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Shohei Ohtani signs with Dodgers over Cubs, other suitors

Ryan Herrera — Sat, 09 Dec 2023 20:26:34 +0000

The biggest domino of the offseason has finally fallen, and the news isn’t what Cubs fan have been hoping to hear — Shohei Ohtani is signing with the Dodgers.

According to multiple reports, the deal is worth $700 million over 10 years. That dollar total shatters not just the previous largest free-agent deal in Major League Baseball history (Aaron Judge: 9 years, $360 million) but the previous largest MLB deal, period (Mike Trout: 12 years, $426.5 million). Outside of just baseball, the $700 million is the largest guarantee in sports history.

Reports also say the contract contains significant deferrals that will allow Los Angeles greater financial flexibility, and there are no opt outs.

Shohei Ohtani has made his decision, chooses the Dodgers over the Cubs and other suitors (announced on his IG) pic.twitter.com/8mUa24GKdt
— Ryan Herrera (@ryan_a_herrera) December 9, 2023

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said the last time the Cubs recruited Ohtani (when he was still the team’s general manager), they were seemingly disadvantaged by the fact the National League still didn’t have the designated hitter spot. And for someone who wanted to both hit and pitch full time, joining a team without the DH never quite seemed like the best option for him.

Still, Hoyer believes the two sides had an excellent meeting with genuine mutual interest back then. So it was no surprise that rumors about Ohtani’s free agency this time around included the Cubs among the top suitors.

Club officials remained tight-lipped about their pursuit of Ohtani throughout the process. At the Winter Meetings, manager Craig Counsell would only say that he personally had not met with him. Both Hoyer and general manager Carter Hawkins mostly declined to comment on any recruitment of the Japanese star, other than Hoyer disputing reports that the Cubs were out of the sweepstakes.

“I don’t know where that came from,” Hoyer said Tuesday. “There’s nothing to report whatsoever. … We have not been given a status check [from Ohtani’s camp], so to speak.”

It’s possible Ohtani already knew his destination at that point and his camp just hadn’t informed the Cubs. At the same time, it’s very possible they actually were still in the running.

Regardless, Ohtani has picked his new team in the Dodgers, and for the second time, the Cubs have missed out on the “unicorn” ballplayer.

10 things we learned about the Cubs at the Winter Meetings

Ryan Herrera — Fri, 08 Dec 2023 19:47:58 +0000

The 2023 Winter Meetings came and went, and the Cubs are essentially in the same place they were when things kicked off Monday morning.

No players were added or dealt away from the major league roster before Cubs officials left the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tenn. As things stand Friday morning, the biggest move of the Cubs’ offseason is still the surprise hiring of Craig Counsell to be their new manager.

Now, it’s not entirely on the team that there have been no roster additions thus far. The Cubs are in on plenty of the bigger names on both the free-agent and trade markets, but because the players at the top of those markets have yet to make a decision, the rest of the dominoes aren’t falling yet, either.

Still, even without major moves for the Cubs, we did learn a lot about what the rest of their offseason might look like, and about how they view how things stand heading into 2024. Let’s take a look at what we’re hearing.

Real progress made in Nashville

Again, the Winter Meetings saw slow movement for the Cubs. But they were that way for everyone else, or at least all the other suitors for some of the top names on the market.

As of about noon on Friday, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Cody Bellinger and almost all of the other big names are still out there for the taking. Only Juan Soto’s situation has been cleared up (traded to the Yankees Wednesday night), but that’s the only potential Cubs target that’s off the board.

These meetings often saw much more action in the past, with deals actually being completed before team officials left town. That didn’t happen for many of these teams, but on the Cubs’ side, those at the top still see it as worthwhile.

Did they make any additions to the roster? Obviously not. But meetings with other front offices and with agents still have value, and just because nothing happened while the baseball world was in the Music City, the Cubs believe they made real progress toward getting those moves done.

“I definitely feel like it was worthwhile meetings,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “It forces conversations. Up late, talking to people, I think that’s really valuable. I do think in some ways, these meetings are different than they used to be. You don’t see many people in person. You do most stuff on the phone, but it forces some action. I think that we definitely leave here with a lot more information about things we thought we might be able to accomplish when we got here, which was kind of the goal.”

No pressure to ‘win the offseason’

You can see it all over social media. As rumors swirl surrounding some of those top names without the Cubs attached as favorites, fans are already calling the offseason a disappointment.

Yes, the Cubs need to add impact players. This was a team that was on a playoff trajectory before collapsing in September last season. To get to the finish line (and even make a deep run in the postseason), they have to improve the roster. Signing someone like Ohtani or Yamamoto being the team that traded for Soto would’ve absolutely helped.

But would losing out on those players make this a disaster of an offseason? Hoyer doesn’t see it that way. He pointed to the Bellinger signing a year ago, one he says wasn’t considered a major signing but proved to be “best free-agent signings on the market.”

While “intelligent spending” isn’t part of his offseason vocabulary this time around, Hoyer is still going to be mindful of the kinds of deals he’s going to make. Would he love to have all of the superstar players? Absolutely. But he’s also made it very clear that he doesn’t believe he can turn the Cubs into the Braves in one offseason. Instead of “winning” the offseason, Hoyer is looking for moves that make the most sense for the Cubs’ short-term and long-term success.

“There’s immensely talented players on the market, but I think if you go in thinking it’s one of those guys or bust, you can make some really bad long-term decisions,” Hoyer. “Trying to win the offseason is not a good idea. We’ll just try to make the best decisions we can, and I think if we do that, we’ll be in a good position.”

Cubs not completely out on Ohtani

Yes, reports are essentially saying it. As other suitors continue to be discussed in Ohtani rumors, with are even being called “favorites,” the Cubs seem to be losing steam in the Ohtani sweepstakes.

A report earlier in the week from USA Today even said the Cubs were no longer in the race to sign Ohtani, but that was quickly disputed by Hoyer.

“I don’t know where that came from,” Hoyer said earlier this week at the Winter Meetings. “There’s nothing to report whatsoever.”

Who knows for sure what the reality of the situation is. The Cubs may not have been told they’re out, but that also doesn’t necessarily mean they’re still in. As Los Angeles and Toronto start to look more and more like Ohtani’s likeliest destinations, that means the Cubs will have to look to pivot to other options to improve the roster.

MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported Friday morning that “Ohtani’s decision is imminent, possibly as early as today.” Other reports seem to backing that up. As far as we know, it’s not a 0% chance that Ohtani moves to Chicago. But it seems we should find out very soon.

Cubs’ interest in Glasgow is real

Tyler Glasnow’s fit with the Cubs makes too much sense for them not to be interested in him (and a source confirmed that discussions about Glasnow with the Rays had taken place). Whereas the rest of the Cubs’ starters are more contact-oriented, Glasnow is has the stuff to add necessary swing-and-miss to the rotation.

Last season, his whiff rate was in the 95th percentile of big league pitchers, and his strikeout rate was in the 97th percentile. Glasnow just brings a different look to the rotation that the Cubs should really want — and at least one insider agrees.

“I think the Cubs are among the most serious suitors for him, based on what I’ve been able to gather here,” Morosi told the CHGO Cubs Podcast. “One of the reasons why they’re so involved is two-fold: No. 1, they have the kind of prospects that the Rays want, and also, Glasnow is the profile of the kind of pitcher that they don’t have a lot of. They have more of a contact-oriented staff, and Glasnow misses bats. He’s got, as one scout said to me, some of the best pure stuff on the planet. He’s that good.”

Of course, acquiring Glasnow comes with risks. The Cubs will have to give up a player or two that could be contributors to the big league team (though for a pitcher of Glasgow’s caliber, that’s not a huge ask). They’d also be trading for someone with injury history who’s only pitched 100-plus innings twice in eight seasons (and never more than 120), and who’s just two years removed from Tommy John surgery.

But bringing him in on the last year of his deal means the Cubs aren’t sacrificing long-term financial flexibility. They only need to see what they can get from him in 2024 and then go from there. The risk is real, but that shouldn’t stop the Cubs from trading for the 30-year-old.

Morel not discussed for Glasnow

As mentioned, the Cubs would have to deal some players with real value back to the Rays to get Glasnow. However, while some earlier reports mentioned that the sides had discussed Christopher Morel, a source said Morel’s name hadn’t been discussed in Glasnow trade talks.

Morel has certainly been discussed by outsiders as the Cubs’ top trade chip this offseason. He’s young, he’s athletic, he’s got tremendous power, he’s a ball of energy and perhaps most importantly, he’s still got five years of control. While his name made a bit more sense in Soto trade rumors (considering his status as one of the best bats in baseball), the Cubs aren’t looking to move Morel for a one-year rental of Glasnow.

In fact, the Cubs still very much see Morel as potentially a very impactful part of the lineup. Consider what his new skipper had to say about him: “Just from looking at Christopher across the field, he’s put himself in a position where he needs to be in the lineup, he needs to be on the field. And that’s a good thing.”

Morel obviously has some development left, especially on the defensive side, as he’s got too much potential value to be limited to the designated hitter role. The Cubs see that potential value, for sure, so they aren’t currently interested in shipping him out in this kind of deal.

Bellinger return possible, but at what price?

Will the Cubs and Bellinger reunite for 2024 and beyond? That’s still anyone’s guess, but that possibility has certainly not been ruled out.

But at the same time, what would it cost the Cubs do bring him back? Some reports have set his price at over $200 million, and at least one report has said Bellinger’s camp may even be asking for upwards of $300 million. Whether those ranges are accurate, at least one insider isn’t sure many suitors would go anywhere near that high.

“I don’t know how many teams are going to be comfortable going to a $200 million contract on him,” Morosi said on the CHGO Cubs Podcast.

The Cubs seem to be in that camp. They haven’t even given out a $200 million contract before, and although they loved having Bellinger in Chicago in 2023, it’s tough to imagine he would be the first. His season was exactly what both he and the Cubs needed last year, for sure, but there are real questions on if that will be the norm — and it’s not just the Cubs who have those concerns.

So yes, a return to Chicago is absolutely still in the cards for Bellinger. As a Scott Boras client, his free agency will likely progress into the new year before he makes a decision. If money is the biggest factor in his choice, a team paying the premium for his services likely gets a deal done, and it doesn’t seem like that team would be the Cubs.

PCA not guaranteed starting CF job

Pete Crow-Armstrong is the Cubs’ consensus top prospect for a reason. He’s got Gold Glove caliber defense already, and at least in the minor leagues, his bat has really improved at every level. The Cubs think highly of him and believe he can be a special player for them.

His first taste of major league action in September didn’t go very well, of course. He never did record his first hit, he seemed overwhelmed by big league pitching at times and he made some mistakes on the base paths. Speaking at the end of the season, Crow-Armstrong was very honest about the struggles and what he knows he needs to work on this winter.

Now, will he be the Cubs’ starting center fielder come Opening Day? That’s a hard question to answer, for a number of reasons. Again, the Cubs think of him as part of their future, but an Opening Day roster spot is not guaranteed. He does need to makes strides in his game to prove he’s ready. So that part of it is up to him.

But the Cubs could also still acquire someone to man the spot. If Bellinger is indeed brought back, does he take back over the center-field job? Is there another center fielder either on the roster — Mike Tauchman or Alexander Canario, perhaps — or on the market that could hold things down if Crow-Armstrong isn’t ready?

There’s no clear answer at the moment, and nothing has been ruled out.

“To say definitively that he’s going to be our center fielder on Opening Day would be disingenuous,” Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins said. “To say that he’s part of our long-term plans, absolutely. To say that he has a chance to be our Opening Day centerfielder, absolutely.

“It’s going to depend a lot about the opportunities we have on the market, both in trades and free agency, and candidly, what he looks like coming into spring and the adjustments that he’s made on the field, specifically.

No word on Kyle Hendricks extension

Hendricks wanted nothing more than to remain a Cub.

After some down years and a capsular tear in his right shoulder that kept him on the shelf for almost 11 months, Hendricks returned at the end of May. Was he the Hendricks who finished third in National League Cy Young voting in 2016? No, but he provided a steady, veteran presence in the rotation and earned more time in a Cubs uniform.

The team picked up his club option, but since then, there’s been no clarity on his future beyond 2024. The sides haven’t worked out an extension, and right now, it doesn’t feel like one is imminent.

“I hope he’s a Cub for a long time,” Hoyer said. “Right now, we’re just kind of focused on next year’s team. At some point, we may turn our attention to that. But I was glad we had a club option on him, candidly.”

Cade Horton’s rise hasn’t gone unnoticed

He’s an elite prospect, not just in the Cubs’ system — No. 2 in the system and No. 1 Cubs pitching prospect, per MLB Pipeline — but in all of baseball (No. 29 overall, No. 4 pitching prospect).

Drafted No. 7 overall in 2022 after hardly pitching in college due to Tommy John surgery, Horton didn’t make his pro ball debut until 2023. The Cubs didn’t want to rush his development in any way, so they kept him out of game action immediately after the draft.

If that decision directly led to what Horton did in ’23, then it was absolutely the right call. Horton quickly rose up the ladder in the system. He needed just four starts at Low-A Myrtle Beach before receiving his first promotion, and by the end of the season, he was pitching in the postseason for Double-A Tennessee, the Summer League champions.

“He’s exciting, and certainly, each step of the way last year, I felt like he got better and better,” Hoyer said. “The next step for him certainly will be pitching on a more regular basis and throwing more pitches and things like that. He came back from Tommy John at the end of the ’22 season. We definitely were careful with him last year, as we should have been, but certainly that will be relaxed a little bit.”

Hoyer will still look to make upgrades to the pitching staff, and starting pitching is definitely a need. But actually impacting the big league team in 2024 remains a real possibility.

Counsell’s coaching staff mostly set

When Counsell was officially introduced as the Cubs’ manager last month, he was asked about his coaching staff. Who he would keep and who he might bring with him were questions that would eventually need answers.

But considering how quickly the process of joining the Cubs went, Counsell wanted to take his time and “be deliberate” in crafting his new coaching staff. He hadn’t done a lot of homework on the Cubs because they weren’t even an option until very late in the process, so he decided he wanted to get more information on the who the Cubs already had in house.

Though the coaching staff still hasn’t been made official and there are a couple spots left to fill, Hawkins said “for the most part our guys that have not taken jobs elsewhere are going to be back next year.”

Former assistant hitting coach Johnny Washington is now the Angels’ hitting coach, former bench coach Andy Green is now in the Mets’ front office, and both former bullpen coach Chris Young and game strategy/catching coach Craig Driver were let go. But outside of them, it seems Counsell took a liking to the other coaches left over from 2023.

“Just talking to them — and, frankly, talking around the industry about them — I felt like it was largely a good staff in place,” Counsell said. “There were some really good pieces in place and there were some places for growth on the staff that I think I can help with.”

Winter Meetings: Cubs not yet out of Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes

Ryan Herrera — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 05:33:00 +0000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — On Day 2 of the Winter Meetings, rumors started swirling. Word started spreading on social media. Cubs fans’ worst fears had come to fruition — the team’s optimism of landing Shohei Ohtani had waned, and then later, they were out of the sweepstakes altogether.

At least, that’s what a report from USA Today had said. But when officials from all 30 MLB teams met with the media in a ballroom at the Gaylord Opryland Resort on Tuesday, the Cubs’ brass was ready to refute it.

“I don’t know where that came from,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “There’s nothing to report whatsoever.”

In expected fashion, Hoyer didn’t have much of a comment on Ohtani and any pursuit of the two-way superstar besides disputing that report. The only other thing he had to say was that the Cubs had not received any status updates from Ohtani’s camp about where they stand.

There’s no doubt Ohtani’s free agency has gone on as secretly as possible. It’s to the point that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ comments to reporters during his availability Tuesday — confirming that Los Angeles had met with Ohtani — was the first public confirmation of any meetings between Ohtani and his suitors.

“I don’t feel like lying is something that I do,” Roberts told reporters. “I was asked a question, and yeah, I think to be forthright in this situation, we kept it quiet, but I think that it’s going to come out at some point that we met, and it obviously already has. So, I don’t think myself or anyone in our organization would want to lie about it.”

His Cubs counterpart Craig Counsell, only three weeks after officially being introduced as Chicago’s new skipper, didn’t budge much when presented with anything related to Ohtani.

Asked “as a baseball fan” his thoughts on the frenzy surrounding Ohtani’s free agency, Counsell said, “It’s deserved, because he’s very unique. It’s really cool what’s happening, and I think as a baseball fan, we all want to know where the great players are going to play.”

But when asked if the Cubs had met with Ohtani, Counsell responded, “I have not.”

What about the front office?

“I have not,” he repeated.

Is that supposed to be an indication of the team’s interest in Ohtani?

“Look, I don’t think this is my spot to talk about individual player,” Counsel said. “It’s a great question, but not the spot to talk about it.”

Despite what other teams are doing, the Cubs are clearly keeping things under wraps. Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo, have sought privacy in this process, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan even reported recently that leaks of any meetings would be held against that team.

So, even with Roberts’ decision to speak publicly, it seems as though the other teams still hoping to land Ohtani are respecting those wishes.

“The truth is that with this free-agent pursuit and others, very few people are aware of what’s being discussed or what’s going on — on purpose,” Hoyer said. “All sides have kept it that way, and I think I’ll stay that way.”

Added Hoyer: “I feel like in this case, yeah, there’s real secrecy, but everyone knows there’s secrecy. I think there’s been others that are really secret that no one knew about. I think I’ve seen this kind of secrecy before, but it wasn’t necessarily, like, public secrecy.”

But all that secrecy is what makes it even harder to know what the truth really is.

If Ohtani’s side wants to keep things quiet, and if teams don’t want to risk upsetting him to the point they won’t leak any information, then who is talking? Who is the one saying the Cubs are out of the running, when the team president — at least publicly — is outright denying that report’s accuracy.

Now, Hoyer saying what he said doesn’t mean the Cubs are absolutely still in the race. Word is that the price for Ohtani might still be rising, and Hoyer’s history and the Cubs lead baseball operations executive doesn’t lead one to believe he’d be willing to go through a bidding war. Hoyer’s comments could very well just mean the Cubs haven’t been told that they’re out yet.

Of course, they’ll continue to be in conversations with other players and their representation. It’d be unwise to put all their in the Ohtani basket, especially when there are a number of holes on the roster they have to fill.

“You’ve got to be really careful not to get caught waiting on any one particular thing,” Hoyer said. “I think I’ve learned over the years that you’ve got to have a lot of lines in the water, and you can’t assume anything is going to get done. Sometimes, the dominoes fall as you think, but if you assume they’re going to fall that way, you can get yourself in a lot of trouble waiting. So, clearly, we’re working on a ton of different stuff.”

But at the same time, the market is held up waiting for Ohtani to make a decision. And until it becomes known where he’s going — or until it becomes know that he’s not going to Chicago — expect the Cubs to operate as if they’re the destination.

Winter Meetings: Cubs still waiting for dominoes to fall

Ryan Herrera — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 04:22:00 +0000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The baseball world is waiting for the biggest dominoes of the offseason to fall. But after a full day at the Winter Meetings, major moves have yet to manifest.

“It has felt like it’s been pretty slow,” Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins said in a suite at the Gaylord Opryland Resort on Monday. “I mean, I don’t know that empirically, but it feels like there’s been less transactions this year than there have been up to this time. So that’s unique.”

The biggest free-agent signing of Winter Meetings week as of Monday night has been Wade Miley re-signing with the Brewers on a one-year deal. So yeah, not exactly eyeball-grabbing news.

Now, can Hawkins put his finger on what’s been slowing down a market that would generally be heating up at this point on the calendar?

“Honestly, I think everybody getting sick [at the GM Meetings last month] honestly slowed the market down,” he said. “That narrative hasn’t picked up in the media, but I just think about all the calls that I made and guys are like, ‘I’m sorry, man. I can’t talk. I’m literally dying over here.’ So that might’ve slowed things down.”

Hawkins did admit he was “trying to be funny” and the virus that went through a number of front office personnel from around the league had only slowed things down for a couple of days. So, there has to be another culprit.

“Take the sickness aside,” Hawkins said, “I think certainly having a bunch of teams potentially locked up into some large guys, it slows things down.”

The names of those “large guys” are well-known, and the obvious No. 1 is Shohei Ohtani.

His name still creates a buzz at the Winter Meetings, despite the nearly complete secrecy of his free agency. Information has not leaked on what exactly he’s asking for (though the expectation is that he’ll shatter baseball salary records), who all he’s meeting with (though the Cubs are among a group of five or so teams believed to be in the running) or even when he’ll make his announcement.

Hawkins and Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer — who due to a personal matter had a delayed arrival to Nashville — are still waiting on Ohtani’s decision. Hawkins declined to comment when asked about the team’s interest in and communication with the two-way superstar, but when a player of that magnitude — who should require a financial investment unlike any baseball has seen before — is making his decision, it behooves any interested party to wait and see which path he takes.

The Cubs would love to be able to create a perfect offseason plan that pivots seamlessly from plan A to B to C and so on. But in an imperfect world, the market being held up presents its own obstacles in doing so.

“It’s way too complex of a challenge to actually do that,” Hawkins said. “Instead, you have to be able to look at each individual transaction and say, ‘Hey, this makes sense for us in terms of our goals towards winning more baseball games now and in the future,’ and you have to be prepared to make all of those decisions.

“So, where does the bulk of our time go? While there’s not a lot of action in terms of things coming to fruition, there is a lot of action in terms of preparation to be able to make those decisions quickly, should they come across our desk quickly.”

Perhaps the next question should be what the Cubs do if the Ohtani domino finally falls and they aren’t the one to land him.

It certainly wouldn’t mean a busted offseason. They have the financial flexibility (short and long term), prospect capital and other resources needed to pull off other moves to improve their roster. That could come in the form of a trade to bolster their middle of the order or top of their rotation, for example. While that part of the market has been slow as well, it’s not because of a lack of real conversations between ball clubs.

“Obviously, not a ton of deals that have come to fruition, but I think teams are very active looking for fits,” Hawkins said. “I think we’ve checked in with all 29 teams at this point and would expect those conversations to continue to be active, not only this week but over the course of the next couple of months.”

Of course, the Cubs could always make similar improvements by spending the money to bring in free agents.

Over the past few offseasons, it was probably tougher to sell free agents on moving to the North Side. The Cubs officially entered their second rebuild in a decade at the 2021 trade deadline, and though Hoyer and Co. are quick to remind everyone that Chicago and Wrigley Field easily sell themselves, little potential for winning baseball had to have turned some free agents away.

But with real, concrete examples of improvements throughout the organization last season — nine more wins than in 2022, legitimate player development at the big league level, a farm system now universally considered among the top five in baseball — the Cubs actually have something to entice those free agents to join.

“We make a free-agent video every year, and the highlights from this year’s free-agent video have a lot of action from 2023,” Hawkins said. “That’s guys that are still on our team and will be on our team for a long time, and I think that part resonates, too. You see the excitement at the ballpark. It’s not excitement from the 2016 World Series. It’s excitement from Chris Morel hitting a walk-off home run against the White Sox. I think just the proximity of the excitement definitely helps and creates that foundation for us.”

So yes, there are ways to put together a very competitive Cubs team in 2024 that doesn’t include Ohtani. But while that cloud continues to hang over the heads of his suitors at the Winter Meetings, it will be tough for that dam to truly burst.

Winter Meetings preview: 4 Cubs storylines to keep an eye on

Ryan Herrera — Sun, 03 Dec 2023 23:00:00 +0000

The baseball offseason stove is about to really heat up. With the Winter Meetings beginning in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, rumors will be swirling around the clock.

An assortment of team personnel, agents, Major League Baseball employees, media members and more will group together at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, turning the Music City into the center of the baseball world for a few days. That’s good for the Cubs, who — in hopes of having an aggressive offseason — will benefit from having everyone they need to talk to all in one pace.

But what exactly will this year’s Winter Meetings mean for the North Siders? Will they bring in any of the top free agents? Is a splash trade on the horizon?

Here are four storylines to monitor as the meetings commence.

Will they bring in Shohei Ohtani?

The baseball world has been eagerly waiting for Ohtani to make his decision.

Though there’s some disagreement on when exactly that might come, plenty of rumors out there have claimed Ohtani will be ready to make his decision sometime in the near future, potentially even at the Winter Meetings. Whether that would work in the Cubs’ favor or not is anyone’s guess, but at the very least, getting an answer sooner rather than later would be ideal.

The last time they recruited Ohtani six years ago, the Cubs were one of seven finalists and felt very good about their chances, even though the front office was aware of where they were disadvantaged. This time, the Cubs continue to be at the forefront of rumors surrounding Ohtani, even being looked at among the favorites to land his services.

This is a franchise-altering move, and not just because of what Ohtani can bring in an on-field sense.

The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported Sunday that Ohtani ” is believed to already have received multiple bids well north of $500 million, and some speculate he could even wind up as baseball’s first $600 million man — or come close, at least.” It’s an investment that, while it will surely bring in some level of revenue that helps offset the steep cost, it still will be a hefty price to pay on an annual basis. This wouldn’t seem to be president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer’s usual path if he wasn’t absolutely sure in Ohtani’s ability to keep the organization on an upward trajectory.

Obviously, Ohtani has proven what he can bring to the Cubs if they are to reel him in. He’s one of the best hitters on the planet, and despite elbow surgery in September, he’s expected to be good to hit on Opening Day. He won’t pitch in 2024 and there are legitimate concerns about his pitching future, but it doesn’t seem like that has scared off any potential suitors.

Will the Cubs get to the finish line with Ohtani? That remains to be seen, but it will be the biggest story for the Cubs this week in Nashville.

How will they address the rotation?

Hoyer was a bit shocked when Marcus Stroman opted out of the last year of his contract, but only because he wasn’t sure which way Stroman was leaning. But after Stroman made his decision, one thing became very clear — the Cubs need to add to their rotation.

At this point, Justin Steele (fresh off a fifth-place finish in NL Cy Young voting), Kyle Hendricks and Jameson Taillon figure to be rotation locks. In-house options for the other two starting spots include Javier Assad, Jordan Wicks, Drew Smyly and Hayden Wesneski. Even Ben Brown, who has yet to make his major league debut but owns a 40-man roster spot, could find his way into the big leagues quickly, and top-pitching-prospect Cade Horton may be ready to go at some point in 2024.

Hoyer said the Cubs are looking to give some of those arms an opportunity, but the fact is that they need more. And more specifically, they need more arms that can provide top-of-the-rotation type innings.

The free-agent market has some intriguing options. NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery remain on the board. Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto still has about a month left in his posting window, and the Cubs have been involved in rumors regarding his recruitment.

And then there’s the trade market. As far as rumored trade candidates go, Tyler Glasnow (Rays), Shane Bieber (Guardians), Dylan Cease (White Sox) and Corbin Burnes are higher-tier arms that could be on the move. Though the price to acquire any of them varies, all have potential to produce like No. 1 starting pitchers.

Obviously, for the Cubs to really improve their rotation for 2024, it’s going to cost either money or prospect capital. Their farm system is not currently producing major league starters who can help carry this team to the playoffs. It could get there eventually, but right now, they need to be aggressive in the pitching market. It would make sense to really get the ball going at the Winter Meetings.

Sep 27, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow (20) pitches against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Is a reunion with Cody Bellinger still possible?

At last year’s Winter Meetings, the Cubs got Cody Bellinger to agree to come to Chicago. A year later, it’s still unclear if his time at Wrigley Field is done.

Bellinger is among the top free agents on the position player side. After his bounce-back 2023 season with the Cubs, it would make sense for both sides to want to continue their partnership. But as of now, it doesn’t seem the two sides have made any headway on a long-term deal.

Not that it’s a surprise. If the Cubs are zeroed in on Ohtani as their No. 1 target, it makes sense to have that recruitment be their main focus. And on the flip side, considering how much Ohtani’s free agency is holding up a portion of MLB teams’ offseasons, it makes sense for Bellinger to let Ohtani set the market and then go from there. Having Scott Boras as his agent would make that the likelier scenario, and if history is any indication, Bellinger’s free agency could extend far past the Winter Meetings.

A few things would hinder a potential reunion. The Cubs signing Ohtani would seem to take them out of the Bellinger sweepstakes, just based on the cost and other roster needs. There’s also the idea that a team desperate to add one of the best bats on the market would potentially overpay, and a bidding war for Bellinger doesn’t seem like something Hoyer would be very interested in.

So yeah, Bellinger most likely isn’t signing a contract at the Winter Meetings. But with the baseball world in town, expect him to be among the most talked about names in Nashville.

Sep 1, 2023; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Chicago Cubs first baseman Cody Bellinger (24) high fives teammates after hitting a solo home run in the third inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

How else can they add power to the lineup?

Despite having six players hit 20 home runs in the same season for just the third time in franchise history, the Cubs were much more in the middle of the pack (or worse) in various power numbers in 2023. If their aspirations are really as high as the team’s brass says they are, then improving on that is of utmost importance.

Losing Bellinger, tied for the team lead in home runs last season, doesn’t help in that, and even re-signing him would just be evening things out, really. Ohtani would be a massive upgrade (124 homers over the last three seasons, fourth most in the majors in that span), but even then, it might still feel like they’d need more.

So who else is out there that could upgrade the slugging department?

As far as trades go, Juan Soto (Padres) and Pete Alonso (Mets) are possibilities (though rumors connecting them and the Cubs have cooled in recently). On the free-agent market, Ohtani and Bellinger are clearly at the top, but Rhys Hoskins is another pretty intriguing option.

Hoskins missed 2023 with a torn ACL, and Boras (Hoskins’ agent, too) has indicated a pillow contract similar to Bellinger’s could be in play. The former Phillies first baseman has hit at least 27 home runs in each of his four full season (twice hitting 30-plus), so while he may not put up monster power numbers, taking a shot to let Hoskins re-establish his value could very well be worth it for the Cubs.

Oct 14, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Atlanta Braves during the 3rd inning in game three of the NLDS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Cody Bellinger named NL Comeback Player of the Year

Ryan Herrera — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 01:40:28 +0000

When the Cubs signed Cody Bellinger to a one-year “pillow contract” last offseason, they were betting on a return to form for a player once considered among the elite in Major League Baseball.

Through his first four seasons with the Dodgers to start his career, he earned accolade after accolade: two-time All-Star; one-time Silver Slugger; one-time Gold Glover; 2017 NL Rookie of the Year; 2018 NLCS MVP; 2019 NL MVP. More were expected to come.

But across the 2021-22 seasons, his production sunk. He hit just .193 with a .611 OPS and 69 wRC+. Injuries certainly played a big role in his downturn, and with a decision to make on whether or not to tender him a contract a year ago, Los Angeles ultimately let him walk.

Bellinger joined the Cubs on a one-year deal worth $17.5 million guaranteed, hoping to put together a bounce back campaign — and did he ever. Bellinger was named the NL Comeback Player of the Year on Tuesday, as voted on by 30 MLB.com writers, capping off a resurgent season that will earn him a lucrative contract this winter.

“Just spent all offseason getting myself in the best position to succeed,” Bellinger told MLB Network after the announcement Tuesday night. “Really, the consistent aspect of my game this year was something I kind of strive for, something I always felt like I needed, and I had it this year. Just the way my body was feeling, the work, and obviously just going out and being able to play the game that I know I could play. It was a fun year.”

“It was beautiful, man.” – Bellinger on playing at Wrigley Field

Bellinger joined MLB Network to discuss winning the NL Comeback Player of the Year and more.

pic.twitter.com/yHV1ksZhW8
— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) November 28, 2023

“Cody was our top target going into [last] offseason,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said during his end-of-season press conference. “We said we needed a center fielder. We thought he was going to get non-tendered by the Dodgers. That was one where all that planning at this time of year really paid off.”

The award caps off a strong month of recognition for Bellinger.

He was previously named the NL Comeback Player of the Year by his peers in the 2023 Players Choice Awards at the beginning of the month. Bellinger also finished 10th in NL MVP voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, and he earned his second-career Silver Slugger Award in the “utility” category after strong performances both in center field and at first base.

