The Chicago Cubs had a streaky start to the 2026 season. Within their first 40 games, they had two separate 10 game winning streaks, only to lose 10 consecutive from the middle to the end of May. Now, nearing the halfway point in the season, they find themselves a few games over .500, third in the National League Central, and fighting to get back into a better position to be contenders for a post season spot.

From an individual player standpoint, shortstop Dansby Swanson has had a similar type of season. He put on a great display of power during the month of April, hitting six home runs, while being productive and driving in 21 batters. From there, the wheels have fallen off, as he hit for just a .151 batting average during the month of May and .132 so far in June, failing to positively contribute at the plate.

Overall, Swanson now finds himself with just a .175 batting average overall. Courtesy of Silvy on the social media platform X, this is the lowest batting average of any position player with at least 265 plate appearances in the modern era. Despite these struggles, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has no desire to make an adjustment.

In the modern era of #Cubs baseball, Dansby Swanson’s .176 batting average is the worst of any position player with at least 265 plate appearances.

There are two players who hit worse in the 1800s.

The Cubs continue to let him play. @Stathead pic.twitter.com/2AQhTWA6ss

— Silvy (@WaddleandSilvy) June 16, 2026

Dansby Swanson will continue to be the Chicago Cubs shortstop despite historic struggles offensively

Swanson, who is in the middle of a seven year, $177 million deal signed back in December of 2022, will continue to be the starting shortstop for the Cubs, per Jed Hoyer. Jesse Rogers of ESPN reported that Hoyer said, “We can’t run away from our run prevention when we struggle offensively.”

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The Chicago Cubs might be, finally, at the end of their pitching rope.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Edward Cabrera’s “cramp” may be an ominous red flag

Tuesday was a disastrous day for the team, not just because they lost 5-2 to the MLB-worst Colorado Rockies at Wrigley Field. Before the game, it was announced that closer Daniel Palencia would be going on the 15-day IL due to right elbow inflammation. Then, starter Edward Cabrera left the game in the fifth inning, suffering from something the Cubs called a “hand cramp.”

Palencia and Cabrera represent two more subtractions from a pitching staff already decimated by injury.

The Cubs’ pitching disaster

More News: Chicago Cubs: Jed Hoyer under immense pressure to address team needs, per insider

All told, the Cubs have lost the following pitchers for either the remainder of the season or for an extended period of time during the season: Cade Horton, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Hunter Harvey, Phil Maton, Caleb Thielbar, Riley Martin, Ethan Roberts, Palencia, and Cabrera. They’ve also lost out on the return of ace Justin Steele, who suffered a setback in his recovery from last year’s elbow surgery and now may not pitch at full capacity until next season.

In the offseason, Chicago had the foresight to stockpile pitchers on minor league deals for emergency depth—and they’ve already eaten through that reserve. Pickups Ryan Rolison and Trent Thornton are currently on the 26-man roster, but the team has also used Corbin Martin, Charlie Barnes, Vince Velasquez, and Yacksel Rios, among others, to fill emergency pitching spots so far this season.

The worse part of this mess is that there’s no cavalry riding in to save the day. With the reserves depleted and a limited Triple-A, the team will have to go with what they have and hope for the best.

Matthew Boyd coming back after one more rehab outing in the minors is a positive, but that’s a small ray of sunshine inside of a dark, dark storm cloud. Plus, there’s no guarantee that the oft-injured lefty will be good to go as hoped.

Hoyer speaks

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer doesn’t offer much hope when it comes to bringing anyone meaningful into the mix until the August 3 trade deadline—and, even then, he’s not exuding confidence that the team can bring in anyone big.

“We went into the season feeling like we had real numbers,” Hoyer told media. “Injuries are part of the game. They’re part of the challenge. Some seasons, you maybe skate through a little bit. And some seasons, you don’t. We haven’t. But we have to fight through it and find different ways and be creative.”

“The rotation’s kind of doing what it can,” he added. “Yes, external rotation additions are a possibility. Not as much now as they are later. But yeah, that part of our team struggling is something I think, honestly, it’s kind of logical given what we’re missing. I think some guys have stepped up, but we’re going to need more of that.”

In the meantime, as the pitching misfortune piles up, the Cubs’ chances of making a deep playoff run get more and more remote.

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The Chicago Cubs have taken one injury-related gut punch after another this season—and the barrage of blows doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Jed Hoyer under immense pressure to address team needs, per insider

On Tuesday, not long after the Cubs placed closer Daniel Palencia on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation, starter Edward Cabrera had to be pulled from the game in the fifth inning with something the team called a “hand cramp.”

