Andrew Wright

It's that time of year again when the MLB begins to release its Top 100 Players List across social media platforms, getting the baseball world talking about who is ranked too high, too low, or just right. The Chicago Cubs were a popular team to appear on the graphics, with six players ranked on the list. Let's do a quick breakdown of who they were and where they were ranked. Image courtesy of © Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images It's that time of year again when the MLB begins to release its Top 100 Players List across social media platforms, getting the baseball world talking about who is ranked too high, too low, or just right. The Chicago Cubs were a popular team to appear on the graphics, with six players ranked on the list. Let's do a quick breakdown of who they were and where they were ranked. Here is the complete list of MLB's Top 100 Players. Dansby Swanson: Rank - 93 Swanson has fallen out of good graces with the folks who make this list, as he was ranked No. 39 just two seasons ago, and he now finds himself almost entirely off the list. Swanson has struggled with injuries since joining the Cubs, but he is highly optimistic and confident that 2025 is the healthiest he's been in a long time, and he is primed for a career season. Ian Happ: Rank - 92 Happ joins the Top 100 list for the first time in his career, one spot above his teammate. Happ's career highs in home runs (25) and RBI (86) had an impact on him joining the list. His third consecutive gold glove in 2024 also played a part in being considered a Top 100 player in the game. Justin Steele: Rank - 88 Steele was No. 64 before last season and fell 24 spots after a confusing 2024 campaign. He finished with a 5-5 record but had an ERA of just 3.07. Steele threw the ball extremely well, but he could just not get the winning decision. He earned his first win of the season in July when he threw a complete game against the Angels. Steele will certainly look to bounce back and have a Cy-Young-type season like the one he had in 2023. Seiya Suzuki: Rank - 73 Suzuki is the first member of the list to make a jump upward from last season, climbing 11 spots. He hit a career-high 21 home runs and had a career-high OPS of .848. 2025 will be an important season for the slugger out of Japan, as he will transition from an everyday right fielder to an everyday designated hitter. Shota Imanaga: Rank - 64 Imanaga may have very well been Chicago's best player in 2024. His first season in MLB went much better than anyone could've thought, and he has a chance in 2025 to cement himself as the new ace of the Cubs pitching staff. A 1-2 punch of Imanaga and Steele at the top of the rotation could be a scary sight for any team in the regular season and postseason. Kyle Tucker: Rank - 14 Finally, the Cubs have their superstar and a Top 20 player in baseball. Tucker is the highest-ranked Cubs player on the list; the last time Chicago had a top-25 talent on the list, Javier Baez was No. 23 prior to the 2020 season. Tucker will be the third-ranked right fielder, behind only Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. If Tucker produces the way everyone hopes he will, the Cubs will need to do everything in their power to ensure he is in Chicago for the long term. View full article

I think Steele is certainly still an "ace" I do agree that this collective group should be able to cut down on the bullpen meltdowns of last season and this team could very well get to 90 wins.

