It’s the weekend and thus, Cubs news has slowed to a trickle. We stand today just 25 days until the likely MLB owners lockout when the collective bargaining agreement with players expires, and the conventional wisdom says there will be a fair number of big free-agent signings and/or trades in the next three and a half weeks.
So far, none of that has happened. As always, we await developments.
Cubs (and free agent) players:
- Patrick Mooney (The Athletic, subscription required): How Craig Counsell helped turn Pete Crow-Armstrong into the star of MLB’s awards season. “Over the years, Crow-Armstrong and Counsell would engage in conversations about everything from the small details within the game to the inside jokes around the team to big-picture thoughts on how to control your emotions.”
- Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Alex Bregman Lists 3 Simple Steps to Winning Second Gold Glove. “Bregman had an uneven season during his first Cubs campaign, but he finished strong with a 5.5 fWAR mark that was tied for seventh in MLB and ranked third in his career. There’s no doubt Bregman will continue to work at his craft because he knows that, as Cole Wright said, the biggest room in the house is room for improvement.”
- Rich Eberwein (Cubbies Crib): Cubs get another incentive to pursue Kaima Taira after ESPN’s contract prediction: “Does Kaima Taira make sense for the Chicago Cubs? The short answer is yes. While he only has two seasons of starting pitching under his belt, Taira dominated during both of them, and he was still extremely successful as a reliever (1.71 ERA and 31 saves in 2025). $15 million per year is such a bargain if he can stick in the starting rotation.”
- Cory Sparks (Northside Baseball): How Cubs Prospect Kade Snell Reinvented Himself and Became a Fall Star: “Snell is at the top of his game now. Once cut from his dream school, Snell has learned to weaponize a low moment and turn it into motivation on his remarkable journey to the top.”
- Max Ralph (MLB.com): These internal options could fill Cubs’ corner-outfield spots in 2027. Possibly even a young player on the fast track: “It might be a long shot, but don’t rule out an appearance from Hartshorn in the Majors in 2027. Now the Cubs’ top prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 35 prospect overall, Hartshorn accelerated to Double-A at just 19 years old after he was a sixth-round selection in the 2025 Draft.“
- Keegan Matheson (MLB.com): Here’s why Seiya should make Toronto his next home. “Offensively, Suzuki is coming off a season in which he hit .270 with 26 home runs and an .841 OPS, but he also reached base at a .368 clip, rounding out his profile nicely.” Here’s hoping that profile still fits with the Chicago Cubs, instead of the Blue Jays.
Wrigley Field:
- Southport Corridor News: Major Construction Underway Around Wrigley Field Ahead of 2027 All-Star Game. We have covered that story here at BCB also (and the Southport Corridor article links to the one here), but I specifically wanted to point out the photo on that article, which shows the bollards on the Sheffield side already being installed. The nice weather recently has allowed this project to proceed quickly.
- Reddit: The inside of Wrigley Field is looking a little different. The team is installing a new drainage system to replace the one installed in 2006.
Food For Thought
- I’ll start this with a fun online baseball game. If you haven’t seen MLB Guessr (yes, that’s how they spell it), check it out. They give you five freeze frames from televised baseball games and ask you to pick the location and the date. Fun stuff to do during the offseason and it will bring back many memories.
- Just in case you were wondering (Bluesky link):
Lastly, this year, as you probably know, is the
100th anniversary of the creation of US Route 66, now decommissioned but remembered in the national consciousness.
Here’s a site where you can learn some of the history behind this iconic road. As I just completed my annual Chicago-to-Arizona drive for the winter, I drove part of this route, now mostly subsumed in the interstate highway system.
And here’s the song that helped give this highway its legendary status. This is a 1975 version by the appropriately named group Asleep At The Wheel:
