Texas Rangers acquired him (alongside reliever Jeremy Jeffress). That began the journeyman phase of the backstop's career, as he would spend time with the Rangers (2016-17), Rockies (2017), Athletics (2018), and Angels (2019) over the next few seasons. His tenure in Los Angeles ended in an unfortunate way, as a collision with Jake Marisnick at the plate send him to the injured list, and the Angels effectively replaced him on the roster. After being released in early August, Lucroy found a home for the remainder of the 2019 season with the Cubs. Chicago was navigating a tumultuous catcher position that year, as Willson Contreras was hurt, Martin Maldonado was traded to the Astros at the trade deadline, and Victor Caratini was forced into regular playing time. Both Derek Holland and Cole Hamels—who Lucroy caught while with the Rangers—had vouched for his signing. Lucroy ultimately wound up receiving sparse playing time with the Cubs at both catcher and first base as the team flamed out and missed the postseason for the first time in five years. In 27 games (60 plate appearances) with the team, he hit .189/.283/.283 with just three extra-base hits, accruing -0.4 WAR. Like manager Joe Maddon, who was a big fan of the veteran catcher, Lucroy moved on from the Cubs that offseason. Following his time with the Cubs, Lucroy received sparse playing time with the Red Sox, Nationals and Braves. He would ultimately retire during the 2022 season, and was subsequently inducted into the Milwaukee Brewers Wall of Honor. View full player

Nate Schierholtz is an eight-year MLB veteran who played the outfield for four teams, including parts of two seasons with the Chicago Cubs. Schierholtz was a prep star, serving as captain at San Ramon Valley High School before spending one season at Chabot College (a community college), where he was named an All-American. The San Francisco Giants thought highly enough of his production to draft him in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2003 MLB Draft, selecting him as a third baseman. It wasn't long before Schierholtz converted to the outfield, and he emerged as one of the best prospects in the Giants' system. He would end up making his MLB debut in 2007, though San Francisco continued to shuttle him despite solid results. In 198 plate appearances between 2007-08, the right fielder hit .310/.338/439 (100 OPS+), which earned him a more permanent position on the team going forward. He would play 114+ games for the Giants over each of the next three seasons (winning the World Series in 2010), though he never quite lived up to his early-career production. Then, Schierholtz was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies at the 2012 trade deadline in the deal that brought Hunter Pence to San Francisco. He struggled in his half-season there, and was non-tendered the following offseason. Thus, the outfielder was left to his own devices in free agency, and he ultimately signed a one-year, $2.25 million deal in December 2012 with the Cubs. He proceeded to have the best season of his career in 2013, batting .251/.301/.470 in a career-high 503 plate appearances as Chicago's everyday right fielder. His 21 home runs were also a career-best, and he was a low-key All-Star candidate on the strength of his .286 batting average and 11 home runs through June. At just 29 years old, he appeared to be one of the team's outfielders of the future, and the Cubs showed their faith in him by extending Schierholtz on a one-year, $5 million contract for the 2014 season. Unfortunately, that's when the wheels fell off. Schierholtz hit .192/.240/.300 in 99 games with the Cubs in the first half of 2014, and he lost playing time as the season progressed. The front office couldn't find a taker for him at the trade deadline, and ultimately, the team designated him for assignment on Aug. 6. No one claimed the outfielder, and the Cubs let him go. After being released by the Cubs, Schierholtz signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals, and he got a late-season cup of coffee with them as a defensive replacement and pinch hitter. His tenure there came to an end when his old team, the Giants, eliminated the Nationals in the NLDS. He then had stints overseas and in the minor leagues with various other teams, though an 80-game suspension in August 2016 for taking performance-enhancing drugs effectively ended his career. View full player

After staging an impressive NLDS comeback, the Cubs fell flat in Game 5 against the Brewers. With so many offseason questions awaiting them, what can Chicago learn from the 2025 season? View full video