Those awards were well-deserved after the 2023 Bellinger put together.

He quickly became a fan-favorite with his scorching hot April that ended up being one of the best offensive months of his career. And outside of a knee injury that put him on the shelf from mid-May to mid-June, Bellinger proved throughout the season how dangerous of a hitter he is at his best, finishing the year with a career-high .307 average, an .881 OPS and a 134 wRC+.

“He had an incredible season,” Hoyer said. “During that run that we had, it felt like it was just one two-out single after another. Whenever we needed him, he sort of bailed us out. That’s certainly not lost on us.”

Sep 28, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Chicago Cubs first baseman Cody Bellinger (24) reacts after a single against the Atlanta Braves in the eighth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Of course, the 28-year-old Bellinger is now one of the top bats on the market. The question has now become if a reunion between the two sides is in the cards.

His agent, Scott Boras, seemed to hint at the GM Meetings earlier this month that the Cubs won’t be getting a discount if they want to bring him back.

“When we came to Chicago, he just feasted on major league pitching,” Boras said. “Chicago got the comforts of a full Belli, so they’re going to have to loosen their belts to keep Bellinger.”

While rumors about the Cubs’ various targets — both on the trade market or in free agency — seem to swirl daily, any news of talks with Bellinger’s camp has been much more quiet. If he does come back, he’d be able to fill the Cubs’ holes either at first base or in center field.

They’ll likely have to pony up to bring him back in the fold, but if they have any advantage, it’s that they don’t have to sell Bellinger on the organization. They already know how much he appreciated his year on the North Side of Chicago.

“Obviously, there’s no prediction of the future in anything,” Bellinger said at the end of the season. “I really just enjoyed my time with this group of guys, with this coaching staff. Playing for the Cubs organization and Wrigley Field was really special.”

Cubs notes: Reliving 1st Ohtani recruitment, non-tenders & more

Ryan Herrera — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 01:55:29 +0000

The Cubs have been tight-lipped about any interest or contact with Shohei Ohtani, arguably the biggest free agent in baseball history.

Jeff Passan of ESPN wrote earlier this week that it will be held against a team if any visits between that side and Ohtani are reported, so don’t expect that to change much. Last week at the GM Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz. for example, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer would not comment on any current-day questions regarding Ohtani.

But history questions about Ohtani? Hoyer was much more open to discussing that.

“We were charming?” Hoyer quipped when asked why he believed Ohtani met with the Cubs when he first joined Major League Baseball.

Really, though, Hoyer thought where the Cubs were at as an organization intrigued Ohtani. This was back after 2017, with the Cubs coming off three straight National League Championship Series appearances and only a year removed from a World Series title. With a strong core of position players and pitchers still around, the Cubs looked set for more years of competing for rings (though we know how that turned out).

“We had things rolling pretty well at that point,” Hoyer said. “It doesn’t surprise me he took a meeting with us, even though I think us and Texas were the only two teams [out of the seven finalists] that weren’t on the West Coast. That was why we were outliers, but it doesn’t surprise me given when that happened, we had it rolling at that point and I think he was intrigued.”

Of course, there were reasons why Ohtani didn’t end up moving to Chicago. Unlike the Angels, Dodgers, Padres, Giants and Mariners, the Cubs are not on the West Coast, and geography seemed to play a part in the initial decision.

But one big disadvantage Hoyer pointed to was the fact that the NL still didn’t have the designated hitter. Ohtani is a two-way superstar, but outside of 8 1/3 innings in the outfield over the last six seasons, Ohtani has only pitched and hit as the DH. The fact that he wouldn’t have been able to do that with the Cubs if he signed back then hampered not just theirs but any of the NL teams’ chances to sign him.

“It was hard at the time, because I though we were at a pretty big disadvantage not having the DH at that point. It was pretty clear that he wanted to do both, and DH-ing was the best option for that. We couldn’t provide that. … The ability to DH as opposed to play outfield was certainly something that was discussed at that time. It doesn’t surprise me in the end that he picked an AL team, but I wish we could roll back the clock and take a shot at it again.”

Hoyer noted that the pitching production ultimately lived up to expectations, and Ohtani’s offense was even underestimated at the time. That’s pretty clear now, especially after back-to-back American League MVPs.

There’s obviously risk in pursuing Ohtani, as the Cubs are reported to be doing. He’s coming off elbow surgery for a torn UCL in September (wasn’t explicitly stated to be Tommy John surgery, which would be the second of his career). Though he’s expected to be able to hit in time for Opening Day 2024, he won’t pitch until 2025, and there are legitimate concerns about what his pitching future looks like after the surgery.

But this is still Shohei Ohtani, someone who can change a franchise on name value alone. If the Cubs are truly interested in bringing him to Chicago, it’s safe to assume the reward outweighs the risk.

Reports are that geography may not matter as much to Ohtani this time around, and the NL obviously has the DH now. Does that give the Cubs a better chance to sign him? We’ll find out soon enough.

Thoughts on 3 non-tendered Cubs

The non-tender deadline came around Friday night, and with their 40-man roster full, the Cubs were expected to let some players walk. Those turned out to all be pitchers who at one point appeared to have futures as impact arms in the bullpen: Codi Heuer, Brandon Hughes and Ethan Roberts.

Heuer, acquired from the White Sox in the 2021 Craig Kimbrel trade, has been hampered by injuries the last two years. In fact, due to March 2022 Tommy John surgery that required 15-16 months of recovery and then a fractured elbow that resulted in season-ending surgery in June, Heuer hasn’t throw a pitch in a big league game since Sept. 29, 2021.

The last update on Heuer a month ago said that he had completed the initial healing and range of motion phase of his rehab, and the plan was to start a throwing progression starting in mid-November. However, there was still no specific timeline for his return, and as tough as it has been to see his career been derailed the last two years, this wasn’t an unexpected outcome. The Cubs can still bring him back on a minor league deal.

Hughes was one of the Cubs’ most-trusted relievers after he debuted in May 2022, but he wasn’t effective in the first three months of the season. A knee issue was certainly a factor in that, which also forced him to the injured list three different times. He didn’t pitch for the Cubs past June 11, having a surgical debridement at the end of June that limited him to only a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa in September.

Though he is expected to have a normal offseason, the Cubs chose to open the roster spot for now. Perhaps the plan is to do something similar to what they did with Mark Leiter Jr. last offseason. They designated Leiter for assignment in January but then added him back to the roster for Opening Day. It would make sense if the Cubs had something similar in mind for Hughes.

The Roberts move came as a bit more of a shock. He missed all of 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in July 2022, and though he was hopeful he could pitch for the Cubs last season, he never did get back into game action.

The team anticipated a normal offseason progression for Roberts, too. When he was healthy to begin the 2022 season, he had flashes of a really strong arm for the Cubs’ bullpen. So, like the others, it just makes sense for the Cubs to try to bring Roberts back on a minor league deal.

Quick hitters

Were you surprised to see Marcus Stroman opt out of the last year on his contract? In a way, so was Hoyer. Though he’d had plenty of conversations with Stroman’s agent, Brodie Van Wagenen, about what that side was thinking, it came down to that last phone call before Hoyer knew what was happening.

“I really didn’t know,” Hoyer said. “When he called me and told me the decision, I really didn’t know what it was going to be. In this market, I think he felt like he could secure a multi-year deal. I think that was a priority. But yeah, it’s not often when you’re really, like, I truly didn’t know which direction that was going to go. That’s why we had a bunch of conversations, because I think they were kind of feeling it out and thinking about it, too.”

The Cubs have not ruled out a reunion, of course, but it feels a bit of a long shot that he does return to the North Side. Stroman opting out of his contract opens up $21 million on the club’s payroll for 2024.
We’ve all heard the way Hoyer and Co. have gushed about new manager Craig Counsell. And would you expect anything else? They obviously went out and hired him for a reason.

But what about to the team up north, the team Counsell left to move to Chicago? For the organization that gave Counsell his first managing job, and who were very interested in keeping bringing him back, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them be a little upset at the move. But as surprised as his old boss, Brewers GM Matt Arnold, was to see him go to the Cubs, he still had nothing but good things to say.

“Look, everything that Craig has done, all the accolades, he deserves,” Arnold said. “I certainly enjoyed our time together. I’ll always have good memories working with Craig Counsell. There’s no question about that.”

Still, Arnold isn’t buying into the idea that Milwaukee is doomed without Counsell at the helm. He’s appreciative of Counsell’s contributions, for sure, but he’s confident they still have people in the Brewers organization that can help the success continue.

“Craig has an opportunity here, and so do we,” Arnold said. “We’re going to take a fresh look at everything that we’ve done. We’ve had a lot of success here and I think Craig is part of that, but Craig is not the only part of that.”

It’s not the strongest of free-agent classes this winter, which may be a reason why the Cubs aren’t committing to pushing all of their chips in. But it seems some big names may be available via trade (Juan Soto or Pete Alonso, anyone?).

Are executives getting the sense that the trade market will be robust?

“I don’t have a sense yet,” Hoyer said at the GM Meetings. “My gut is it’ll be robust, but the initial conversations are just team needs, what you’re looking for. People might exchange some names, but the reality is that you don’t see a lot of deals made on Nov. 10. These things take some time. It feels like Thanksgiving is always sort of the kickoff with things starting to heat up after that.”
Counsell said at his introductory press conference last week that he wanted to be slow and deliberate in putting together his coaching staff. He “hadn’t done homework on the Cubs” because they weren’t on his radar until very late, so he wants to get all the information he needs on potential members of his staff.

However, he’ll be bringing in some new faces, both to Cubs fans and to himself. Pat Murphy, his longtime bench coach, took over the managerial spot in Milwaukee and retained the rest of Counsell’s old coaching staff. Former Cubs bench coach Andy Green has reportedly taken a job in the Mets’ front office, and former assistant hitting coach Johnny Washington is taking over as the Angels hitting coach, the team announced over the weekend.

Pressure now on for Craig Counsell, Cubs to win

Ryan Herrera — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 01:04:59 +0000

Before Jed Hoyer made the decision to pursue Craig Counsell to be the Cubs’ manager, the club already had a sitting skipper who received praise from up and down the organization at the end of the season.

Call Hoyer’s move to secretly meet with Counsell when his contract with the Brewers expired, and then fire David Ross with a year on his contract remaining in order to bring Counsell in, whatever you like.

Shocking. Sneaky. Necessary. Ruthless. Those are just some of the adjectives that’ve been used. However you want to describe it, tough, the fact is that the Cubs’ president of baseball operations made the change for the sake of winning more ballgames.

“It’s hard to rank managers, but very clearly, he’s at the very top of the game,” Hoyer said at Counsell’s introductory press conference this week.

He’s not wrong. Counsell is widely considered among the best managers in baseball both on and off the field, someone who constantly got the most out of the rosters he was given in Milwaukee.

He spent most of the last nine seasons working in the smallest market in Major League Baseball, yet his Brewers teams went to the playoffs in five of the last six years (three of those appearances coming after earning National League Central crowns). That success has earned him four runner-up finishes in NL Manager of the Year voting, the latest of which came when the award winners were announced Tuesday.

Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell (30) is seen during batting practice before Game 2 of the Wild-Card playoff against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday October 4, 2023 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wis.

Some critics would surely point to his lack of postseason success. Milwaukee was 7-12 in the playoffs and won only one series under Counsell.

But getting to the postseason with greater regularity is what it’s about. The more times you get in the dance, the better the chances you can make a deep run. Only one of Counsell’s Brewers teams made that run (one win from the World Series in 2018), but Hoyer believes what he has done in Milwaukee can translate to Chicago — with more potential to have that playoff success.

“When you look year in, year out, I think he’s been able to maximize the talent on his roster,” Hoyer said. “He’s done that really consistently as well as any manager in the game. I know that people definitely point to postseason stuff. That’s always a question. I think that the mark of a manager is really over the marathon. What’s happened in a dozen or so games I don’t think is representative. But year in, year out, when you look at the way he’s been able to maneuver his roster, I think it’s really exceptional.”

The thing is, “potential for playoff success” won’t be good enough for a fan base hungry for another title. Four quick playoff exists won’t be good enough for a team that wants more. One game away from the World Series won’t be good enough for long if it doesn’t lead to the next step.

Not saying that just making the postseason was good enough in Milwaukee, either. But again, that’s the smallest market in MLB. They don’t have the resources that the Cubs do. Counsell and his squads were earning playoff appearances with smaller budgets than what he can get on the North Side (which is impressive in its own right).

Add onto that a five-year, $40 million contract that makes him the highest-paid manager in MLB history, and of course expectations will come.

But you ask Counsell, and that’s what he wants.

“There’s pressure in this job, man,” Counsell said. “There should be, and I accept that and welcome that and I think it should be there. Regardless of what’s going on salary-wise — there’s a financial component to this, obviously there is — my job is to win baseball games, no matter what.”

Those words must be music to Cubs fans’ ears. It’s not like he was going to say anything different, but acknowledging that his performance boils down to winning baseball games is at least one way to get fans to nod in approval.

The other way to do that is to acknowledge that Wrigley Field these days is a place where rabid fans go to watch their team actually win. Is it still a cool place to hangout and have a couple beers during the summer, much as it was when the Cubs were still the “Lovable Losers”?

Sure, but post-2016, the bar for what’s acceptable has been raised. And it seems Counsell understands that, too.

“Walking into Wrigley [Monday], the first day as a Cub, and it already starts to mean something,” Counsell said. “You walk into the history, you walk into the energy, you walk into a place that you already know it demands your best. That feeling is just a feeling that I need to have and I love to have, and I’d love that to be a part of my daily life.”

So yes, the pressure is on.

For Counsell, for Hoyer, for chairman Tom Ricketts, for the players, for Counsell’s soon-to-be-announced coaching staff. This managerial switch was made in the name of winning, so winning is what needs to happen.

Is Counsell ready for the kind of scrutiny Ross, a beloved World Series hero, faced during his tenure with the Cubs? Is he ready for that pressure to win to manifest itself as soon as Opening Day 2024?

If the way he talked Monday about this opportunity is any indication, he at least seems willing to tackle that pressure head on.

“My hope is that the pressure to win in Chicago is just the pressure to win in Chicago,” Counsell said. “I don’t need any more than that. That’s what it is. That’s what it should be. We should be expected to win, regardless.”

Cubs Diehard mailbag: What changes with Craig Counsell + How would landing Shohei Ohtani affect the team’s free agent budget?

Ryan Herrera — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 17:50:03 +0000

The funniest part about this Chicago Cubs offseason thus far is that they haven’t actually done anything improve the roster, yet fans may be more excited about next season than they've been in years.

It's the Craig Counsell effect, really. The Cubs sent shockwaves through baseball last week when they went out and hired Counsell, the former Brewers manager who they officially introduced as their new manager on Monday. With one of the most well-respected skippers in the game now leading the team, fans are ready for the Cubs to keep the surprises coming as winter heats up.

But how exactly could the rest of the offseason look? That's what fans are asking, and inside this mailbag for CHGO ...

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Craig Counsell introduced as new Chicago Cubs manager

Ryan Herrera — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 00:29:36 +0000

Before he addressed the crowd in front of him Monday morning, Craig Counsell slipped on a Chicago Cubs jersey sporting the No. 30 underneath the name, “COUNSELL.” As he went to sit back down, he cracked a big smile and said, “It feels good.”

If it seemed kind of surreal, that’s because it felt that way.

Counsell was officially named the 56th manager in Cubs history, a week after president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer shocked the baseball world by hiring the former Brewers skipper to five-year, $40 million contract to replace sitting manager David Ross.

The 53-year-old had spent most of the last nine seasons managing one of the Cubs’ biggest rivals, and more recently, consistently led Milwaukee to playoff berths while the Cubs’ golden years fizzled out.

When Counsell would walk into Wrigley Field in the past, either as a player or a manager, he walked in as an opponent. Now, he’s taking the reins of the Cubs, hoping to be the next manager to help bring a World Series title back to Chicago.

So when he stepped foot in Wrigley on Monday, he could already sense how important of a step this is in his career.

“Walking into Wrigley today, the first day as a Cub, and it already starts to mean something,” Counsell said at his introductory press conference. “You walk into the history, you walk into the energy, you walk into a place that you already know it demands your best. That feeling is just a feeling that I need to have and I love to have, and I’d love that to be a part of my daily life. So, that that feeling exists right now is really, really special for me and makes me so, so excited. It really does.”

Nov 13, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Craig Counsell (L) receives Chicago Cubs jersey from Jed Hoyer (R), Cubs President of baseball operations as he is introduced as a new Cubs manager during a press conference in Chicago. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

As excited as he is now, this last week and a half has been hectic for Counsell.

He said his process of making a decision on his future was coming to an end when Hoyer reached out on Nov. 1. From the Cubs’ side, only chairman Tom Ricketts and general manager Carter Hawkins were looped in, and Counsell and Hoyer met at the latter’s house.

Counsell wasn’t necessarily expecting the call. With a manager already in place, and without any communication in the process beforehand, he wasn’t thinking about the Cubs. But when Hoyer asked him to meet, he was willing to hear the pitch.

Hoyer had to play some things close to the vest, of course. How could he just reveal his entire plan forward before he knew Counsell was going to join the organization?

“You’re not really laying everything on the table in conversations like that,” Counsell said.

Regardless, after the conversation, Counsell realized this was a new challenge he wanted to take on. The time felt right to make the move.

Counsell on the need for a new challenge:

“I’m sitting up here a little scared, sitting up here a little uncomfortable. But that’s how you get to a better place.” pic.twitter.com/rMZuK9iGI1
— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) November 13, 2023

“As you go through this process, when you’re trying to just figure out life, really, there’s self-reflection, and you’re kind of trying to figure out what to do,” Counsell said. “I think at some point over really a pretty long timespan, I just thought that a new challenge was where I had to push myself. And really, it’s about growth. It’s about just trying to push yourself to a place that you’re not at right now.

“And that’s scary. I’m sitting up here, I’m a little scared. I’m sitting up here, I’m a little uncomfortable. But that’s how you get to a better place, and that’s how you push yourself as a person to a better place.”

Since the news broke a week ago, Counsell has faced backlash from Brewers fans for going to their rival. He said he underestimated how strong the reaction would be, but he hopes time will help heal the wounds and reflect favorably on his time there.

There was also the fact that, with the Cubs hiring him, that meant they were firing Ross.

Counsell and Ross had crossed paths during their playing careers and then obviously as rival managers over the last four years. Counsell had respect for Ross, so knowing he was taking Ross’ job had to be on his mind as the process quickly played out.

Soon after Hoyer delivered the news to him at his home in Tallahassee, Ross shot Counsell a text message. Counsell immediately called him, and the two shared what Counsell said was “a very good conversation.”

Nobody would’ve blamed Ross if he didn’t take the high road, in either his conversations with Counsell and Hoyer or even in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat last week. He just lost his job, after all. He’s allowed to be upset and not gracious in his exit from the organization.

But Ross took the news in stride, and their conversation confirmed why Counsell thought so highly of him in the first place.

“I’ve always had great respect for David; that gave me the ultimate respect for David, the way he handled the conversation. This is a part of this business that’s really difficult. It’s really cutthroat. As a player, I’ve lived it. David has lived it. Every player lives with it every day. But I respect the heck out of David Ross.”

Chicago Cubs manager David Ross and Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell (30) meet before their game Thursday, April , 2022 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Ill.MARK HOFFMAN/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL

Now that some of the difficult conversations are out the way, Counsell can get to work figuring out how he can help the Cubs better compete in 2024 and beyond. That’s the same thing Hoyer must ask himself. He’s made a move to improve the manager’s seat in his mind, but now he has to do more.

It can’t be left at Hoyer just bringing in Counsell. They are now partners trying to executive the vision that Hoyer sold in their meeting 12 days ago. They’re tied together in that; if one fails, so does the other. It’s on them to make this a successful partnership over the next five years (and maybe even beyond).

That new partnership, though, is what excites them about this move.

“You start to learn personalities and you start to learn how to communicate with each other, how to get things done, how to push a button sometimes, because that’s what you need to do,” Counsell said. “That’s how we’re going to communicate together, and that’s how we make progress. I push Jed, he pushes me and Carter pushes me. That’s the fun part about this, kind of getting to know each other and feel each other out and test each other. That’s awesome. I love that part of it.”

Said Hoyer: “He’s going to bring different things to the table that he learned or had in Milwaukee, and I’m going to bring different things. To me, that is really exciting. I mean, all of us in these jobs, you just want to keep pushing yourself and you want to get better. … I think he can push me and our front office and the organization in a lot of great ways.”

It remains to be seen if that partnership does lead to the kind of success that’s been missing at Wrigley Field in recent years. But sitting up on that podium in Gallagher Way, he knew this was the right time for a new challenge. He’d seen Hoyer’s vision and wanted to be part of it.

Now, Counsell is part of an organization he believes is on the rise. Perhaps he will show he’s the right manager to help get them back to the top.

“It’s time to be a Cub,” he said. “There is momentum happening here, and it feels close. That means there’s a really exciting future ahead of us, and now it’s my job to be part of taking us to the next level.”

Cubs are trying to find Christopher Morel a defensive home

Ryan Herrera — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 21:43:06 +0000

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Finding a defensive home for a player like Christopher Morel could be enormous for the Cubs from a roster construction standpoint. But doing that the last two seasons has been easier said than done.

In the minor leagues, he played all three outfield position as well as second base, third base and shortstop in at least 10 different games apiece. Since he’s reached the majors, he’s played those six spots each at least eight times, with left and right field being the only two he hasn’t played in 15 or more games.

The bat has played since Morel was first called up in May 2022. He’s shown tremendous power, hitting 42 home runs in just 854 plate appearances (767 at-bats) and posting a .229 ISO (slugging minus average), and he’s also shown increasing maturity at the plate. It’s just that reliable defense has not been there consistently.

Outside of pitcher and catcher, the one spot Morel hasn’t played since joining the Cubs organization in 2015 is first base. It seems like that will change this winter.

During the GM Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz. this week, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer revealed plans to have Morel play some first base in winter ball.

“It’s an ongoing conversation, but I think we’ve talked a lot about finding him a home, and I do think we want to give him some work at first and see how he reacts to that,” Hoyer said. “He’s shown he can play third, he’s shown he can play second and he can play in the outfield. But finding a home for him is something that would be really valuable.”

It’s not that the Cubs don’t believe he can play another position.

He’s shown some flashes in limited time elsewhere, particularly at second base, which in another situation might be the defensive home the Cubs are looking for. But they already have Nico Hoerner, who just won the National League Gold Glove at second base earlier this week.

Jul 19, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner (2), back, celebrates with Chicago Cubs center fielder Christopher Morel (5) at the end of the game against the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Shortstop (Dansby Swanson), left field (Ian Happ) and right field (Seiya Suzuki) are also currently occupied. Other positions (like center field) seem sure to be taken care of in the near future. Third base is open, and it was by far his most-played position in the minors, but inaccuracy on throws has been an issue (four throwing errors in 180 2/3 innings).

Meanwhile, the first-base picture isn’t unclear. Last year’s free-agent signings, Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini, were disappointments. Matt Mervis didn’t excel as hoped in his first shot in the big leagues. Patrick Wisdom isn’t an everyday answer. Cody Bellinger and Jeimer Candelario, who both spent time at the spot in the second half, are now free agents.

Could Morel play another position and have success? Potentially, but right now, first base is an open spot on the diamond he might be able to fill.

“I think he’s a very capable second baseman; we have a guy that just won a Gold Glove [Hoerner], so that’s not the spot we’re going to put him,” Hoyer said. “I think another team might be able to put him there and have him do that. I think it’s both marrying those things. We have two really capable corner outfielders. I think that’s why some of the conversations around first base make sense, because it kind of fits our needs and potentially his needs.”

Not that Hoyer is expecting the transition to come easily. Morel being long and athletic helps, but first base is still a spot he has no real experience with at the professional level.

“With that position, too, you’ve got to put a lot of work in,” Hoyer said. “The hard part about first base is that it certainly doesn’t require a lot of things that second base or third base do, but the footwork around the bag, understanding the positioning and things like that can be really challenging. I think that’s a big part of it.”

The Cubs really have nothing to lose by seeing if first base is a spot Morel can succeed at. He has too much potential to make him a permanent designated hitter right now, and maybe first is where he can unlock the defensive part of his game.

He’s also a potential trade chip this winter, one others teams might be willing to acquire in exchange for players who better fit the Cubs’ roster needs. Getting a little work in at first base, then, could also help show off even more versatility in Morel’s game.

Regardless of what the future holds for the Cubs and Morel, getting the 24-year-old some work at first base isn’t a bad thing. Nobody has been able to take hold of that position since the Cubs traded Anthony Rizzo at the 2021 deadline.

If Morel can be the one to finally take the mantle as their “first baseman of the future,” there’s no harm in finding out now.

Does Cubs hiring Craig Counsell signal a big offseason ahead?

Ryan Herrera — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 03:47:49 +0000

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Jed Hoyer took a risk and sent shockwaves around baseball by bringing in Craig Counsell, replacing the Cubs’ sitting manager David Ross with the hottest manager on the market.

Back during his end-of-season press conference in early November, the Cubs’ president of baseball operations called the September collapse “painful.” Tuesday at the GM Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., Hoyer said he still felt like the team “left wins on the table.”

His response was to go out and sign someone who’s widely considered among the elite managers in baseball, someone Hoyer hopes will help keep the Cubs from another ending like that.

But what exactly does this mean for the rest of the Cubs’ offseason?

Nine years ago, the Cubs made a similar move. With Theo Epstein in charge and Hoyer working as the team’s general manager, they fired Rick Renteria in order to bring in Joe Maddon to fill the manager position. They then traded for players like Miguel Montero and Dexter Fowler and signed players like Jason Hammel and Ross, with Jon Lester’s signing being the crown jewel in an offseason that turned into a special year in 2015.

That year, the Cubs brought in a high-profile manager and then spent big money to improve the roster. Is bringing in Counsell a sign that we’re in for a repeat?

“I don’t think that we signaled that we’re going to have some crazy, aggressive offseason,” Hoyer said. “But certainly, I really like our position. If there are moves, even big moves that will help us continue that trajectory, we’ll definitely do it.”

So, he’s not saying the Cubs are going to go all in for 2024. That tracks with what he’s said since the start of the rebuild process; they will take the necessary steps to get where they want to go.

To be fair, the Cubs did commit over $300 million to free agents last winter, so they have shown a willingness to spend. But even that only got them to 83-79 and outside of the postseason again. Would going all in now get them to the level of a World Series contender? Perhaps, but as we’ve seen with the Mets and Padres, it’s not a guarantee.

“I think we have a really good core of players on the big league team, I think we have a core of good arms, I think we have a really good farm system,” Hoyer said. “Do I think we are right now able to compete with the Braves or the Dodgers? No. We need to figure out how to get there. Do I think that’s a one-year process? Maybe, but it’s probably a multi-year process to get to that place. But that’s obviously the goal. “

That process is what Hoyer had to sell Counsell on. As with Dansby Swanson, who last year signed a seven-year, $177 million contract based on what the Cubs laid out for him, Counsell too had to be sold on how exactly Hoyer and his front office envision the rest of this process going.

“I’m really excited about our direction and where we’re going in our building process,” Hoyer said. “I certainly sold Craig on that really hard, not only the core players we have on the team but also the young players we have that are sort of mounted on the border, so to speak. And then I also feel like we have financial flexibility. I believe in that.”

Added Hoyer: “I felt like the sell job on the direction of the team and where we are, that was real. I felt like he asked a lot of questions about, ‘Talk about your plan, what is it?’ and kind of walking through it in real detail. So that part was kind of me selling me and the front office and what we have.”

Hoyer hasn’t publicly gone into much detail on what this offseason could look like. He hasn’t committed to going into the luxury tax or anything like that. But also he hasn’t rejected the possibility that he could be ready to be even more aggressive to improve the roster. And that possibility still has fans buzzing.

Will the Cubs will re-sign Cody Bellinger?

Are they going to reel in Shohei Ohtani this time around?

Could they make a major trade for Juan Soto or Pete Alonso?

Will any of the free-agent starting pitchers be on their way to Wrigley Field?

Only time will tell if Hoyer is willing to go those routes to bolster the roster. Certainly, fans are hoping for it, especially after Hoyer made the big swing to land Counsell. To many of them, the Cubs need to follow that up with a big offseason.

Hoyer doesn’t necessarily see it that way, because he has faith in where the Cubs are at right now and where he believes they’re headed. But if the right offseason moves to keep the team on an upward trajectory also end up being “big” offseason moves, then he seems willing to do them.

“I don’t think [hiring Counsell is] a signal that somehow we’re going to have the biggest and boldest offseason,” Hoyer said. “If we do, it’s because things lined up for us.”

Why Jed Hoyer made Craig Counsell the new Cubs manager

Ryan Herrera — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 03:19:59 +0000

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — As the calendar approached the end of October, a thought formed in Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer’s head.

Craig Counsell, at the time still under contract with the Brewers and interviewing with them and a group of other potential suitors, would become a free agent in November. The Cubs still had David Ross occupying their manager’s seat. But if the one widely seen as the best on the market could make it to free agency, Hoyer felt like this was a chance to make a shocking but necessary move.

“It just felt like an exceptionally hard decision but one that I felt like I had to make if the opportunity was there,” Hoyer said Tuesday afternoon at the GM Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz. “From my perspective, my job is to figure out how to win as many games as we possibly can in the short term and the long term, and there was nothing about this move that I didn’t feel like met that criteria.”

When the time came and Counsell did hit free agency, Hoyer reached out. Any communications they had in the days after were kept as quiet as possible, with Hoyer keeping an inner circle (which included chairman Tom Ricketts) “literally as small as I could make it.”

It didn’t take long for them to shock the baseball world. Hoyer flew to Ross’ home in Tallahassee to share his decision in a “very hard, emotional conversation” and general manager Carter Hawkins passed along the information to most of the players, and then the Cubs officially announced Monday that they hired Counsell to replace Ross as their manager on a five-year, $40 million deal.

But why did Hoyer target Counsell?

That answer isn’t all that complicated. It’s not that Ross managed himself out of job, and it’s not that Hoyer was looking to get rid of him.

It’s just that he didn’t feel like he could pass up the chance to bring in one of the premier managers in the majors leagues.

“This is no knock on Rossy, who I think incredibly highly of, but I just felt like Craig is at the very, very top of the game,” Hoyer said. “It’s hard to rank managers, but certainly, he’s at the very, very top of the game and I’ve really admired watching him from afar.”

Counsell is recognized as one of the best managers in baseball. Since taking over the Brewers’ job in 2015, the team is 707-625 (.531) in parts of nine seasons. They’ve gone 487-384 (.559) since the start of 2018.

Hoyer actually pointed to the 2017 season, when Milwaukee went 86-76 for Counsell’s first winning season as a manager, as the point when the Cubs’ executive really started to appreciate what he does in that role. Hoyer didn’t consider the two teams’ talent levels to be all that close.

But Counsell, as he seems to do every single year, managed to get more out of his team than expected and forced the Cubs to keep them at bay into late September.

While the Cubs’ golden era crumbled after an NLCS appearance that year, Counsell’s teams continued to play consistently great baseball. The Brewers have gone to the playoffs in five of the last six seasons (they have only nine total postseason appearances in franchise history) earning two wild card spots and three division titles.

Even when preseason predictions have them finishing lower in the standings, they always seem to prove them wrong.

“I think making this like, ‘Craig Counsell was the whole reason,’ of course not,” Hoyer said. “But I do think, consistently, they’ve outperformed expectations, and that’s borne out both with your eyes and when you look at the data.”

Craig Counsell’s lack of playoff success was not a factor in the decision

Some criticism aimed at Counsell is his playoff record. The Brewers went 7-12 in postseason games during his tenure. The closest they got to a ring was a Game 7 loss in the NLCS in 2018.

But that lack of playoff success didn’t deter Hoyer from making this move.