It has been almost a month since we made our first roster projection for the 2025 Cubs' Opening Day roster, and there have been a few moves that will both minorly and majorly impact the roster. With the team playing their first spring training game in just 10 days, here is the second version of a 2025 roster projection. Image courtesy of © Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images It has been almost a month since we made our first roster projection for the 2025 Cubs' Opening Day roster, and there have been a few moves that will both minorly and majorly impact the roster. With the team playing their first spring training game in just 10 days, here is the second version of a 2025 roster projection. Obviously, many Cubs fans are still hoping for further reinforcements of the current roster. Even as things stand, though, they look poised to contend. Here's the group most likely to break camp and head to Japan next month, if nothing changes between now and then. Pitchers (13) SP: Justin Steele SP: Shota Imanaga SP: Jameson Taillon SP: Matthew Boyd SP: Colin Rea RP: Ryan Brasier RP: Ryan Pressly RP: Porter Hodge RP: Tyson Miller RP: Caleb Thielbar RP: Julian Merryweather RP: Eli Morgan RP: Nate Pearson Chicago has an absurd amount of pitching depth, making it tough to leave off guys such as Jordan Wicks, Javier Assad, Luke Little and Ben Brown. All of those pitchers will more than likely start the year in Iowa, where the Iowa Cubs will have one of the most loaded pitching staffs in all of Minor League Baseball—although Assad has no sooner reported to camp than headed for an MRI on his oblique. This list could fluctuate and change with performances by certain guys this spring, but as for now, this is our best guess as to who will be on the Opening Day pitching staff. Catchers (2) Miguel Amaya Carson Kelly Nothing has changed at the catcher position since our first roster projection. It is still expected that Amaya will start games behind the plate when the Cubs are facing most righties, and Kelly will get the nod when facing a lefty. Infielders (6) 1B: Michael Busch 2B: Nico Hoerner SS: Dansby Swanson 3B: Matt Shaw UTL: Jon Berti UTL: Gage Workman The rumors surrounding Alex Bregman signing with Chicago have been swirling since last week, but since he has still not made a decision, he can't be put on this roster projection. If you recall, in late December, Chicago acquired utility man Vidal Bruján from the Marlins in exchange for once-promising prospect Matt Mervis. With the addition of Berti in free agency and Workman having to be returned to the Tigers if he does not start the season on the roster, though, it feels like Bruján will be waived. Outfielders (5) LF: Ian Happ CF: Pete Crow-Armstrong RF: Kyle Tucker DH/OF: Seiya Suzuki OF: Alexander Canario Nothing has changed in the outfield landscape for Chicago. Manager Craig Counsell has made it known publicly that Suzuki will spend most of his 2025 season as the Cubs' designated hitter. Canario is still expected to start on the major-league roster, as he is out of minor-league options and the team lacks another clear option for that roster spot. A Bregman signing in the coming days could reshape the roster, if Chicago were to reel him in and/or move on from Hoerner. There may be tweaks to the pitching staff, but as of now, this is our best guess at the 26-man Opening Day roster for the Cubs. View full article

The talk of the Cubs world the last three days has been the possibility of signing former Astros third baseman Alex Bregman. If they do complete the blockbuster signing, can they also find a way to keep their stalwart second baseman? Image courtesy of Norm Hall/Getty Images The talk of the Cubs world the last three days has been the possibility of signing former Astros third baseman Alex Bregman. If they do complete the blockbuster signing, can they also find a way to keep their stalwart second baseman? Rumors have been swirling regarding what they Cubs have offered Alex Bregman, which other teams are in the mix, and what Bregman and his camp prefer in a contract. Another rumor that has gained steam is that the Cubs will be looking to move off of second baseman Nico Hoerner if they do sign Bregman. Trading Hoerner after a Bregman signing would be a mistake and here's a few reasons why. The first reason for needing to keep Hoerner is that he brings too much value to too many places to just ship away and let a prospect play over him. Hoerner is a career .278 hitter with a .338 career on-base percentage. Hoerner is in the 99th percentile in strikeout rate, striking out in just 10.3% of his plate appearances last season. The Cubs were 17th in offensive strikeouts in 2024, and that would more than likely be worse with the departure of Hoerner. Hoerner had a bit of a down