Mitch Widmeier

Image courtesy of © David Banks-Imagn Images Sometimes when negotiating, it's best to take the approach of letting the other side talk themselves into a bad decision. That's exactly what happened in 2021 when Chicago was able to acquire Pete Crow-Armstrong from the New York Mets. Appearing on the New York Post Sports YouTube channel and The Show podcast, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer talked about the details behind the scenes of that trade that helped Chicago land its star center fielder. That summer, of course, the Cubs pivoted from a core that had helped win a World Series in 2016 to having a fire sale. It included fan favorite Javier Báez, who (along with spare arm Trevor Williams) went to the Mets in exchange for Crow-Armstrong. Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman asked Hoyer on Monday how it was Crow-Armstrong that ended up being the prospect the Cubs got back, and Hoyer noted that the Mets went into discussions taking many prospects off the table. So why were the Mets fine with parting with Crow-Armstrong? Hoyer said an injury suffered by Crow-Armstrong earlier that year made him expendable in the eyes of the Mets. There is plenty of name recognition with the players who were just prospects for the Mets in 2021 that were taken off the table. There's no disputing that none of them, at least with the hitters in Alvarez, Baty and Vientos, have put together a stretch as good as what Crow-Armstrong has done to start the 2025 season. Crow-Armstrong leads the National League in WAR and has a chance to become the first player in the National League to post a 10+ WAR season since Barry Bonds did it back in 2004. Everyone knew the glove and the baserunning would help elevate those numbers, but it's been the bat that has truly taken things to another dimension for Chicago's rising star. It also makes one wonder: if not for the injury in 2021 and had the Mets been able to see Crow-Armstrong in the minors in a larger sample size, would he have been taken off the table too? We'll never know, and that's a great thing for the Cubs. The Mets went into negotiations knowing they wouldn't part with certain prospects. They stuck to their guns, but ask any Mets fan today (or give truth serum to anyone who was in that front office) and bring up if they'd rather have Crow-Armstrong now or any of Allan, Alvarez, Baty or Vientos, and the answer would unanimously land with the one that they traded in Crow-Armstrong. Crow-Armstrong is having an MVP-caliber season to date. One look at his Statcast page and almost all of it lights up in red. One area that does not is the chase percentage. Of all the incredible things Crow-Armstrong has done this year, the ability to not chase pitches hasn't been one. In fact, Crow-Armstrong is in the 1st percentile when it comes to chase percentage. Despite that lack of patience, though, Crow-Armstrong has been able to overcome it with pure brilliance in almost every other department offensively. As for the chase rate? Don't expect Hoyer and the Cubs to try and get in Crow-Armstrong's head right now to change it. The strategy of letting it play out (for now) is a wise one for the Cubs. Crow-Armstrong has been on such a tear this season that the last thing you would want to do is fill his mind up more by telling him to be less aggressive and more selective. The good heavily outweighs the bad when it comes to everything you get offensively with Crow-Armstrong, so just let it ride for now and push those chips into the middle of the table. If there were to be a prolonged, serious slump for Crow-Armstrong, maybe then you have those conversations. If not, put it on the back burner until the offseason. Chicago is both fortunate and wise to have acquired Crow-Armstrong from the Mets for what turned out to be a rental in Báez. Crow-Armstrong is trending toward being a foundational piece of the puzzle for the Cubs, while Báez is in his fourth year in Detroit. For that, the Cubs can thank the Mets for taking control of the early trade conversations back in 2021. View full article

Daniel Palencia has ran with the opportunity to close games for the Cubs. Should he be the guy moving forward? Is a 10+ WAR season in the cards for Pete Crow-Armstrong? What do we make of Cade Horton’s season so far and what can be expected moving forward? Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-north-side-baseball-podcast/id1798599313 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75wMGhBwlrDDYPt3kaF453 Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-north-side-baseball-po-268998437/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/eey7h6ih Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@northsidebaseball View full article