“To me, the greatest sign of a really good manager is his ability to navigate the marathon,” Hoyer said. “I think that the sprint is really hard. I know that’s how managers make the Hall of Fame is by winning a couple World Series, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But I do think that what’s happened over a dozen or so games overshadows all those different seasons.”

Hoyer hopes Counsell brings some of at least that regular season success to the Cubs so they can get back to the postseason. He felt like they “left wins on the table” in a season where one more ‘W’ over the the Marlins or Diamondbacks (whom they went a combined 3-10 against) would’ve gotten them into the playoffs.

The new man in charge, one who’s succeeded on the edges of the game, feels like someone who can help keep the Cubs from leaving more on the table moving forward.

Counsell impressed beyond results

When the two of them met last week, Hoyer learned more about Counsell’s mindset as a skipper. He got an understanding of how Counsell operates both on the field and in the clubhouse.

And more importantly, he discovered how much importance Counsell places on the manager’s job.

“He’s unbelievably sharp,” Hoyer said. “Talking to him about clubhouse stuff, blending the clubhouse with analytics and the best way to get the most out of people was incredibly impressive. And just his sense of what his job entails and the responsibility of his job. It really stood out to me.

“This guy wants to handle every single part of the process and views that as his responsibility, and to me, that’s really impressive the way he views his chair as so much more than making a bunch of in-game moves. He views the totality of everything as his responsibility and talked about that in an amazingly articulate way.”

Hoyer believes in Counsell as the one to help this team reach its loftiest goals. But he also publicly discussed only a month ago his faith in the man who used to have the job.

The decision to move on wasn’t an easy one, and the history Hoyer shares with Ross certainly didn’t make it any easier. But there wasn’t might not have been another opportunity for him to make a managerial move like this again, and for the good of the Cubs, he knew he had to do it.

“Ultimately what I always try to get to a point of is if it’s a really hard decision and I’m willing to make it, then I feel like that means that I’m doing the right thing for the organization,” Hoyer said. “Yes, it was incredibly hard to let Rossy go. I felt like it was my responsibility to the organization to do that.

“That’s why I can sit here and say, yeah, I think Rossy’s a very capable manager and has a really bright future. I thought the best thing for this fan base was the move that I made. It was really hard, but I think that’s why Tom hired me.”

Cubs hire Craig Counsell as manager, ending David Ross’ tenure

Ryan Herrera — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 19:12:59 +0000

The Chicago Cubs took the offseason’s first major swing, and it was a stunner.

Former Brewers manager Craig Counsell is headed to Wrigley Field, replacing current skipper and 2016 World Series hero David Ross.

The news was reported by several sources on Monday morning with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic landing the first report. The Cubs confirmed the move Monday afternoon. Reports have said the deal is for five years and $40 million.

pic.twitter.com/U900yvblgd
— Ryan Herrera (@ryan_a_herrera) November 6, 2023

The Cubs’ higher ups had publicly backed Ross as their manager after the season. Chairman Tom Ricketts even went as far as to state, “He’s our guy,” on the last day of the year.

They were pleased that Ross kept the team on track even when it fell 10 games below .500 in June, which led to a run where the Cubs reached 12 games over .500 three months later and were in the playoff race until the last weekend of the season.

“Do we have disagreements and do we have no heated conversations? Of course we do, but you will with any manager,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said of Ross during his season-ending presser. “They have to make so many different decisions. They have so many things to weigh, so obviously, we work hard all the time to give him the right information.

“If there are things that we disagree with or things that we can do better, he’s very open-minded to that. He’s constantly trying to improve. Ultimately, we’re very pleased with the job he did this year, and I think that he should be proud of the fact that that group kept fighting for him.”

However, the team’s September collapse — when they lost 15 of their last 22 games to miss the playoffs — left some doubt about Ross, who still had another year with a club option for 2025 in his contract. Though it’s likely not the case that he managed himself out of a job, the Cubs ultimately decided a move was necessary.

Ross, 46, finishes his Cubs managerial stint with a 262-284 record in four seasons. He guided his group to the playoffs in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season (34-26), before roster turnover led to losing seasons in 2021 and ’22.

The Cubs ended the 2023 season 83-79 and just shy of a postseason berth.

“Today, we made the difficult decision to dismiss David Ross as our major league manager,” Hoyer said in a statement. “On behalf of the Cubs organization, we express our deep gratitude for David’s contributions to our club, both on and off the field. First as a player and then as a manager, David continually showcased his ability to lead. David’s legacy will be felt in Chicago for generations and his impact to our organization will stack up with the legends that came before him.

“Going forward, our major league team will be managed by Craig Counsell. We look forward to welcoming Craig at Wrigley Field early next week.”

Counsell, 53, managed for parts of the last nine seasons in Milwaukee, posting a 707-625 record.

Since 2017, the Brewers have posted a 573-460 record, good for a .555 winning percentage. Milwaukee made the playoffs in five of those seven years, finishing with at least 86 wins in each of the six 162-game seasons.

Counsell has become recognized as one of the best skippers in baseball, and he was widely considered the best option on the free-agent manager market. Leading a ballclub in the smallest market in baseball to winning seasons year in and year out has helped him build that reputation.

After Milwaukee’s ended and Counsell hit the market, the bidding war seemed to come down to either the Brewers or the Mets.

Counsell is from the Milwaukee area having grown up roughly 10 miles away from American Family Field. His father, John, worked for the organization, and he played for the Brewers for six of his 16 big league seasons. Meanwhile, Counsell’s former boss with the Brewers, David Stearns, is now the president of baseball operations in New York, and the Mets pursued him hard.

But Monday, the Cubs pulled off a move that shocked the baseball world, replacing their sitting manager with one of the best on the market in one fell swoop.

Cubs’ Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ win NL Gold Glove Awards

Ryan Herrera — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 01:38:55 +0000

The Cubs knew what they were doing when they went out and added Dansby Swanson, an All-Star and Gold Glove Award winner in 2022, to their roster last offseason.

While not as heralded of a hitter as the other big three shortstops in last year’s free agent class, he had performed as not just one of the best defenders at that position but in all of baseball. The Cubs weren’t going to turn into an explosive team offensively, but bringing in Swanson was a major boost to their run prevention.

The issue was that they already had Nico Hoerner manning the position, and he finished second among all shortstops in baseball with 13 Outs Above Average (behind only Swanson’s 20). After finally getting the shot to be the Cubs’ everyday shortstop and proving he could excel, would he be willing to move back to second to accommodate Swanson?

“I love playing shortstop,” Hoerner said at the Cubs Convention in January. “It was always a dream of mine to play shortstop in the major leagues. Got to do it for a full season this year. I was proud of how I carried myself, [how I] did it. Always will be confident in my ability to do that, but the needs of our team are very clear. It’s not an issue moving forward at all.”

With both Swanson and Hoerner on board, the Cubs had put together what they believed to be the best middle-infield duo in the big leagues. And with Ian Happ coming off his first Gold Glove season in 2022, they believed they would have one of the best defenses in baseball.

That was confirmed Sunday night when Swanson, Hoerner and Happ were named the National League Gold Glove Award winners at shortstop, second base and left field, respectively. It’s the first time the Cubs have had at least three Gold Glovers in a single season.

“Really cool anytime you can be a part of Cubs history like that,” Happ said. “First to do something is pretty special. The organization has been around a long time, so there’s a lot of credit to a lot of the other guys that were on the field every day playing with us, but cool to be the ones that are a part of it.”

THE BEST UP THE MIDDLE DEFENSE IN BASEBALL pic.twitter.com/vY55s9pILl
— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) November 6, 2023

Swanson is now a two-time Gold Glover, taking home the hardware in back-to-back seasons. He was chosen over fellow finalists Fransico Lindor (Mets) and Ezequiel Tovar (Rockies).

Swanson had a spectacular defensive season on the North Side. He finished the year with 18 Defensive Runs Saved, tops among all shortstops and sixth among all major league defenders. His 20 OAA were also the most in baseball at any position. Swanson did make 11 errors (including five from Aug. 28 to the end of the year) which is his most in a season since 2019, but he still finished with a .981 fielding percentage (major league average at shortstop was .973).

“He’s such a good defender,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said at his season-ending press conference last month. “It’s sort of insulting say, ‘He’s so steady defensively,’ because he made so many spectacular plays, but just knowing that the ball hit to shortstop is an out — always.”

Hoerner was a Gold Glove finalist back in 2020, when he was the Cubs’ primary second baseman, but he had yet to win the award in his career. Moving to second base could’ve presented a challenge (particularly since MLB implemented new rules to restrict defensive shifts before the season), but he made the transition back to second seamlessly.

Hoerner, up against Ha-Seong Kim (Padres) and Bryson Stott (Phillies) for this year’s Gold Glove, continued to be a defensive star. His 12 DRS were tied for the most among qualified NL second baseman, and his 14 OAA were second in the NL. He also finished with a .988 fielding percentage.

“It’s so much time that goes into that and people that help along the way,” Hoerner said. “I especially think of my dad and just the time that he spent with me, just the endless ground balls and whatnot. So, a lot of really great people that make things like this possible, and cool to get recognition for it.

Obviously, the defensive recognition didn’t stop there. Happ won the award over Eddie Rosario (Braves) and David Peralta (Dodgers), and it’s also his second straight season taking home the hardware. Happ led all major league left fielders in outfield assists with 12. He finished second to Rosario among NL left fielders with 2 DRS.

Happ is the first Cub since Anthony Rizzo to win consecutive Gold Gloves (Rizzo won three straight from 2018-20), and he’s the first Cubs outfielder since Jason Hayward to go back-to-back since Jason Hayward (2016-17).

“It’s just super, super special,” Happ said. “Winning the first time was really awesome, but to be able to back it up with another one and have that on the resume, I think that’s a really special thing. To be able to do it in Wrigley again and twice in a Cubs uniform is a pretty cool thing that I’ll cherish.”

More gold gloves than Christian Yelich.

Fact. pic.twitter.com/731yNmaA1v
— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) November 6, 2023

Cubs’ Marcus Stroman opts out of last year of deal: report

Ryan Herrera — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 17:06:30 +0000

Nobody was sure on what Marcus Stroman would do as far as his contract situation goes, but many expected him to return to the Cubs for the final year of his deal in 2024.

Instead, Stroman is opting out of that final season, leaving $21 million on the table to look for another contract. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman was first with the report.

Breaking: Marcus Stroman opted out of his Cubs contract and will be a free agent. He had $21M and a year to go.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 4, 2023

Stroman, who signed a three-year, $71 million contract before the 2022 season, had been vocal about wanting to remain with the Cubs long term. He even posted on social media that he’d tried to engage the front office in contract extension talks.

My agent and I made multiple attempts to engage them on an extension. Club wasn’t interested in exploring it now. Will see how it plays out! Love everything about the @Cubs organization!
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) June 10, 2023

The first half of his season certainly helped his case.

In his first 16 starts, Stroman looked like a Cy Young candidate. He went 9-4 during that stretch and posted a 2.28 ERA and a .191 opponent batting average, which both led qualified National League starters and ranked third in baseball. The gem of his first three months of the season was a one-hit, complete-game shutout of the Rays on Memorial Day, and performances like that helped earn him just his second-career All-Star Game selection.

“He was an All-Star in the first half,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said at his season-ending press conference. “He was exceptionally good and a candidate to start the game at that point.”

The second half of his year, though, made it feel much less likely that he would hit free agency again after the season.

Stroman started the Cubs’ finale against the Cardinals in London, where he gave up six runs (three earned) in just 3 1/3 innings. His season unraveled from there. In seven starts from June 25 to July 31, Stroman posted a 9.00 ERA and opponents hit .318 against him.

A hip issue played a part in his struggles, and the Cubs put him on the 15-day injured list in early August to address it. When he was set to be activated a couple of weeks later, though, Stroman was revealed to have suffered a right rib cartilage fracture. That injury ultimately kept him out until Sept. 15, before he returned to pitch twice out of the bullpen and started two more times down the stretch. Stroman finished his season 10-9 with a 3.95 ERA.

“He struggled in July, and then obviously was hurt for August,” Hoyer said. “I give him a lot of credit for working hard and trying to come back, but he never quite got back to where it was. I think that’s the only way to look at his season. He was really crucial for us in the first half. But then obviously, we certainly could’ve used him in the second half, but he was injured and unable to help us.”

Stroman never shied away from discussing potentially hitting free agency again this winter when asked about it, but that second half left doubt that he would opt out of his deal. Now, that question has been answered.

Stroman opting out doesn’t eliminate the possibility of the two sides working out a new deal this offseason, so he still could return to the rotation next year.

For now, in house, Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon are locks, and Kyle Hendricks (club option for 2024) would join them should the Cubs bring him back next year as expected. Jordan Wicks and Javier Assad performed well when needed and are solid options. Hayden Wesneski and Drew Smyly (player option) disappointed in the rotation, but both could potentially play their way back into the good graces of the starting pitching group.

With Stroman’s $21 million salary in 2024 now off the books, the Cubs have more money to float around in free agency. They also have the prospect capital to be players in the trade market. How they fill out their rotation will be one of the more interesting topics to follow this winter.

Delmetrics: The Chicago Cubs celebrate their World Series anniversary, just before entering a most important offseason

Cody Delmendo — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 15:02:05 +0000

Happy 2016 Chicago Cubs World Series anniversary to all who celebrate. If you’re reading this, you likely celebrate. No matter how much longer we wait until the next Cubs’ World Series championship, this day, November 2, will always be special. We all remember where we were, who was with us, and how we felt when Kris Bryant made that wet throw across the diamond to Anthony Rizzo in Cleveland to conclude Game 7.

It was one of the happiest days of my life.

I’ve noted on the CHGO Cubs Podcast this month how this year’s postseason only emphasizes how special the 2016 Cubs really were. While division winners like the Braves, Orioles, Dodgers, and Brewers were eliminated early this October, the 2016 Cubs were the best team in baseball the entire regular season before they eventually went on to break the 108 year curse. That group was a special one.

It’s hard to believe it’s been seven years, but also a cruel reality when you consider the frustration the Cubs have given fans since the end of the 2018 season. From the lack of supplementing the roster to extend what many refer to as ‘the golden era’, to the end of ‘The Core’ at the 2021 trade deadline selloff, to the beginning of the second rebuild in 10 years, to the September collapse this season, it’s no hot take to say Cubs fans deserve better. Since winning Game 7 in Cleveland, the Cubs have won four playoff games. All of those came in 2017 en route to their third consecutive NLCS appearance.

Not much has happened since then except for two playoff appearances in 2018 and 2020 that led to a grand total of zero wins. That’s not acceptable considering the Cubs consistently rank near the top in most expensive baseball experiences in MLB.

But that rant is for another day.

Despite the collapse at the end of this season, the Cubs did take positive steps forward though.

The prized offseason free agent signing of Dansby Swanson was everything they signed him for. Swanson led the majors with 20 Outs Above Average while leading all shortstops with 18 defensive runs saved. He finished his first year with the Cubs with a 4.9 fWAR, which was higher than any shortstop from last offseason’s free agent shortstop class that includes Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Carlos Correa. Swanson was one half of arguably the best defensive middle infield in baseball with Nico Hoerner.

The Cody Bellinger Revenge Tour was no joke, either. The change of scenery for Bellinger was exactly what he needed. He was easily the Cubs best position player and now looks to end 2023 with a huge payday this winter. His .307/.356/.525 slashline, 134 wRC+, 4.1 fWAR, and .881 OPS were all his highest since the 2019 season when he won the NL MVP.

Justin Steele built on his 2022 campaign by not only becoming a reliable starting pitcher but shoving himself into the NL Cy Young race. Steele solidified himself as the Cubs ace finishing the season with a career-high 173.1 innings pitched with a career-low 3.06 ERA.

There were plenty of other fun individual stories, but these three were the catalysts that helped the Cubs play meaningful games in September for the first time in a full 162 game season since 2019. The Cubs want more than just meaningful games in September and despite exceeding preseason expectations, Jed Hoyer and Tom Ricketts both said at seasons end 2023 was not a success.

This offseason is the time for Hoyer and Ricketts to show that as the Cubs enter what feels like the most important offseason since the winter of 2015. The difference between these two scenarios is momentum. The Cubs entered the offseason post-2015 with plenty of it after their first NLCS appearance since 2003. This offseason comes with nothing close to that after missing the playoffs for the third straight season, or fifth straight not counting the 60-game season in 2020.

Fans could easily look at both teams post-2015 and 2023 and confidently believe the future is bright. The present Cubs have one of the top minor league farm systems in baseball with studs like Pete Crow-Armstrong and Cade Horton to go with a core of really good players in Swanson, Hoerner, Ian Happ, and Seiya Suzuki. Organizationally, the Cubs are as healthy as they were entering the 2015 season.

Others like Yan Gomes, Christopher Morel, Mike Tauchman, and Miguel Amaya figure to play key roles as well. Bellinger has to be the No. 1 priority to re-sign and if not the Cubs have already popped up in trade rumors related to Juan Soto. It’s easy to get ahead of ourselves and dream about what this offseason could bring.

The Cubs aren’t just a few pieces away from becoming World Series contenders. A lot needs to happen this offseason for those expectations in 2024. If all things trend correctly with their top prospects and if the Cubs become major spenders this winter, however, next season could be a highly anticipated one. It’s NL Central champions or bust for me headed into 2024. NLCS aspirations are what I would like to have if the Cubs deliver the type of offseason I hope for.

Do the Cubs see that though? Do they believe that path is possible next season? It’s hard to answer considering how the last three seasons have gone. While they’ve made smart moves, they also haven’t made a huge splash. This organization is one of the few left that has yet to hand out a contract for over $200 million. This team lacks superstar talent. This is the offseason to fix that. It’s time to act big.

With the Rangers officially winning the 2023 World Series last night, the clock counting down to Spring Training is now ticking. Between now and March, we’re going to learn just how serious this organization is about putting a winning product on the field.

My optimistic mindset believes we will be very satisfied with this offseason, but there is a part of me with doubt. This is an offseason to remove any doubt I and many other Cubs fans have in the Cubs front office in building a real World Series contender. Fans don’t want any more excuses. They want results. Now is the time to use the resources the Cubs front office and ownership continue to talk to us about.

Can Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki carry over his end-of-2023 play?

Ryan Herrera — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 10:27:56 +0000

Multiple times during the last conversation Seiya Suzuki had with the media before the end of the Cubs’ season, he called back to the error he made in Atlanta on Sept. 26.

You’ll remember Suzuki missing what seemed like a routine fly ball, leading to the Braves scoring two runs to take an eighth-inning lead. When the Cubs badly needed a win, the error was ultimately the nail in the coffin for that game. And instead of gaining momentum in their playoff push, the error became one of the lasting memories of the Cubs’ September collapse.

“Looking back, that error in Atlanta, I think that was pretty huge,” Suzuki said through interpreter Toy Matsushita during the last series of the season in Milwaukeee. “That’s obviously something that I’m going to reflect on during the offseason and make sure that I won’t do the same thing next year.”

The fact is, though, that Suzuki didn’t lose that game on his own.

After building a 6-0 lead — with Suzuki driving in two of those runs in his 2-for-5 night — the offense couldn’t tack on any more over the last three innings. The pitchers couldn’t keep down an Atlanta offense it had on the ropes for the first half of the game, and even if Suzuki catches the ball, with the way the bullpen had struggled leading up to that game, there’s no guarantee they keep them off the board in the bottom of the ninth.

Nobody on the team blamed him at the time or at any point after, and they continued to try and keep him from dwelling on it.

“I think that part of why I know we have a good group is, I was there in Atlanta, I watched all the players one by one going up to him and trying to pump him up,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said at his end-of-season presser last month. “Certainly, it was a moment he’ll regret and he’ll think about a lot, but my hope is that he puts it in the rear view.”

There’s also the fact that, without Suzuki’s contributions over the last couple months of the season, the Cubs may not have even been in that spot in the first place.

Suzuki’s last 2 months of 2023

It’s not hyperbolic to say that once the calendar flipped to August, Suzuki was one of MLB’s best offensive performers. From Aug. 1 on, he hit .349 with a 1.072 OPs and a 183 wRC+. Each of those numbers was good enough to rank third among all qualified major league hitters during that stretch.

Also, remember that he was in a deep funk heading into the start of that month. In 46 games between June and July, Suzuki hit .212 with a .578 OPS and a 59 wRC+. He looked lost at the plate. It seemed like he was constantly guessing, and his confidence appeared to be as low as maybe it’s ever been since he joined the Cubs.

Manager David Ross limited his playing time through the first eight days of August, giving him two starts against only lefties and then having him sit for all but two innings in four games from Aug. 5-8. When Ross revealed he would keep Suzuki out of the starting lineup for a period of time, he never said it was anything long term. The goal was to give him time for a reset. After that, the Cubs hoped, he’d be able to snap out of the funk.

“I think [Suzuki’s] season, in some ways, it kind of mirrored a lot of our season,” Hoyer said. “He was hurt early in the season. He played OK. Didn’t really play to his potential, I would say, until July, and then he had a horrible stretch where he looked completely lost. To Rossy’s credit, he was sort of like, ‘Hey, let’s sit for a bit, let’s take some time off, let’s kind of clear your head,’ which is hard to do in the middle of the season.

“From that point forward, he was one of the best hitters in baseball.”

Yeah, no kidding.

Starting from Aug. 9 through the end of the year, Suzuki hit .356 with a 1.086 OPS and a 187 wRC+. All three ranked No. 2 in MLB in that time (his average fell behind only Mookie Betts’, the other two ranked just back of Marcell Ozuna’s).

Suzuki of course deserves credit for turning his own season around, but many point to that short break as a real contributing factor. While he wasn’t overly enthusiastic about having to miss games, Suzuki said he took that time to really focus on the mental aspect of the game — “I changed my approach, how I thought at the plate” — versus changing his mechanics.

He didn’t want to let the time off go to waste, so he bought into working on things behind the scenes. And the numbers show how much that paid off.

“To be honest with you, I didn’t really start off very well at the start of the season,” Suzuki said. “But in the second half, I was able to turn it around. That was something that I couldn’t do last year, staying consistent. I’ve been pretty consistent for the last two months, and I feel like I’m really, really confident now. I feel like it’s going to be a huge stepping stone for me heading into my third year.”

Can Suzuki carry it over to 2024?

To go from slumping to one of the best hitters in baseball that quickly was a revelation for Suzuki and the Cubs. He got back to having fun playing baseball — and who can’t when you’re playing that well?

But now, the question is if he can do it again over something much closer to a full season. Can he continue to be that guy going into next year, when the Cubs are hoping to take another step toward being legitimate contenders?

That’s what the Cubs are counting on. They paid nearly $100 million to bring Suzuki to Chicago from Japan before the 2022 season. But two years into a five-year deal, he hasn’t consistently been the hitter they hoped he’d be. Going back to his first big league season, he’s had enough rough patches that, before his extended hot streak to end 2023, some were already calling the signing a bust.

The discussion surrounding him has shifted away from that now, at least. His two-month production was a strong example of the type of hitter the Cubs believe they have in the 29-year-old.

“I thought everyone saw what he can be,” Hoyer said. “You look at the end of the season, you look at his numbers, the guy had close to an .850 OPS. Probably ended up a top 20-25 hitter overall in baseball. So, I think from an offensive standpoint, hopefully all Cubs fans realize, like, I think he looked like a true middle-of-the-order bat at the end of the year.”

Suzuki never expected the transition to the major leagues to be easy, but his experience two years into his MLB career might’ve been even harder than he imagined. Still, after finishing 2023 on a major high-note, he’s confident that he’s figured some more things out heading into a potentially pivotal third season in the majors.

“I knew [the transition] wasn’t going to be easy,” Suzuki said. “It’s not going to get any easier. But obviously, this year, I feel like I was able to be really, really confident in what I’m doing. That’s going to motivate me to work even harder next year. I’m just going to keep on working and make sure I get to overcome all these walls that are going to come in my way.”

Sep 12, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Chicago Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki (27) celebrates his hits a two run home run with catcher Yan Gomes (15) in the sixth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Craig Breslow leaves Cubs for chief baseball officer job with Red Sox

Ryan Herrera — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 01:25:19 +0000

The Cubs are losing one of their highest ranking baseball officials, as the Red Sox announced Wednesday they’ve hired Craig Breslow to be their chief baseball officer.

The #RedSox today announced that Craig Breslow has been hired as Chief Baseball Officer. pic.twitter.com/2gzs3XRWI7
— Red Sox (@RedSox) October 25, 2023

Breslow spent the 2023 season, his fifth in the Cubs’ organization, as an assistant general manager and senior vice president of pitching. He’ll take over for Chaim Bloom, whom Boston fired on Sept. 14.

The Cubs hired Breslow in January 2019 as director of strategic initiatives. In his five seasons in Chicago, he worked his way up the ladder in the front office. Before being given his latest title with the Cubs this past season, he was elevated to assistant general manager and vice president of pitching in November 2020 after being named director of pitching/special assistant to the president and general manager in October 2019.

Breslow became a trusted voice in Jed Hoyer’s baseball operations department. In a press release announcing his initial hiring back in 2019, the team said Breslow would “help to evaluate and implement data-based processes throughout all facets of baseball operations. He will also support the organization’s pitching infrastructure in player development and the major leagues.”

Since then, he has been credited with helping the Cubs revitalize their pitching infrastructure throughout his tenure. The last competitive window saw them struggle to develop homegrown pitching, but in 2023, some arms who’d spent their entire professional baseball careers in the organization were major contributors to the Cubs’ late-season playoff push:

Justin Steele, a 2014 fifth round MLB Draft pick, had a breakout season that had him firmly in the National League Cy Young conversation throughout the second half of the year.
Adbert Alzolay, signed in 2013 as an international free agent, emerged as a trusted late-inning reliever and thrived in the closer’s role.
Jordan Wicks (2021 first round pick) and Javier Assad (2015 international signee) provided valuable innings in the rotation down the stretch, with Assad also having success as a multi-inning reliever.

That’s not to mention some minor league pitchers who look well on their way to Wrigley Field in the near future.

Cade Horton, the Cubs’ 2022 first round pick, has developed into one of the best overall prospects in baseball (No. 29 on MLB Pipeline’s top 100). A healthy and effective Ben Brown, acquired from the Phillies at the 2022 trade deadline and currently MLB Pipeline’s 86th-ranked prospect, should be ready to make his big league debut in 2024.

With Breslow’s help, the pitching infrastructure has moved into a healthy place. His leaving is a blow to the organization, but the Cubs’ should be confident that the strides they’ve made can be sustained moving forward.

Breslow, 43, spent 12 seasons pitching in the major leagues. Five of those came in Boston, including the Red Sox’s 2013 World Series championship season. Breslow graduated from Yale University in 2002, where he earned a degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry.

What’s next for Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs?

Ryan Herrera — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 23:59:42 +0000

At this time a year ago, the Cubs didn’t know what they could expect out of Kyle Hendricks moving forward.

How could anyone? At that point, Hendricks had been officially shut down two months prior when an MRI showed he’d suffered a capsular tear in his right shoulder. He had already not started a game since July 5. An elongated rehab process meant he’d spend nearly 11 months out of game action.

Certainly, it would’ve been tough to know what to expect on the 33-year-old when he finally returned on May 25.

“I just love playing baseball, I love pitching so much, going out and taking the ball every fifth day for my guys. That’s what I love to do,” Hendricks said at the end of the Cubs’ season in Milwaukee. “It was a disappointing time when I was unsure. I didn’t know what was going to happen.”

Of course, Hendricks put together a season much more reminiscent of what fans had come to expect out of “The Professor” earlier in his career. He posted a 3.74 ERA and was worth 2.8 wins above replacement (FanGraphs), both his best marks in a 162-game season since 2019.

And the most important part about his rebound season was the fact that he remained healthy. Hendricks made 24 starts and never went back on the shelf. It wasn’t just his experience but his reliability that helped the Cubs go from 10 games under .500 in early June to a couple wins short of a playoff spot.

“I thought his season was exceptional given, truly, I didn’t have a great sense of what we were going to get out of him,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said at his end-of-season press conference. “He was confident going into spring training and throughout the winter that he was going to get back and be the old Kyle Hendricks, and he did. I was really impressed to watch (him perform). He worked on his velocity a lot, his arm strength, and I thought even touching some 90s in his last outing, he really had an exceptional year given what we were expecting.”

But without postseason baseball to prepare for at the beginning of the month, the focus shifted to where the Cubs and Hendricks go from here.

The team holds a $16 million (pre-bonus) club option on Hendricks for 2024. The assumption is that the Cubs will exercise that option after Hendricks’ performance this season. And if you ask all parties involved in that decision, it seems like a return next year is inevitable.

Said Hendricks: “I have full trust in whatever is supposed to happen will happen. Obviously, I love it so much in Chicago. My whole career playing in front of the best fans in the world, going out at Wrigley Field all the time. I wouldn’t want to trade that for anything, and they’re well aware of that. If it works for both sides, that’d be great, obviously, to be back.”

Said Hoyer: “Certainly, he’s been one of my favorite Cubs players to be around since we got here. Hard to imagine a better teammate. He redefines ‘low maintenance.’ He just does whatever the team needs, and it’s a joy to have him around. Obviously, I’m not going to negotiate anything with [the media] right now, but certainly, we want to keep him as a Cub for next year and beyond.”

Said Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts: “I think one of the great stories of the summer was his return to being as effective as a starting pitcher as, not quite 2016 Kyle Hendricks, but still very effective. It’ll be Jed’s decision on what to do with Kyle’s contract, but at this point, I would see him coming back.”

Hoyer has stated numerous times that the Cubs can never have enough pitching. That’s especially true for reliable starting pitching (on a reasonable contract) with high-level playoff experience. Hendricks proved this year that he can still provide that.

Assuming Hendricks is back in the rotation next year, the rest of the 2024 starting pitching group (as the roster is currently constructed) should include major leaguers Justin Steele, Marcus Stroman (can opt out), Jameson Taillon, Jordan Wicks, Javier Assad, Hayden Wesneski and Drew Smyly (can opt out). A healthy and effective Ben Brown most likely enter that mix eventually, and if Cade Horton continues to excel at the level he did in his first season of pro ball, he could also pitch his way into the big leagues next year.

That’s a solid foundation of depth in the starting pitching department, though adding a higher-end starter — and not just hoping for Steele to build on his Cy Young-caliber season as well as improvements from others in the mix — would likely bump the group up a tier.

Hendricks isn’t going to get that done on his own. He’s past his prime at this point in his career. It’s unlikely that he’ll ever reach the level he was at in the back half of the last decade, but giving his team a chance to win a majority of the times he took the ball wasn’t something we could’ve truly expected this season, either. Whereas five months ago his future in Chicago was very much uncertain, bringing him back in 2024 feels like an easy decision now.

If the Cubs go the route of just picking up the option on his contract, they’re confident he can continue what he was able to do in 2023. But Hoyer saying “next year and beyond” leaves open the possibility that the two sides could work out some sort of extension.

However that works out, keeping Hendricks around would be beneficial for a team looking to take that next step to legitimate contenders. Everyone knew he could still provide a positive presence in the clubhouse, but over the last few months, he’s had to re-establish that he could provide it on the mound, too.

Hendricks has answered the questions that surrounded him all last offseason. If the Cubs do bring him back, that should be a welcome reunion for both sides.

“I always try and stay positive,” Hendricks said. “I’d love to be here. Everybody knows that.”

Cubs shake up 2024 coaching staff, part ways with Chris Young, Craig Driver

Ryan Herrera — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 05:00:24 +0000

The Cubs’ coaching staff will have a different look in 2024.

Bullpen coach Chris Young and game strategy/catching coach Craig Driver will not return to the Cubs next season. Both coaches had been on David Ross’ coaching staff since the skipper’s first season at the helm in 2020. The team has not yet announced the 2024 staff.

Young’s first two years of major league coaching experience came with the Phillies, where he served as an assistant pitching coach in 2018 before being promoted to pitching coach the next season. He then moved to the North Side as the bullpen coach the following year, working under pitching coach Tommy Hottovy.

