Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman were named 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove winners, giving the Cubs two of baseball's top defensive honors. Crow-Armstrong's speed, instincts and range keep the center field case for him strong. 🧤
Dusty Baker, Joe Maddon and Lou Piniella, three former Cubs skippers, are on the Hall of Fame Contemporary Era ballot. Maddon, who guided the Cubs to their World Series title, has 1,382 wins; Baker has 2,173 and Piniella 1,835. Cooperstown, Cubs edition. ⚾
Jacob Webb is back for 2027 on a reported one-year, $2 million deal with a $4 million 2028 club option and $500K buyout, shaving $500K off his old option. He posted a 3.36 ERA over 68 appearances with nine saves, best suited to middle innings. 🔒
The Cubs re-signed reliever Jacob Webb to a one-year, $2M deal with a $4M club option for 2028 ($500K buyout). He posted a 3.36 ERA with 9 saves over 67 innings in 2026, despite a rough second-half stretch. Cheap bullpen insurance. 🔒
Caleb Thielbar is heading to free agency after his $6M mutual option was declined, which triggers a $500,000 buyout. He posted a 4.86 ERA over 58 games in 2026 and allowed 11 homers in 50 innings. He's entering his age-40 season, so retirement is possible. 📉
Keith Law projects Ian Happ to land a four-year, $100 million deal in free agency, pegging him as a $25M-a-year player if he returns to his 2023-25 form. His 2026 dip, a career-low average and OPS, is the catch. 🧾
Carson Kelly declined his half of the 2027 mutual option, then thanked Chicago fans in an Instagram post that reads like a goodbye. 👋 Cubs catchers ranked seventh in fWAR over two seasons, so the Kelly-Amaya tandem won't be easy to replace.
MLB Trade Rumors (Cubs): Clay Holmes Declines Player Option
Cubs reportedly have interest in Taiwan CPBL closer Jyun-Yue Tseng, with a minor-league deal and spring training invite possible. Nothing is confirmed. He posted a 1.57 ERA this year and sits upper-90s, a low-risk bullpen project. ⚾
Cubs reportedly "badly want" Tarik Skubal as free agency opens, but ESPN's Jeff Passan says they're skeptical about matching a price that could top $400 million. The Dodgers and Mets look like the early favorites. 💰
Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller predicts Clay Holmes leaves the Cubs for the Giants in free agency, possibly on a three-year, $63M deal. It's only a projection, but it would deepen a Cubs rotation need after the Wild Card sweep by San Diego. ⚾
Cubs signed Gabe Klobosits to a minor-league deal, Jed Hoyer's latest pitching gamble: 3.51 ERA and ~27% strikeouts at Iowa, but 13% walks. Ex-Cub Franmil Reyes got a record $40M NPB deal, and Clay Holmes' status remains murky. 🎲
Joe Maddon and Lou Piniella, both former Cubs managers, are on the Hall of Fame's Contemporary Baseball Era ballot. A 16-member panel votes, and a candidate needs 75% to get in. Results come Dec. 6, so Wrigley's managerial lineage could get a Cooperstown nod. 🏛️
Ex-Cub Franmil Reyes reportedly agreed to a four-year extension (2027-30) with NPB's Nippon-Ham Fighters, worth up to $40 million. That would make him NPB's highest-paid player. He hit .234 with five homers in 48 games for the 2022 Cubs. 💰
11/2/2016: Dexter Fowler began a memorable World Series Game 7 in Cleveland with this leadoff home run.
A proposed Matt Shaw-for-Will Warren swap with the Yankees is speculation, not a done deal. The Cubs reportedly still believe in Shaw's ceiling, but a controllable starter could be the lure, and New York needs a third baseman. 🤔
Former Cubs Michael Soroka and Sean Newcomb headline a free-agent reunion list. Newcomb, a lefty reliever with a 3.09 ERA for the White Sox, is rated a "high" chance to return. Soroka is "even," with his 116 innings raising availability questions. 🔄
Flags fly forever. On this date in 2016, the Cubs ended a 108-year title drought, beating Cleveland 8-7 in Game 7 after trailing the series three games to one. Dexter Fowler led off with a homer. Ten years on, it still holds up. 🏆
Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman each took home a second career Gold Glove, in center field and at third base. 🧤 They helped a Cubs defense that led MLB with +72 fielding run value and +72 outs above average, both Statcast-era single-season records.
Gold Glove double: Pete Crow-Armstrong repeats in center field, and Alex Bregman takes third base, the first Cubs third baseman to win since Ron Santo in 1968. Prospect Josiah Hartshorn also won the minor league first base Gold Glove. 🧤
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