season in 2024, when he posted his worst OPS since 2020 (.708), but there is little reason to believe that a bounce back is not on the horizon. Defensively, Hoerner won a Gold Glove award in 2023, and finished fourth among second basemen in both Defensive Runs Saved (eight) and Outs Above Average (11). Their middle-of-the-field defense with him, Dansby Swanson, and Pete Crow-Armstrong may be the best in all of baseball. The second reason is that Matt Shaw may not be ready for the Major Leagues. Yes, all the talks from front offices and scouts and experts say that Shaw is more than ready to play at the big-league level, but wasn't the same said about Matt Mervis? The first baseman was supposed to be a "high floor" slugger with a refined plate approach, and now he is no longer with the organization after being traded to the Marlins earlier in the offseason. Shaw is a higher quality prospect now than Mervis ever was, but the point remains: trusting Shaw to immediately replace an established veteran like Hoerner could be a fool's errand. If Shaw comes up and doesn't produce and needs to be sent down, then who do you insert into the lineup in his spot? Vidal Brujan? Jon Berti? Gage Workman? None of those options are remotely close to the best one, which would be keeping Hoerner and letting Shaw be a utility man, rather than coming up to the big leagues and starting every single day right away. It gives him an opportunity to get his feet wet and if he begins to outproduce Hoerner, then you make a move. Finally, the last reason to keep Hoerner is that it just makes sense logically. If your goal as a team is to win as many baseball games as you possibly can, then it makes sense to keep as many good players on your team as you can. You don't have to sign a really good player in Bregman and then give away a good player in Hoerner, even if the Cubs want you to think they're working with limited money. It's pretty sensible to argue that signing Bregman and trading Hoerner is much worse of an option than keeping both of them. Shaw's bat may have more potential than Hoerner's down the road, but the latter is a sterling defender and baserunner on top of his offensive utility. Nothing is finalized yet and it appears that the Bregman situation is dragging out longer than expected, but if the Cubs are able to sign him, they'd be foolish to trade Hoerner in response. View full article

In an offseason in which the Cubs have prioritized rotation and bullpen depth, they continued that trend Tuesday night with yet another addition to their relief corps. That will mean someone is either being shipped out in a trade, starting in the minor leagues or being released. Let's try and piece together what the Cubs bullpen will look like. Image courtesy of © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images In an offseason in which the Cubs have prioritized rotation and bullpen depth, they continued that trend Tuesday night with yet another addition to their relief corps. That will mean someone is either being shipped out in a trade, starting in the minor leagues or being released. Let's try and piece together what the Cubs bullpen will look like. Ryan Brasier brings the Cubs bullpen pleasingly close to full. They can only carry 13 pitchers at a time during the season, so depending on whether they use five or six starters in the rotation, they could have seven or eight relievers on the roster on any given day. For now, let's assume they stick with five regular starters, in Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd, and Colin Rea. Given those assumptions, who would fill in the remainder of the pitching staff? We know that the 8th and 9th innings will be patrolled by Porter Hodge and the recently acquired Ryan Pressly, respectively. There might be days when Pressly gets more than three outs or when Hodge slides back and takes the save, based on usage and matchups, but however you rank them, those two are the team's relief aces. Brasier, Tyson Miller and Caleb Thielbar are just as locked into their jobs as Pressly, and arguably even more so than Hodge. The Cubs have spent money on each of the aged veterans this winter, and neither can be optioned to the minors; neither can Miller. That means five spots in the pen can be written in with ink. The team also proactively chose to keep Julian Merryweather, another out-of-options relief arm, so we can call it six. That leaves just two slots for: Long reliever: Javier Assad Long reliever: Ben Brown Long reliever: Cody Poteet Long reliever: Jordan Wicks Long reliever: Caleb Kilian Long reliever: Nate Pearson Middle reliever: Eli Morgan Middle reliever: Luke Little Middle reliever: Jack Neely Middle reliever: Daniel Palencia Middle reliever: Ethan Roberts Middle reliever: Gavin Hollowell Middle reliever: Keegan Thompson That's 12 names for two jobs, and it only includes pitchers already on the 40-man roster, which means it leaves out top prospects Cade Horton and Brandon Birdsell, plus minor-league signees Brad Keller, Ben Heller, Trevor Richards, Phil Bickford, Brooks Kriske, and Brandon Hughes. Those guys coming to camp on minor-league deals pitched a combined 144 2/3 innings in the majors last year—not over their careers, just in 2024. Right now, you could say that none of them are in the top 10 for any spot on the roster. That's how much depth the Cubs have amassed. Of the gaudy list above, the only pitcher out of options is the bottom one, Thompson. Thus, if the Cubs don't make a trade that consolidates their pitching this month or next, they could start their season with Triple-A Iowa's pitching staff stuffed to the gills with MLB-quality arms—even accounting for an injury or two. We should assume they will, but for now, let's pick out the two arms who seem most likely to make it. Clearly, those are Morgan and Pearson, two guys the team has acquired in the last seven months and who spent virtually all of 2024 in the big leagues. That leaves us with a projected group of: Closer: Pressly Setup: Hodge Setup: Brasier Setup: Miller Setup: Thielbar Middle relief: Merryweather Middle relief: Morgan Long relief: Pearson Injuries are sure to shake up the Etch-a-Sketch, but barring them, it's hard to envision a roster without any of these names on it unless one of them has an awful spring. This would give the I-Cubs a rotation of Horton, Birdsell, Brown, Assad, Wicks and Poteet to begin the season, with Little, Neely, Palencia, Roberts and Hollowell headlining the bullpen. In this scenario, it's hard to imagine that Keller and one or two of the minor-league reliever signees wouldn't opt out of their deals and go looking for better opportunities, but if it comes to that, the Cubs will gladly take it. It's much more likely that they make a couple of trades in the next month, for any of several possible reasons. It's also possible that Merryweather either gets hurt again or pitches so poorly in spring training that they elect to cut bait with him. For now, however, pitching depth has emerged as an extraordinary strength for this team, and the Cubs could be set up better to weather the long season than they have been in any season in recent memory. View full article

Amid the recent rumors of the Cubs being interested in San Diego right-hander Dylan Cease, there are many different trade packages being thrown together by media outlets and media members. Let's take our own stab at what a Cease trade could look like for Chicago. Image courtesy of © Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Amid the recent rumors of the Cubs being interested in San Diego right-hander Dylan Cease, there are many different trade packages being thrown together by media outlets and media members. Let's take our own stab at what a Cease trade could look like for Chicago. One very important thing to remember is that Dylan Cease is in the final year of his contract and will be just a one-year rental. He seems inclined to head to free agency, and likely to command a truly humongous contract when he does so. That should knock down the price of Cease a little, but then again, Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has been known to stick firmly to his asking price when he's engaged in a trade negotiation. So, after saying all that, here are two potential trade packages. Cubs Receive: RHP Dylan Cease Padres Receive: RF Alexander Canario, LHP Jordan Wicks, IF/OF James Triantos, OF Kevin Alcántara Wicks and Canario have sort of become odd men out on the Cubs roster, and could both benefit from more playing time on a new team. Triantos is a bit blocked by Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson controlling the middle infield for Chicago, and Alcantara has slowly fallen in prospect rankings. That package feels steep, but it's one way to get the deal done. This second trade one is an even bigger pill to gulp down, but it will also include another piece coming from San Diego to Chicago. Cubs Receive: RHP Dylan Cease, RHP Robert Suarez, cash Padres Receive: LHP Jordan Wicks, RHP Ben Brown, RF Alexander Canario, IF/OF James Triantos, OF Kevin Alcántara The addition of Brown would certainly entice San Diego, as he has several years of team control left and showed promise during his first season in the majors. He's a more valuable trade chip than Suarez, who's fairly expensive for a reliever and has a player-friendly contract with two player options after 2025. The Padres could send along a little cash to make this deal work for the Cubs, ensuring they have a cushion beneath the competitive-balance tax threshold—which they certainly won't