Image courtesy of © David Banks-Imagn Images In the day and age where the long ball is king, what Nico Hoerner is doing in Chicago this season is quite the homage to baseball's past. Hoerner has shown an extreme lack of power this year, but he's been marvelously productive, nonetheless. When you talk about clutch hitters in the Cubs lineup, it's easy to gravitate toward the heavy hitters like Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki and Kyle Tucker. Yet, when digging into the numbers, there's a strong case that nobody has been more clutch than Hoerner. Chicago's scrappy second baseman has a slash line of .433/.455/.533 with runners in scoring position. To better wrap some perspective on that, in terms of average alone, the next-highest Cub with runners in scoring position is Michael Busch at .357. Hoerner's ability to seemingly never strike out and always put the ball in play has worked wonders in the lineup this year. It isn't the way all teams would go, as most have catered to loud contact and home runs while accepting increasingly high strikeout rates across the league. Hoerner is a throwback. In terms of whiff percentage, Hoerner is in the 98th percentile in all of baseball. Strikeout percentage? How about the 99th percentile. Hoerner is even squaring the ball up tremendously, resting in the 98th percentile. Few hitters in baseball—none, if you're in the right mood and look at it from just the right angle—more consistently generate solid contact with the ball when they swing. On the other hand, Hoerner is in the 5th percentile in hard-hit percentage, 7th percentile in bat speed and 14th percentile in average exit velocity. There's some shades of Luis Arraez here, but in terms of coming up big with runners in scoring position, Hoerner more than takes the cake. The fact that the Cubs have seemed to accept Hoerner never being a power hitter has helped unlock another level of confidence in his game. The glove has always been present for Hoerner, and the bat is now following suit. Of all big-league players this year with at least 200 plate appearances, Hoerner is the only one without a home run. Some organizations may race to the panic button or deem it unsustainable. It's been a hell of a chess piece that the Cubs have turned into a positive. This is the same Hoerner who had his name swirling in trade rumors this offseason, when the Cubs were rumored to be interested in Alex Bregman. There were even reports dating back to last December that circulated around a potential deal with Seattle that featured Hoerner. The Cubs chose the right path in keeping Hoerner on the north side of Chicago, at least for now. Hoerner will never be a hitter who can carry a lineup. He'll never be relied upon to deliver a moonshot that sends a dagger through the heart of the opposition. That's fine. His impact sends waves through the rest of the lineup in other ways. There is beauty in situations where Hoerner comes up with a runner or two in scoring position and you know, at a minimum, he's going to put the ball in play. Often, as fans, we pray for the player of our favorite team in that spot to just make contact. With Hoerner, that's rarely in doubt. There are plenty of reasons the Cubs boast one of the best offenses in baseball this season. The addition of Tucker has been massive and has alleviated a lot of pressure elsewhere in the lineup. Suzuki has been a monster primarily being a designated hitter, and is piecing together his best offensive season since coming to the United States. Crow-Armstrong has surprised many with just how dynamic his bat has been. Everyone was aware of the speed and just as aware of the glove. The bat has been a catalyst in plenty of pressure-packed moments. Carson Kelly looked like Aaron Judge for a while, and Ian Happ has held things down at the top of the order. All of those and more have helped contribute in a big way to the successes the Cubs have had offensively. Don't forget about Hoerner, who in 2025 is thriving at the dish with next-to no power; who struggles to keep up in a lot of categories that are deemed super valuable in today's game. Hoerner's fine doing it his way, and right now, so are the Cubs. View full article

Ryan Pressly has appeared to turn a corner but what do the numbers say? A hat tip to the season Nico Hoerner is putting together so far and a look at the upcoming schedule for the Cubs. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-north-side-baseball-podcast/id1798599313 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75wMGhBwlrDDYPt3kaF453 Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-north-side-baseball-po-268998437/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/eey7h6ih Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@northsidebaseball View full article

