Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Cubs fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Earlier this week, I posted this SB Nation Reacts survey asking you which of the Cubs’ three injured starters, Matthew Boyd, Justin Steele or Jameson Taillon, would help the Cubs the most on his return. Also included was a “none of these” option.
Here are the results:
Of the three, Boyd
is likely closest to returning, though he did have a setback after his second rehab start June 6 for Triple-A Iowa. He is now scheduled to make another rehab start on Saturday, and presumably if that goes well, he could return next week during the road trip.
Boyd had a very good 2025, though was not throwing well so far this year. The knee injury that put him on the injured list for the second time this year wasn’t baseball-related, as you know, and hopefully he’ll be back to 100 percent soon. The Cubs could use a healthy Boyd.
Thirty-four percent of respondents to the survey said “none.” While that’s possible, I will remain more hopeful. And, of course, there’s the possibility of the Cubs acquiring some starting pitching help by trade before the Aug. 3 deadline.
Here are the results of the two national questions asked in the survey.
This result surprises me in that more than 40 percent of people who voted would blame players for a lockout. Let’s make it clear — a lockout is from ownership, period. Players can only go on strike, and since the CBA expires in December, that doesn’t give players any leverage to do that.
It is nearly 100 percent certain that owners will lock out players Dec. 1 when the CBA expires. What happens after that is … well, who knows. The Athletic polled players about a lockout and here are the results; they also polled fans and this article summarizes the results of that survey.
There should be no surprise at the results of this question. The Dodgers have been assumed to be at the top of the pile for most of this season. While they are riding two straight World Series titles, it should be remembered that the Blue Jays were one bad baserunning choice and one unbelievable catch from winning last year. It can be that random.
The Cubs, as you can see, did make it to the final list — but so did the surprising White Sox. Personally, I think that while the White Sox are clearly a vastly improved team over the 101-loss club of a year ago, they are going to fade and finish near .500. Of course, the way the American League is these days (only five teams over .500), that might be good enough for a postseason spot — or maybe even the AL Central title.
This edition of SB Nation Reacts is sponsored by FanDuel.