exceed this year. Still, the idea of adding Brown to secure Suarez is that with both Cease and Suarez in place, the Cubs could be something like a lock for the NL Central. They'd become serious threats to the Dodgers, Mets, and Phillies, and surely surpass the Padres for 2025. Trading both Canario and Alcántara would force the team to sign a backup outfielder, which they might already be trying to do. They'd have to do it on the cheap, too, because Cease and Suarez will make a combined $23.75 million this year. This feels like an overpay, but trades like these often must. The good news is that the Cubs would still have Javier Assad, Cade Horton, and Brandon Birdsell as rotation depth; Owen Caissie as outfield depth; Vidal Bruján, Gage Workman, Jon Berti, and Benjamin Cowles as infield depth; and two new open 40-man roster spots, to be used on any of their minor-league signings or on adding Matt Shaw when he wins the third-base job in March. Ultimately, the second deal probably shoves too many chips in on 2025. Maybe the first one does, too. As the rumors continue to swirl, though, it's hard not to keep pining. Cease and Suarez both have transformative potential for a playoff hopeful's pitching staff. View full article

Ready for a big sophomore season, the Cubs' righty reliever now has a more comfortable prospective role—though a bit less of a clear one. Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Ready for a big sophomore season, the Cubs' righty reliever now has a more comfortable prospective role—though a bit less of a clear one. After the recent acquisition of former Astros closer Ryan Pressly, it is widely assumed that he will become the closer for the Cubs. If that is the case, it will knock Porter Hodge out of that spot, where he collected nine saves in 12 opportunities and finished his rookie season with a stellar 1.88 ERA. With the addition of Pressly and rumors swirling of Chicago still being interested in both David Robertson and Ryne Stanek, what, exactly, is Hodge's role in 2025? After coming up on May 22, Hodge had a breakout rookie season in 2024. Over 43 innings, he struck out 52 batters and walked just 19. He allowed multiple runs in an outing just four times. He instantly became an electric arm out of the Chicago bullpen, averaging 95.5 mph on his fastball and allowing just a .132 average to opposing hitters. Hodge turned into a reliable and high-strikeout arm, in a season wherein there weren't enough of those in the Chicago bullpen. Manager Craig Counsell had high praise for Hodge along the way. "His stuff has been so good. He's a talented kid and he's doing it with really good pitches. The experience part of it, he's getting it every time out there," he told Tony Andracki of Marquee Sports Network. The "stuff" Counsell referred to was the sweeper and splitter combo that he featured with his fastball. Opponents struggled big-time with those pitches, hitting just .074 against the sweeper and failing to collect a hit against the splitter. If the Cubs were to call their roster complete as of today, Hodge would undoubtedly be the eighth-inning setup man to get the ball to Pressly in the ninth. However, if Chicago were to sign one of Robertson or Stanek (or add some other, similar arm, perhaps via trade), Hodge's role could morph into more of a true middle reliever. The depth of Chicago's bullpen would certainly increase with Hodge entering games as early as the sixth or seventh inning, and he would serve as the closer on days when the more accomplished arms are not available out of the bullpen. With just one year remaining on Pressly's contract, another excellent season from Hodge could put him in line to be the Cubs closer for 2026 and beyond. In the meantime, he just needs to prove he can throw strikes and keep getting outs with his intense cut-ride heater and that killer breaking pitch. View full article

The focus for the remainder of the offseason is on bullpen and bench pieces, so it seems that the Cubs' rotation is set. Given the surplus of starting pitching arms, Chicago would benefit from starting the season with a six-man rotation. Image courtesy of © David Banks-Imagn Images The focus for the remainder of the offseason is on bullpen and bench pieces, so it seems that the Cubs' rotation is set. Given the surplus of starting pitching arms, Chicago would benefit from starting the season with a six-man rotation. There are several reasons why a six-man rotation would benefit Chicago, with the main one being that it will be extremely important to keep arms fresh for the back half of the season. Here is what a six-man rotation could look like for the Cubs. 1. Justin Steele 2. Shota Imanaga 3. Jameson Taillon 4. Javier Assad 5. Matthew Boyd 6. Colin Rea After the top two of Steele and Imanaga, you could arrange