Matt Shaw is starting to figure it out at the plate in his second stint with the Cubs this year. What’s up with the home run problem for Jameson Taillon? Is Seiya Suzuki going to be an All-Star? Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-north-side-baseball-podcast/id1798599313 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75wMGhBwlrDDYPt3kaF453 Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-north-side-baseball-po-268998437/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/eey7h6ih Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@northsidebaseball View full article

Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images When the Chicago Cubs traded for relief pitcher Ryan Pressly in January, there was an agreement in place that Pressly was coming over to be the closer. It was a risk on Chicago's end, in a sense, because Pressly hadn't closed since 2023 and his numbers in 2024 indicated a reliever who could be on the decline. As the Cubs have ridden the roller coaster with Pressly so far in 2025 and have demoted him away from the closer spot, how should he fit into the picture the rest of the way? Pressly's season started with a hint of how things would eventually look two months later. In Tokyo, against the Los Angeles Dodgers in March, Pressly walked the bases loaded in his first appearance as a Cub but was able to wiggle out of it without allowing any damage. Through his next two appearances, both against Arizona, Pressly would allow a combined six hits, three runs and just one strikeout in two innings. The full implosion occurred a little more than a month after those two outings. In an appearance against San Francisco on May 6, Pressly didn't record a single out, while yielding nine runs to blow open an extra-inning game. However, since that outing (and his full-fledged demotion from the closer spot), Pressly has strung together five consecutive appearances without allowing a run. After Pressly lost the closer gig, manager Craig Counsell explained the decision while appearing on 670 The Score. When asked if Pressly could return to the closer role later in the season, Counsell provided some optimism. If we're calling a spade a spade, that may have been a little bit of coddling done by Counsell, and rightfully so. He's not going to come out and bash Pressly and laugh at the idea of him reclaiming the closer role this year. The reality of the situation tells the story itself, and that speaks to a relief pitcher who doesn't have the same stuff he once did. The numbers just don't indicate a pitcher who should return to the closer role anytime soon. Last year in Houston, Pressly saw huge dips in his chase percentage, whiff percentage, and (naturally) strikeout percentage, while he saw an uptick in the wrong categories such as his walk percentage and the amount of barrels getting to his pitches, according to Statcast. Chicago knew there was a risk in investing in a 36-year-old who was showing signs of slowing down. Those numbers have dwindled even further in 2025. Pressly's whiff percentage is in the 8th percentile in all of baseball. His strikeout percentage is in the second percentile, while his hard-hit percentage rests in the third percentile. No matter how you want to slice up the pie, Pressly is a pitcher whom the Cubs can ill afford to use in big moments. For the time being, Chicago would be best suited to use Pressly in low-leverage spots that aren't in the last couple of innings. Even if he piles up scoreless outings, if the more important numbers aren't showing rapid improvement, it should stay that way. Yes, Pressly hasn't allowed a run in his last five appearances. Only one of them, an outing where he needed to record just one out against Miami on May 13, was a clean appearance for Pressly, where he didn't allow at least one baserunner. For the box score hunter, seeing Pressly go five in a row without allowing a run seems really good, and the goal is to get the outs however you can. When you put his recent work under a microscope, though, the indicators aren't quite as encouraging. With Porter Hodge on the shelf due to an oblique strain, Counsell and the Cubs may have to go with a committee to slam the door in the ninth innings of games. They've started the process by flirting with Daniel Palencia in the role. To put it bluntly, Pressly shouldn't be under consideration at this point in time. The hope for the Cubs should be that Pressly turns the corner, to the point where he can be used in the middle innings of a close game. The thought of him becoming the full-time closer again seems far-fetched, with options like Hodge, Brad Keller and Palencia on the roster. Trading for a proven closer is certainly on the table for the Cubs come the trade deadline, too. All isn't lost for Pressly, and he can still flip the switch and be a valuable part of the bullpen in 2025. The days of him being a closer may be gone, but that doesn't mean there isn't gas left in the tank for him to pitch some meaningful innings—if he can right the wrongs. View full article

