Today the Chicago Cubs signed pitcher Doug Davis – remember how he used to vexate us? – to a minor league deal. He’ll head to extended Spring Training, and, if he makes the big club, he’ll get the prorated portion of $900,000 (with a possibility of another $1.1 million in incentives). The signing is all about depth, given the […]

According multiple reports, today, the Chicago Cubs placed not only starter Andrew Cashner on the disabled list (with a strained right rotator cuff), but also starter Randy Wells. Cashner’s ailment was known, but until now, I had no idea that Wells was suffering from a strained right forearm. Neither pitcher is expected to need surgery, […]

Inasmuch as one can be excited about back-up-back-up catchers making it through waivers so that they can struggle to find playing time at AAA, I’m pretty excited. Today, Max Ramirez cleared waivers, and the Chicago Cubs outrighted him to AAA Iowa. Ramirez will split time behind the plate with Welington Castillo (you know, that other guy that isn’t Koyie Hill), […]

As of yesterday, it appeared all but settled that Carlos Silva would be given the first crack at the fifth starter’s gig. While he, himself, had done very little earn the job, none of the other options for the fifth starter’s spot had done much to acquit themselves either. Andrew Cashner, the guy the Cubs wanted to see grab […]

According to multiple reports (still waiting on the official release from the Cubs – but, hey, nowadays, you wait, you get burned), the Cubs today sent outfielder Fernando Perez to AAA Iowa, and reassigned utility men Scott Moore, Bobby Scales, Augie Ojeda and Matt Camp to minor league camp. The obvious implications, none of which were not expected: (1) […]

Today the Chicago Cubs started making meaningful cuts from the Spring roster, and the cut included at least one surprise. Lefty reliever Scott Maine, once considered the favorite to be the third (if not fourth) lefty out of the pen, was sent to AAA Iowa where he’ll try to work his way into a mid-season […]

In what was technically the second cut of the Spring, the Chicago Cubs today shuffled loose 18 players, bringing the Spring roster down to 40. Among the cuts were pitching prospects Jay Jackson, Trey McNutt, Chris Carpenter, Alberto Cabrera, Kyle Smit and Rafael Dolis. Though all have potentially promising futures, none were expected to break […]

Though he’d suggested he wouldn’t make any cuts for another week or two, today Chicago Cubs manager Mike Quade gave the axe to two young relievers, neither of whom was expected to make the bullpen. Lefty John Gaub, one of three the Cubs got from the Indians in the Mark DeRosa trade, once again failed to impress, and will […]

Like many other Midwesterners, I find myself without power for the immediate future. Which sucks for both of us. For me it means eating canned ham by candlelight; for you it means reduced posting. Sorry.

Another day, another minor league deal and Spring Training invite. This to former Chicago Cub rumor target, pitcher Braden Looper. You may recall that the Cubs expressed some interest in Looper last year, before he ultimately sat out the 2010 season. He was pretty rough in 2009 – 5.22 ERA as a starter for the […]

The Chicago Cubs have announced that they’ve successfully avoided arbitration with Matt Garza and Sean Marshall, in addition to Geovany Soto (reported a few days ago) and Tom Gorzelanny (not long for the Cubs). Garza, recently acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays, was in his second year of arbitration (though, as a Super Two player, he still has another two […]

Bruce Levine is reporting that the Chicago Cubs have officially traded for Matt Garza, sending top pitching prospect Chris Archer, top infield prospect Hak-Ju Lee, last year’s positional player of the year Brandon Guyer, and top catching prospect Robinson Chirinos in the deal. If that sounds like a lot – it is. A lot. The Cubs threw in Sam Fuld, […]

According to a tweet from Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports, Brandon Webb will decide on his team for next year at some point today. The Rangers have been rumored to have been particularly aggressive in the last couple of days, so that could portend bad things if you’re hoping Webb comes to Chicago. Of […]

With the Cubs remaining active in the pitching market (Matt Garza, Brandon Webb), and with Kerry Wood now in the bullpen (making a rotation move for Andrew Cashner possible), the theoretical glut of starting pitching is going to have to sort itself out at some point. To that end, the New York Mets are reportedly […]

Now THIS is a rumor. On ESPN1000 this morning, Bruce Levine said the Chicago Cubs are one of three teams going hard after Tampa Bay pitcher, Matt Garza. Garza, 27, is under control through 2013, but is about to start making good money via arbitration, and the Rays are looking to save some cash, and […]

As I noted earlier, Adam LaRoche’s name has been suspiciously absent from rumors attached to the Chicago Cubs’ first base vacancy – until today. CBS Sports is reporting that, not only are the Cubs interested in LaRoche, but the team is “targeting” him, and would like to close a deal “soon.” Obviously we’ll have more on this later, and will […]