the rest of the names in whatever order you want, but those are the six arms that should be considered for starting games in the first one to two months of the season. The six names here would leave Jordan Wicks as the swingman/long reliever in the Chicago bullpen, a role that seems to work well for his pitching style. He could come out of the bullpen and give Chicago length on days when they need it, or he could be inserted right into the rotation in case of an injury. With the excess pitching and the ability to roll out this rotation, the Cubs can significantly reduce Steele, Imanaga, and Taillon's early-season workloads. Having those three arms ready to make a run down the stretch will be crucial for the team's success in 2025. Focusing on Imanaga specifically, the worst two months of his outstanding 2024 season were June (5.67 ERA) and August (3.68 ERA). It is well documented that the standard pitching rotation overseas, and in Japan specifically, is pitchers making a start every six days. Imanaga was able to adapt to every fifth day in the States, but Chicago did find ways to work around that and allowed him to pitch every sixth day when they could. Now, with the signings of Rea and Boyd, the Cubs have the flexibility not to alter a rotation for a series to allow an extra day of rest for anyone. This strategy may and may not work, but it would not be a bad idea for Chicago to use it to begin the season and save arms and innings for what will hopefully be a deep postseason run in 2025. View full article

You could look all over the Chicago Cubs roster and pinpoint certain players who need to step up and lead the charge in 2025. Ultimately, though, the health and production of star shortstop Dansby Swanson will carry this team as far as it goes. Image courtesy of © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images You could look all over the Chicago Cubs roster and pinpoint certain players who need to step up and lead the charge in 2025. Ultimately, though, the health and production of star shortstop Dansby Swanson will carry this team as far as it goes. After signing with Chicago prior to the 2023 season, Dansby Swanson hasn't quite lived up to the $177-million contract he was given. He posted batting averages of .244 in 2023 and .242 in 2024. Swanson has also started to miss time, something he hadn't done since very early in his career. The dip in batting average isn't nearly as concerning as the missed games are. Swanson is just a career .252 hitter. His best season in the average department (and really overall) was 2022, his last season in Atlanta. Swanson hit .277 with 25 homers that season, prompting Chicago to pay him the big bucks over seven seasons. The 28 missed games over the last two seasons are part of a growing concern. Swanson played 147 games in 2023 and 149 in 2024. Those were his lowest totals in a season since he played just 127 games for the Braves in 2019. Manager Craig Counsell acknowledged that Swanson has dealt with injuries over the last two seasons but expects him to be as healthy as ever headed into the 2025 season. Another low number for Swanson in 2024 was his home run total. Once again, the lack of pop could be influenced by the nagging injury, but 16 homers were his fewest in a non-shortened season since 2018, when he hit 14 in his first full campaign for Atlanta. Swanson's .390 slugging percentage was the second-lowest of his career, with the lowest coming in 2017, his second year in MLB and a much smaller sample. The previous two seasons for Swanson resulted in an All-Star Game appearance, Gold Glove awards, and even a few MVP votes. The 2024 season contained none of that. So, what exactly must he do differently in 2025? Staying healthy is the first step, Swanson being available for the 154-162 games that were his former custom will be huge for Chicago. That will provide not only stability on defense, but a chance for Swanson to stay in a rhythm and routine at the plate. In the 28 games missed over the last two seasons from Swanson, the Cubs have a record of 11-17. For a team that has struggled to get above 85 wins in the last few seasons, having Swanson on the field every day will be a necessity. If he is able to stay healthy and be available every day over the course of 162 games, Swanson's leadership and skill set will be crucial for the Cubs, who are looking to capture their first real division title since 2017. View full article