The bullpen over Young’s four seasons put together a 4.15 ERA, 16th among all 30 big league bullpens over that span. The Cubs’ relief corps in that time saw a number of veteran relievers — brought in on short-term deals — turn in successful seasons, and with the front office deciding to hit the reset button two summers ago, most were used to bring back prospects in deals at the 2021-22 trade deadlines to strengthen the farm system.

The same plan appeared to be in place at the start of this year, with Michael Fulmer and Brad Boxberger joining the bullpen. However, Boxberger ultimately spent a majority of the season on the injured list, and Fulmer was less effective in his early backend role.

Fortunately for the Cubs, Adbert Alzolay, Mark Leiter Jr. and Julian Merryweather emerged as Ross’ most trusted options in time to help turn the season around over the summer.

Leiter Jr. and Julian Merryweather succeeded as late-inning arms, while Alzolay thrived as the closer (he converted 22 of his first 23 save opportunities). Fulmer rebounded in a more high-leverage middle reliever role, and the four helped the Cubs’ bullpen post top-10 numbers in baseball in ERA (3.44, seventh), WHIP (1.19, fifth) and win probability added (4.11, third) between June 9 and Sept. 6 (when they went from a season-low 10 games under .500 to a season-high 12 games over).

However, the bullpen couldn’t remain at that level through the end of the season. Leiter and Merryweather both finished tied for 21st major league relievers in appearances (69, far and away the most in either’s career). Neither hit the IL in September but the duo was banged up, with Leiter even sitting out a week near the end of the month. Alzolay missed three weeks with a right forearm strain, and Fulmer made just one appearance in September in between separate IL stints with the same injury. The reliever group as a whole couldn’t pick up enough of the slack, resulting in this stat as the Cubs collapsed down the stretch:

The Cubs have now lost 5 games this month after holding a lead in the 8th inning or later.

That's tied for their most such losses in any single month over the last 50 seasons (June 1991 & September 1992).
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 28, 2023

While Young, who has been said to have a good working relationship with the players and the rest of the coaching staff, isn’t solely to blame for the bullpen faltering late in the season (injuries and young arms not making enough of an impact certainly played a part), the Cubs are opting to go in a different direction.

Driver was also on Philadephia’s coaching staff during Young’s tenure, spending 2018-19 as the Phillies’ bullpen catcher and receiving coach. He was the Cubs’ first-base/catching coach from 2020-21, before Mike Napoli took over at first base and Driver began handling game strategy duties heading into 2022.

Driver received praise throughout his four seasons working with Cubs catchers. In his first year on the North Side in 2020, Willson Contreras finished as a Gold Glove finalist. In 2023, he was had a huge hand in helping Miguel Amaya develop at the big league level after catching just 12 games in the previous three years.

How Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong can learn from his first taste of the big leagues

Ryan Herrera — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 16:00:33 +0000

For Pete Crow-Armstrong, learning what it will take to be successful in the big leagues started quickly.

The Cubs’ top prospect (and No. 12 in baseball, per MLB Pipeline) was called up on Sept. 11. He made his debut later that night when he pinch ran in the top of the seventh in Colorado. In the minors, he had loads of baserunning success (71 stolen bases in 214 games). With the Cubs in the heat of a playoff push, utilizing that area of his skillset (plus his defensive prowess) made a lot of sense.

After moving to second base with one out in the inning, Crow-Armstrong looked to put that on display. He’s become known for his aggressive approach on the basepaths aided by his immense speed. And when the count on Christopher Morel reached 0-2, he tried to put it to the test in the majors for the first time.

The result was not what he envisioned. Rockies catcher Elias Díaz fired over to third, catching Crow-Armstrong trying to swipe the bag. Instead of moving himself closer to home plate, or just staying in a spot where a base hit likely drives him in, he had to walk back to the dugout.

The initial taste of big league action was obviously a bit sour.

“I think I had a really good idea of of tendencies, I guess, from certain guys in the Rockies’ bullpen after one session of sitting down with Nap [first-base coach Mike Napoli] and kind of going over how to pick things out,” Crow-Armstrong said in a conversation with CHGO last weekend in Milwaukee. “But I didn’t execute it the right way.”

The 21-year-old, affectionally known as “PCA” by Cubs fans, learned throughout his first three weeks in the majors just how different things are. That play in Denver served as a wake-up call that not everything he did successfully while moving through the system will work at the big league level.

“That kind of just showed me that you have to be on your shit every second of this game,” Crow-Armstrong said. “Because when I want to steal a bag, I can’t really rely on my athleticism and speed anymore. It doesn’t work, because a lot of catchers like that are going to eat you up and spit you out if you don’t do things perfectly. I think that was a pretty good introduction into being like, hey, your preparation means more than almost anything. It sets you up for success.”

That first caught stealing wasn’t the only time Crow-Armstrong struggled during his first stint with the Cubs.

He had some amazing moments, for sure — who could forget those catches he made in the spacious outfield at Coors — the kind of moments that reminded fans why they should be so high on him. But his aggressiveness on the bases also got him into some trouble along the way, and his bat never quite looked major league ready.

Not that anyone expected him to come up and set the league on fire. Especially not when you take his role on this year’s Cubs team into account.

Crow-Armstrong was brought up for his baserunning and defensive prowess. That’s why he only started three of the 13 games he appeared in (just two coming before the Cubs were eliminated from postseason contention), with the others coming as a pinch-runner or a defensive replacement. In the minors, he was playing basically every game and getting daily chances to work through any struggles. But with the Cubs, his playing time was inconsistent. Winning was prioritized over development, and Crow-Armstrong wasn’t going to be afforded a bunch of opportunities he didn’t earn.

Adjusting to the majors is difficult for any rookie. Doing that while also learning to contribute in limited action during a playoff race presents another challenge. That had to be tough for him, right?

“Yes and no,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I think it was difficult for a second, just because I had to figure out what routine works for Pete Crow-Armstrong, the rookie who has a more specific role now. Playing every day, you get used to it and you get in your routine in each week you play down there. … So, I guess that would be the yes part of it. But no, because of the help and the guidance and people just vocalizing to me that I’m here for a reason and a purpose.”

Again, he had his issues on offense. He looked overmatched against major league fastballs in particular, posting a 51.7 percent whiff rate and only a .140 expected batting average on the pitch. He’d hit well at every level in the minor leagues, but in his short time with the Cubs, that didn’t manifest into much offensive success.

But that experience in itself might still benefit him in the long run.

“I sat down with him on Sunday and told him this: I actually believe that will end up being the single best thing that could happen to him, in a lot of ways,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said during his season-ending press conference. “He is a good hitter. I think he’s probably realized that he has to make certain changes offensively, and I think realizing that now is really key. This is the big leagues. This is the best league there is, and the pitching is a lot better than it is in the minors, and I think seeing that up close and personal and realizing, ‘OK, there’s probably adjustments I have to make.'”

For Hoyer, that also brought back memories of a young first baseman getting his first shot with San Diego in 2011 (for whom Hoyer was then the general manager).

“I watched Anthony Rizzo hit .141 over roughly 150 plate appearances in 2011,” said Hoyer in his message to Crow-Armstrong. “He was a top prospect. He had incredible minor league numbers. He came up to the Padres and literally hit .141. He looked terrible, and we sat him down at the end of the year and said, ‘OK, you saw what it’s about. You have to go make real changes.'”

The Cubs acquired Rizzo before the 2012 season, after Hoyer had joined the front office. What he then saw was a player who’d truly listened to that feedback, as “he had completely altered his swing” when he arrived to Cubs spring training and hit .285 after being recalled later that summer. But as Hoyer noted, “There’s no way he makes those changes if he doesn’t struggle.”

“Struggles are really, really hard to watch and struggles are hard to go through as a player, Hoyer said, “but if you take them to heart and you’re willing to go work on it, I think it can be the single best thing that ever happened. I really believe that.”

At such a young age, Crow-Armstrong seems to already be a pretty mature self-evaluator. He said he had conversations and received feedback from plenty of Cubs players and coaches. He also mentioned “checking off boxes” in terms of having different experiences, both positive and negative, that will now drive his offseason.

He’s already making a plan on specific things he wants to work on, too. That includes finding more consistency in his swing and his routine and striking the right balance between “too much tinkering to not enough tinkering” with them. He’s also looking to get better on going back on balls hit straight over his head (which is sort of refreshing to hear from someone with a rare 80-grade on defense).

Might it have been a bit humbling to take his lumps during his time with the Cubs this season? Possibly. But for both Crow-Armstrong and those who have high hopes for him, learning what he needs to do to make it at this level will be extremely beneficial for his future.

“Certainly, I wish he’d come up and hit .500 and led us to four more victories,” Hoyer said. “That didn’t happen, but second to that, having that experience where I think he’s going to take that to heart and go make those changes I think is really important, because he’s going to be a good and very impactful player in this league for a long time.”

Will there be a reunion for Cody Bellinger, Cubs in 2024?

Ryan Herrera — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 20:50:10 +0000

As the Cubs move into the beginning stages of their offseason, one question stands out: Will Cody Bellinger return to the North Side in 2024?

Signed to a one-year deal last winter (with a mutual option for 2024, per Spotrac, which he’s almost guaranteed to decline) after being non-tendered by the Dodgers, Bellinger re-established his value as an extremely valuable two-way player for the Cubs this season. On top of him continuing to provide a very steady glove both in center field (4 outs above average) and at first base (1 OAA), he was also the best bat in the Cubs’ lineup, hitting .307 with 26 home runs, an .881 OPS and a 134 wRC+.

Not only did those numbers lead all Cubs with more than 32 plate appearances on the year, but they were each his best since his 2019 National League MVP campaign (and his average was a career-high). After a couple of down years in Los Angeles, thanks in part to injuries, Bellinger rebounded and looked much more like the hitter that took the league by storm early in his career.

Health played a role, and as he’s pointed out, so did just the overall consistency that had been missing for him. The fact that it was a contract year probably added some extra motivation, but that’s certainly not all that helped him resurrect his career in 2023.

“It’s never easy,” Bellinger said. “I just trusted my ability, focused on the game at hand, what’s at stake, me against a pitcher. Literally just trying to help, be the best version of myself, help his team. It’s a very challenging game, so I’m glad I was able to play how I wanted to play.”

Bellinger took care of his end of the deal, helping — and sometimes even carrying — the Cubs nearly to a playoff berth. The type of season he had, on top of the easy-going personality, endeared him to fans who are already clamoring for the front office to do everything they can to keep him.

“I told him this: ‘It’s rare to have a guy come in on a one-year deal and have that kind of connection with the fans by the middle of season,'” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said at his end-of-season press conference Monday. “It was really special, and he deserves a lot of credit for how hard he plays and the way he played. I think that’s what created that [connection].”

But the reality is that Bellinger (along with his group) bet on himself last offseason. He chose to sign the one-year deal with the Cubs to re-establish his value, and he’ll be able to cash in a year later as one of the top sluggers on the market.

Scott Boras is his agent, too, so he’ll be a major factor in negotiations. If that side waits out the market, will the Cubs be willing to wait as well? Because if re-signing him is as much of an offseason priority as it should be for them, then they might just have to.

“Obviously, I think the world of Cody,” Hoyer said. “We are certainly going to be in communication. If we are in communication, I’ll try to keep that as quiet as humanly possible. It doesn’t help us in any way to have that out there. But it’s good. I think you’re always trying to sell free agents on what it’s like to play in Chicago. There’s nothing better than having a guy experience it for a year and openly say he loves it. Certainly, it gives us a shot. We don’t have to recruit him very hard. I think he knows what this place is all about, and I know he loved it.”

Said Bellinger: “You never know how things are like anywhere else. I only know two places now. I think that this team is special with a great coaching staff. I definitely enjoyed my time.”

Having had Bellinger in the organization for a year is definitely an advantage, as Hoyer pointed out. It wouldn’t be a situation where a free agent is being recruited to a completely new team. Bellinger has gotten the chance to interact with this front office, coaching staff and roster, and he’s experience what it’s like playing in front of the Wrigley Field crowd with a Cubs uniform on. He knows what he’s getting if he decides to return.

“I had a great experience,” Bellinger said. “Love Wrigley Field. It’s a beautiful place. They’re great fans, very passionate, very loyal. I really had a great time playing for the Cubs organization and Wrigley Field.”

So, if that truly is an advantage, using it to get him back in the fold feels almost like a necessity.

During his season-ending presser last year, Hoyer discussed the need to add power to the lineup. The team played so many close games that season, and Hoyer thought “a little quicker-strike offense” would’ve led to the team being able to pull away more often.

That didn’t really manifest itself this season, either. The Cubs had six players with 20-plus home runs, but none with more than 26. They were average to a little above-average among the 30 major league teams in total home runs (196, 15th), isolated power (.167, 14th) and slugging percentage (.421, 11th). Respectable numbers, sure, but not the numbers they were looking for to help eliminate the randomness of close games (they were 21-24 in one-run games, for example).

Bellinger’s numbers were at or near the top of each of those leaderboards for the Cubs. So if they don’t re-sign him, they’ll be losing one of their best sluggers.

Despite missing the playoffs this season due to a September collapse, 2023 can absolutely be painted as a step forward for the organization. But there were flaws in the roster even with Bellinger in tow that need to be addressed this offseason. Losing him would mean another hole they’d have to figure out how to fill.

“The contributions he made will have to be replaced,” Hoyer said. “Obviously, we’d love to bring him back, but in a world where that’s somewhat uncertain, we do have to figure out a way to replace that offensively.”

With Boras as his agent, Bellinger’s free agency may not go as quickly as clubs around the league hope. Not that any suitors could sign Bellinger right now anyway, but Boras has a history of allowing things to play out to help get the best deals for his clients. While that’s a great thing for their end of negotiations, for the Cubs, that could present a challenge in their goal of building another roster with playoff expectations, not knowing if their plan will include Bellinger for potentially a few months.

But again, Bellinger’s rebound season played a major part in getting the Cubs to Game 161 without being mathematically eliminated from postseason contention. He’s still only 28 years old, and if the Cubs believe that rebound can last for the duration of his next contract, it seems it would be in their best interest to add him back to the lineup — however long getting a deal done might take.

“Our experience with him was fantastic,” Hoyer said. “We’d love to bring him back. We’ll have a lot of conversations with him. Obviously, it’s a process, and that process does not start now. It’s going to play out for a while.”

State of the Cubs: Jed Hoyer speaks at end-of-season presser

Ryan Herrera — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 04:27:43 +0000

Even in a season where the Cubs didn’t make the playoffs, there can be some successes to take away from it.

A former MVP returned to MVP-like form (and when he hits free agency this winter, they should have a good shot to re-sign him). A homegrown pitcher turned into a Cy Young contender. The clubhouse culture evolved into one where the players never gave up on winning, even when the season looked over early in the summer. There were positives that made it feel like the Cubs did take a step forward.

But when they don’t reach their goals, you can’t really call it a successful season. So it was refreshing to hear the one in charge acknowledge that, before reporters even had a chance to ask.

“Painfully, we did not finish the race,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said at his season-ending presser Tuesday. “Certainly, there’s positives to take from the season both organizationally and as a major league team, but right now, we’re sort of stuck thinking about what could’ve been and thinking about the painful last two and a half, three weeks. You can’t call something that falls short of your goal a success.”

That echoes what Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said Sunday during the team’s final game of the season. Even if outside expectations were less optimistic, the Cubs went into the year with the goal of making the playoffs. That didn’t always look realistic, particularly when the team fell 10 games under .500 on June 8.

But the team never gave up hope. The Cubs rallied to claw their way back into contention. They convinced Hoyer to not break up the group, and roughly three months later, they’d reached a season high 12 games over .500 on Sept. 6. That day, a team that a few months earlier was on the verge of selling at the trade deadline for the third straight year was given 92.4 percent odds to make the playoffs (according to FanGraphs).

Everyone knows what happened next. A swift three-week collapse saw them lose their lose their grip on a playoff spot. And rather than getting ready for a postseason game Tuesday, Hoyer was busy talking to the media about what could’ve been.

“Ultimately, we have to live with that,” Hoyer said. “I know it’ll motivate me all winter, and I know talking to our players and coaches and front office, I know it’s going to motivate them. But you can’t define something as a success when you fall short. I think as Tom said, those things are consolation prizes, and that’s not why we’re here.”

When collapses like that happen, the manager is often the first person to get the blame. He’s the head of the team, after all, so he becomes the scapegoat. And if you take social media with anything more than a grain of salt, it seems like Cubs fans are ready for someone new.

But like his boss and the players, Hoyer voiced his support for David Ross as the team’s skipper. Hoyer pointed out the successful summer, the clubhouse culture and Ross’ willingness to learn (considering his lack of managerial experience before taking the job) as big positives from the manager’s own performance in 2023.

Will they disagree on some things? Obviously they do (as they should). But at the end of the day, Hoyer still believes in Ross.

“Do we have disagreements and do we have no heated conversations? Of course we do, but you will with any manager,” Hoyer said. “They have to make so many different decisions. They have so many things to weigh, so obviously, we work hard all the time to give him the right information. And if there are things that we disagree with or things that we can do better, he’s very open-minded to that. He’s constantly trying to improve. Ultimately, we’re very pleased with the job he did this year, and I think that he should be proud of the fact that that group kept fighting for him.”

So, if it’s not “fire the manager” time for Hoyer, how do the Cubs improve? They barely missed the playoffs and ended up nine wins better than 2022, but that won’t be good enough next season — not for fans nor for anyone in the clubhouse or front office.

It starts with supplementing the roster. Hoyer pointed out the team’s overall offensive success (48.8 offensive runs above average, ninth in baseball, per FanGraphs’ metric). But we also saw the offense stall in September, repeatedly failing to get the “big hits” or add onto leads.

That probably hurt others areas of the roster. The pitching staff — especially the bullpen — lost expected contributors to injury or ineffectiveness both early in the season and in September, and the depth the Cubs thought they had ultimately wasn’t enough. So when the offense wasn’t clicking late in the year, that depleted staff ended up pitching in a lot of close games, where they weren’t able to hold enough leads to win enough ballgames.

That’s not all on the offense, as there were games when the hitters put up enough runs to win but the pitchers couldn’t keep the opponents at bay. That’s only to say that on the margins of the roster, there wasn’t enough depth at the end of the season to pick up the slack if another group was faltering.

Still, a solid group of players stood out as a foundation to build on. Whether it was a high-priced free agent (like Dansby Swanson), some homegrown arms (like Justin Steele and Adbert Alzolay), extended hitters (like Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner) or unexpected big contributors (like Javier Assad, Julian Merryweather and Jordan Wicks), the Cubs think they have guys who can be a part of winning in the immediate future.

“The shell of a really good team is there,” Hoyer said. “Obviously, we have to make additions and we have to find ways to improve, but I feel really good given where we were a year ago. The number of pieces we have that are contributing players on a really good team is there, and we just need to supplement that and play very similar baseball to this year — we just have to find a way to avoid the ups and downs as much and finish the race a lot stronger.”

But not all of those contributors may be around. Cody Bellinger will enter free agency this offseason, and he’s certainly played his way into being one of the top options on the market. The rotation should remain mostly intact, with Kyle Hendricks (2024 club option) expected to be back and Marcus Stroman (2024 player option) having to decide if he’ll still opt out after a rough second half, but neither are total guarantees just yet.

They didn’t go over the competitive balance tax threshold this season, but to keep some of their own players and also make other additions to supplement the roster, that may be necessary.

The Cubs aren’t tipping their hand, of course, and Hoyer was clearly not ruling that out.

“We’ve shown a willingness to do it,” he said. “I think it’s both a budgetary question, but it’s also just, we want to make sure that, strategically, you do it at the right time. We’ll have those discussions, but there’s no organizational mandate against it, as has been shown in the past.”

Those are all questions the Cubs will have to answer this offseason.

Next year, they want to get to the playoffs and beyond. To do that, they’ll have to make smart decisions to build a roster that can hold up over 162 games and finish strong. They didn’t do that last winter, but the stakes and expectations are higher now. Being in the same place next year — watching from their couches while other teams start playing October baseball — can’t be, and won’t be, good enough.

So while postseason play got underway Tuesday, 2024 begins now for the Cubs.

“I was hoping to have less of October to do offseason planning,” Hoyer said, “but certainly, we’ll get right to work.”

‘He’s our guy’: Cubs back David Ross as manager

Ryan Herrera — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 03:29:04 +0000

There’s enough blame to go around for the Cubs’ September performance. FanGraphs’ playoff odds gave them a 73.8 percent shot to make the postseason on Sept. 1, which reached a season-high of 92.4 percent five days later, but by the end of Saturday’s game in Milwaukee, they had officially been eliminated from playoff contention. So, who should shoulder the blame for that dramatic downturn? Ask David Ross, and it starts with him.

“I wouldn’t separate myself from any player, front office, coach. We’re in this together,” the Cubs’ manager said. “If we don’t get to where we want to get to, I’m the head of the team. I’m the manager of this team. The blame should come on me first.”

The team’s collapse in September felt like it featured gut-wrenching moment after gut-wrenching moment. The Cubs went 12-17 after the calendar turned to the fateful month, including losing 14 of 20 before they were officially knocked out mid-game Saturday. They went 2-8 in one-run games and 5-12 in games decided by three runs or less.

Again, Ross is willing to take the criticism and blame for the collapse. He understands how this business works. When a team wastes a golden opportunity to get back to the postseason, a lot of fan backlash will fall on the manager. That’s what he signed up for when he took the job.

But to the ones in the locker room and in the front office, it’s not that cut and dry. The players know they didn’t perform their best when it mattered most. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has acknowledged that the pitching depth the Cubs thought they built ultimately wasn’t enough.

They’re not making excuses for themselves. And they aren’t about let Ross be just another fall guy.

“That’s just who he is. He’s always going to take the brunt of it,” Kyle Hendricks said. “But no, it comes down to the players at the end of the day. We’re the ones that win and lose the ballgames. He can just put us in the best positions to succeed. And he did unbelievable. He’s grown so much, I feel like, every year. He’s just such a great leader of men and gets the confidence, gets the best out of everybody in here. Everybody loves going out there and playing for him and giving him our best. We just want to win for him.”

Ross’ bosses share a similar sentiment. They are very much aware that he had no managerial experience before they hired him. He would have to do some learning on the job, but they believed in his ability to lead and manage the ones who go out and play 162 games a year.

“I think Rossy did a great job,” Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said Sunday. “He creates a great clubhouse culture. The players love playing for him. He keeps a steady, balanced approach game in and game out that you need over the course of 162 games. I talked to him before the game today. He’s as disappointed as anyone that we just couldn’t quite pull it over the finish line.”

When told about the comments coming all the way from the top, Ross was grateful, of course. But his group had also just lost a ballgame, and the day before, they officially knew they wouldn’t be playing postseason baseball.

So, as expected, Ross didn’t just leave it at being grateful.

“I appreciate that, obviously,” he said of Ricketts’ comments. “We’ve got really good ownership. I’ve got a really good front office that I work for. The group is top-notch human beings. Sure, that feels good. Making the playoffs would feel better. Winning the World Series is going to feel better.

“I appreciate that, but I know the expectation here and hold myself to a higher standard than where we’re at. I want to get into playoffs. I know these guys do, that Tom does and Jed and [general manager] Carter [Hawkins]. The whole group does.”

Ricketts, Hoyer and players alike have all pointed to the summer that changed the season as an example of Ross leading in critical moments of the season. When the team fell 10 games below .500, they won 50 of their next 78 games to get themselves back in the race until the very end.

The players performing well had something to do with that, but they say Ross’ leadership played a role, too.

“It’s just a testament to him,” Dansby Swanson said. “With all the adversity that we experienced early on, and for him to be able to kind of right the ship or be able to manage — pun intended, I guess — our way through those tough times, it just speaks to who he is. … A lot of our personality comes from him as a manager. He’ll probably be critical of himself, but that’s just something that’s going to help us continue to grow and get better is his willingness to get better, which obviously bleeds over into the players and the rest of the organization.”

“When the team got down way below .500 and it looked like the season was over, he didn’t let it go,” Ricketts said. “Got the guys back and played hard, and we got to here. He was a big part of that. I think he’s a great manager.”

That stretch of the season is something the Cubs will reflect on positively. But that doesn’t erase what happened afterward. Like everyone else in the organization, Ross will have to reflect on what went wrong. He’s planning to sit down and have honest conversations on how he can improve with others who “will see your shortcomings more than you do.”

For him, getting “to here” — playing meaningful ballgames in September and just missing out on the playoffs — won’t be good enough next season.

Four years into his managerial career, Ross certainly has his critics. Whether it be lineups, bullpen management, relying on veterans too much or annything else that’s been thrown out there, plenty of fans are already ready for the team to move on. Some observers don’t believe he’s the one who can lead this ballclub to its loftiest goals.

But the Cubs think differently. They’re not convinced that Ross, whose contract includes a team option for 2025, can’t be the manager to get them where they want to go.

“You think about what makes a great manager, and part of it is you just have to create a clubhouse culture that can stand 162 days of intense scrutiny,” Ricketts said. “I think that in terms of getting players comfortable and getting them motivated, I don’t know if there’s anyone better than David.

“I think Rossy had a great season, and the players play hard for him. He’s our guy.”

State of the Cubs: Tom Ricketts talks Ross, Bellinger, offseason decisions & more

Ryan Herrera — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 04:00:19 +0000

The Cubs’ regular season — and heart-breaking September — officially came to an end following a 4-0 loss to the Brewers on Sunday. The result was meaningless, as they had officially been eliminated from playoff contention Saturday night, but where the team goes from here isn’t. And in the press dining room at American Family Field, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts met with the media to discuss just that.

Topics ranged from his own perception of the team’s September collapse to the manager’s performance to offseason decisions and more.

Here’s Ricketts’ chat with the media, lightly edited for length and clarity.

How do you view this season?

I’m pretty much, like every other fan is, a little disappointed. We set out a goal to make the playoffs, and we didn’t get there, so we didn’t achieve our objective. And that’s disappointing.

How would you describe the dichotomy from going 10 games under .500 in June to getting back into it, and then obviously, how the last three weeks played out?

It kind of felt like it was four different seasons. I mean, we got off to an OK start and then we slumped and then rallied back, and then of course, September has been so rough. But just like everyone else, it’s tough to not achieve your goal. It’s tough when you’re just a couple games away from making the playoffs. And it’s extra tough that, for a while there, it looked like it was pretty likely. So, it feels like something got taken away, and all I can really say at this point is that I hope that the guys all take it to heart and come back in the spring ready to go.

Can this be considered a good season if you don’t make it to the playoffs?

I don’t think that we want to start calling seasons we don’t make the playoffs good seasons. I think that’s a consolation prize, and we don’t play for consolation prizes. That said, there were some great moments, some great performances. There was a lot of excitement, and the organizational health is as strong as it’s been in a long, long time. So, with all the disappointment that we have, there’s a lot of optimism as well.

What do you think of the job David Ross did navigating through the “four seasons,” as you put it?

I think Rossy did a great job. He creates a great clubhouse culture. The players love playing for him. He keeps a steady, balanced approach game in and game out that you need over the course of 162 games. I talked to him before the game today. He’s as disappointed as anyone that we just couldn’t quite pull it over the finish line, but I think he did a good job.

You’ve talked about it in the past, Jed Hoyer has talked about it in the past: There are times to really push in financially. Do you believe this winter is one of those times when you can really be aggressive?

Well, I mean, we were aggressive this year. And I think we’ll stay in those levels. I’ll let Jed decide where the dollars go. That’s his job. But the nice part is that we do have a fair number of people coming through the system right now that could be real producers for us over the next few years. And on top of that, we have a core — something we couldn’t say two years ago. We have a handful of guys that are going to be here for the next few years, and we’ve got five or six positions locked down for next year with guys who are well above major league average players. That’s a great start. It’ll be up to Jed to figure out where to go from here to supplement those guys, to put a winning team on the field, but I think we’re going to come into spring training optimistic and ready to go.

Are you prepared to go into the luxury tax if that’s what it takes to get you guys there?

Yeah, we’ll see where that shakes out.

You saw how Cody Bellinger thrived in this hitting the group. How big of a priority is it for you to try and see what you can do to keep up in Chicago?

Obviously, Cody had a great summer. He’s a great teammate. I mean, any team would love to have him, including us. But the free-agent markets, we’ll see where that goes, and that’ll be up to Jed on how he puts those resources to work.

Can you see it from the distanced point of view of a fan? You’ve got a guy in Bellinger in his prime years who was the best player on the team this season. Now, all you’ve got to do is just re-sign him.

I don’t have to be a distanced view of a fan. I am one, and I’ve talked to 1,000s of them. I get it. I mean, I get it. We’d love to have him back. That’s something that’ll be up to the baseball guys and the free-agent markets.

As a matter of philosophy, do you think the Cubs should be a team that keeps its best players, even when it means paying for someone who’s at an MVP level?

In general, I think that there’s something to keeping your best players, right? I mean, obviously, we extended Ian, we extended Nico this year. We’ve got six more years of Dansby, so we’ve got a good core that we’re definitely holding on to. It’d be nice. It’s a Jed decision, and it’ll be up to Jed, Cody and the free-agent markets.

How far are you willing to go to wait for Scott Boras [Bellinger’s agent] and how much money he might want?

Once again, we’ll just have to see. I can’t speculate on any of that right now.

Is it still more years than dollars, organizationally, in terms of your long-term concern? It’s not what you pay the player in a particular year, just kind of a longer-term [contract] is what kind of concerns you.

Obviously, the free-agent market, the dollars that you spend per year is one thing, but you’ve seen contracts go 9, 10, 11 years. You just have to be very careful when that’s the market standard, because obviously, players typically decline over those years pretty substantially. Other teams are paying the price for some of those contracts. I think Jed has done a very good job of making sure our contracts are rational, and I’m sure he’ll do the same thing this offseason.

What do you think this team and organization needs to do to take that next step forward off of this season and getting into the postseason and beyond?

Obviously, with our core, we have a handful of positions that are taken care of for next year. We’ve got to find the pieces to put with them, and hopefully, some of those pieces come internally. I mean, we’ve got a lot of good, young players, and hopefully, some will be ready to go next year so that we can bring homegrown talent to supplement the guys that we have out there. That’s the ultimate way you maintain consistency and try to stay in the playoff hunt for years to come.

What did you think of Dansby Swanson’s first season?

I thought Dansby had a very successful first season with us. I think it was the right signing for us. The infield defense and chemistry with Nico was pretty remarkable. You didn’t have to worry about… any play that was makeable was made, for the most part. Also a great teammate and a great leader, so I think that was a win-win for everybody.

Is your expectation going into next year that’s that on paper, it’ll look like a team that should be able to compete for the World Series?

The way we look at it is we want to be able to have a team that can make the playoffs every year. As you guys know, baseball playoffs, there’s a lot more upsets and a lot more surprises in the baseball playoffs. And the key to consistency, it’s not to build a one-year super team, but to try to get to the playoff as often as possible. We do that by finding guys that you like, giving them extensions, solidifying your core, and then trying to supplement them with guys from your system and the occasional free agent. And that’s going to be our strategy going forward.

What’re you most proud of from this season?

I would say that the thing that I’ve been most proud of this season is the way the players responded to adversity that they faced in June. We had a bad west coast road trip, and I think a lot of players and a lot of teams, being 10-12 games under [.500], decide that the season was over and just mail it in. Instead, the guys came back and pushed really hard, particularly after the All-Star break, and made their case to add as supposed to subtract. I think the way they responded to that adversity is something anyone can be proud of.

There was a likability and accountability to this team that fans responded to. What do you think of that?

I think it starts with a manager that everyone respects, all the players respect. Rossy is just a great guy and a great manager. And then just getting the right kind of character guys. The Dansby’s and the Nico’s and the Ian’s, they’re accountable guys and they’re good teammates to each other. I think that’s how you build winning teams now, with that kind of character in the clubhouse.

Do you view Ross as the manager for this team when the time is right to win?

