The Cubs need pitching. The whole world knows that. As soon as Kyle Hendricks went down to an injury and Jake Arrieta scuffled, their lack of depth became frighteningly apparent. In Jose Quintana they get a much needed pitcher. He’s been remarkably consistent, posting an ERA at or below 3.51 in each of the last four […]
Tag: Trades
Cubs Bolster Rotation, Land Quintana
José Quintana will still be in pinstripes, but he’ll be pitching his home games a few miles north as of this morning. In a blockbuster deal completed before the All-Star break even ended, the Cubs acquired the Colombian left-hander Quintana from the White Sox in exchange for top prospect Eloy Jiménez, top pitching prospect Dylan Cease, […]
A Meditation on the Futility of Trade Speculation
One of the worst parts of being involved in baseball fandom and in a baseball writing community is slogging through trade season—both waves of it, in the doldrums of winter and in the dregs of midsummer. It’s joyless and unfeeling, utterly uninterested in analysis or meaningful dissection. Lustful tweets and posts and comments litter our […]
Transaction Analysis: Eddie Butler
The Cubs have spent the winter squirreling away pitchers, even those rife with injury histories and who have struggled to live up to prospect hype. They signed Brett Anderson in the hopes that he can stay healthy enough to supplement the rotation and keep them healthy for another postseason stretch. And they traded for Butler […]
The Bullpen’s New 1-2 Punch
And just like that, the Cubs have three of the last four pitchers to record the final out in a World Series. Even with the departure of Aroldis Chapman, Chicago possessed a cadre of formidable bullpen holdovers. Pedro Strop and Hector Rondon had, after all, handled the duties of closing out games for much of […]
Cubs Don’t Wade in Free Agent Waters, Trade for Davis
Late Tuesday night, at the Winter Meetings in Maryland, the Cubs addressed their most pressing issue for 2017 by acquiring top reliever Wade Davis from Kansas City in exchange for Jorge Soler. With physical exams to be conducted and medical records reviewed—Davis suffered a forearm injury this season and Soler has been off the field […]
Transaction Analysis: Cubs Acquire Joe Smith
The transaction analysis shown below, written by BP’s own Meg Rowley, originally ran as part of a larger piece on the main site. We trust you’ll enjoy its inclusion here. Chicago Cubs: Acquired RHP Joe Smith from Los Angeles Angels in exchange for RHP Jesus Castillo. [8/1] The real issue, of course, isn’t that Joe […]
Adam Warren’s Confusing Chicago Tenure
Aroldis Chapman made his first appearance for the Cubs on Wednesday, as I’m sure you were aware. Chapman has dominated the discourse for the last week, for obvious reasons; he is an electric and talented baseball player, who also fired eight shots from a handgun during an argument with his girlfriend in October, and allegedly […]
The Brilliant Meaning of July 2, 2013
This is a story about one of the most important days of the Theo Epstein Era in Chicago, and perhaps in Cubs history. It was July 2, 2013, and while that day will always be famous as the day the Cubs stole Jake Arrieta from the Baltimore Orioles, there was more to it than that, […]
Calling For Help From Our Old Friend, Chris Coghlan
When Dexter Fowler shocked the baseball world and returned to the Cubs during Spring Training in late February, it created a glut in the Cubs’ outfield. Jason Heyward was the premier offseason free agent signing, he would start in right field. Jorge Soler and Kyle Schwarber—the hotshot kids—needed regular playing time. Fowler would of course start […]