The Cubs finished up a sweep of the White Sox on Sunday and called up on of their top prospects in Matt Shaw on Monday for another go. What do we make of Kenta Maeda’s minor-league deal and what’s the current state of the bullpen? Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-north-side-baseball-podcast/id1798599313 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75wMGhBwlrDDYPt3kaF453 Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-north-side-baseball-po-268998437/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/eey7h6ih Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@northsidebaseball View full article

Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports The initial stat line from Wednesday's start looked find for Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jameson Taillon. The righty logged six innings and allowed just four hits while racking up seven strikeouts. The outlier was three of the four hits allowed went for solo home runs, which continued a pattern so far this season with the veteran pitcher. So, just how concerning is the home run ball becoming for Taillon? For a reference point, Taillon allowed 21 home runs last season across 28 starts and 165 1/3 innings. He's set to exceed 21 home runs allowed this year by the time we pull the curtains down on the month of June. Taillon had just come off a start in Queens where he allowed four home runs in four innings in a loss to the Mets. For those who want to provide an escape path and point out the heavy hitters in the Mets lineup, two of the homers allowed came off the bat of Brett Baty and Jeff McNeil, who have a combined seven this season (though, in fairness, Baty was on a heater during that entire series). Speaking with reporters after Wednesday's start against the Marlins, Taillon noted he believes he gets into a mode where he throws too many strikes, which could be contributing to the problem. Taillon has always been tremendous at not allowing free passes, and so far this year, he's allowed more home runs (13) than walks (nine). Of the seven homers allowed in the last two starts, six have come from left-handed hitters. Teams will continue to stack lefties against Taillon, though he sees this as just a little bump in the road. When honing in on other issues, there's another glaring set of numbers that sticks out. Per Baseball Savant, Taillon has a barrel percentage is the seventh percentile in all of MLB. Digging deeper into that number, Taillon has allowed a barrel rate of 13.2%, which would be the highest in his career. Taillon's career barrel percentage allowed is 7.1%, making what he's allowed in 2025 almost double his career average. On top of that, Taillon currently has a hard-hit percentage of 42.1, also a career high. His career average in that department is 36.4%. Fortunately, fastball velocity hasn't been an issue for Taillon, but the usage could be an underlying problem. In 2024, Taillon used his four-seam fastball 29% of the time and it had a run value that chilled in the 97th percentile. This year, he's using the 4-seamer 41% of the time, and the run value has plummeted 7th percentile. Hitters are getting a better look at the pitch because it's being used way more frequently by Taillon, and as he noted Wednesday, he's been using it in the zone too much. What's fascinating about all this is how well the uptick in the four-seamer has worked for Colin Rea. Rea used his four-seam fastball 20% of the time with Milwaukee in 2024, and it had a run value in the 11th percentile. This year, he's pumping that same pitch 53% of the time, with a run value in the 76th percentile. Rea has also tinkered with his arm angle—after being at 35 degrees in 2024, he's now releasing pitches at a 30-degree angle in 2025. The point remains that the high usage of the fastball for Rea has worked out tremendously this year, while Taillon has had different results. It's not time to push the panic button on Taillon. He's a veteran who has settled into a nice role in the middle-of-the-rotation the past couple of seasons. Certainly, Chicago and the veteran are aware of the issue and will plug away at a solution. Taillon has always been working on his lefty problem — perhaps a simple change in his approach is all it will take to get him back to mid-season form. View full article

Cade Horton made his highly anticipated MLB debut for the Cubs over the weekend. What did we make of it? How has PCA handled duties at the top of the order and where would the rotation be without Matthew Boyd? Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-north-side-baseball-podcast/id1798599313 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75wMGhBwlrDDYPt3kaF453 Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-north-side-baseball-po-268998437/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/eey7h6ih Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@northsidebaseball View full article