I think Rossy had a great season, and the players play hard for him. He’s our guy. I like him a lot. He had a good year. I mean, once again, going back to what you’re proud of, when the team got down way below .500 and it looked like the season was over, he didn’t let it go. Got the guys back and played hard, and we got to here. He was a big part of that. I think he’s a great manager.

Are you optimistic that Kyle Hendricks (team option) has a future here beyond this season?

Obviously, we have a team option on Kyle, and I think one of the great stories of the summer was his return to being as effective as a starting pitcher as, not quite 2016 Kyle Hendricks, but still very effective. It’ll be Jed’s decision on what to do with Kyle’s contract, but at this point, I would see him coming back.

Have you had any conversations with Marcus Stroman (player option) about next season?

I said hi to him this morning in the clubhouse, but I haven’t talked to him. And that wouldn’t be for me to talk to him, anyway. That would be something that he and Jed and maybe agent talk about.

On a general note, is baseball back to where it needs to be?

I think baseball had a very good year. Attendance is up 8 percent or something like that, which is solid. [World Baseball Classic] was a big success. And then we also have some new teams in the mix, the Orioles and the Reds. Even the Pirates had a good first half. I think attendance is good, I think competitive balance is in a great place right now. I think this was a great year for baseball in general — just needed us in the playoffs to make it perfect.

How would you describe Hoyer’s style as the No. 1 executive and how he’s executed the plan?

Jed’s style is very thoughtful. He wants to talk to anybody, he collects information, he comes into decisions open-minded. I think he’s one of the best presidents of baseball or GMs, whatever you want to call it. He really does a great job of seeing the full battlefield, the full picture, and I really enjoy working with him. I think he had a great year, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do this offseason.

How have you seen him grow since he took the job?

He already was a GM before, so he didn’t really have to grow that much. But I always knew that, in all the years I worked with him as he was kind of junior to Theo, I knew that he was ready to be a general manager at any point. There were a lot of teams that tried to grab him over those years. I’m just glad he stayed with us.

The manager takes a lot of heat from the fans. What else is it about Ross that you think makes him a great manager?

You think about what makes a great manager, and part of it is you just have to create a clubhouse culture that can stand 162 days of intense scrutiny. I think that in terms of getting players comfortable and getting them motivated, I don’t know if there’s anyone better in the league.

Cubs officially eliminated from MLB playoff contention

Ryan Herrera — Sun, 01 Oct 2023 08:59:00 +0000

MILWAUKEE — A high-scoring affair at American Family Field on Saturday saw the Cubs pull out a 10-6 win over the National League Central champion Brewers. A win that ended up not meaning much of anything.

If the Cubs had any real control left over their postseason fate with one game left in the regular season, this win would’ve felt huge. It might’ve galvanized the team a bit more, or at least let them breathe a sigh of relief after four straight frustrating losses on the road.

But inside the clubhouse after the victory, there was no celebration. No talking about coming back out for the regular season finale and giving themselves another shot. It was obvious that the reality of their situation had sunk in.

Entering Saturday, the only scenario in which the Cubs could make the playoffs was this: They needed to win both of their last two games in Milwaukee, the Reds needed to at least split their last two in St. Louis, and the Marlins needed to drop both of their last two in Pittsburgh plus their suspended game against the Mets that was scheduled to be resumed Monday, if necessary.

Cincinnati held up its end of the bargain, losing 15-6 to the Cardinals. But Miami wasn’t about to let the Cubs’ playoff hopes stay alive for another day. The Marlins beat the Pirates, 7-3, completing their ‘W’ as the Cubs were grabbing their bats for the top of the eighth.

No wonder Miguel Amaya pinch-hit for Yan Gomes that inning and Pete Crow-Armstrong replaced Cody Bellinger in center field the next frame. There wasn’t really a reason for Cubs manager David Ross to keep all of “the guys that got us here” in the game, because Miami’s victory clinched its wild card spot and officially eliminated the Cubs from postseason contention.

“It stinks,” said Jameson Taillon, who pitched four scoreless innings out of the bullpen and earned the save in his first big league relief appearance. “I was just thinking this would be a really fun team to compete with in the playoffs and pop champagne with. This is a great group. That was probably the most challenging year in my career, and just showing up every day was so much fun here. This is a great crew, from the clubhouse staff to the coaches to the players — all the way through. It definitely hurts, but we made our bed, and we have to lie in it.”

“Definitely hurts to come up short, which is what we did,” said Nico Hoerner, who was out of the lineup after fouling a ball off his left knee during the Cubs’ loss Friday. “We were in a really strong place to go to the postseason recently and did not play our best in the final two weeks — which obviously left us short. That part is really real and stings.”

The Cubs only have themselves to blame. They’ve gone 7-14 over their last 21 games with just one left to play. Before that stretch, on Sept. 6, they sat 1 1/2 games back of the Brewers in the division and 1 1/2 back of the Phillies for the top wild card spot. FanGraphs’ playoff odds gave them a 92.4 percent chance to make the playoffs that day as they were on a 50-28 run. They legitimately looked like a playoff team with potential to make noise.

That's what it looks like. pic.twitter.com/q6Biul6NQo
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) October 1, 2023

So, how does a team playing that way ultimately lose out on a playoff spot?

“You earn your right to go to the postseason,” Ross said. “We have not played postseason-caliber baseball for a team that deserves to be in the postseason as of late. That’s just a fact. To get into the big dance, you’ve got to play well, and you’ve got to play well when it matters. We haven’t.”

Obviously, there’s a strong belief in that clubhouse that the team took a step forward.

Not only will they end with their best record in a 162-game season since 2019 (which they can tie at 84-78 with a win Sunday), but they responded to adversity time and time again this year. From climbing back to respectability after falling 10 games below .500 in June to winning eight games in a row to convince the front office to not sell at the deadline, this group showed it had the ability to at least fight like a winner — which is part of building a solid foundation for a winning culture.

But there’s also the fact that, by getting themselves in those holes in the first place, this season showed why stacking wins early in the season can be just as crucial as doing it at the end.

“I think what we learn is that those games even earlier than that — April, May, June — they count,” Gomes said. “They’re really important, you know? That’s what going into the end of September, we started just locking it in on those games. I think we’re going to take a little bit more of a step forward and realize that every single game of the year counts.”

The Cubs had some success stories. Justin Steele turned into a Cy Young candidate. Adbert Alzolay looked like he had the makings of a top-tier closer. Jordan Wicks and Javier Assad were young players who contributed and look like strong options on the future pitching staff.

Bellinger had his best season since he won the NL MVP in 2019. Gomes was the team’s most clutch hitter all season. Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson have formed probably the best defensive middle infield duo in baseball.

So yes, there were successful steps taken this season — but the fact is this team won’t look the same in 2024.

Bellinger is set to hit free agency again. Gomes and Kyle Hendricks’ contracts contain club options for next season, while Marcus Stroman’s has a player option. There’s no guarantee any of them are back next year.

Now, certainly, the team shouldn’t look exactly the same next year. Improvements have to be made to the roster (a third/first baseman? More bullpen help? Another upper-tier starter?). If the Cubs are serious about making a deep postseason run next year, they’ll have to be big players in the trade and free-agent market.

But that doesn’t mean the end of this group’s run isn’t tough on them. They are very much aware that they had a golden opportunity to earn a playoff spot that not many outsiders would’ve predicted going into the season, but they blew it.

Again, they seemed to fight their way through adversity all season, but all that matters is that they couldn’t do it once more in the end. That’ll leave a bitter taste in their mouth throughout the winter — and hopefully, that’ll motivate them to not let it happen again next season.

“We’re going to have to come back next year and be tested all over again and have to improve on a lot of areas,” Ross said. “Right now, just disappointment. I think we can all feel that. We can all soak that in, remember how that feels, use that this offseason to get better and continue to grow and come back next year and take another step forward.”

Cubs playoff update: Win out and hope for wild card help

Ryan Herrera — Sat, 30 Sep 2023 17:00:00 +0000

Here it is, the biggest two-game stretch of the season for the Cubs. All that matters is that, if they can’t take these last two games in Milwaukee after dropping the series opener in extra innings, it’s impossible for the Cubs to make the postseason.

That’s a steep fall from where they were three weeks ago, but that’s the situation they now find themselves in. It still may not be enough if the other National League Wild Card challengers don’t falter at the same time, but it’s all the Cubs have left to do to give themselves a chance.

Here is CHGO’s daily update on the Cubs’ postseason hopes and where things stand with the rest of the playoff contenders.

Play of the Day

Dansby Swanson should win his second straight Gold Glove Award this season. He leads all NL shortstops in defensive runs saved (17) and outs above average (19). He’s played stellar defense at the position for a Cubs team who came into the season with the expectation that run prevention would be its key for success.

But down the stretch, Swanson didn’t look as crisp. Of his 11 errors in 2023, four of them were made in September. Three of those came in just one week of games, and two happened during the Cubs’ last homestand while their playoff odds continued to shrink. That doesn’t include some other miscues that didn’t go down as errors but were uncharacteristic for their defensive leader.

That’s why it was great to see Swanson come up big for the Cubs with two gems in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday (which you can see here starting at the 2:53 mark, via Marquee Sports Network). No one will ever question Swanson’s defensive ability, but with the season winding down, some wondered why his performance on that side of the ball seemed to be waning.

Those two plays, though, should inspire some confidence that, well, he’s going to be just fine.

Quote of the Day

“I think that’s easy to let happen, but I know this group and the adversity that we’ve faced all year. It’s kind of our DNA to just continue to fight and grind. That’s who we are. That’s what’s made this year so amazing in so many ways, just this group being able to really come together in moments like that and really grind and battle through things. If we would’ve let things affect us, we wouldn’t be in the situation we are right now. It’s been a pleasure so far, and I know that we’re looking forward to two more opportunities to put ourselves in position to make the playoffs” — Swanson, on if battling back into the playoff picture might’ve worn the Cubs out by the end of the season.

Standings

The NL Central race is over, and the Phillies have already locked up the top wild card spot. It’s also now impossible for the Cubs to jump the Diamondbacks in the standings, so earning the last wild card is their only shot at the playoffs.

First, a reminder that there’s no more Game 163. Of the teams still not out of the race, the Cubs would lose the tiebreaker (head-to-head record) to the Diamondbacks, Marlins and Reds.

Here’s how each of those teams fared Friday:

Cubs: Lost to the Brewers
Diamondbacks: Lost to the Astros
Marlins: Beat the Pirates
Reds: Beat the Cardinals

Again, the Diamondbacks own the tiebreaker, so there’s no path for the Cubs to take the second wild card spot. Here’s the only scenario remaining for them to sneak into the postseason:

First, the Cubs need to win their last two games of the season. They literally cannot afford any more losses this weekend
Next, the Reds, who have now tied the Cubs in the standings (and would finish ahead based on the tiebreaker), need to at least split their last two games in St. Louis. That way, the Cubs would finish a game ahead of them
Finally, the Marlins need to lose both of their last two games in Pittsburgh, requiring their suspended game against the Mets (which would be resumed Monday, if necessary, with them leading 2-1 in the top of the ninth) be played — and they’d need to lose that one, too

It’s fair to say it would take a miracle for the Cubs to reach the playoffs, because that’s how it feels. But this is their only path to playing postseason baseball in 2023.

Schedules

Only two games remain on the Cubs’ regular season schedule, and again, they need to win them both. If they don’t pull out the series win in Milwaukee, their season is over. But even if they do, it may still not be enough.

Here are the remaining schedules for the other teams still mathematically in the wild card hunt:

Diamondbacks: vs. HOU (2)
Marlins: @ PIT (2), @ NYM (1, if necessary)
Reds: @ STL (2)

Odds

According to FanGraphs’ playoff projections, the Cubs’ odds at clinching a wild card spot have fallen all the way to 3.9 percent after Friday. They have the lowest odds of all four teams still in the wild card race. The Diamondbacks (94.5 percent) and Marlins (91 percent) are still the heavy favorites to be the final two teams in, and the Reds (10.6 percent) aren’t out of it just yet.

Today’s pitching matchup

Jordan Wicks (4-1, 3.00 ERA) has been exactly what the Cubs needed during this last month of the season.

Called up at the end of August, Wicks quickly ingrained himself in the rotation. For some rookie pitchers, getting thrust into a starting role in the middle of a playoff race might be a big challenge, but he hasn’t looked at all overwhelmed by the moment. As the Cubs’ pitching staff has had its issues over the last month, Wicks has done a nice job of helping to stabilize the starting group.

While he has given up six earned runs in 10 1/3 innings over his last two outings, his start Sunday also featured his third career quality start (in just six starts). Saturday will be the biggest start of Wicks’ young career, but with their playoff hopes legitimately hinging on the outcome of this game, the Cubs need him to deliver.

Milwaukee will counter with Eric Lauer (4-5, 5.48 ERA). A solid arm in the Brewers’ rotation the last two seasons, Lauer’s 2023 was impacted by a lingering issue in his right, non-throwing shoulder. He hasn’t pitched for Milwaukee since May 20, as he was placed on the 15-day injured list two days later. Since then, he’s posted a 5.04 ERA in 13 minor league appearances (10 starts).

Tweet of the Day

The Cubs lost games the last 3 nights started by Darius Vines, A.J Smith-Shawver and Colin Rea…Tonight they were finished off by Caleb Boushley who was making his MLB debut. Tough week.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) September 30, 2023

Cubs chances at playoffs nearly done after loss to Brewers

Ryan Herrera — Sat, 30 Sep 2023 10:02:23 +0000

MILWAUKEE — The 2023 season isn’t over for the Cubs (82-78), but that’s mostly just because math says it isn’t.

Because of the way the last few weeks have gone, and because of the distance between the Cubs and the teams they’re fighting against to reach the postseason, only a minuscule amount of hope really remains that they can complete the playoff push.

About 1 1/2 hours before the Cubs lost 4-3 in 10 innings to the Brewers, their chief competitor for the final National League Wild Card spot was securing the opposite result. Over 500 miles away at PNC Park, the Marlins (83-76) scored four runs in the eighth inning to complete a late comeback in their victory over the Pirates.

With that, the Cubs’ odds at a playoff appearance are currently as slim as can be.

Even a few days ago, there were a few scenarios in which the Cubs could find themselves playing past Sunday. Now, there’s only one left that would get them into the postseason — win their next two games in Milwaukee, hope the Reds (82-78) at least split their last two in St. Louis and pray the Marlins lose their last two in Pittsburgh and their suspended game against the Mets (which they lead 2-1 in the top of the ninth) that would be resumed Monday if necessary.

The Cubs don’t have the tiebreaker over either of those two teams, and they won’t be able to jump the Diamondbacks (84-76) in the standings since the best they can do now is tie them (but lose the tiebreaker). So, they have to finish at least one game ahead of Miami and Cincinnati to get into the postseason.

“The same as it’s been,” Cubs manager David Ross said of the team’s mindset going into the last two games of the season. “We’ve got to win every game. It’s been that way for a while now.”

After they finished a sweep of the Giants on Sept. 6, the Cubs’ odds of making the playoffs sat at 92.4 percent (per FanGraphs). They’ve gone 6-14 since then. Those odds are down to 3.8 percent, and they could hit zero by the end of the game Saturday.

“There’s no quit in this team. I feel like we’ve fought hard all year,” Dansby Swanson said. “And even during this stretch, I feel we’ve been fighting. Just haven’t been able to come up in the big moments. It’s obviously frustrating. Nobody wants it more than us. Definitely just been tough, for sure.”

It feels like we were watching a group running on fumes, even though Ross disagreed with that description, saying “I don’t think I see a lack of energy, a lack of focus — any of those things.” But this is team that has spent so much energy throughout the season digging themselves out of holes in the standings. A team that seemingly has been playing must-win games since mid-June and almost certainly since the All-Star break.

Running out of the gas — though not an excuse to fans watching or anyone in that clubhouse — might be real when they’ve constantly been grinding out games, fighting their way back to the position they’re in now. Getting to the finish line doing that was never going to be easy.

“Across the league, everybody is in the same spot. We all play the same amount of games,” said Kyle Hendricks, who shutout out the Brewers the first four innings but ended up allowing three runs in 4 1/3 frames. “I guess we’ve been scratching and clawing to get our way back in for a while. Every ballgame has meant a lot going back for a couple months, so that could be playing a part in it, but at the end of the day, just a little bounce here, a bounce there not going our way. I think it just chocks up to ‘That’s baseball’ sometimes. Guys are just grinding. Everybody is beat up. They’re giving it all they’ve got. It’s just not coming out our way right now.”

Friday’s loss had a little bit of everything that we’ve seen this week, in terms of the ways we’ve seen the Cubs lose games in gut-wrenching fashion this week. Like Wednesday in Atlanta, they were walked off in the 10th inning. There was another defensive miscue by Nico Hoerner as he fumbled a potential double-play ball in the fifth, and Hendricks was charged with an error when he dropped the ball while covering first base on a grounder in the third.

The Cubs didn’t put up much of a fight offensively against a more ideal pitching matchup, letting Milwaukee’s Colin Rea toss five scoreless innings (seriously, in the last three games, they’ve avoided the likes of Max Fried, Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton, Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta, and they didn’t win any of them).

Swanson held himself accountable for his offensive performance postgame. Though he has had some big games over the last two months of the season, it’s not wrong to say he’s underwhelmed offensively in that time. From Aug. 1 through Thursday, he hit .219 with a .703 OPS. And even though he made some of those slick defensive moves we’ve come to expect out of him Friday, he also went 0-for-4 on the night as the Cubs struggled to find consistent offense again.

“Just playing bad, which I own,” Swanson said. “Obviously, I come to work every day with the expectation of playing well, and just haven’t performed in moments recently. It sucks and definitely something I’m freaking working on, but just not happening.”

To their credit, the Cubs seem like they’ll fight until their season is over. There won’t be any coasting through these last two games of the year as long as winning both could help them get to the playoffs.

“We have a group that hasn’t quit all year,” Ian Happ said. “It’s not going to happen tomorrow.”

“We’ve got two more chances,” Swanson said. “I know it sounds cliche, but we’ve got another opportunity to come to work tomorrow and put together a good performance and give ourselves a chance.”

The problem? It feels like the Cubs would need a miracle for two wins in their next two games to really matter anyway.

Cubs playoff update: Hanging on by a thread after Atlanta sweep

Ryan Herrera — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 16:00:00 +0000

In Atlanta, the Cubs suffered just a back-breaking sweep at the hands of the Braves. There’s no other way to spin it. They really couldn’t afford to drop all three games, even against the current top seed in Major League Baseball, but that’s what happened. And now, they hit the road to end the season against the team at the top of the National League Central.

The Cubs have actually performed well against the Brewers this season, splitting the season series thus far. But the stakes are as high as possible at this point, as they sit a 1/2 game out of the NL Wild Card without a tiebreaker over the teams above them. They simply have to win this series, and a sweep seems almost necessary.

That may still not be enough, of course, because they don’t control their postseason fate. But they can’t worry about anything other than taking care of their own business these next three games. Do that, and at least they’ve given themselves a chance.

Here is CHGO’s daily update on the Cubs’ postseason hopes and where things stand with the rest of the playoff contenders.

Play of the Day

Every game in this three-game sweep had a costly error. For a team built on run prevention, that’s a sure-fire way to cost you games against the best team in the majors.

On Thursday, it was Ian Happ whose miscue (which you can see here at the 0:24 mark, via Marquee Sports Network) played a role in the loss. Atlanta’s Eddie Rosario led off the bottom of the second with a line drive to the left-center gap. Happ seemingly tracked it down and made the play on a slide, but the ball popped out of his glove and fell to the grass for a two-base fielding error. Had he caught it and the rest of the inning played out the same, Marcus Stroman throws a scoreless frame. Instead, the Braves were able to tack on two more runs in a game the Cubs ultimately lost by two.

Like Seiya Suzuki’s error Tuesday and Nico Hoerner’s error Wednesday, this wasn’t the sole the reason the Cubs lost. But against a team like Atlanta, you almost have to play perfect baseball, because they’ll take advantage of any extra opportunities you give them. And on Thursday, that’s exactly what happened.

Quote of the Day

“You have no choice. That what you’ve got to do. You play this game as hard as you can and see where it shakes out. It doesn’t change the mentality that we have to go play our best brand of baseball tomorrow” — Ian Happ, via reporters in Atlanta, on turning the page after the sweep.

Standings

The NL Central race is over, and the Phillies have already locked up the top wild card spot. Earning one of the other two bids is Chicago’s only shot at the playoffs, and right now, they’re among five teams still mathematically in the race.

First, a reminder that there’s no more Game 163. Of the five teams battling for the last two spots, the Cubs own the tiebreaker (head-to-head record) over only the Padres, while they’d lose it to the Diamondbacks, Marlins and Reds.

Here’s how each of those five teams fared Thursday:

Cubs: Lost to the Braves
Diamondbacks: Lost to the White Sox
Marlins: Game suspended vs. Mets
Reds: Off
Padres: Off

Even with Arizona’s loss to the White Sox, the Cubs remain two games back of them. Without the tiebreaker, they would have to go 3-0 while the Diamondbacks go 0-3 this weekend to pass them in the standings.

Miami’s game against the Mets was suspended in the top of the ninth due to rain, which will be made up Monday if necessary. Still, with the Cubs’ loss Thursday, they’re now a 1/2 game back of the last wild card spot. For them to make that suspended game mean anything in terms of the wild card race (i.e. the Marlins would need to win in New York to finish tied in the standings and thus win the tiebreaker), the Cubs would need to out-win them by one game (3-0 vs. 2-1, 2-1 vs. 1-2, 1-2 vs. 0-3) over the weekend and force Miami to go back to Queens to complete it.

The Cubs remain ahead of Cincinnati and San Diego by one game and three games, respectively, but all that matters is that they don’t hold control of their postseason destiny. They still have to win ballgames, but they also have to rely on help from other teams to get to October.

Schedules

A frustrating sweep in Atlanta has almost ended the Cubs’ playoff hopes. They still have a shot, but they need to turn things around quickly entering the last series of the year in Milwaukee — and hope their opponents falter at the same time.

Here are the remaining schedules for the other teams still mathematically in the wild card hunt:

Diamondbacks: vs. HOU (3)
Marlins: @ PIT (3), @ NYM (1, if necessary)
Reds: @ STL (3)
Padres: @ CWS (3)

Odds

According to FanGraphs’ playoff projections, the Cubs’ odds at clinching a wild card spot have dropped to 26.3 percent after the sweep. Among the five teams still making the push, the Diamondbacks (97.9 percent) and Marlins (68.3 percent) are massive favorites to be the final two teams in. The Reds (7.6 percent) are remote contenders, while the Padres — though not yet officially eliminated — are given 0.0 percent odds.

Today’s pitching matchup

With their season basically hanging in the balance, there may not be anyone else the Cubs would want on the mound to face Milwaukee than Kyle Hendricks (6-8, 3.66 ERA), considering how little big-game atmospheres affect him (he started two of the biggest games in franchise history, after all).

Hendricks has a solid 3.40 ERA in his career against the Crew. At American Family Field, he owns a 3.59 ERA. This year, he held the Brewers to two runs (one earned) across six innings on July 4 and one run (not earned) across six innings on Aug. 30. That should at least provide some confidence that he can give them a chance to win in the series opener.

Hendricks is also currently on a strong stretch of starts (2.90 ERA in his last seven), but the Cubs might need even more from “The Professor” to keep their postseason hopes alive.

Milwaukee will counter with Colin Rea (6-6, 4.74 ERA). Rea has been worse at home (5.19 ERA in 14 appearances) than on the road (4.27 ERA in 11 appearances) for the Brewers in 2023. He’s got a a 4.97 ERA in the 21 games he’s started. Facing Rea is more ideal for the Cubs than some of the other arms Milwaukee has in that rotation, but then again, so were Atlanta’s last two starters. With time running out on their season, the Cubs have to take advantage of the matchup.

Tweet of the Day

We'll see what happens in Milwaukee (and with the resumed Mets-Marlins finale). The math ain't great. The playoffs are now extremely unlikely. Play it out. And we'll just see.

Time to go sleep in a puddle of tears.
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) September 29, 2023

Cubs playoff update: Bullpen falters, Cubs lose wild card position

Ryan Herrera — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 16:00:00 +0000

That’s now two potential wins the Cubs have squandered in the late innings in Atlanta. Two wins that would currently have them in playoff position. Instead, they’d be on the outside looking in if the season ended Wednesday.

Four games remain, but the Cubs’ chances of making the postseason have fallen with every loss. Things won’t get any easier, either, with two playoff teams standing in their way and a taxed bullpen not getting one of their top reinforcements back for at least another day.

There is still some hope, despite how much it has dwindled the last two nights. They’ve got four games left to play good baseball and win some ballgames. It won’t be enough if they don’t get some help from other teams, but it’s all they can do at this point.

Here is CHGO’s daily update on the Cubs’ postseason hopes and where things stand with the rest of the playoff contenders.

Play of the Day

The double play that wasn’t. A painful error by the Cubs’ potential Gold Glove second baseman (which you can see here at the 1:40 mark, via Marquee Sports Network) that didn’t immediately cost them the lead but may have had a domino effect later on.

In the bottom of the seventh, with runners at the corners, nobody out and the Cubs clinging to a 3-1 lead, Jameson Taillon got Marcell Ozuna to hit a grounder to Nico Hoerner a few feet away from second base. It looked like the type of routine double play we’ve seen Hoerner and Dansby Swanson convert plenty of times this season. But Hoerner’s flip was too high, and Swanson couldn’t glove it to at least get the out at second.

Had they turned two, perhaps Taillon remains in the game, even after the runner on third scored, to try and get the last out with bases empty. And if he does, then the Cubs can use Drew Smyly and Julian Merryweather to hopefully finish the last two frames.

Instead, Smyly entered directly after the play (and masterfully got out of the jam with the Cubs still up a run), and Merryweather went out for the eighth (where he did give up the game-tying run). That led to Mark Leiter Jr., who hasn’t been 100 percent and hadn’t pitched in a week, blowing a save in the ninth and Daniel Palencia allowing the deciding runs in the 10th.

Would the rest of the game have gone down any smoother if the double play is executed? We’ll never know for sure. But that broken play force a taxed bullpen to cover three extra outs, playing a factor in the outcome.

Quote of the Day

“At the deadline, we had a lot of factors, and there weren’t really arms that we felt like we could access at that time. And you look around, a lot of teams had the same challenge. I think it comes down to just building up that depth, and I think you’re ultimately going to have to rely on player development. For a huge chunk of the season, I think that was effective. It hasn’t been effective late, so yeah, I have to look at myself and say, ‘What are we going to do differently for next year?’” — President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, via reporters in Atlanta, on the Cubs’ bullpen.

Standings

The NL Central race is over, and the Phillies locked up the top wild card spot Wednesday. Earning one of the other two bids is Chicago’s only shot at the playoffs, and right now, they’re among five teams still mathematically in the race.

Here’s how each of those five teams fared Wednesday:

Cubs: Lost to the Braves
Diamondbacks: Beat the White Sox
Marlins: Split doubleheader vs. Mets
Reds: Lost to the Guardians
Padres: Beat the Giants

Arizona beat the White Sox on the South Side again, so they’ve moved to two full games ahead of the Cubs (and without the tiebreaker, it’s more like three games at this point). Miami split their doubleheader in Queens, and with the Cubs’ loss, there’s now a tie for the last wild card spot. But again, the Marlins win that tiebreaker, so as it stands, the Cubs are not in playoff position.

They remain ahead of Cincinnati and San Diego by more than one game, but all that matters is that they don’t hold control of their postseason destiny. They still have to win ballgames, but they also have to rely on help from other teams to get to October.

Schedules

Another disappointing loss has the Cubs on the ropes heading into the last few games of the season. They could’ve won two in Atlanta, but they didn’t. Now, Thursday’s series finale becomes another must-win to stay afloat before they end the year with three in Milwaukee.

Here are the remaining schedules for the other teams still mathematically in the wild card hunt:

Diamondbacks: @ CWS (1), vs. HOU (3)
Marlins: @ NYM (1), @ PIT (3)
Reds: @ STL (3)
Padres: @ CWS (3)

Odds

According to FanGraphs’ playoff projections, the Cubs’ odds at clinching a wild card spot have fallen all the way down to 29.4 percent after Wednesday. Among the five teams still making the push, the Diamondbacks (97.9 percent) and Marlins (69.2 percent) are massive favorites to be the final two teams in. The Reds (3.6 percent) are remote contenders, while the Padres — though not yet officially eliminated — are given 0.0 percent odds.

Today’s pitching matchup

The Cubs need Marcus Stroman (10-8, 3.88 ERA) to deliver Thursday. It’s his last start of the regular season, and his team needs a win. This is the kind of moment Stroman has said he craves; it’s now the moment in which they need him to lead the way to victory.

Through his first 16 starts of 2023, Stroman was the one at the forefront of the NL Cy Young conversation. He began the season 9-4 and posted a 2.28 ERA (which led all NL starters at the time). However, he went 1-4 and posted a 9.00 ERA in his next seven outings. Right hip inflammation that he tried to pitch through probably played a part in his struggles, and he went on the injured list at the beginning of August to address it. But just when he was expected to return, a right rib cartilage fracture extended his IL stint for another month.

When he returned a couple weeks ago, he made two appearances out of the bullpen. He rejoined the rotation Saturday, but he allowed three earned runs over three innings in his first start since July 31. And that came against the Rockies. On Thursday, he’s going up against the Braves and their vaunted lineup. Regardless, for however long he’s out there (he may still not be fully stretched out), he has to be effective and give his team a shot.

Atlanta will counter with AJ Smith-Shawver (1-0, 4.57 ERA). He’s the second consecutive rookie starter for the Braves, so it’s another chance for the Cubs to do some damage against a young arm without much major league experience or success. And with Thursday now becoming the biggest game of the year (as every game left on the schedule will be), that’s simply what they have to do.

Tweet of the Day

The Cubs have now lost 5 games this month after holding a lead in the 8th inning or later.

That's tied for their most such losses in any single month over the last 50 seasons (June 1991 & September 1992).
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 28, 2023

Cubs playoff update: Wild card hopes drop after Seiya Suzuki error, loss to Braves

Ryan Herrera — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 16:00:00 +0000

That was absolutely not how Seiya Suzuki and the Cubs thought the eighth inning Tuesday night was going to end.

For a second, it looked like Drew Smyly would escape a jam when the Braves’ Sean Murphy hit a routine fly ball to the outfield. Suzuki was ready for the catch, but he later told reporters in Atlanta he momentarily lost the ball in the lights, and it sailed past his glove. Rather than the Cubs getting to the ninth with a one-run lead, they ended up losing, 7-6, after Suzuki’s error.

The outcome doesn’t end their season, but now, the Cubs have lost control of their postseason fate. And a gut-wrenching loss like that will only make it tougher to take it back with five games left to play.

Here is CHGO’s daily update on the Cubs’ postseason hopes and where things stand with the rest of the playoff contenders.

Play of the Day

Everyone’s been there. Everyone’s made a big mistake (though probably not on as big a stage as this one), and the feeling when it happens is the worst. So, everyone can empathize with Suzuki in this moment.

No, this play alone is not the sole reason the Cubs lost. The pitching staff couldn’t keep the Braves at bay with a 6-0, and the offense couldn’t tack on more in other scoring opportunities (6-for-16 with RISP, nine left on base). But if the Cubs don’t make the playoffs, this play that ultimately decided the game will be hard for fans to forget.

Cubs broadcast reacts to Seiya Suzuki missing the ball: pic.twitter.com/ms5I9Bp5U8
— MLB Clutch Moments And Walk Offs (@MLBWalk_Offs) September 27, 2023

Quote of the Day

“I’ll reflect on [the error] tonight. Only tonight. If I dwell on it tomorrow, I’m not going to give a positive vibe to the team and I’m not going to be able to contribute to the team tomorrow” — Suzuki, through interpreter Toy Matsushita via reporters in Atlanta, on turning the page after the loss.