Cabrera was cruising for the first three innings of his outing against the Rockies at Wrigley Field, putting down nine in a row. Then he allowed three runs in a rough fourth inning. In the fifth, he walked the first two batters, struck out the next, but then had to leave the game. The Cubs would go on to lose 5-2.

Cabrera, Counsell comment

More News: Chicago Cubs reveal plans for injured Justin Steele and Matthew Boyd

“It was just a cramp that I felt,” Cabrera said via interpreter. “I felt it in the fifth. I threw a changeup and then after that, [catcher Miguel Amaya] asked for another changeup and I was like, ‘Oh, wait. No.’ I was scared, but it was just a cramp.”

As of right now, the Cubs are treating the injury as just that—a cramp—after scans showed no physical issues.

“All things considered, he’s good,” manager Craig Counsell told reporters after the game. “It’s a cramp, right now, as far as we can tell. All the other tests are clean and negative…There’s no other concerns.”

It’s still not known whether the issue will cost Cabrera any starts.

But the larger concern after an ugly Tuesday is the apparent full-on collapse of the team’s pitching staff and the lack of reserves available to help bail them out.

The team actually began the year practically overflowing with pitching depth after acquiring Cabrera in a trade with the Miami Marlins, signing four veteran free agent relievers, and anticipating the return of injured ace Justin Steele some time in the first half of the season. They also stockpiled a number of reserve arms on minor league deals over the offseason for insurance.

But injuries have eaten through the reserves, with Cade Horton’s season-ending elbow surgery, Matthew Boyd’s two stints on the IL, Palencia’s two stints on the IL, Jameson Taillon’s current hamstring injury, and Justin Steele’s recovery setback, among others.

Cabrera, himself, has already had an IL stint of about two weeks due to a blister and he may or may not be headed to a second stay on the IL.

A red flag?

An ominous bad vibe from this latest Cabrera issue, though, centers around the mental makeup of the 28-year-old righty.

Observers have started to notice a correlation between bad outings and the injury issues that seems to pop up afterwards or, at the very least, an inability to right the ship when it starts taking water.

Per Jordan Campbell of Cubbies Crib:

“If there’s been a trend throughout Cabrera’s 13 starts with the Cubs, it’s what when things go wrong or he realizes he doesn’t have it, he comes a lost cause. That’s clear when you look at his ERA of 5.21, and even more so with his FIP of 5.15.

The impression is that Cabrera is a pitcher that needs to not only feel 100% physically, but also mentally with his pitch-mix. If he doesn’t, the results aren’t going to be there. Now, that’s not a bad thing, as the general goal is for a pitcher to be healthy, but there’s also a hope that they can work through some things. It doesn’t appear Cabrera has that trait, and could be one reason why he never quite becomes the ace the Cubs once thought he could be.”

That’s a big issue that will limit just how much the Cubs can expect from Cabrera throughout his run with the team. It’s an even bigger issue this season when injuries are decimating the staff and there’s zero margin for poor performance.

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The Chicago Cubs need all sorts of help right now, but their most pressing area of weakness is absolutely their starting rotation.

The Cubs have had one of the worst pitching staffs in all of baseball this season, and it’s becoming more and more clear that their offseason trade for Edward Cabrera was a bust. They don’t have an ace at the moment, and to be quite frank, they don’t have a single truly reliable starter.

If Chicago wants to make a serious playoff push, it will have to add at least one arm before the MLB trade deadline, and preferably one that can headline the rotation — or at least come close to doing so.

The good news for the Cubs is that there should be plenty of serviceable pitchers available between now and Aug. 3, so they should have ample opportunities to swing some deals. Sandy Alcantara, Freddy Peralta, Robbie Ray and others have all been floated as possibilities for Chicago, so Jed Hoyer could land a big name.

But Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer has linked the Cubbies to a much less desirable option: San Francisco Giants pitcher Adrian Houser.

Chicago Cubs connected to puzzling trade for Adrian Houser

The Cubs need pitching any way they can get, and the Giants may be placing several hurlers on the trade block in the coming weeks.

While Ray and Logan Webb would comprise much more enticing options, Rymer actually named Chicago as the best fit for Houser.