The Cubs will have to make a move in the rotation after Shota Imanaga ended up on the shelf. All signs point towards Cade Horton and a potential debut this weekend against the Mets. Is Pete Crow-Armstrong a runaway All-Star at this point in the season? What do we make of Dansby Swanson’s hot streak since moving down in the order? Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-north-side-baseball-podcast/id1798599313 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75wMGhBwlrDDYPt3kaF453 Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-north-side-baseball-po-268998437/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/eey7h6ih Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@northsidebaseball View full article

Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images There was nothing that signaled this could be a possibility. Often, in baseball, that's the case. In Tuesday's 9-0 win over Pittsburgh, the Cubs became the first team in exactly one year to go a complete game without having a batter strike out. Chicago sits in the middle of the pack in terms of strikeouts per game. The team entered play Wednesday tied at No. 14 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, at 8.1 strikeouts per contest. Last year, the Cubs finished 13th in that category. The year prior to that? Chicago was 14th. There are new faces to the lineup this year, and the Cubs offense has been rolling. They've been the catalyst for why the team has not only been able to tread water during this daunting schedule in April, but flourished and taken a lead in the division. Their latest feat might be the most impressive. Tuesday's starter for Pittsburgh was Andrew Heaney, a journeyman lefty playing on his sixth team in his 12th year. Entering the game against Chicago, Heaney had pitched 16 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball. Early on, while he wasn't registering strikeouts, he was effective. The veteran lefty extended his scoreless streak to a career-high 20 innings—before Cubs catcher Carson Kelly put one on a tee and deposited it into the seats for a two-run home run. The wheels came off for him after that. Nothing in Heaney's season to date indicated he would exit with zero strikeouts—and hand the baton to what would end up being five other relievers that also couldn't get a punchie. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Heaney had five starts before facing off against Chicago. In four of those, he allowed one or fewer runs. The crafty left-handed starter struck out 10 Yankees back on April 6. He followed that up with six strikeouts against the Reds. In his most recent start, against the Angels, Heaney allowed one hit in six innings and finished with nine strikeouts. Heaney's strikeout percentage of 22.3% is slightly lower than his career average of 24.9%, but it's nothing glaring. In fact, it's still higher than the Cubs' collective starter strikeout rate last year (21.1%). The Cubs offense has been rolling. So had been Heaney. It's impossible to predict what the Cubs accomplished on Tuesday. If we want to stretch it out and find ways in which Chicago was a prime candidate, though, there were a couple of indicators. Craig Counsell's club is tied for the lowest whiff percentage in baseball, according to Baseball Savant. They're tied for the seventh-best mark in terms of chasing outside the zone. When the Cubs do chase, they make contact at the third-highest rate in baseball, at 59.2%. They also lead baseball in runs per game, at 6.0 per game. While the runs per game aren't a direct correlation to strikeouts, it further illustrates that this offense has been in quite the zone for most of the season. The history behind not striking out once in a single game is more rare than you would think. It happened just once last year, and oddly enough, it was done by the Dodgers on April 29. One year later, it was the Cubs doing it on April 29. There was an outlier year in 2023 wherein it occurred four times and was achieved by four different teams, per StatMuse. Before those four, it hadn't happened in six years. For the Cubs, it was the first time they checked the box since Jul. 3, 2013. On that day, the Cubs defeated the Oakland Athletics 3-1. Bartolo Colón was the starting pitcher for the A's. Colón went seven innings in that game, allowing nine hits and two runs. We don't know when it will happen again. It could be the only time this year, or for the next few, that a team manages this. For all the good the Cubs offense has provided this year, this was one hell of a bow to put on April. View full article

Catch up with the latest on both the Cubs and their best prospects with the North Side Baseball Podcast! Michael Busch has quietly put together a strong first month. How much of it is sustainable and at minimum is he better than we expected? Jason gives a good look at what’s going on for the Cubs prospects in the minors and what has stood out to us so far in the MLB season? Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-north-side-baseball-podcast/id1798599313 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75wMGhBwlrDDYPt3kaF453 Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-north-side-baseball-po-268998437/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/eey7h6ih Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@northsidebaseball View full article