Standings

Even though the Brewers lost to the Cardinals, they clinched the NL Central on Tuesday with the Cubs’ loss in Atlanta. The three games between the two teams this weekend don’t matter anymore in terms of the division race. So, earning a wild card bid is Chicago’s only shot at the playoffs.

First, a reminder that there’s no more Game 163. Of the seven teams with any chance at a wild card spot, the Cubs own the tiebreaker (head-to-head record) over only the Giants and Padres, while they’d lose it to the Phillies, Diamondbacks, Marlins and Reds.

Here’s how each of those seven teams fared Tuesday:

Cubs: Lost to the Braves
Phillies: Beat the Pirates
Diamondbacks: Beat the White Sox
Marlins: Game postponed vs. Mets
Reds: Beat the Guardians
Giants: Lost to the Padres
Padres: Beat the Giants

Philadelphia clinched a wild card bid Tuesday, and they’re now six games ahead of the Cubs in the standings. There’s no way for the Cubs to jump them for the top wild card spot anymore. Arizona also blew out the White Sox on the South Side, so they’ve moved a full game ahead of the Cubs (and without the tiebreaker, it’s more like two games at this point).

Miami’s game in Queens was rained out, so Chicago does still remain a 1/2 game above in the standings. The Cubs, though, don’t own that tiebreaker, either. They’ll need some good fortune in the Marlins/Mets doubleheader Wednesday to help them stay in playoff position. Cincinnati, San Francisco and San Diego are all still multiple games back in the race.

The Cubs no longer hold control over their postseason destiny, so they need to not only stack up wins but hope for some help from teams across the league to get to October.

Schedules

Tuesday’s brutal loss wasn’t how the Cubs needed to begin the last road trip of the year. They now must win the next two games in Atlanta just to take the series, before ending the year with three in Milwaukee this weekend.

Here are the remaining schedules for the other teams still mathematically in the wild card hunt:

Phillies: vs. PIT (2), @ NYM (3)
Diamondbacks: @ CWS (2), vs. HOU (3)
Marlins: @ NYM (3), @ PIT (3)
Reds: @ CLE (1), @ STL (3)
Giants: vs. SD (1), vs. LAD (3)
Padres: @ SF (1), @ CWS (3)

Odds

According to FanGraphs’ playoff projections, the Cubs’ odds at clinching a wild card spot took a steep drop to 41.8 percent entering Wednesday. Again, the Phillies clinched, so among the six teams still making the push, the Diamondbacks (89 percent) and Marlins (56.7 percent) have the best odds. The Cubs’ only other real competition is the Reds (12.5 percent), while the Giants and Padres — though not yet officially eliminated — are given 0.0 percent odds.

Today’s pitching matchup

Jameson Taillon (8-10, 5.05 ERA) got back on track with six shutout innings Friday, but that was against the NL-worst Rockies at home. On Wednesday, he’ll go up against the MLB-best Braves on the road, tasked with evening up the series and helping the Cubs get a win they badly need.

Atlanta’s two home runs Tuesday gave them 301 on the season. They’re the first team in NL history, and the third in MLB history, to hit 300 in a single year. Meanwhile, Taillon has given up 26 homers in his 144 1/3 innings of work, tied for the 15th-most among pitchers with at least 140 innings pitched in 2023. He’s allowing 1.62 home runs per nine innings (10th), and he owns a 14.1 percent home-run-to-fly-ball ratio (16th).

The matchup between a pitcher giving up homers at a higher rate than any other season in his career and an all-time homer hitting team is less than ideal.

But Taillon has shown flashes of the guy the Cubs hoped they were signing last winter. He’s had some impressive starts, including six shutout innings three weeks ago against the Diamondbacks, the current favorite to earn the second wild card spot. And right now, his rocky season doesn’t matter. The Cubs just need him to be good enough to put them in position to win. It won’t be an easy task, but it’s what he has to do.

Atlanta will counter with Darius Vines (1-0, 4.40 ERA). Vines is the Braves’ No. 10 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, but he made his MLB debut less than a month ago. That was also his only start, as his last three appearances have come in multi-inning bursts out of the bullpen. Now back in a starting role — likely for no longer than Max Fried and Charlie Morton remain on the 15-day injured list — the Cubs hope they can do some damage against a rookie facing a playoff-contending team in the big leagues for the first time.

Tweet of the Day

That's why, clinging to a lead Tuesday night against an elite lineup, Cubs had to turn to Cuas and a pair of pitchers who spent a bunch of time in the rotation earlier this year (Assad, Smyly).

Just not many reliable options down there right now.
— Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) September 27, 2023

Cubs playoff update: Justin Steele starts the last week of the wild card race

Ryan Herrera — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 20:27:20 +0000

Here it is, the final week of the regular season for the Cubs. If they can finish the year strong, they may very well find themselves playing beyond Sunday. No need to think about what’s going on with the other playoff contenders; just take care of your own business over these last six games.

Not that that’ll be easy. They’ve got series on the road against two different division winners on the schedule. One doesn’t have the top seed in the National League locked up yet, and the other is a major NL Central rival. So, don’t expect either team to look to coast to the end of their seasons.

But again, the Cubs control their destiny. If they can keep winning ballgames, they’ll earn themselves a spot in the postseason.

Buckle up. This will be an exciting (and stressful) week on the North Side.

Here is CHGO’s daily update on the Cubs’ postseason hopes and where things stand with the rest of the playoff contenders.

Play of the Day

This isn’t the Cubs, nor is it just one play, but this game in the Bronx had major implication on the NL Wild Card race.

The Yankees, already eliminated from the postseason, ran out a lineup with six players each owning a sub-.700 OPS against a Diamondbacks club desperately needing to stack wins to secure a playoff spot. And as expected, most of those players led a three-run bottom of the eighth that earned New York a comeback victory over Arizona.

The kids come through pic.twitter.com/tgulBVUvZB
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 25, 2023

Quote of the Day

“When you start dwindling down and you’re in a race and there’s a bunch of teams around you, that’s the exciting part. We have an opportunity that we’d all sign up for to start spring training. We’ve got nine games left, and we’re in the hunt for the playoffs. We’re right there. We would all sign up for that. This is a really positive moment that feels probably a little bit negative to everybody, because of how we’ve gone about the last 10-15 days, but we’re still in the position to have a chance to get in the playoffs. We’d all sign up for that. So, this is a good thing. We’re in a good spot to make the playoffs. We’ve just got to go out and do it” — David Ross, before the start of the Rockies series, on the opportunity the Cubs have in front of them.

Standings

With both the Brewers and Cubs off Monday, Milwaukee’s lead in the NL Central remained at six games. Still, there’s virtually no way for the Cubs to catch them in the standings. There are six games left on both teams’ schedules — with three between the teams to end the season — but the magic number is down to 1. Another Brewers victory or another Cubs loss will end the division race. So, earning a wild card bid is really their only shot at the playoffs.

Here’s how each of those seven teams fared Monday:

Cubs: Off
Phillies: Off
Diamondbacks: Lost to the Yankees
Marlins: Off
Reds: Off
Giants: Beat the Padres
Padres: Lost to the Giants

Arizona’s loss in the Bronx was a massive outcome for the Cubs, as it moved them into a tie for the second NL Wild Card spot (though, again, the Cubs would lose the tiebreaker and remain in that last spot). Entering Tuesday, the Cubs are five games back of Philadelphia and a full game ahead of Miami. Cincinnati, San Francisco and San Diego are all still multiple games back in the race.

With that, the Cubs still have control of their postseason fate. It’s up to them to stack up wins and keep the teams below them at bay.

Schedules

The Cubs had an off day Monday, their last before the final stretch of the season. They now begin a three-game series in Atlanta before ending the year with three in Milwaukee this weekend.

Here are the remaining schedules for all seven teams still mathematically in the wild card hunt:

Phillies: vs. PIT (3), @ NYM (3)
Diamondbacks: @ CWS (3), vs. HOU (3)
Marlins: @ NYM (3), @ PIT (3)
Reds: @ CLE (2), @ STL (3)
Giants: vs. SD (2), vs. LAD (3)
Padres: @ SF (2), @ CWS (3)

Odds

According to FanGraphs’ playoff projections, the Cubs’ odds at clinching a wild card spot rose to 57.9 percent entering Tuesday thanks to Arizona’s loss. Among the seven teams in the race, the Phillies (100 percent) and Diamondbacks (78.2 percent) remain ahead of the Cubs. The North Siders themselves are still ahead of the Marlins (55.4 percent) with the Reds (8.4 percent) hanging in there, while the Giants are down to 0.1 percent and the Padres — who aren’t yet officially eliminated — are at 0.0 percent.

Today’s pitching matchup

Justin Steele’s (16-5, 3.00 ERA) last two starts just haven’t gone the way he or the Cubs needed them to go.

They haven’t been completely “bad” start (at least not in the mind of the Cubs’ skipper). On Sept. 15, Steele’s outing in Arizona was undone on two bad pitches that resulted two three-run homers. Then on Wednesday, a Pirates lineup that struck out six times in the first three innings ended up BABIPing Steele (.727 BABIP) to another poor box score with six straight singles to start the fourth that knocked him out of the game early.

The box scores don’t tell the entire story, but what ultimately matters right now are wins. And with two losses in his last starts after not taking a loss for nearly two months prior, Steele wasn’t able to give the Cubs what they needed.

Of course, this is still the guy who had himself deep in the NL Cy Young conversation less than two weeks ago. He beat the vaunted Braves lineup in early August. Most of his numbers still rank near the top among the 21 qualified NL starters. Every game the Cubs have moving forward should be considered “the biggest game of the year,” so there’s no one they should want on the bump more to start off the final week than their ace.

Atlanta will counter with Bryce Elder (12-4, 3.63 ERA). Elder has the eighth best ERA (3.63) among 21 qualified NL starters, but he’s further down the list in both strikeout rate (17.7 percent, 18th) and walk rate (8.3 percent, 14th). It’s not the toughest matchup they could get from that rotation — the Braves also lost Max Fried and Charlie Morton to finger injuries in the last few days — but the Cubs’ batters will need to be productive considering the dangerous lineup they’ll be opposing.

Tweet of the Day

One down, one to go. https://t.co/M8p6pCFr10
— Cody Delmendo (@Cody_CHGO) September 25, 2023

Cubs playoff update: Winning record clinched, postseason in sight

Ryan Herrera — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 18:16:55 +0000

What a way for the Cubs to end the last homestand of the regular season.

Behind another comeback victory, the Cubs got the ‘W’ in their final scheduled game at Wrigley Field this season and completed a sweep of the Rockies. They clinched a winning record for the seventh time in the last nine years, and with control of their own postseason fate, they managed to hold their lead in National League Wild Card race.

Things will only get tougher over the next week. They’ll finish the season on the road with three-game sets against two different division winners. They’ve battled to get themselves into this position, and finishing that battle won’t be easy.

But the postseason is very much in sight, and if the season ended after Sunday, the Cubs would be in it. With six games left to go, they just need to take care of their own business to secure a spot in the playoffs.

Here is CHGO’s daily update on the Cubs’ postseason hopes and where things stand with the rest of the playoff contenders.

Play of the Day

Patrick Wisdom has moved to a more part-time role since the All-Star break. He’s only played in 32 games in the second half (starting just 21 of those), and Cubs manager David Ross has really tried to look for specific matchups to exploit in Wisdom’s favor.

In that time, Wisdom has thrived. His strikeout rate over his last 70 plate appearances is down to 25.7 percent, he’s posted 1.015 OPS and a 164 wRC+, and he’s slugged eight home runs.

That includes this go-ahead bomb to help the Cubs finish their last scheduled home game on a high note.

PATRICK FOR THE LEAD

pic.twitter.com/uV8jSLCZTR
— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) September 24, 2023

Quote of the Day

“The place was unbelievable [Sunday]. You could feel the energy. Even pregame, I was walking out to the bullpen 45 minutes before first pitch, and the left-field bleachers was basically full 45 minutes before first pitch. The fans here unparalleled. It’s crazy, because I’ve had quite a few family and friends come in and see starts at home, and they all say the same thing. They say, ‘This place is unbelievable,’ because it just resonates with everybody how special the fans are here, how special the environment is. And so, just to be able to be here and pitch in the comfort of home was awesome” — Jordan Wicks, on the atmosphere at Wrigley Field for the final home game of the regular season.

Standings

Even with a second straight Brewers loss Sunday, there’s virtually no way for the Cubs to catch them in the NL Central standings. Milwaukee is six games ahead with six left on both team’s schedules, and their magic number is down to 1. Another Brewers victory or another Cubs loss will end the division race. So, earning a wild card bid is essentially Chicago’s only shot at the playoffs.

Here’s how each of those seven teams fared Sunday:

Cubs: Beat the Rockies
Phillies: Beat the Mets
Diamondbacks: Beat the Yankees
Marlins: Beat the Brewers
Reds: Beat the Pirates
Giants: Lost to the Dodgers
Padres: Beat the Cardinals

All of those outcomes mean the Cubs remain in the last wild card spot. They’re five games back of Philadelphia and a 1/2 game back of Arizona in the standings, and they maintained a full game on Miami. Cincinnati, San Francisco and San Diego are all still multiple games back in the race.

With that, the Cubs kept control of their postseason fate. It’s up to them to stack up wins and keep the teams below them in the standings at bay.

Schedules

The Cubs completed their home regular season slate with a sweep of the Rockies. After an off day Monday, they’ll head to Atlanta for a three-game series before ending the year with three in Milwaukee.

Here are the remaining schedules for all seven teams still technically in the wild card hunt:

Phillies: vs. PIT (3), @ NYM (3)
Diamondbacks: @ NYY (1), @ CWS (3), vs. HOU (3)
Reds: @ CLE (2), @ STL (3)
Marlins: @ NYM (3), @ PIT (3)
Giants: vs. SD (3), vs. LAD (3)
Padres: @ SF (3), @ CWS (3)

Odds

According to FanGraphs’ playoff projections, the Cubs’ odds at clinching a wild card spot sit at 56.4 percent going into Monday. Among the top-seven teams in the race, the Phillies (100 percent) and Diamondbacks (84.2 percent) are given better odds than the Cubs. They’ve moved ahead of the Marlins (52.5 percent) with the Reds (6.7 percent) further behind, and the Giants and Padres — will still not officially eliminated — are given a 0.0 percent chance at the wild card.

Today’s pitching matchup

The Cubs are off Monday, but on Tuesday, they’ll have Justin Steele on the mound going up against Atlanta’s Bryce Elder. Check Tuesday’s update for the pitching matchup preview.

Tweet of the Day

Wrigley Field, it's beautiful. pic.twitter.com/XaLIEIzahd
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) September 25, 2023

Cubs win final regular season game at Wrigley with playoffs ahead

Jared Wyllys — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 03:18:28 +0000

The last time the Cubs were in the playoffs, they had to play their postseason games in an empty Wrigley Field. In 2020, the pandemic shortened the season and kept the stands empty. Not since 2018, when the Cubs played the Rockies in the wild card game, have fans been able to see the Cubs in a playoff game at the Friendly Confines.

On Sunday, as just over 37,000 of them watched the Cubs sweep the Rockies to close out the last of their 81 regular season games at home, the excitement over their postseason chances was palpable. At the same time, the question of whether there would be another game at Wrigley in 2023 hung over Sunday’s 4-3 win.

As things stand now, the Cubs will have to play the wild card series on the road, likely in Milwaukee, and possibly in Philadelphia. They have the third wild card spot and are one game ahead of the Marlins. The Cubs would have to win the three-game wild card to get to host any division series games in Chicago. There are six regular season games left to decide – assuming they stay ahead of Miami – which wild card spot they’ll have. Moving ahead of the Diamondbacks would mean they play the Phillies. Staying as is would mean the Brewers.

“We’ve got six games in the regular season left, and we’re going to take it game by game,” Patrick Wisdom said. “But momentum is crucial. I don’t think we ever lost sight of that confidence, especially during the little uneasy patch. But I think getting back on the horse, if you will, and having a sweep here at home just builds that momentum.”

The Cubs swept Colorado after dropping four straight series; a four-game set to Arizona at Wrigley, and then two on the road to the Rockies and Diamondbacks and one at home to the Pirates.

Wisdom gave the Wrigley crowd reason to cheer Sunday. Trailing 3-1 in the sixth inning, Seiya Suzuki led off with a double and then scored on Yan Gomes’ sacrifice fly to get the Cubs within a run. And then Wisdom hit a 432-foot blast to left center to put the Cubs ahead.

PATRICK WISDOM FOR THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/xdgoySmj0G
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) September 24, 2023

He and the rest of the team and coaches stuck around on the field to sing “Go Cubs Go” with the fans after the final out. That’s been a custom for the team for some time, but the chorus of fans and players together sounds different when the Cubs are in a playoff race.

Wrigley attendance totaled 2,775,149 this year, the highest number since before the pandemic. Fans were allowed back in the stands in 2021 in increments, and there were no restrictions on attendance last season, but this year’s total outpaced 2022 by about 100,000 fans.

“It’s awesome. It gives me goosebumps when we’re saying thanks to the fans out there after the game,” Wisdom said. “Just to see the pure joy on their faces and the smiles. I mean, it’s electric, and you can’t beat it, really.”

The Cubs have won 82 games so far this season, and that’s been driven by the right mixture of veteran presence and players stepping up to fill roles as needed. Jordan Wicks was called up to fill out the rotation on August 26, and he delivered his third quality start Sunday. Wicks tossed six innings and held Colorado to three runs before handing the ball off to the bullpen. The relievers have been without Adbert Alzolay, who has emerged as the stabilizing force at the back end, since he went on the 15-day injured list on September 10 with forearm tightness. Since then, a rotating group has had to pick up the high-leverage innings at the end of games.

On Saturday, Jose Cuas earned the save in the ninth after Julian Merryweather took the eighth inning, and on Sunday, the two of them flipped places. Cuas pitched a scoreless eighth inning and then Merryweather produced the last three outs in the ninth.

“We’ve seen everyone in every role at this point in the year,” Merryweather said. “And that kind of gives everyone confidence that we can do any role we get put into. I think that’s been our calling card as a bullpen, that we’re ready at any time for anything.”

Wisdom, in some sense too, is playing in a different role than he had been. After serving as a de facto starter for many of the final games of 2021 and most of the 2022 season, Wisdom has been relegated to part time duties. The Cubs’ roster construction has changed a lot since last season and even more since this year began, so Wisdom’s name shows up in the lineup less often.

But, like Merryweather and the rest of the bullpen arms, Wisdom has leaned into his new role.

“I had to go all in, I couldn’t be questioning it,” he said. “Just accept it and keep going and trust in my abilities, knowing that when my name is called, I’m ready.”

No two playoff team formulas look quite the same, but assuming the Cubs are at least able to hang on to the third wild card spot, their 2023 formula was featured in a microcosm over the last regular season weekend at Wrigley Field. The usual veterans delivered when needed, and role players stepped in and made their impact. The bullpen who – despite not having stable roles for much of the season – has stayed in the top half of the league in ERA, gave three scoreless innings Sunday to protect the lead Wisdom gave the team.

Last home game of the regular season, Cubs players stay on the field to salute the Wrigley faithful.

Go get em on the road, boys! pic.twitter.com/dMnXfHRNKI
— Corey Freedman (@corey_cubs) September 24, 2023

There might be another chance for Cubs fans to sing over a victory at Wrigley this fall. Whatever happens, Sunday’s win had a little more meaning because it might be the last time Steve Goodman’s song is heard in Lakeview this year.

“That’s what it’s all about, right? It’s nice to win, it’s nice to hear ‘Go Cubs Go’ in the background when you’re thanking them and they’re singing and cheering,” David Ross said. “Almost 40,000 people in the stands and you get to try to give back some of the love. I know our play is supposed to do that, but to take the last game of the regular season at home, it’s just nice to make sure they know we appreciate their support.”

Cubs playoff update: Much-needed series win over Rockies

Ryan Herrera — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 18:54:46 +0000

At this point in the season for the Cubs, the cliche is as true as ever — a win is a win.

It wasn’t always pretty, but with the help of a couple of lesser-known heroes, the Cubs rallied to beat the Rockies and take the series with a win over Colorado on Saturday. They enter Sunday with a chance to sweep, and they’re still hanging onto a National League Wild Card spot.

Every game feels like a must-win at this point. With a few teams right on their tails, the Cubs cannot afford a slip-up. Seven games remain in their season. They need to finish this stretch strong if they want to play into October.

Here is CHGO’s daily update on the Cubs’ postseason hopes and where things stand with the rest of the playoff contenders.

Play of the Day

Javier Assad hadn’t been quite as sharp in his last three starts before moving back to the bullpen. He got hit hard, and his stuff just wasn’t playing as well as it had in the weeks leading up to Saturday.

But this was one of those nasty pitches that even left Cubs legend Kris Bryant wondering what happened as Assad escaped a jam and capped an impressive four innings of relief.

THE ASSMAN IS OUT HERE PAINTING

pic.twitter.com/lB85jT1wnF
— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) September 23, 2023

Quote of the Day

“Sometimes, struggling is the best teacher. You’ve got to learn throughout those times. It’s easy to fall into a hole — and sometimes you want to, to be honest with you — but bouncing ideas off guys, talking with people, just running through things. Just every day coming in, trying to get better during those times. Not getting too much playing time, but still trying to get better. Coming down the stretch, you can’t have any hiccups. So, just trying to do what I can to help this team win” — Miles Mastrobuoni, on now contributing to the playoff push after early season struggles and a lack of playing time.

Standings

Even with the Brewers’ loss Saturday, there’s virtually no way for the Cubs to catch them in the NL Central standings. Milwaukee is seven games ahead, and their magic number is down to 1. Another Brewers victory or another Cubs loss will end the division race. So, earning a wild card bid is essentially Chicago’s only shot at the playoffs.

Here’s how each of those seven teams fared Saturday:

Cubs: Beat the Rockies
Phillies: Beat the Mets
Diamondbacks: Postponed versus the Yankees
Marlins: Beat the Brewers
Reds: Lost to the Pirates
Giants: Lost to the Dodgers
Padres: Lost to the Cardinals

All of those outcomes mean the Cubs remain in a wild card spot. They moved to four games back of Philadelphia and a 1/2 game back of Arizona in the standings, and they maintained a full game on Miami. Cincinnati, San Francisco and San Diego all fell multiple games back of the Cubs with their losses Saturday.

With that, the Cubs kept control of their postseason fate. It’s up to them to stack up wins and keep the teams below them in the standings at bay.

Schedules

The Cubs will go for the sweep in the series finale on Sunday, ending the home slate of the regular season. Then, after an off day Monday, they’ll head to Atlanta for a three-game series before ending the regular season with three in Milwaukee.

Here are the remaining schedules for the the other top-seven teams in the wild card hunt:

Phillies: vs. NYM (1), vs. PIT (3), @ NYM (3)
Diamondbacks: @ NYY (2), @ CWS (3), vs. HOU (3)
Reds: vs. PIT (1), @ CLE (2), @ STL (3)
Marlins: vs. MIL (1), @ NYM (3), @ PIT (3)
Giants: @ LAD (1), vs. SD (3), vs. LAD (3)
Padres: vs. STL (1), @ SF (3), @ CWS (3)

Odds

According to FanGraphs’ playoff projections, the Cubs’ odds at clinching a wild card spot rose to 59.6 percent going into Sunday. Among the top-seven teams in the race, the Phillies (100 percent) and Diamondbacks (83.3 percent) are given better odds than the Cubs. They’ve moved ahead of the Marlins (48.4 percent) with the Reds (8 percent) falling even further behind, and the Giants (0.5 percent) and Padres (0.1 percent) are now pretty remote contenders.

Today’s pitching matchup

Jordan Wicks (3-1, 2.67 ERA) had his start moved back a day after Marcus Stroman got the start Saturday. Another day of rest should benefit Wicks, who’s nearly thrown the most innings of any year of his career, in the series finale.

He took his first major league loss in Arizona a week ago, but he still only gave up three earned runs across 4 1/3 innings. He did walk four Diamondbacks in his outing, which is a concern, but Wicks has still show a knack for performing in the big moments. The rookie has shown he has the right mentality as the Cubs make the playoff push. Against Colorado — who he threw his a quality start against on Sept. 11 — Wicks will need to keep that mentality and give the Cubs another chance to win.

The Rockies will counter with Ty Blach (3-2, 5.32 ERA). Despite a poorer stretch of starts in September, Blach picked up a win over the Cubs on Sept. 13 with five innings of three-run ball. Regardless, the Cubs can’t afford any losses right now. They have to figure out a way to get to Blach and end the homestand on a high note.

Tweet of the Day

The Pirates took David Ross’ comments personally. https://t.co/tVHFXGbibs
— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) September 24, 2023

Javier Assad, Miles Mastrobuoni factors in crucial Cubs win

Jared Wyllys — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 03:26:19 +0000

Every win during the season technically counts the same, but in the last week of September in the midst of a race to hold on to a wild card spot, these wins feel like they carry more weight for the Cubs.

And this late in the season, different players have to step up to get those much-needed wins. In Saturday’s 6-3 victory over the Rockies, Javier Assad and Miles Mastrobuoni were the story.

Marcus Stroman returning to the rotation was the big news going into the game. He went on the injured list in early August because of a balky hip, and then his stay was extended thanks to a rib injury. Stroman came off of the IL on September 15, but he had only appeared as a reliever until Saturday.

David Ross said the decision to start Stroman Saturday was made earlier in the week, after Stroman got up in the bullpen during Wednesday night’s loss but didn’t get into the game. Stroman had petitioned to get back in the rotation, and timing-wise, Saturday lined up well.

“We used [Wednesday] as his bullpen, gave him a day off, figured he could start and we’d use him for as many leverage innings as we could get out of him,” Ross said before Saturday’s game.

The Cubs got three innings from Stroman, who started off with a perfect first frame but gave up three runs in the second and put two runners on base in the third. With Stroman at 64 pitches going into the fourth, Ross went to Assad.

Like he has all season, Assad stepped up when called upon, whatever his role might be. He tossed four scoreless innings, holding the Rockies in place while the offense chipped away at the three-run deficit and eventually took the lead in the seventh.

“He’s so valuable to this team and the versatility he gives you,” Ross said. “Being able to bring Javi behind him, he’s done a really good job of that pretty consistently this year. Having him in the bullpen is just such a weapon.”

Assad struck out six and gave up just two hits. His biggest strikeout came in the seventh, when he faced Kris Bryant with two outs, two runners on base and the game tied 3-3. Assad got Bryant looking at a 2-2 sinker to end the inning.

Javier Assad, Painted 95mph Two Seamer.

And is fired up. pic.twitter.com/zshlqUwJzG
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 23, 2023

“That was huge,” Assad said of the Bryant strikeout. “That was a great pitch, just to be able to help the team and get out of a jam and keep the score down. That was great, a great pitch.”

Offensively, the Cubs got production from all parts of the lineup, but only Nico Hoerner and Mastrobuoni had more than one hit. Mastrobuoni, who went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored, factored into important scoring opportunities in the fifth and eighth innings.

In the fifth, he singled, advanced on a wild pitch, and ended up scoring on Hoerner’s sacrifice fly to bring the Cubs within a run. And in the eighth, Mastrobuoni helped add an insurance run by drawing a walk, stealing second, and then scoring on a Hoerner single.

Mastrobuoni has been optioned four different times this season, and during his stretches in the majors, playing time has often been hard to come by. In late June, his batting average dipped as low as .133, and he was relegated to occasional duties. But since grabbing regular playing time over the last week, Mastrobuoni is hitting .471 with eight hits, six runs scored, and two stolen bases.

“I’m so proud of Miles and the adversity he went through early on. Being a role player, getting some opportunity, not getting off to the start he wanted,” Ross said. “Came back, played great, really well for us. Good defense, positive energy, worked his tail off and then got sent down when Nick came back. And then this last time coming up and not getting any opportunity, but he worked and kept a positive attitude.

“He’s a good baseball player. Hard-nosed, gritty guy that you love having on your team. He’s been really patient and worked his tail off and deserves all that’s coming to him.”

Mastrobuoni will likely have to keep factoring into more Cubs wins with seven games left and the team still in possession of the third wild card spot. Jeimer Candelario is eligible to return from the IL – he’s been shelved since September 12 with low back strain – but as of Saturday he was still doing general baseball activities without a clear timetable for return. Nick Madrigal has been down since the 17th with a hamstring sprain, so Mastrobuoni may have to keep holding things down at third base.

His play of late would likely have earned him that role anyway, especially with the Cubs needing every win over these last seven games. He’s come a long way from where things stood for him in the first half of the season.

“Sometimes struggling is the best teacher. You’ve got to learn throughout those times,” Mastrobuoni said. “It’s easy to kind of fall into a hole, and sometimes you want to, to be honest with you, but bouncing ideas off guys, talking with people. Just running through things, and every day coming in and trying to get better. During those times, not getting too much playing time, but still trying to get better.

“Coming down the stretch, you can’t have any hiccups. Just trying to do what I can to help this team win.”

The same goes for Assad, who stepped up for Stroman in the rotation in August and early September and then picked him up in Saturday’s win. Ross said the expectation for the last week of the season is that Stroman will make his next start and Assad will stay in the bullpen.

He sees Assad as a valuable weapon there, and Ross thinks there’s a chance Assad pitches a little better when he comes in on the attack out of the ‘pen, knowing that his outing will be a little shorter than a start. At this point, there are no plans to reserve Assad as a piggyback option for Stroman’s next start.

“We’re going to go for wins when we’ve got ‘em and figure it out each and every day,” Ross said.

David Ross discussing Javier Assad’s relief performance for the Cubs today, and Marcus Stroman talking about Assad and the rest of the ‘pen’s work behind him pic.twitter.com/zNQzfnNWu4
— Ryan Herrera (@ryan_a_herrera) September 23, 2023

Cubs playoff update: Back in an NL Wild Card spot

Ryan Herrera — Sat, 23 Sep 2023 17:00:00 +0000

The Cubs got back in the win column after blanking the Rockies in the series opener Friday afternoon. And with the help of some other teams around the league, they enter Saturday with sole possession of the last National League Wild Card spot.

It’s a positive step after a tough start to the homestand. The end of the season isn’t far away, and the Cubs still have work to do make sure they play into October. But with eight games remaining and their postseason fate in their own hands, the Cubs have an opportunity to continue playing good baseball and lock down a playoff appearance.

Here is CHGO’s daily update on the Cubs’ postseason hopes and where things stand with the rest of the playoff contenders.

Play of the Day

Seiya Suzuki, have yourself a game.

With only a one-run lead in the middle innings thanks to Suzuki’s RBI single in the first, the Cubs got some breathing room from this two-run homer off their right fielder’s bat in the fourth against Colorado. Suzuki’s team is fighting for its playoff life at the moment, and he’s doing what he can to get them there.

20 HOMERS FOR SEIYA

pic.twitter.com/q6xUYvEAwI
— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) September 22, 2023

Quote of the Day

“I know I’m at a place where numbers at this point don’t even matter anymore. It’s about just helping this team get wins down the stretch. I told myself that coming to the park today. This team went out and got me for a reason. I have an opportunity to go out and prove them right and have a good game on a day like today when we really needed it” — Jameson Taillon, despite his struggles throughout the season, making it clear he understands the Cubs’ current objective.

Standings

With the Brewers’ win Friday, there’s virtually no way for the Cubs to catch them in the NL Central standings. Milwaukee is eight games ahead, and their magic number is down to 1. Another Brewers victory or another Cubs loss will end the division race. So, earning a wild card bid is essentially Chicago’s only shot at the playoffs.

Here’s how each of those seven teams fared Friday:

Cubs: Beat the Rockies
Phillies: Beat the Mets
Diamondbacks: Lost to the Yankees
Marlins: Lost to the Brewers
Reds: Lost to the Pirates
Giants: Beat the Dodgers
Padres: Beat the Cardinals

All of those outcomes mean they remain five games back of Philadelphia in the standings, but they gained a game on everyone besides San Francisco and San Diego, who both still have a lot of ground to make up. The Cubs are now just one back of Arizona, and they’re one game ahead of Miami and 1 1/2 games ahead of the Reds for the last wild card spot.