With less than three months until Opening Day 2025, it's a good time to start thinking about what Opening Day rosters could look like for each team—and for the Cubs, in particular. Image courtesy of © Sam Navarro-Imagn Images With less than three months until Opening Day 2025, it's a good time to start thinking about what Opening Day rosters could look like for each team—and for the Cubs, in particular. With big-name free agents like Tanner Scott, Justin Verlander, Jurickson Profar and more still out there, it's a bit difficult to determine who will be on which rosters come Opening Day. We're going to try our best to predict the Chicago Cubs' 26-man Opening Day roster, though. Here's what it could look like. Pitchers (13) SP: Justin Steele SP: Shota Imanaga SP: Jameson Taillon SP: Matthew Boyd SP: Ben Brown SP: Javier Assad SP: Jordan Wicks RP: Porter Hodge RP: Julian Merryweather RP: Caleb Thielbar RP: Tyson Miller RP: Nate Pearson RP: Luke Little It's hard to imagine the Cubs won't make a trade that involves Assad or Wicks, but as of today, they have not yet done that, so they are both on the projected roster. Choosing Little for the final pitcher spot over someone like Jack Neely or Cody Poteet is solely because of the Cubs' need for more than one left-handed reliever. In 37 career appearances, he has a 2.76 ERA, and if he is able to cut down the walk rate, he will be a valuable weapon out of the Chicago bullpen. If this fairly wild configuration actually plays out, we'd probably see Wicks shuttled to relief, so maybe Little isn't essential, but he's one intriguing option. Catchers (2) Miguel Amaya Carson Kelly It's easy to nearly forget about Kelly, who was a relatively small signing earlier this winter. He's an important cog in the machine, though; he figures to provide insurance against a failure to further develop on the part of Amaya. Infielders (6) 1B: Michael Busch 2B: Nico Hoerner SS: Dansby Swanson 3B: Matt Shaw UTIL: Vidal Bruján UTIL: Gage Workman The recently acquired Bruján is one of several players who will vie to slot in as the fifth infielder and utility man for Chicago. Top prospect Matt Shaw looks to be in line to make his first Opening Day roster. Outfielders (5) LF: Ian Happ CF: Pete Crow-Armstrong RF: Kyle Tucker OF/DH: Seiya Suzuki OF: Alexander Canario More often than not, Tucker will play right field, and Suzuki will serve as the DH. It's likely that Happ and Crow-Armstrong will each play 150+ games, unless they miss time due to an injury. Canario is out of options, so he has to make the roster in order to stay in the organization. He's one fallback in case of an injury; others will include Owen Caissie and Kevin Alcántara. The latter two project to begin the season at Triple-A Iowa, though. Chicago could go with 12 pitchers instead of 13 and give themselves the flexibility to keep Miles Mastrobuoni, who is familiar with the organization and the way manager Craig Counsell wants things done, on the roster. It seems safe to guess that they'll stick with the customary roster construction, though. Under modern rules, an even split is the norm. There could be several more moves coming, leading up to Opening Day. As of right now, however, this is what the roster may look like. View full article

Early in the 2023 season, the Cubs were trying to adjust to life with the new additions of Trey Mancini and Eric Hosmer. The two were in the starting lineup on April 11, 2023, when Chicago took on the Seattle Mariners in the second of a three-game set. Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Early in the 2023 season, the Cubs were trying to adjust to life with the new additions of Trey Mancini and Eric Hosmer. The two were in the starting lineup on April 11, 2023, when Chicago took on the Seattle Mariners in the second of a three-game set. After the second inning, the game looked like one to turn off and forget, but the boys in blue had fight in them and turned it into a memorable game for plenty of Cubs fans. Headed to the bottom of the third inning, the Cubs trailed 7-1, and it felt like it was going to be one of those turn it off and go to bed early type of nights for fans of the North Siders. Dansby Swanson started the bottom half of the third inning with a single. Ian Happ popped out, and then Mancini launched his first home run as a Cub to cut the Mariners' lead to 7-3. The next four Cubs would reach base, including an RBI single from Hosmer to make it a 7-4 game. That set the stage for Nelson Velazquez to step up to the plate with the bases loaded, and what happened next would be etched into the minds of Cubs fans for years to come. Velazquez launched a 396-foot grand slam to left center to give the Cubs an 8-7 lead and send Wrigley Field into an absolute frenzy. The homer for Velazquez was his first of the season, and it helped bring Chicago out of an early 7-0 hole. The grand slam was part of Velazquez's three-hit and four RBI night. It was undoubtedly his best game as a Cub, and he was later traded to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for right-handed reliever Jose Cuas. Chicago scored six more runs throughout the remainder of the game and won by a final score of 14-8. This was a fun early-season moment for the Cubs in 2023; fans will certainly remember it for the foreseeable future. View full article

