The Captain Calls Out the Rumors, Arenado Honored, Mauer Out, and Other Bullets

I had a surprisingly fine visit to the DMV this morning to get my driver’s license renewed. The person helping me was over-the-top pleasant, and I was in-and-out within a half an hour. And my picture is acceptable, even if it caught me mid transition from non-smile to smile, so I kinda look like I’m debating letting a fart fly at the risk of collateral damage. HAPPY SATURDAY!

  • Anthony Rizzo always has a good disposition about rumor stuff. I’m not sure he keeps tabs on much of it, having been through the process so many times now, and demonstrates a very chill attitude when asked about things. So if he drops a comment like this, you know he found the situation especially absurd:
  • That’s a reference, of course, to yesterday’s report from ESPN about the Cubs’ willingness to trade Kris Bryant, something Theo Epstein quickly responded to with a squash.
  • Naturally, the “rumor” was out there long enough for even thoughtful folks to jump on the “ooh, but what would it cost to get him?!?!?” train. Each one of them that I saw was silly, and sufficiently demonstrated why it’s stupid to even consider what it would be like for the Cubs to trade Bryant right now. Teams like the Cubs don’t trade players like Bryant because you just aren’t going to get the right value to actually improve your club, and that’s especially true when there’s a little bit of a question about the guy’s shoulder. This is not a thing. I know the offseason can get crazy, and I love to indulge academic discussions about trade value and WHAT IF scenarios. But this one is just silly. The Cubs are holding on tight.
  • (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

  • Big news on the Cubs beat:
  • All the best to Carrie Muskat, who diligently kept Cubs fans informed of the latest news around the team. It’s going to be really weird for her not to be writing about the Cubs at Cubs.com.
  • Aaron Nolanado is the NL’s Platinum Glove winner (with Matt Chapman winning in the AL):
  • https://twitter.com/Rockies/status/1061103024448319490

  • Joe Mauer is hanging them up:
  • The Mets have mutually parted ways with Special Assistant J.P. Ricciardi, who’d been with the organization for eight years. I assume new GM Brodie Van Wagenen wanted to bring in some new guys of his own (and/or vice versa that Ricciardi wanted to move on and not continue working under a new boss).
  • There is still extra clearance stuff at Fanatics today (ending tonight), so check out the Cubs stuff here.
  • Sheets, furniture, and fancy underwear are among the Deals of the Day at Amazon today.
  • In the Bears world, good news for tomorrow and some deserved hype:
  • 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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