With that, the Cubs have taken back control of their postseason fate. It’s up to them to stack up wins and keep the teams below them in the standings at bay.

Schedules

The Cubs play Game 2 of their last home series of the regular season against the Rockies on Saturday before the finale on Sunday. Then, after an off day Monday, they’ll head to Atlanta for a three-game series before ending the regular season with three in Milwaukee.

Here are the remaining schedules for the the other top-seven teams in the wild card hunt:

Phillies: vs. NYM (2), vs. PIT (3), @ NYM (3)
Diamondbacks: @ NYY (2), @ CWS (3), vs. HOU (3)
Reds: vs. PIT (2), @ CLE (2), @ STL (3)
Marlins: vs. MIL (2), @ NYM (3), @ PIT (3)
Giants: @ LAD (2), vs. SD (3), vs. LAD (3)
Padres: vs. STL (2), @ SF (3), @ CWS (3)

Odds

According to FanGraphs’ playoff projections, the Cubs’ odds at clinching a wild card spot rose to 52.8 percent going into Saturday. Among the top-seven teams in the race, the Phillies (100 percent) and Diamondbacks (84 percent) are given better odds than the Cubs. They’ve finally moved ahead of the Marlins (41.9 percent) with the Reds (18 percent) not all that far behind, while the Giants (2.2 percent) and Padres (1.1 percent) aren’t completely out of it just yet.

Today’s pitching matchup

Surprise! Marcus Stroman (10-8, 3.76 ERA) will now start for the Cubs on Saturday for the first time since July 31, which David Ross announced at the end of his postgame presser Friday.

Through his first 16 starts, Stroman was the one at the forefront of the NL Cy Young conversation. He began the season 9-4 and posted a 2.28 ERA (which led all NL starters at the time). However, he went 1-4 and posted a 9.00 ERA in his next seven outings. Right hip inflammation that he tried to pitch through probably played a part in his struggles, and he went on the injured list at the beginning of August to address it. But just when he was expected to return, a right rib cartilage fracture extended his IL stint for another month.

Stroman returned last weekend and pitched two innings of relief on Sept. 15. Another inning out of the ‘pen followed the next day. That showed his body would respond well to pitching in a game setting again, providing the Cubs with another important arm in whichever role they needed.

It’s unclear what to expect out of his first start in nearly two months. Maybe he’ll be an opener. Maybe he’ll get to pitch for as long as his body will allow (and as long as he remains effective). Regardless, this is a clear sign that the Cubs trust him to start another important game off on the right foot.

The Rockies will counter with right-hander Chris Flexen (1-8, 7.19 ERA). Flexen joined Colorado’s rotation at the end of July. In those 10 starts, he’s posted a 6.75 ERA. He did hold the Cubs to three runs over 5 1/3 innings at Coors Field on Sept. 12, so they’ll need to find a way to be more productive at home.

Tweet of the Day

The fans have been begging David Ross to not let the kids called up from Triple A rot on the bench and they were right. Jared Young delivers a two-run homer. I assume that's who fans have been clamoring for?
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) September 22, 2023

Cubs get back into wild card position with a win over the Rockies

Ryan Herrera — Sat, 23 Sep 2023 05:13:09 +0000

David Ross has his process for how he makes up his team’s lineup. The Cubs skipper uses the resources at his disposal and tries to put his players in the best positions to succeed.

“I don’t just grab it out of a hat, that’s for sure,” Ross said. “Contrary to what probably fans think and everybody thinks, I try to have a process to think about how to set guys up for success and what pitch mix guys might have that might play into certain at-bats. It’s how I manage. Right or wrong, that’s the way I do it.”

Does it always work out? No. We’ve seen times this season when his decisions — even ones with sound logic behind them — don’t yield positive results.

But when it does work out, is he telling himself, “I’m a genius”?

“I know better,” Ross said with a chuckle when asked that question following the Cubs’ 6-0 win over the Rockies on Friday. “I know better than to say that to myself. I’m a small piece to a big puzzle.”

Prior to the game, Ross penciled Jared Young, recalled on Tuesday from Triple-A Iowa, into the lineup as the designated hitter. In Young’s last big league stint earlier in the year, he hit .171 with a .627 OPS. If you checked the reaction on social media, the move was destined to fail.

Many fans wanted to see either Alexander Canario — who hadn’t had a plate appearance since hitting a grand slam on Tuesday — or top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong get a start. But Young also hit .310 with a .994 OPS in Triple-A this year, and Ross liked the matchup. So, that was the move he made.

If it didn’t work out, Ross would have to wear it. Instead, Young rewarded his manager’s confidence with a two-run homer in the sixth inning, one that boosted the Cubs’ lead to five against a Rockies lineup that had no answers the rest of the way.

Close your eyes Cubs Twitter

Cubs lead 5-0!

pic.twitter.com/lxkvBzgI9H
— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) September 22, 2023

“It worked out today. Doesn’t always work out,” Ross said. “JY had a big home run. It was a nice, big swing to stretch that out a little bit.”

The other heroes Friday afternoon came in the form of Seiya Suzuki and Jameson Taillon, two of the Cubs’ biggest free-agent additions from the last two winters.

Suzuki’s first two seasons in Chicago haven’t always looked pretty. He’s had his share of extended struggles, and one such stretch over the summer called for a brief reset in early August. It wasn’t a long-term decision; the Cubs just felt he needed some time to work on things and get himself right mentally.

Since he’s returned to the lineup full time, Suzuki has looked like a completely different hitter. In his previous 39 games (163 plate appearances) heading into Friday, Suzuki slashed .343/.399/.678. And against Colorado, he again came through with a 3-for-4 game, including an RBI single to get the Cubs on the board in the first and a two-run homer in the fourth to give his team some breathing room in the middle innings.

20 HOMERS FOR SEIYA

pic.twitter.com/q6xUYvEAwI
— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) September 22, 2023

That short break in August wasn’t about drastically changing his mechanics. It was about bettering himself mentally and getting his confidence back at the plate. Considering the run he’s been on, at times carrying the offense as the Cubs battle for a playoff spot, that reset provided a major boost to his confidence at the plate.

“I wasn’t really able to contribute to the team the first half of this season, so I’m doing whatever I can for the team,” Suzuki said through interpreter Toy Matsushita. “We’re kind of going into the end of the season, and we only have so many games left. Obviously, all these games are really meaningful, and I’m really happy that I’m getting my confidence back at the right time.”

As for Taillon, inconsistency has plagued his first season with the Cubs.

He began his year 2-6 with a 6.93 ERA in his first 14 starts (the Cubs went 2-12 in those games). Then, he seemingly turned his season around with a gem versus the Yankees, going 5-0 with a 2.17 ERA from starts 15-20.

But the inconsistency returned following that last one (a strong performance against the Mets), as he’d gone 0-4 with a 5.54 ERA in his last seven outings entering Friday. While he did have three quality starts in that stretch, he gave up 20 earned runs across 19 1/3 innings in the four others.

The Cubs can’t afford inconsistency at this point in the season. However he had to get it done, a good Taillon had to show up against the Rockies. The result was exactly what his team needed.

Taillon escaped a few jams through six innings, striking out seven batters and holding the Rockies scoreless. While the offense worked to build the lead, Taillon kept Colorado at bay. And that was enough to help the Cubs get back in the win column.

7 K day for @JTaillon50 pic.twitter.com/1pyvN4dlCW
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 22, 2023

“The goal is to always not give up runs, but today especially, I was just in the mindset of, ‘Can’t let these guys score,” Taillon said. “I knew I had some guys in the bullpen that can back me up, so I would’ve rather gone four [innings] with zero [runs] than six with three on a day like today. Got in some traffic early, some walks — which is a little uncharacteristic — but was able to just kind of navigate it and make pitches when I had to. It wasn’t easy, but we found a way.”

Even after bad starts, Taillon is open and honest about his struggles and what he believes he has to do to fix them. That hasn’t always panned out this year, but his confidence has never wavered. That’s the mentality he needs to have at this time of the year, when it feels like every game is a must-win for the Cubs.

“I know I’m at a place where numbers at this point don’t even matter anymore,” Taillon said. “It’s about just helping this team get wins down the stretch. I told myself that coming to the park today. This team went out and got me for a reason. I have an opportunity to go out and prove them right and have a good game on a day like today when we really needed it.”

The Cubs have struggled down the stretch, dropping 10 of their last 13 games before Friday. They went from having a strong hold on a wild card spot to seemingly fighting for their playoff lives every day.

But like Taillon, nobody in the clubhouse is losing confidence. The win — and a Marlins blowout loss to the Brewers — gave the Cubs back sole possession of the last wild card spot.

They’ve talked constantly about having a “one game at a time” mentality. If they can keep that going, they believe a postseason spot is theirs for the taking.

“It hasn’t been really going our way this last stretch,” Suzuki said. “I can see that everyone’s grinding and trying to get the ‘W’, because all these games are really meaningful. But personally, I think if we focus too much on winning or losing, then the results wouldn’t really go our way.

“So, I think it’s just focusing on every game. If it doesn’t go our way, it’s just trying to reset ourselves and focus on the next game. In that sense, I think results will follow.”

Cubs playoff update: Will they rebound from a series loss to the Pirates?

Ryan Herrera — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 17:00:00 +0000

It was just a tough, tough loss for the Cubs on Thursday, as they’ve now dropped four straight series. Two weeks ago, they held a firm lead on the second National League Wild Card spot with the division title still very much in play. Now, their playoff outlook seems… well, not great.

All is not lost, of course. With nine games left on the schedule, a strong end to the season would give them a real shot at a postseason appearance — their first after a 162-game regular season in five years. But they need to turn things around, and they need to turn them around fast.

Here is CHGO’s daily update on the Cubs’ postseason hopes and where things stand with the rest of the playoff contenders.

Play of the Day

This could’ve been the momentum-shifting double play the Cubs needed trailing by just one run in the top of the ninth. Instead, the Pirates got a runner to third with one out, and it led to the game-deciding three-run homer.

This is a sequence that the Cubs and Pirates would like to both collectively forget. Could've been runners on second and third with no outs. Could've been a momentum-shifting double play. Neither happened. pic.twitter.com/ftDdM2sT0h
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) September 22, 2023

Quote of the Day

“That’s not a good team that just took two out of three from us — or not our caliber team, I believe. We’ve just got to turn it around. It’s on me. It’s on the guys in that room. … We’ve got to be better in a lot of aspects of baseball. Come back tomorrow. Got nine left, thank goodness. Got a lot of games left to play good, clean baseball, and this group is capable of doing that” — David Ross, in a very honest postgame presser.

Standings

The Brewers’ win Thursday pushed them eight games ahead of the Cubs in the NL Central and effectively ended the division race, even with three games left between them at the end of the season. So, earning a wild card bid is essentially Cubs’ only shot at the playoffs.

Their loss to the Pirates, however, would have moved them out of the playoffs had the season ended Thursday. The Marlins had an off day, and by gaining a 1/2 game in the standings with the Cubs’ loss, they moved into a tie for the last wild card spot. But remember, there’s no more Game 163. Tiebreakers, starting with head-to-head record, will determine any ties at the end of the season. And since the Cubs lost the season series between the two teams, Miami would win the tiebreaker.

The Diamondbacks and Reds (who both hold the tiebreaker over the Cubs) were also off Thursday, meaning they too gained a 1/2 game on the Cubs. The Phillies (also a tiebreaker winner) beat the Mets, putting them five games up on Chicago, while the Giants (who the Cubs beat in the season series) lost to the Dodgers, keeping them three games back.

You might also have to keep in mind the Padres, who did lose to the Cubs four out of seven times this season. While they’re four games back in the wild card race, they’ve won seven straight and have a slim chance at making the postseason.

Schedules

The Cubs complete have one last home series with the Rockies in town this weekend. Then, after an off day Monday, they’ll head to Atlanta for a three-game series before ending the regular season with three in Milwaukee.

Here are the remaining schedules for the the other top-six teams in the wild card hunt:

Phillies: vs. NYM (3), vs. PIT (3), @ NYM (3)
Diamondbacks: @ NYY (3), @ CWS (3), vs. HOU (3)
Reds: vs. PIT (3), @ CLE (2), @ STL (3)
Marlins: vs. MIL (3), @ NYM (3), @ PIT (3)
Giants: @ LAD (3), vs. SD (3), vs. LAD (3)

Odds

According to FanGraphs’ playoff projections, the Cubs’ odds at clinching a wild card spot fell to 33.3 percent entering Friday. Among the top-six teams in the race, the Phillies (100 percent), Diamondbacks (86.5 percent) and Marlins (54.1 percent) are given better odds than the Cubs. The Reds (24.4 percent) aren’t far behind, while the Giants (1.1 percent) are remote contenders.

Again, still keep in mind the Padres, whose winning streak has now given them a 0.6 percent shot at the wild card.

Today’s pitching matchup

Inconsistency has plagued Jameson Taillon’s (7-10, 5.27 ERA) season.

He began his Cubs career 2-6 with a 6.93 ERA in his first 14 starts (the Cubs went 2-12 in those games). Then, he seemingly turned his season around with a gem in the Bronx, going 5-0 with a 2.17 ERA from starts 15-20.

But the struggles returned following that last one (a strong performance in Queens), as he’s since gone 0-4 with a 5.54 ERA in his last seven outings. While he did have three quality starts in that stretch, he gave up 20 earned runs in 19 1/3 innings in the four others. Again, inconsistency has been Taillon’s biggest hurdle in 2023.

For the Cubs to kick off this last nine-game stretch strong, they need Taillon to deliver.

The Rockies will counter with rookie Noah Davis (0-2, 9.58 ERA). Davis hasn’t even started a game in the big leagues since June 20. His last two appearances (on June 24 and on Sunday) have been in relief, but considering he threw seven innings (105 pitches) in a Triple-A start nine days ago, he should be sufficiently stretched out for a regular start if the Cubs can’t jump on him early.

Tweet of the Day

pic.twitter.com/cLHeDyILjV
— Corey Freedman (@corey_cubs) September 22, 2023

Playoff hopes dwindling after Cubs drop series to Pirates

Ryan Herrera — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 11:53:54 +0000

Waves of Cubs fans at Wrigley Field on Thursday started heading to the exits with one out in top of the ninth. It was tough to blame them in the moment.

All season long, in close games at home, plenty of fans hung around until the very end, hoping they’d get the chance to sing “Go Cubs Go” after a hard-fought victory. But when a full-count slider from Julian Merryweather ended up in the right-field bleachers, turning a one-run deficit into a four-run deficit on a three-run homer, it felt like many had seen enough.

Here's what the stands looked like before Palacios' three-run home run versus after the home run. It was, truly, a swing that killed Chicago's soul. pic.twitter.com/Mea3APLjVy
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) September 22, 2023

The Cubs (79-74) had their chances to take control throughout the ballgame. Instead they lost the series finale to the Pirates, 8-6, dropping a series at home when they could ill afford to do so. With the loss, they’re now tied with the Marlins for the last National League Wild Card spot — though after losing the season series, Miami would earn the tiebreaker and would be that third Wild Card team if the season ended Thursday.

“That’s not a good team that just took two out of three from us — or not our caliber team, I believe,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “We’ve just got to turn it around. It’s on me. It’s on the guys in that room.”

Nine games remain in the Cubs’ season, and the playoffs are still in play. But after seeing them struggle to put every aspect of the game together at the same time — not just in this loss but for most of the stretch that’s seen them lose 10 of their last 13 games — confidence from onlookers that they can flip the switch fast is low.

Thursday night felt like reminder after reminder of what’s gone wrong in this two-week slide.

Kyle Hendricks kept the game close for six innings, allowing just three runs (only one earned due to a Dansby Swanson fielding error in Pittsburgh’s two-run third inning). In that time, the Cubs put 10 runners on base, five of them reaching scoring position. And none of them scored.

Swanson played a big part in the deficit. Outside of the aforementioned error — of which Hendricks defended him by saying, “I’ve got to pick him up there” — he stepped to the plate three times in the first five innings with runners on base and at least one in scoring position. Here’s how those three at-bats went: an inning-ending fielder’s choice in the first, an inning-ending strikeout (with the bases loaded) in the third and a fly out in the fifth.

“Early on, first five or six innings just weren’t very acceptable for myself,” Swanson said. “Obviously, it’s something I take accountability for.”

When the script flipped in the later innings, and when Swanson came through with an RBI single and a two-run homer in his last two plate appearances, the pitching faltered.

Swanson’s RBI knock in the seventh got the Cubs to within two runs. Then Brad Boxberger gave two back to the Pirates in the eighth. The Cubs responded with a three-run rally in the bottom of the inning. Then Merryweather — probably the most trusted healthy arm in the bullpen at the moment — gave up that three-run shot in the ninth that ultimately made the difference.

“We didn’t play our style of baseball,” Ross said. “When we hit, we didn’t pitch. Some calls didn’t go our way. Just a little bit of, like, we’re not going to win when we don’t play clean baseball. … Mistakes in the field. Guys that don’t make mistakes made mistakes. That’s just where we’re at right now. We’ve got nine games left to play our style of baseball. We’ve got to play better.”

This is a sequence that the Cubs and Pirates would like to both collectively forget. Could've been runners on second and third with no outs. Could've been a momentum-shifting double play. Neither happened. pic.twitter.com/ftDdM2sT0h
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) September 22, 2023

After the Cubs finished off a sweep of the Giants on Sept. 6, they were 12 games over .500 with a firm grasp on the second Wild Card spot. FanGraphs gave them a 92.4 percent chance to make the postseason at the time.

The last two weeks taken a big chunk out of those odds. They’ve lost four straight series after losing only two before then after the All-Star break. Their playoff odds on FanGraphs fell to 33.4 percent after Thursday.

Timely hitting early on, better execution from the bullpen, cleaner defense and some calls going their way late — like a borderline pitch called ball-four instead of strike-three on Boxberger to start his inning and a bad called strike-three that should’ve been ball-four on Seiya Suzuki in the ninth — probably change the outcome Thursday.

called strike three, above the zone. instead of ball four to bring the tying run to the plate. everything is just so perfect pic.twitter.com/nyI1zqQt1f
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) September 22, 2023

But that didn’t happen, and they can’t hang their heads now. Plain and simple, they just have get back to winning ballgames.

“Shit, there’s stuff all over the place that we can point to,” Ross said. “It’s time to put up wins. No excuses. We’ve got to put up wins.”

Of course, the guys in the clubhouse are going to try and remain positive. Taking things one game at a time got them from 10 below .500 in June to where they are now. They won’t stray from that mentality, even if many on the outside believe the season is over.

“It just kind of gets magnified at this point in the season when things don’t go your way,” Swanson said. “It’s easy to look around and say, ‘Why can’t we do it?’ It’s not that we can’t; it’s just that we didn’t. Everyone in this locker room believes in one another and knows that it’s just a matter of time [until] things get rolling. And hopefully that starts tomorrow.”

Said Hendricks, who’s been in his fair share of playoff pushes in his Cubs career: “In some of those pushes, we’ve had stretches like this real late in the year and still pulled it out. I mean, every game is tough. Every game is critical. … We’ve just got to keep the simple focus is the bottom line. Simple focus, attack tomorrow. We have a great opportunity to go out and get back on track tomorrow.”

Again, the season isn’t over. They have the NL-worst Rockies in town this weekend before the season-ending road trip to Atlanta and Milwaukee. The pressure will only rise as they get closer to the end of the year, but a spot in the postseason is still possible if they turn things around quickly.

Whether they can do that remains to be seen.

“Got nine left, thank goodness,” Ross said. “Got a lot of games left to play good clean baseball, and this group is capable of doing that.”

Cubs playoff update: Loss to Pirates doesn’t knock them out of wild card position

Ryan Herrera — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 17:00:00 +0000

The Cubs (79-73) couldn’t pull off a second straight win Wednesday night, losing 13-7 to the Pirates. It was a disappointing defeat coming off a blowout win in the series opener and with Justin Steele starting the game. The Cubs have lost nine of their last 12 games.

But with the three teams directly trailing them in the National League Wild Card race also losing Wednesday, the Cubs maintained control of a playoff spot by 1/2 a game. Some breathing room would’ve been nice, for sure, but the loss didn’t cost them their position in the standings.

Still, with 10 games left on their schedule, that slim lead is anything but safe. They’ll have to turn the page quickly and get back on track to hold off the other challengers.

Here is CHGO’s daily update on the Cubs’ postseason hopes and where things stand with the rest of the playoff contenders.

Play of the Day

Here it is, the moment that had fans believing the Cubs would rally back against Pittsburgh. The outcome wasn’t what they wanted (or needed at this juncture), but it was still an electric grand slam — the Cubs’ second in as many games — for Ian Happ.

THAT IS THREE HITTER IAN HAPP TO YOU

pic.twitter.com/nZgNuhtuJ7
— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) September 21, 2023

Quote of the Day

“He’s been fantastic all season. He’s right in the Cy Young race. He’s one of the best starting pitchers in the National League this year. He’s been steady for us. He’s been the guy. We’ve relied on him all year. He’s been fantastic, and we’ll continue to rely on him moving forward” — Happ, on Justin Steele’s performance in 2023.

Standings

The Brewers won again Wednesday, moving them seven games ahead of the Cubs in the NL Central and dropping their magic number to clinch the division to 4. The division race appears all but over, even with three games left between the two teams at the end of the season. With that in mind, the wild card looks like the Cubs’ only shot at the playoffs.

The Phillies and Diamondbacks also won Wednesday, so the Cubs have fallen another game back of them as well. The Marlins, Reds and Giants all lost, though, so the Cubs still hold sole possession of the third Wild Card spot. They remain in control of their own postseason fate moving forward, with fewer losses than each of the three teams trailing them.

That obviously matters since there’s no more Game 163. Tiebreakers, starting with head-to-head record, will determine any ties at the end of the season, and they don’t hold those over either Miami or Cincinnati. They’ll have to continue holding those two teams off by at least a game the rest of the way.

As for the other three teams in the race, the Cubs hold the tiebreaker over only San Francisco. They lost the season series to both Philadelphia and Arizona, so they would lose those tiebreakers as well.

Schedules

Fasten those seatbelts. pic.twitter.com/zRHwTcouoT
— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) September 19, 2023

The Cubs complete their second-to-last home series of the regular season Thursday in the finale against the Pirates. Following that is a three-game weekend set versus the Rockies. Then, after an off day next Monday, they’ll head to Atlanta for a three-game series before ending the regular season with three in Milwaukee.

Here are the remaining schedules for the other five teams still in the Wild Card hunt:

Phillies: vs. NYM (4), vs. PIT (3), @ NYM (3)
Diamondbacks: @ NYY (3), @ CWS (3), vs. HOU (3)
Reds: vs. PIT (3), @ CLE (2), @ STL (3)
Marlins: vs. MIL (3), @ NYM (3), @ PIT (3)
Giants: @ LAD (4), vs. SD (3), vs. LAD (3)

Odds

According to FanGraphs’ playoff projections, the Cubs enter Thursday with a 45.9 percent chance to make the postseason. Their odds of clinching a wild card spot fell to 45.6 percent, and their odds at a division crown are down to 0.3 percent. Among the six teams in the wild card race, the Phillies (99.9 percent), Diamondbacks (84.7 percent) and Marlins (46.3 percent) are given better wild card odds than the Cubs. The Reds (20.8 percent) and the Giants (2.1 percent) are still within striking distance.

Today’s pitching matchup

Struggles and a major injury derailed him from 2021 through the first two months of this season, but Kyle Hendricks has looked more like “The Professor” since returning in late May.

On the season, Hendricks owns a 3.77 ERA in 22 starts. Over his last six outings, Hendricks has a 3.15 ERA, striking out 25 batters and walking only six in 34 1/3 innings during that stretch. At 33 years old, Hendricks is past his prime, but his offseason work has helped him regain some of what made him so dependable in his prime.

Hendricks isn’t expected to toss gems at this point in his career consistently, but as the pitcher who started Game 6 of the 2016 NLCS and Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, no moment is too big for him. This contest won’t be on that level, but he’s still a guy the Cubs would want on the mound in a big-game atmosphere.

The Pirates will counter with Johan Oviedo (8-14, 4.27 ERA). Oviedo is 2-1 with a 2.73 ERA in his last five starts — including a complete-game shutout on Aug. 28 — but the Cubs did beat him twice back in June.

Tweet of the Day

they scored 7 runs. the team currently has a playoff spot. you cant get mad at a lineup mixing in bench guys but then say a guy needs a day. its either were full go from here on out or were letting everyone play. pick a lane ppl, this is ridiculous https://t.co/ezS5ip0ExW
— DOM (@DOM_Frederic) September 21, 2023

Cubs need to keep taking it one game at a time in this playoff race

Ryan Herrera — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 10:59:48 +0000

The only thing that matters right now, considering the position the Cubs are in, is winning ballgames.

They entered Wednesday with a half-game lead on the third National League Wild Card spot. With less than two weeks left in the season, they just need stack wins and keep the teams below them in the standings at bay. And for the first three innings of their tilt with the Pirates, Justin Steele looked like he’d lead the way to a second straight ‘W’.

Steele escaped a jam in the first inning to keep the game scoreless, and he then sent down six straight in the second and third. He struck out six batters in that stretch, the first two looking and the last four swinging. After a tough outing in Arizona that saw him give up two three-run home runs, he looked much more like the guy who’d spent all season cementing himself as an NL Cy Young contender.

But then things unraveled in the fourth. The Pirates started the inning with six straight singles. Steele didn’t record an out before exiting the game, and he was charged with six earned runs in the frame (matching a season high).

“It happened fast,” Cubs manager David Ross said.

Justin Steele's is out of the game without recording an out in the fourth inning. The Pirates tagged him for four runs on six straight singles to begin the top of the fourth, ending his night early.

Here's the pitch location on each base hit. pic.twitter.com/7YKeVGvY4N
— Ryan Herrera (@ryan_a_herrera) September 21, 2023

Pittsburgh’s seven-run fourth inning made the difference. Ian Happ’s fifth-inning grand slam wasn’t;t enough to turn the game in his team’s favor, and after rebounding from a tough roadtrip with a blowout win in the series opener, the Cubs (79-73) dropped Game 2 of the three-game set, 13-7.

“Just kind of seemed like, whether they hit it hard or not, if they put it in play, it was going to find some grass and be a hit,” Steele said. “It was just one of them nights. Just kind of have to tip your cap to them. The balls they put in play just were able to be hits. You just have to move on from it.”

That last part is the key for the Cubs — move on from it.

Their ace got roughed up, their bullpen didn’t hold things down later on and their offense, despite putting up seven runs, couldn’t overcome the deficit themselves. It’s a tough loss to swallow after such an impressive performance Tuesday.

Nonetheless, it’s a loss the Cubs have to wash off quickly. The series finale awaits Thursday, and with only 10 games left, they must shift their focus to the next game.

Take it from Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, who spoke in the home dugout at Wrigley Field before Tuesday’s contest: “We had put ourselves really in the catbird seat at one point, and obviously this road trip certainly hurt that. But we would’ve loved to be in this position in the middle of July. We’re here right now, and we have 12 games to play really well. That’s the nice thing is that we’re still very much in a situation where, if we play well, then we should be playing in October.”

Since then, the Cubs have split the first two games of the series. But coming off a 2-8 stretch, he kept the perspective that the season wasn’t over. They were still very much in a position to make the playoffs. If the Cubs could just move past that tough stretch and get back to winning, time remained to play themselves into October.

Those words still ring true, even after suffering their ninth loss in their last 12 games. The three teams directly below them in the Wild Card standings (Marlins, Reds and Giants) all lost Wednesday, too. That means the Cubs maintained their half-game lead on the last Wild Card spot, so despite falling seven games back in the division, making the playoffs absolutely remains a possibility.

There’s inherent pressure in this race, with each game potentially deciding who’s in and who’s out in the end. But there have been no signs that anyone in the clubhouse is feeling it.

“We’ve come back from big deficits in games, we’ve come back from deficits in playoff races already this year,” Nico Hoerner. “Even within the losses that we had in that road trip, I felt like the character and effort of the group never wavered.”

It starts from the top. Ross has said all season that the Cubs can’t get too high or too low when the good or bad moments come.

That message has been taken to heart by the players. Sure, there are a number of contributors going through their first end-of-season playoff push. But there are also plenty of veterans in the clubhouse, from Happ to Kyle Hendricks to Dansby Swanson to Cody Bellinger to Yan Gomes, who’ve been in situations like this in their careers. They’ve experienced the pressures and challenges of making that final playoff push. They can help the entire team navigate the remaining stretch of the regular season.

It begins with moving onto the next day. Losses like this, especially late in the season nearing the end of a playoff race, can sting. But there’s another opportunity to get back in the win column Thursday.

So, while the number of games left continues to shrink, turning the page to the next one after a loss is what the Cubs have to do.

“We’ve been saying this all along, but you’ve just got to go day to day,” Happ said. “You’ve got to move on to the next one.”

Cubs playoff update: Alexander Canario’s grand slam keys strong start for wild card push

Ryan Herrera — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 16:00:00 +0000

The Cubs (79-72) managed to rebound from a 2-8 stretch (including a 1-5 road trip) with a 14-1 blowout win over the Pirates on Tuesday. A victory like this can provide a big boost as the playoff race heats up.

The Cubs snapped their five-game losing streak with the win. A National League Wild Card spot is back in their possession. The group has responded to adversity all season, and Tuesday’s performance was a sign that it might have enough left in the tank to make it to October.

But there are still 11 games left on the schedule. The Cubs will need to continue playing what manager David Ross calls “our brand of baseball” to get there.

Here is CHGO’s daily update on the Cubs’ postseason hopes and where things stand with the rest of the playoff contenders.

Play of the Day

What a night for 23-year-old Alexander Canario, who marked his first MLB start with a grand slam in the eighth inning.

First career hit
First career homer

Alexander Canario have a night!

pic.twitter.com/lxbjnRXNKP
— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) September 20, 2023

Quote of the day

“It’s surreal. I really have no words. Just to think back, in January, I was in a boot, I was using a scooter to move around. And now, I hit a grand slam in the big leagues. It’s just a surreal moment” – Alexander Canario, through interpreter Fredy Quevedo, on the journey that led to his grand slam against the Pirates

Standings

The Brewers matched the Cubs with a win Tuesday, meaning they remain six games ahead in the NL Central. The Cubs can keep winning, but if they don’t get some help from Milwaukee’s opponents, it won’t matter. So with a division crown getting further and further away from being realistic, the wild card standings are what we should be monitoring.

Fortunately for the Cubs, the Reds lost to the Twins, so they’ve taken sole possession of the third NL Wild Card spot. This means they have complete control of their own postseason fate moving forward, given that they have fewer losses than each of the three teams trailing them.

That obviously matters since there is no more Game 163. Tiebreakers, starting with head-to-head record, will determine any ties at the end of the season, and they don’t hold those over either the Marlins or Reds, the two teams right behind them in the standings. So, they’ll have to hold those two teams off by at least a game the rest of the way.

As for the other three teams in the race, the Cubs hold the tiebreaker over only the Giants. The Cubs lost the season series to both the Phillies and Diamondbacks, so they would lose those tiebreakers, too.

Schedules

Fasten those seatbelts. pic.twitter.com/zRHwTcouoT
— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) September 19, 2023

The Cubs continue their final homestand of the regular season Wednesday with Game 2 of 3 against the Pirates. Following that is a three-game weekend set versus the Rockies. And after an off day next Monday, they’ll head to Atlanta for a three-game, mid-week series before ending the regular season with three in Milwaukee.

