Weekend Catch-Up: Rumors, Prospects, Cubs Sale, Wada, Epstein, Bullpen, More

bn baseball featureWith Spring Training underway, there was a lot more going on this weekend than there has been in recent weeks …

Friday, February 20

  • If you missed the discussion, BA’s top 100 prospect list is out, and, yes, there are a ton of Cubs prospects. We also had a separate discussion of various prospecting items.
  • MLB finally announced the pace of play changes it’ll be putting into place for the 2015 season. They’re modest, but should make at least some difference.
  • The Cubs’ 2015 TV broadcast schedule is out!
  • I collected a wide range of updates from Mesa, where pitchers and catchers, and a ton of early-reporters, are getting to work.
  • Saturday, February 21

  • The Cubs have a new owner – well, technically it’s an old owner, and it’s not really an owner. That is to say, South Bend Cubs owner Andrew Berlin is now a minority stakeholder in the big league team.
  • Tsuyoshi Wada – and the cutter he’s working on – got a lot of attention in Saturday’s Bullets.
  • There was a Lukewarm Stove on Saturday, because there was too much rumor-y stuff to wait until Monday. And it’s late February! This offseason has been nuts.
  • Sunday, February 22

  • Theo Epstein spoke on a range of topics, but most notably about what’s going to happen with Welington Castillo, and if/when the Cubs will make another significant pitching addition.
  • The Cubs have a ton of flexibility in the way their bullpen is deployed, even if Hector Rondon is locked in as the closer.
  • A late-night MLBits to round out the weekend, feature an MLB player who is now known as Melvin. And you’re wondering who it is. That’s what they call a “tease” to entice you to check it out. Nailed it.
  • written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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