When the Cubs signed Christian Bethancourt to a minor-league deal in July 2024, they couldn't have guessed the amount of production he'd provide. Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images When the Cubs signed Christian Bethancourt to a minor-league deal in July 2024, they couldn't have guessed the amount of production he'd provide. One August day against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bethancourt got his occasional start behind the plate, but things went awry. Kyle Hendricks got the start and had one of the ugly, unfortunate showings that defined his final season with the team. After six innings, Chicago was in a 10-3 hole, and it looked like all hope was lost for the series finale. Bethancourt's final three at-bats played an instrumental part in Chicago's comeback win. Christian Bethancourt stepped up to the plate in the top of the seventh with a man on first and no one out. He launched a 431-foot home run to center field, to cut the Pittsburgh lead down to 10-5. The Cubs were unable to score anymore that inning, though, despite getting a man in scoring position with less than two outs. Bethancourt came up again in the top of the eighth inning with two men on and one out. He smoked a double down the left-field line, and both runners came home. Bethancourt's second extra-base hit in two innings trimmed Pittsburgh's lead to 10-7. Bethancourt would come around to score on Ian Happ's RBI single, and the Cubs would make it 10-8 headed to the ninth inning. In the top of the ninth, the Cubs scratched across a run between two fielders' choices and some frantic at-bats. With two outs and the bases loaded, that set the stage for Bethancourt to come to the plate. The veteran catcher delivered once again, with a single through the left side to bring home two runs and give the Cubs an 11-10 lead. That gave Bethancourt his sixth and seventh RBIs of the day; Chicago went on to win 14-10. The seven RBIs for Bethancourt made him the sixth Chicago Cubs catcher to have at least that many in a single game. While it would've been a great opening to a Cubs 2024 World Series video, Bethancourt's historic game was all for naught, as it did not fuel a sufficiently serious late-season run to propel Chicago into the postseason. Bethancourt has since become a free agent, but we will always have the memory of that fun Wednesday game in Pittsburgh. View full article

Welcome to Chicago, Kyle Tucker! The Cubs got their guy, and now it is time to look ahead at how Craig Counsell will craft the lineup come Opening Day 2025. Image courtesy of © Kyle Ross-Imagn Images Welcome to Chicago, Kyle Tucker! The Cubs got their guy, and now it is time to look ahead at how Craig Counsell will craft the lineup come Opening Day 2025. We know that Cody Bellinger is (more than likely) a goner. With that knowledge (but otherwise assuming no lineup-altering moves between now and mid-March), here's a look ahead at the Cubs' potential 2025 lineup. Nico Hoerner (2B) Ian Happ (LF) Seiya Suzuki (DH) Kyle Tucker (RF) Dansby Swanson (SS) Michael Busch (1B) Matt Shaw (3B) Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF) Miguel Amaya/Carson Kelly (C) There's an argument made for Crow-Armstrong and Hoerner to trade spots in the lineup, if you buy very heavily into the surge Crow-Armstrong enjoyed late in the 2024 campaign. It ultimately comes down to this lineup not getting too right-handed heavy toward the bottom. Having Swanson-Hoerner-Shaw in sequence could get worrisome when facing high-leverage righties in late-game situations. Hoerner has proven that he can be a successful leadoff hitter and sliding him back into that role would help break up the cluster of righties at the bottom of the order. The Cubs will only do so, though, if they're satisfied that the second baseman is fully recovered from his forearm injury and will be something akin to his second-half self from each of the last two years (2023: .768 OPS; 2024: .741) for the whole season in 2025. The 8-9 duo of Crow-Armstrong and Amaya was probably the best in baseball over the final two months of this season, so there is no reason to break that up. Having Carson Kelly, a known lefty killer will also be huge to platoon with Amaya, who has reverse splits. This lineup won't be confused for that of the Dodgers, but it's an increasingly threatening group. Depending on how healthy and productive Hoerner, Crow-Armstrong, and even Shaw appear to be in spring training and the early stages of the season, it could take a lot of variant shapes, but they all figure to score more runs than last year's team did. View full article