Chicago Cubs
Michael Cerami
•Mar 13, 2025
Hey, everyone. The third episode of The Bleacher Nation Cubs podcast is officially live! In this episode, we look ahead to the Tokyo series against the Dodgers, discuss whether or not Seiya Suzuki should get a start in right field, and contemplate the value of defensive vs offensive WAR for a player like Pete Crow-Armstrong. Our game, this time, was a look back at the 2000 Tokyo Dome lineups between…
Chicago Cubs
Brett Taylor
•Mar 13, 2025
Apparently those rumors about the Cubs considering an additional free agent starting pitcher weren’t coming out of nowhere, and the specific mention of Lance Lynn (and Kyle Gibson) wasn’t either. Bob Nightengale reports on X that, “The Chicago Cubs, looking for starting rotation depth, have now entered negotiations with veteran Lance Lynn on a one-year, MLB contract.” Like I said when the rumor first popped up, it’s not as if…
Chicago Cubs
Michael Cerami
•Mar 13, 2025
Each year, I like to take one final temperature check on myself before the start of the regular season. Hopefully, it’s a useful/enjoyable read for you, but it’s also just like a little diary entry for myself to revisit halfway through/at the end of the regular season. For example, take a look at what I said before Opening Day last year: It feels to me like Jed Hoyer and the…
Chicago Cubs
Brett Taylor
•Mar 13, 2025
So, there’s the decision. We knew it was coming soon, and it’s not unexpected. But it’s still the concerning culmination of a process that has seen the Rays so close to finalizing a new stadium deal in the Tampa Bay area, after more than a decade of work by interested parties, only to have it blown away in part because of a freak weather event. Oof. Here’s the team’s statement:…
Chicago Cubs
Michael Cerami
•Mar 13, 2025
Hey, everyone! As I’m sure most of you reading this post are already aware, Bleacher Nation now offers an ad-free browsing experience called BN Pro. You can sign up annually ($4/month) or monthly ($7/month) to remove the ads from the site while supporting Bleacher Nation in the process. You also get access to a BN Discord, which will include the writers and be a fun place to chat. Use the…
Chicago Cubs
Brett Taylor
•Mar 13, 2025
I won’t pin the success or failure of the 2025 Chicago Cubs on any one player, because we know enough about baseball to say that surprising things can and do happen every single year in directions both positive and negative. A lotta Cubs players’ performances this year could go a lot of ways, and those various ways will determine how many games the team wins. What I would say instead…
Chicago Cubs
Brett Taylor
•Mar 13, 2025
A new episode of the BN Cubs Podcast coming later today, so make sure you subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Cubs President Jed Hoyer talks about some of the roster decisions the team made ahead of the trip to Japan, with praise for Matt Shaw and Gage Workman, candor about how they felt Keegan Thompson looked this spring, and more on Brad Keller, Cade Horton, and Moises Ballesteros: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZXH3pujpA8…
Chicago Cubs
Michael Cerami
•Mar 12, 2025
As you know, the Cubs have made their way across the Pacific, landing in Tokyo for a big regular-season series against the Los Angeles Dodgers next week – the first games of the 2025 MLB season. But until then, they’re having a little fun, especially the native-born Japanese players, who are clearly very happy to be home. Take Seiya Suzuki, for example, who introduced us to one aspect of Japanese…
Chicago Cubs
Brett Taylor
•Mar 12, 2025
Although you can usually guess by looking at the league schedule, the official Major League Baseball Trade Deadline is not actually announced when those schedules come out. Build up that suspense a bit, now that the deadline moves around from year to year. Anyway, the official deadline has now been announced: July 31 at 5pm CT, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. That is the deadline for teams to trade 40-man roster…
Chicago Cubs
Brett Taylor
•Mar 12, 2025
I doubt I need to intro with too much at this point, as everyone knows about Javy Báez’s deep struggles since signing a six-year deal with the Detroit Tigers. It makes me sad. I don’t like to think about it. But I *DO* still like to enjoy Javy Báez being El Mago out on the field, doing crazy things to delight, entertain, and try to help his team win. Even…