Here are the remaining schedules for other five teams still in the Wild Card hunt:

Phillies: @ ATL (1), vs. NYM (4), vs. PIT (3), @ NYM (3)
Diamondbacks: vs. SF (1), @ NYY (3), @ CWS (3), vs. HOU (3)
Reds: vs. MIN (1), vs. PIT (3), @ CLE (2), @ STL (3)
Marlins: vs. NYM (1), vs. MIL (3), @ NYM (3), @ PIT (3)
Giants: @ ARI (1), @ LAD (4), vs. SD (3), vs. LAD (3)

Odds

According to FanGraphs, the Cubs enter Wednesday with a 52.3 percent chance to make the playoffs. Their odds to clinch a wild card spot are at 51 percent. Among the six teams in the Wild Card race, the Phillies (98.8 percent), Diamondbacks (65.5 percent) and Marlins (51.9 percent) are given better wild card odds than the Cubs, while the Reds (26 percent) and the Giants (5.4 percent) have fallen back but are still within striking distance.

Today’s pitching matchup

Game 2 of the series will feature both teams’ top starting pitchers taking the bump.

Justin Steele (16-4, 2.73 ERA) will look to rebound from one of his only rough starts of the season Friday, when he allowed six earned runs (his season high) in six innings in Arizona.

Steele is still firmly in the NL Cy Young conversation, and strong outings down the stretch will bolster his case. However, while he’s acknowledged what that award would mean, he’s maintained that his main focus is leading his team to the playoffs.

Ross has stated that Steele’s start day now feels like “win day” with how often he puts his team in position to win whenever he takes the bump. So, Wednesday will be Steele’s next opportunity to help the Cubs continue going in a positive direction after a tough road trip last week.

Also, with the rotation being shuffled thanks to Monday’s off day, Steele will start at least once more next week in Atlanta, with the possibility that he could start the final game of the season in Milwaukee if a win is needed for the Cubs to clinch a playoff spot. So, Wednesday could be the start of a three-outing stretch for Steele to help get his squad to the postseason.

The Pirates will counter with Mitch Keller (12-9, 4.04 ERA). While Keller has had a up-and-down season, he’s currently on a strong run of starts over the past month. He’s 3-1 with a 2.77 ERA in his last six outings, which includes eight shutout innings against the Cubs in Pittsburgh on Aug. 25.

Tweet of the day

Little positivity for you, Cubs fans. https://t.co/OdVlGr5ds2
— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) September 20, 2023

Cubs rebound from tough road trip in 14-1 rout of Pirates

Ryan Herrera — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 09:48:38 +0000

As Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer put it Tuesday, the team’s 10-game skid did sort of feel like it “came out of nowhere.”

Less than two weeks ago, they had just got done sweeping the Giants — another National League Wild Card contender — at home, moving to just 1 1/2 games back in the NL Central and building a solid 3 1/2 game lead on the second Wild Card spot. Then they dropped eight of their next 10 games, including five of six on the road, losing their grip on a playoff position and looking like they were on their way to a disastrous end to a bumpy but ultimately fun season.

So, with just 12 games remaining in the regular season entering Tuesday’s series opener versus the Pirates, the Cubs just needed to figure out a way to get back in the win column.

“We played so well leading up to that point, I don’t think anyone expected us to suddenly go 2-8 in that stretch,” Hoyer said. “But it happened, and now we’ve got recover from it.”

The Cubs weren’t going to make drastic changes to try and reverse their luck.

Yes, Christopher Morel and Alexander Canario were written into the lineup at third base (where Morel hadn’t played since July 5) and designated hitter (in Canario’s first career start), respectively, with a lefty starting the game for the Pirates. But those moves came more as a result of Nick Madrigal (right hamstring strain) officially joining Jeimer Candelario (low back strain) on the 10-day injured list Tuesday, which meant the Cubs needed dip into their corner infield depth.

As far as how he approached questions about playing time or potential days off, Cubs manager David Ross reiterated what he’s been saying for weeks: “We’re going to lean on the guys that got us here.”

That means the Cubs will be relying on their regular players to be in the lineup and produce in order to complete the playoff push. Ross pointed out the two off days over the last five days, plus another day off next Monday, as time to rest down the stretch. But with less than two weeks left in the regular season, there’s no more giving guys breathers. The everyday players will need to be the ones leading the charge.

“I do understand the desire to believe in the group of guys that kind of dragged us to this point, that got us to not sell at the deadline,” Hoyer said. “I understand that that is the group that’s been in the fight the whole time.”

So, Ross continued to roll with the Cubs’ regulars as they attempted a quick turnaround to start the homestand. And although Alexander Canario’s grand slam in the eighth was the highlight-reel moment of the game, “the guys that got us here” played major roles in the Cubs’ 14-1 win over the Pirates.

Nico Hoerner reached base twice and contributed a sacrifice fly out of the leadoff spot. Dansby Swanson’s two-run homer in the first inning provided some early cushion. Seiya Suzuki went 3-for-4 with a home run and a double. Morel worked two walks and scored three times. Cody Bellinger’s struggles (he was hitting just .205 with a .564 OPS in his last 10 games coming in) continued to start his night, but he launched a three-run home run in his last at-bat to end his night on a high note.

The pitching side was just as impressive. Javier Assad — who’s help in stabilizing the rotation played a role the Cubs’ rise in August — did get hit hard (93.9 mph average exit velocity on 12 balls in play), but he limited the damage and held Pittsburgh to just one run. Drew Smyly, Jose Cuas, Mark Leiter Jr. and Luke Little held the Pirates to only two walks over the final four frames, finishing off a dominant performance for the Cubs.

There’s a bunch of “guys that got us here” involved in that win, a win that gave the Cubs sole possession of the last Wild Card spot (by a 1/2 game over the Marlins).

Could some have used more days off during the recent stretch that saw them play 27 games in 27 days, with 14 in 13 to finish it? Probably, but players across the league are dealing with things at this point in the season. Nobody wants to sit out at the end of playoff push.

“This game that we play is a marathon, it’s not a sprint, but when you get into these moments that kind of does feel like a sprint, just being able to have the experience to go through it and understand that you’ve got to just push yourself each and every day to make something happen,” Swanson said. “No one on any team feels their best right now. But that’s where you’d like to thrive is when your back is against the wall and things are a little bit challenging. That’s when you step up.”

That mindset is shared throughout the locker room, especially considering the season is not over. They lost their playoff position thanks to the 2-8 stretch, yes, but they still have some control over their playoff fate.

Whether it’s “the guys that got us here” or some younger players stepping into larger roles, they all understand that the get to the postseason, they have to focus on taking care of things one day at a time.

“You’ve got to understand that there’s always going to be tough stretches, no matter what,” Ian Happ said. “Even the best Cubs teams that were ever here went through tough two-week spots. That’s baseball. There’s teams that’ll lose three in a row, even though they’re going to win 105 games this year.

“You’ve got to be OK with that, and you’ve got to keep moving to the next day and understand that it really is one day at a time. It’s very cliche, but it’s super important.”

Cubs playoff update: Standings, schedules and odds with 12 games left

Ryan Herrera — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 20:47:37 +0000

After a largely disappointing 10-game stretch, and with the Pirates and Rockies now coming into town this week for what should be a favorable homestand, the Cubs are hoping to quickly turn the page and get back to taking care of business.

Entering Tuesday, the Cubs are 78-72. They’ve lost five straight games and eight of their last 10 as they’ve lost their grasp on a National League Wild Card spot. Still, 12 games remain on the Cubs’ schedule, and we’ve seen this group respond to adversity all season. They’ll need to figure out how to turn things around quickly, but they’ve also shown everyone why they shouldn’t be counted out just yet.

Here is CHGO’s daily update on the Cubs’ postseason hopes and where things stand with the rest of the playoff contenders.

Standings

Courtesy: MLB.com

Entering Tuesday, the Cubs seem to be all but out of the race in the NL Central. Despite the Brewers’ loss to the Cardinals on Monday, the Cubs are still six games back with just 12 to play. A lot would have to go right for them to take the division crown.

So, it’s probably more worth looking at the Wild Card standings at this point in the season. The good news is, with the Marlins’ loss to the Mets on Monday, the Cubs moved a 1/2 game up in the standing and slid back into the last Wild Card spot. Technically, they’re tied with the Reds, as both are six games above .500, but the Cubs lead by percentage points.

However, remember that there is no more Game 163. Tiebreakers will determine any ties at the end of the season, and since the Cubs lost the season series to the Reds, Cincinnati would win the tiebreaker in the event the teams remained tied after the regular season. So, the Cubs would need to be a full game ahead in order to stay ahead.

As for the other four teams in the race, the Cubs hold the tiebreaker over only the Giants. Each of the Phillies, Diamondbacks and Marlins won their season series against the Cubs, so the same tiebreaker rules would apply.

Schedules

Fasten those seatbelts. pic.twitter.com/zRHwTcouoT
— CHGO Cubs (@CHGO_Cubs) September 19, 2023

The Cubs begin their last 12-game stretch of the season with a homestand featuring three-game set with the Pirates and Rockies. After an off day next Monday, they’ll head to Atlanta for a three-game, mid-week series before ending the season with three in Milwaukee.

Here are the remaining schedules for other five teams still in the Wild Card hunt:

Phillies: @ ATL (2), vs. NYM (4), vs. PIT (3), @ NYM (3)
Diamondbacks: vs. SF (2), @ NYY (3), @ CWS (3), vs. HOU (3)
Reds: vs. MIN (2), vs. PIT (3), @ CLE (2), @ STL (3)
Marlins: vs. NYM (2), vs. MIL (3), @ NYM (3), @ PIT (3)
Giants: @ ARI (2), @ LAD (4), vs. SD (3), vs. LAD (3)

Odds

According to FanGraphs, the Cubs entered Tuesday with a 45.8 percent chance to make the playoffs. Their odds to clinch a Wild Card spot are 44.1 percent. Among the six teams in the Wild Card race, the Phillies (99.4 percent) and Diamondbacks (56.3 percent) are ahead, the Marlins (42.8 percent) and Reds (42.6 percent) are just below and the Giants (13 percent) are far back but still within striking distance.

Today’s game preview

Javier Assad (3-3, 3.10 ERA) will take the bump for the Cubs on Tuesday to open the series with the Pirates at Wrigley Field.

Assad played a big part in stabilizing the rotation when he rejoined it in early August. In his first six starts, he posted a 1.95 ERA, struck out 27 batters and walked only 10 over 37 innings. He went 2-0 in that stretch, and the Cubs won five of his six starts.

In his two starts since, though, he’s struggled. In outings against Arizona at home and at Colorado, he posted a 7.27 ERA, allowing seven earned runs in 8 2/3 innings. The Diamondbacks and Rockies combined to put up a .959 OPS, including walking five times while striking out only four times.

While Assad had been a breath of fresh air his first month back in the rotation, he’ll have to turn things around to help the Cubs complete their playoff push.

The Pirates had not named a starter as of Tuesday morning.

Tweet of the day

When you've been paying attention to the scouting reports pic.twitter.com/Nqiq07lkUh
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) September 18, 2023

Cubs mailbag: Slumping, deadline reflecting, Stroman & more

Ryan Herrera — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 04:02:02 +0000

If the season had ended Sunday night, the Cubs would’ve been out of the playoffs.

That would’ve been crazy to think would happen considering where they were less than two weeks ago — FanGraphs gave them a 92.4 percent shot to make the postseason after sweeping the Giants on Sept. 6 — but here we are just 12 days later. It’s a disappointing stretch, for sure, but it’s not one that has completely sunk the season yet. Entering Monday, the Cubs are very much still in the Wild Card race. It is certainly not over.

With 12 games remaining, Cubs fans have questions about the direction of the team. Inside this mailbag, we’ll discuss what has gotten the Cubs to this point and what the future might hold.

Questions have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

gaross18 asks: What will it take to get Cubs out of this funk?

That’s the million-dollar question, and one that’s so hard to answer. If there was an easy answer, David Ross and Co. would’ve done it by now rather than let this turn into a five-game skid to end a 2-8 run. It’s a slump that’s taken the Cubs from comfortably in the second National League Wild Card spot to now out of the playoffs entirely because of tiebreakers.

There’s really not a whole lot the Cubs can do except just try to be better, honestly. It’s probably too late in the season to implement major changes. Ross has tried out different lineups, specifically by moving Ian Happ to the leadoff spot over the last two games (which I’ve been in favor of). It also now appears that Jameson Taillon’s next start will be skipped, as Javier Assad, Justin Steele and Kyle Hendricks are lined up to start the three games against the Pirates. So, in terms of doing different things to try to stack some wins, those are some examples.

But yeah, they just need to get better performances in all facets of the game. The rotation (4.15 ERA, 11th in MLB in the last 10 games) and bullpen (3.94, 15th) could stand to see some improvement, but the offense (85 wRC+, 20th) has not been good enough during this stretch, especially when it comes to getting the big hit (79 wRC+ with RISP, 25th). Perhaps the lineup changes and some more at-bats for someone like Pete Crow-Armstrong could provide a spark. But overall, the Cubs need to continue to keep their “one game at a time” mindset and look for better play down the stretch.

furiousjeff asks: Do you believe it was a failure for the Cubs’ front office to not add more during the trade deadline?

It depends on the context you’re looking at it through. Could the Cubs have used more reinforcements at the deadline? Of course, and now that Jeimer Candelario is on the injured list, the bullpen is taxed and it seems like they’re struggling to the finish line, it seems even more obvious.

But also, think about the fact that the Cubs are right up against the luxury tax threshold (per FanGraphs, currently just over $5 million below it). By not adding, the Cubs saved themselves some money and have reset the payroll for luxury-tax purposes. That means they can go into the winter with money to spend, and by not going all in on this season — which, let’s face it, wasn’t a season they should’ve gone all in — they aren’t getting hit with penalties for going over it.

I understand why some fans will look back at the trade deadline and wish they would’ve done more. But I also know why not going over the luxury tax threshold made sense this season from the Cubs’ perspective. So back to the original question: even though it stings not to have those reinforcements right now, I ultimately would not call it a failure on the front office for not adding more.

RadioMaverick asks: Looking toward the playoffs, how would you look to line up pitching both the starters and the bullpen?

Hey, it’s nice to see someone hasn’t given up on the Cubs’ playoff hopes.

Let’s assume the Cubs earn a Wild Card spot. At this point, the best option for the rotation for the Wild Card round is Steele, Hendricks and Jordan Wicks considering how they’ve performed (and in hopes that Steele doesn’t have to pitch Game 162 in Milwaukee).

This is operating under the assumption that Marcus Stroman isn’t built up enough to take one of those starts, so he and Assad would move to the bullpen. You’re also looking at Drew Smyly, Brad Boxberger, Mark Leiter Jr., and Julian Merryweather as relief options, and the Cubs hope Michael Fulmer and Adbert Alzolay will be healthy and off the IL to join them. The rest of the bullpen should then be filled out with some combination of Hayden Wesneski, Luke Little, Daniel Palencia and even Jameson Taillon.

Right now, that’s how I’m looking at the rotation and bullpen makeups for the postseason — if the Cubs can get there.

furiousjeff asks: Where do you see Marcus Stroman lining up in the bullpen? Long relief, 2-3 innings guy? Or high-leverage arm?

A mixture of both would be my guess. We’ve already seen Stroman make his return for two innings in a blowout Friday, and then he took the mound in the bottom of the 10th on Saturday. It doesn’t feel like there’s any one role coming for him.

He’s even said himself that he’s comfortable doing whatever is needed to help the team win, telling reporters in Arizona that he’d be fine pitching in whatever role his coaches ask him to pitch in. So for now, I think we’ll see a little variety in Stroman’s role, whether that’s just a single inning or multiple. However, I will also say I can’t imagine Ross would use him only in mop-up duty considering how strong Stroman has looked when he’s been healthy this season. Expect him to get his share of leverage situations moving forward.

Sir Silent of the Fogs asks: What do you see as the Cubs’ No. 1 priority in the offseason?

For me, the No. 1 priority is re-signing Cody Bellinger. He makes so much sense given his age (28), his defensive versatility (can play first base and any outfield position) and his strong resurgence at the plate (136 wRC+). His 4.0 fWAR shows just how valuable he’s been to the Cubs this season, and both sides have loved the fit together in 2023. Being comfortable and enjoying his season in Chicago is a factor that will work in the Cubs’ favor.

Now, as a Scott Boras client, you can’t expect the Cubs to get a discount to keep him around. There will be other team looking to pay for his services, and there’s probably a good shot that Bellinger nails down center-fielder money on his contract. So even if the Cubs envision playing him a lot of first base if he returns, they’d still have to pay up to bring him back.

But the fit just makes too much sense to not be interested in a reunion. No, maybe the Cubs shouldn’t go overboard on a contract to bring him back into the fold, but if they can match Bellinger’s asking price, they should absolutely do what they can to re-sign him.

Players like Bellinger don’t fall into your lap every season, after all.

Cubs still hold an NL Wild Card spot but need a turnaround

Ryan Herrera — Sat, 16 Sep 2023 17:00:00 +0000

When the Diamondbacks visited Wrigley Field to start a four-game set last week, they were going up against a Cubs team that was at the peak of its hot streak. They were 12 games above .500 after finishing off a sweep of the Giants. They had won 17 of their last 25 games dating back to Aug. 9, which was also the last time they’d lost a series (and only one of two series losses in the second half at that point).

The Cubs were quickly climbing the standings, sitting just 1 1/2 games back of both the Brewers in National League Central and the Phillies for the top NL Wild Card spot. And with Arizona in town, they were getting another shot at putting more space between them and a team also in the Wild Card mix.

“We’ve got a chance to kind of put teams in our rearview if we can, right? And when you do that against a really good team that’s chasing you, it’s a good feeling,” Cubs manager David Ross said following the sweep of San Francisco.

Obviously, things haven’t worked out that way.

The Cubs dropped the first three games of that D-Backs series before avoiding a sweep with a win on Sunday. They then lost two of three in Colorado to the Rockies, who sit at the bottom of the NL. And following a 6-4 loss to open the series in Arizona on Friday, the team’s funk continues.

Now look, the season isn’t over for the Cubs. Ross’ group has proven to be resilient time and time again this season. Whether it was clawing their way back from a five-run, mid-game deficit on the South Side on July 26 or clawing their way back from 10 games below .500 to convince the front office to buy at the trade deadline, they’ve proven nobody should count them out.

Not to mention the fact that, even after Friday night’s loss, the Cubs (78-70) still hold the second NL Wild Card spot by 1 1/2 games (though they’re now 5 1/2 back of Milwaukee in the division). But with only 14 games left in the regular season, a playoff spot is certainly not guaranteed if they can’t turn things around.

After tonight's loss here's a look at where the Cubs' head-to-head tiebreakers stand in NL Wild Card race:

Cubs hold tiebreakers over: Giants
Teams with tiebreakers over Cubs: Phillies, Diamondbacks, Reds, Marlins

Not a great position to be in as the Cubs cling to 2nd WC spot.
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) September 16, 2023

On Friday, the offensive struggles the road trip has brought continued. Only one of the four starters they’ve faced this week had a sub-5.00 ERA (Ty Black at 4.58 on Wednesday) going into each game, yet all of four held the Cubs to three runs or fewer over five-plus innings. Friday’s starter for the Diamondbacks, Brandon Pfaadt (6.25 ERA), gave up just four hits and a walk across 5 1/3 scoreless innings. From being unable to add onto leads to baserunning mishaps to an inability to get much offense going, this week has just not gone right offensively for the Cubs.

Not that it’s been much better on the pitching side, either. Only Jordan Wicks on Monday has managed to throw a quality start. Javier Assad and Jameson Taillon allowed a combined seven earned runs in 8 1/3 innings in the two losses at Coors Field. And even Justin Steele, who’s currently in the thick of the NL Cy Young race, had one of his worst starts of the year Friday, giving up six earned runs (his most in a single outing in 2023) in six innings.

A taxed bullpen, still missing Adbert Alzolay for at least another nine days, did get a reinforcement with the return of Marcus Stroman, who tossed two innings of scoreless relief behind Steele.

Stroman hadn’t pitched since July 31. He originally went on the injured list with right hip inflammation, but he suffered a right rib cartilage fracture that extended his stay on the IL until Friday. With little time left in the season, the Cubs have opted for now to bring Stroman back as a reliever — which, according to what he told reporters in Arizona on Friday, he’s perfectly fine with.

"They can use me in whatever role they want."@STR0 on his return from the IL. pic.twitter.com/mN1VEPYn9i
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) September 16, 2023

That team-first mentality is certainly shared throughout the clubhouse. The front office kept the group together and gave it a shot to complete the playoff push after the trade deadline. Now, making the postseason is the priority, but a stretch like they’ve experienced over the last week has trimmed their margin for error.

Yes, if the season ended Friday, the Cubs would be playoff-bound. Unfortunately for them, there are still 14 games to play, and with every defeat, they’re losing their grip on a postseason spot.

A quick turnaround, then, could help them salvage the last two games of the series in Arizona — and it might even save their season.

5 things to know about top Cubs prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong

Ryan Herrera — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 21:28:59 +0000

With the Cubs looking to lock down a playoff spot over the last three weeks of the regular season, per reports, it appears they’ll be asking top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong to help them get there.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported Monday morning the Cubs’ plan to call up the 21-year-old phenom and activate him for Tuesday’s game in Colorado. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand later reported Crow-Armstrong is flying into Denver on Monday, with the possibility that he could be activated in time for Monday night’s series opener against the Rockies.

Big news in Chicago: Top outfield prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong is being called up by the Cubs, sources tell ESPN. The plan is for him to be activated on Tuesday. Cubs are gearing up for a playoff run, and their best prospect will be there with them.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 11, 2023

Pete Crow-Armstrong is flying to Denver to join the Cubs today, per source. He could be activated for tonight’s game against the Rockies.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) September 11, 2023

“We think Pete is really mature, and he’s an amazing competitor,” Cubs vice president of player development Jared Banner said on Aug. 29, when asked if he believed Crow-Armstrong would be ready for a promotion if the front office made that decision. “He shows up every day looking to work and get better, and he’s shown the ability to adjust and respond to adversity when it comes. So, he’s in a really good spot.”

Crow-Armstrong has risen to the top of the Cubs’ prospect rankings, and MLB Pipeline ranks him the No. 12 overall prospect in baseball. Before he makes is highly-anticipated debut, here are five things to know about PCA:

1. He has swung the bat well at every level

While offense hasn’t necessarily been Crow-Armstrong’s calling card in the minors, he’s managed to be a productive hitter at every level in the minors. With Low-A Myrtle Beach and High-A South Bend in 2022, he combined to hit .312 with an .896 OPS. In 73 games with Double-A Tennessee to start to 2023, he hit .289 with an .898 OPS. And since joining Triple-A Iowa on Aug. 1, he’s hit .271 with an .829 OPS.

The Cubs helped him incorporate some minor swing changes that have boosted his power potential. He’s already hit 20 home runs in the minors this year, with six coming in just 34 games at Triple-A. He ended this last stretch slugging .550 in nine September games at Iowa, including two grand slams, a triple and a double in the last week.

Make that TWO grand slams on the series for Pete Crow-Armstrong.

MLB's No. 12 prospect (@Cubs) logs back-to-back three-hit games for the @IowaCubs: pic.twitter.com/QRKy5jva9t
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 10, 2023

Defense and base running (more on those in a second) are likely to be where he contributes most to the Cubs down the stretch, but his bat certainly appears like it’ll be a plus for him at the big league level.

2. He has Gold Glove defensive potential

As much as he’s progressed offensively, Crow-Armstrong is widely seen as an elite defender in center field. So much so that he might be considered among the game’s best defensive outfielders the second he touches a major league field.

Here’s what MLB Pipeline, who gave him an 80 (out of 80) grade in the field, has to say about his defense on their prospect profile:

As exciting as Crow-Armstrong’s enhanced offensive upside is, it pales in comparison to his defense. Scouts give top-of-the-scale grades to his center-field skills, as he exhibits tremendous range from gap to gap with his combination of plus speed and precision reads and routes, and he completes the package with solid arm strength.

Just four Cubs outfielders have ever won a Gold Glove, and only Bob Dernier (1984) did it as a center fielder. It may not be until next year that Crow-Armstrong mans that spot full time, but he might already be under consideration for the award by the time the season starts.

CATCH OF THE YEAR

Top-3 @Cubs prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong is a magician. What a play!#SCTop10 @ESPNAssignDesk pic.twitter.com/mcfXMhK9J7
— South Bend Cubs (@SBCubs) July 3, 2022

3. He’s also a stolen base threat

When the Cubs need a pinch-runner late in the game, Crow-Armstrong could very well be the guy who comes off the bench to put the pressure on the opponent.

He has 60-grade speed, according to MLB Pipeline, and he’s put that on display throughout his minor league career. In 2022, he swiped 32 bags in 43 attempts. He’s been even better this year, stealing 37 bases and only being caught 10 times.

Led by Nico Hoerner’s 38 steals, five Cubs have stolen 10 bases this season, all having set new career highs. And the Cubs in general have been much more aggressive on the base paths. Possibly aided by rule changes MLB enacted for this season, their total of 123 steals in 2023 is already their most since finishing with that many in 1991. They shouldn’t be any less willing to push the envelope on the bases, and adding Crow-Armstrong to that mix will benefit that aspect of their game strategy.

4. He may not be an everyday player right away

While it’s not a perfect comparison, Crow-Armstrong’s promotion brings to mind Hoerner’s quick rise to the majors. Almost exactly four years ago, the Cubs’ shortstop depth was devastated by injuries. With that team still battling for a playoff spot, they called up Hoerner, who was drafted in the first round just 15 months prior, to take the position.

Even Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer noted Hoerner’s story when asked a few weeks ago about his willingness to be aggressive with minor league call-ups down the stretch.

“Look at 2019; we brought Nico off his couch to play shortstop,” Hoyer said on Aug. 16. “So I mean, I think we’ve been creative when we feel like it’s the right thing to do for the organization. We’re not in that position right now. But certainly, when you have a chance to go to the playoffs and you have a chance to win, you’re a lot more aggressive with those kinds of decisions.”

However, it’s not an exact comparison at the moment, because Crow-Armstrong may not start off with an everyday job. Cubs manager David Ross has maintained that “the guys that got us here” will continue to play. That means Cody Bellinger, Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ and Mike Tauchman will continue to be in the outfield mix, and Crow-Armstrong likely will play a lesser role in that equation (unless something like an injury requires him to take on more responsibilities).

Still, with his defensive prowess and base running ability, Crow-Armstrong could very much carve out a role to end the season.

5. He was acquired in the Javy Báez trade

When the Cubs sold off most of their core at the 2021 trade deadline, Javier Báez (along with Trevor Williams) was shipped to Queens for a 19-year-old Mets prospect who played just six games after having season-ending surgery for a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

While Crow-Armstrong didn’t play much in the minors prior to the Cubs bringing him into the fold, he’s absolutely lived up to any expectations thrust upon him by being the return for a World Series champion. And while Báez has since left New York and struggled the past two seasons in Detroit (74 wRC+ across both years), Crow-Armstrong has quickly turned into quite possibly the face of the Cubs’ future.

It’s safe to say Hoyer is well on his way to being proven right in making that deal two years ago.

And here’s one more fun fact: if Crow-Armstrong makes his debut at Coors Field, it’ll be at the same place that Báez made his. Báez went 1-for-6 on Aug. 5, 2014, in Colorado, which included him hitting the game-winning home run in the 12^th inning.

Cubs win finale against Diamondbacks, maintain playoff position

Jared Wyllys — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 03:12:27 +0000

Thanks to a familiar recipe of good pitching and solid defense, the Cubs salvaged the last game of a four-game set against the Diamondbacks. Those two qualities are what this club was built on going into the 2023 season, and both factored into Sunday’s 5-2 win.

After losing the first three games to Arizona as the offense struggled against top-tier pitching in Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, starter Kyle Hendricks and the combined effort of Jose Cuas, Mark Leiter, Jr., Hayden Wesneski, and Julian Merryweather out of the bullpen kept Arizona to two runs on Sunday.

Hendricks succeeded on his changeup that has kept hitters off balance for years, striking out four in the first two innings. He pitched into the sixth, scattering seven hits across 5 ⅔ innings and allowing both of Arizona’s runs. The bullpen combined for 3 ⅓ innings and never allowed a runner to reach scoring position until Pavin Smith got to second in the ninth inning on defensive indifference.

“That’s what we can bring every single day,” David Ross said of his team’s performance on the mound and on defense. “These guys have done a really nice job of pitching for a while now. Our starters continue to go out and give us a really nice outing and a chance to win.”

The Cubs bullpen ERA (3.93) ranks 14th in baseball, but that’s a significant difference from where they were in May and early June, when the team was well below .500. Some roles are more clearly defined at this point in the season, and when needed, Ross can call on different guys to fill in and be flexible. Michael Fulmer has been out with a right forearm strain since August 26, so guys like Cuas and Leiter, Jr. have had to get outs in spots he would normally take. And on Sunday, Merryweather took the ninth inning and earned his first save of the season.

“Those guys have given me more than I ever could have asked for, to be honest,” Ross said of his bullpen. “They’ve held down the back end of our games and done a really nice job in that.

“There’s so many big, important pieces to our team, but those guys continue to post and give us all they got.”

Behind them, the Cubs defense helped in keeping the Diamondbacks’ nine hits from turning into big innings. As a group, they ranked sixth in the league in defensive runs saved (40) headed into Sunday. Notably, left fielder Ian Happ converted a fifth-inning double play that turned the tide on what could have been a game-shifting inning for Arizona.

Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. lead the inning off with a double and then scored thanks to back-to-back singles by Emmanuel Rivera and Seby Zavala. With Rivera on second, Geraldo Perdomo hit a fly ball to left field, where Ian Happ made the catch for one out and then a very quick throw to second base to catch Rivera off the bag for a double play.

“They’re getting a little momentum there, getting a couple hits in a row, guys on base,” Hendricks said. “For him to come in and make the play and double the guy off second, it really just shut down the inning. That was huge.”

Catch + outfield assist = double play!

@ihapp_1 pic.twitter.com/Qis0Zqi4k8
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 10, 2023

“You’re just trying to catch the ball, first thing,” Happ said. “And when you see he’s a little bit off there, getting rid of it quick. I played infield once upon a time, so that’s when it shows up.”

A quick glove to hand transfer is key to making that play. With the distance Happ had to make the throw to second, an extra moment getting the ball into his throwing hand makes the difference the other way. That transfer is a move familiar to middle infielders – Happ played a lot of second base early in his career and as recently as 2021 – and gathering the ball in the outfield and getting the ball released quickly helped him get Rivera out at second.

Obviously, hitting three home runs is going to help win ballgames, too. The Cubs scored in the first on a Seiya Suzuki RBI double and then opened things up with three solo home runs in the third inning. Dansby Swanson drove in an insurance run in the fifth.

Dropping three games out of four to the Diamondbacks, who are right behind the Cubs in the wild card race, might eventually prove costly. But Ross has touted his ballclub’s unwavering consistency all season, and he credits that for helping them weather tough patches like a challenging four game series.

“When two teams line up with similar records, it’s going to be tough, and one little detail here or there is going to push it the other way,” he said.

On the whole, the Cubs are entering into one of the final stretches of the season. After they go to Colorado and Arizona this week, they have one homestand left before finishing the season in Atlanta and Milwaukee at the end of the month.

There are a lot of important games left; not only three more against the Diamondbacks, but the Cubs finish the year on the road against a team that has already clinched a playoff spot (the Braves) and one they’ve been chasing in their division all season (the Brewers).

Their consistently good pitching and defense have helped them weather stretches when the lineup has struggled. Behind all of that, there’s a clubhouse with a significant veteran presence. And not just guys with a lot of years in the big leagues, but a group that has logged a lot of playoff games. Guys who have been through it, and who can help lead the group as a whole through an important final stretch.

“Playing a lot of baseball, and guys being around different teams that have had success,” is how Happ describes team leadership.

“The way you get through 162 is by being as consistent as you can,” he said. “Consistent mindset and just going and playing every day. It’s one day at a time. It’s cliché, but it’s very true.”