Some moderately surprising (but not really) news as the Cubs will bring top prospect Matt Shaw to Japan: “Matt Shaw’s going to Japan,” Counsell told reporters. “That’s probably the news — the big news.” Source: Marquee The news from the various beats also states that the Cubs will bring Jordan Wicks, Ben Brown, and Brad Keller. They’ll put off roster moves …
A Rainout Haiku
Rain in the desert A most inopportune time Boredom will ensue
2025 Cubs Season Preview
We sort of teased this in the last Dreamcast, but there’s still a couple weeks until the Cubs play in Tokyo, and maybe we should at least look at the schedule as it is now, pending rainouts, rescheduling, and other strange happenings. As it stands now, the Cubs will play their 162 games just like everyone else, and the PECOTA …
Pre-Cactus League Cubs Position Player Group
It wasn’t that long after I wrote this that a few names came off the scrap heap list, but then the Cubs decided to do something for their bench bat after all: The Cubs have agreed to a contract with 40-year-old free agent Justin Turner, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Patrick Mooney of The Athletic notes that the deal is a …
Cubs 2025 Promotional Schedule
The Cubs are making single game tickets available for purchase soon, on February 21 (which happens to be the day after the Cactus League opener), and there’s currently a presale lottery you can sign up for if you care about these things. My usual plan is to decide which game(s) I attend based on available funds and also the promotional …
The Scrap Heap*
This requires an asterisk because there are certain players remaining on the free agent market that could still be quite useful, but given the proximity to spring league play and the Cubs own accelerated schedule in preparation for their little jaunt to Japan, it makes sense to get most of the critical additions in camp before full squad reporting on …
2025 Pitch Meetings
Before the Cubs ramp up for spring training in a couple weeks, I had taken a look at the roster as it stands, and the many questions marks still to figure out for just the rotation alone. No matter if they are pitchers or position players, with so much time between now and the opening series in Tokyo, and so …
The 2025 Hall of Fame Class
I feel like there aren’t too many surprises on this year’s Baseball Hall of Fame announcement, but first let’s remember that the Veterans’ Committee elected Dick Allen and Dave Parker, the Ford C. Frick Award for Broadcasting went to Cleveland broadcaster Tom Hamilton, and the Career Excellence Award for Baseball Writing went to Washington columnist Thomas Boswell. Joining them in …
The Consolation Roster
For reasons that generally come back to the Dodgers being a really good team with lots of money, the Cubs lost out on a couple of would-be realistic targets that chose LA as their preferred destination. I suppose not coincidentally, the folks at MLBTR started pondering a salary cap (as are many folks in various discussions), not to mention rules …
Gearing Up For 2025
Figured we could use a new post, what with not having written anything since last year (technically). First item of business is the arbitration exchange deadline, which is on the 9th (Thursday as of this posting). Most of the arbitration-eligible guys on the Cubs have either been shipped out or settled with, but Justin Steele, Nate Pearson, and the newly …