A bit of a surprise rumor from the Winter Meetings: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting on Twitter that the Chicago Cubs are “aggressively” shopping lefty starter Tom Gorzelanny this week. Given that (a) the team is looking for another starting pitcher, (b) Gorzelanny was effective as a starter last year, and (c) Gorzelanny is going to cost […]

Apologies for the short form, but I’m on the road. ESPN Boston is reporting that the Red Sox are “making headway” on an Adrian Gonzalez trade. Which would, you know, suck. If the Cubs feel like they don’t have a shot at Gonzalez anymore, it could explain the urgency to make a move for Chris […]

Granted, the Cubs crossed him off weeks ago, but his name kept popping up in connection with the team. Nevertheless, they never made an offer, and today, Dunn signed a 4 year, $56 million deal with the White Sox. Times must be good in Chicago for the city to have that kind of cash to […]

Once euphimistically referred to as a middle-tier or bargain option for the Chicago Cubs at first base in 2011, catcher/1B/DH Victor Martinez has reportedly signed a 4 year, $50 million (!) deal with the Detroit Tigers. While Martinez was never a realistic option for the Cubs, his signing could very will impact the Cubs. First, […]

According to multiple reports, today the Chicago Cubs removed the “interim” tag from Mike Quade’s title, and will name him their new manager. We’ll have more details later, but suffice it to say that Ryne Sandberg is not pleased with the decision, and has indicated that he intends to explore opportunities outside of the Cubs’ […]

ESPN is reporting that Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella is calling it a career after today’s series finale against the Braves. Piniella had said he would retire after this season, but he’s decided to hang them up now. The decision is driven, according to Piniella, by a family situation – you’ll recall that he left […]

According to Chicago Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry, the Cubs have entertained offers from both the Angels and the Rangers over the past 10 days, but Derrek Lee has declined to accept a trade. Lee has informed the team that he prefers to finish out his contract year with the Cubs, and, as a guy […]

I – like you should – am enjoying my holiday. So you get a fake EBS today. Randy Wells finally threw a good game against a good lineup, and got SO MUCH OFFENSIVE SUPPORT.

As I predicted, today the Chicago Cubs elected to designate Chad Tracy for assignment to clear roster space for Aramis Ramirez. Tracy will float in limbo for 10 days, during which another team could claim him or the Cubs could trade him. After those 10 days, he can accept the assignment and head back to […]

You’re wondering where the actual EBS is, aren’t you? Well, apologies, friends. The technological limitations of travel have left me without the ability to create the EBS today. But do you really want one? It would just highlight Jake Peavy and say something like “you’re welcome,” or highlight James Russell and say something like “I […]

Quick hit update: Carlos Zambrano, who was sent to the hospital with lower abdominal pain, is feeling fine, according to Carrie Muskat and her trust Twitter. The pain, it seems, was food-related. Fewer 3 a.m. deep fried pickle runs with Jim Hendry, I say. Jeff Baker is also expected to be fine after being pulled […]

According to Gordon Wittenmyer’s twitter, Carlos Zambrano has been sent to the hospital with an appendicitis (or at least appendicitis-like symptoms). If he ends up having it out, he could be out for several weeks. We’ll update as we get more information. UPDATE: From cubs.com, the Cubs have determined it probably isn’t an appendicitis. Zambrano was complaining of […]

The Chicago Cubs just placed reliever Esmailin Caridad on the 15-day disabled list with elbow problems (ruh roh), and recalled AAA reliever Jeff Stevens. Interesting that Stevens, 26, got the call over other AAA bullpen options including John Gaub, Jeff Gray, Blake Parker, Jay Jackson, and some guy named Samardzija. Stevens has a 2.60 ERA […]

Well, here we go. Today, according to Enrique Rojas, the Chicago Cubs will call up uber-prospect Starlin Castro. He’ll likely take over the starting shortstop duties in short order, with Ryan Theriot moving over to second base. If the Cubs start winning, you can be assured that this will be the move credited with moving […]

It should be no surprise that Jeff Gray – acquired in the offseason, together with a couple meh prospects, for Jake Fox and Aaron Miles – is now on his way to join the Chicago Cubs’ bullpen, following Esmailin Caridad’s placement on the disabled list with a totally-not-made-up forearm strain. Gray was expected to be […]

As we predicted (I’m almost as good at predicting as I am at tooting my own horn), today the Chicago Cubs selected Chad Tracy as their 25th man, which led to the release of Kevin Millar. We’ll go into more detail on the move later.

As we predicted earlier today, Lou Piniella has announced that the Chicago Cubs will round out their starting rotation with Carlos Silva and Tom Gorzelanny to start the season. He did not say what would happen when Ted Lilly, who is expected to miss the first couple of weeks of the season, returns. Piniella also […]