“Adrian Houser is having a rough season in part because he’s not getting ground balls as often. A team could hope that he would again upon getting a change of scenery, as he’s still using a sinker-changeup combo that is geared for grounders,” Rymer wrote. “If so, the Cubs are the best place for him simply on account of their infield defense, which leads MLB with +19 Outs Above Average. While he isn’t the starter their fans want, at least he’s a starter.”

Houser signed a two-year, $22 million contract with San Francisco in free agency and has not lived up to expectations, laying claim to a 5.54 ERA and 1.538 WHIP through 13 starts. The problem is that it hasn’t just been a lack of ground balls that has afflicted the right-hander.

Houser is allowing a barrel rate of 9.7 percent and a hard-hit rate of 43.4 percent. His K/BB ratio is also a pitiful 1.92.

The 33-year-old owns a lifetime 4.18 ERA and 1.375 WHIP, so he has never been a top-of-the-line arm. Chicago may way to look elsewhere if it truly wants to improve its rotation rather than adding a fading veteran who was never all that good to begin with.

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The Chicago Cubs are hoping to build off of their exciting walk-off victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night by taking a second consecutive game on Tuesday. Doing so would give them their second-straight series victory. Of course, this would be significant as Chicago went a whole month prior to this past weekend without winning a single series.

Unfortunately, as has been the case all season long, they are going to go into play on Tuesday with yet another injury setback. This time, one of their most important bullpen arms is headed to the injured list.

The Chicago Cubs place Daniel Palencia on the injured list

Coming into the season, there was a great deal of buzz surrounding Cubs closer Daniel Palencia, who shined in the World Baseball Classic for Team Venezuela. However, many worried that his usage in the WBC would lead to some injury concerns in 2026, and so far they have been proved right in their thought process.

Earlier this year, Palencia missed a few weeks with an oblique/lat strain. Now, he is heading to the injured list again with elbow inflammation:

In another setback for their pitching staff, the Cubs placed closer Daniel Palencia on the injured list with right elbow inflammation. Gavin Hollowell was recalled from Triple-A Iowa as the corresponding roster move.

— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) June 16, 2026

Chicago’s bullpen has been inconsistent this season, and Palencia has been one of their few bright spots. So far in 2026, he is 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA and three saves. He has only been able to appear in 19 games so far.

With Palencia out, manager Craig Counsell would be wise to go to a closer-by-committee approach until he identifies the pitcher that would be best-suited for the role going forward.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Jed Hoyer under immense pressure to address Cubs needs
• Cubs announced plans for injured pitchers Justin Steele and Matthew Boyd
• Cubs warned to steer clear of trade for All-Star pitcher

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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Cheers, jeers, then cheers again echoed through Wrigley Field on Monday night in the Cubs’ 5-4 walkoff win over the Rockies. The main highlight was centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong hitting for the cycle, the 13th in Cubs history. It started with a leadoff homer in the first, followed by a triple, double, and single in that (reverse) order.

Seems like a good time to vote PCA 👉 https://t.co/hFFdpa6mDR pic.twitter.com/j8RU0Z4Snp

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 16, 2026

Crow-Armstrong becomes the first Cub to hit for the cycle since Carson Kelly last year, and the first to do it at Wrigley Field since Mark Grace on May 9th, 1993. The night ended with a big sigh of relief as the Cubs almost wasted the young outfielder’s historic night.

Cubs needed a comeback to beat the Rockies

At the time Crow-Armstrong hit the cycle-clinching single, the Cubs were up 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh. Unfortunately, he proceeded to get picked off, followed by the Cubs stranding the bases loaded. When the Rockies took a 4-2 lead on a Cole Carrigg three run homer off Caleb Theilbar the following inning, the historic night was in danger.

Incredibly, Crow-Armstrong was inches away from going 5-5 as his sinking line drive in the eighth wound up as a sac fly on a sliding catch by Tyler Freeman to make it 4-3. Then the Cubs recorded their ninth walkoff win thanks to some wildness and misplays from the Rockies pitchers. Rookie Pedro Ramirez tied the game with a single, and Matt Shaw drew a bases loaded walk to end it. Six of the Cubs’ last seven home wins were on walkoffs.

putting the walk in walk-off. 😌 pic.twitter.com/LfrBHMAIsB

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 16, 2026

It felt like the universe would not let the Cubs lose on Crow-Armstrong’s big night. That would have been a gut punch, and the Cubs have had plenty of those over the past month. This one would have taken the cake had they lost, considering the matchup and potentially wasting a historic performance.

Now this night can be looked back on fondly by fans.

Other notable moments from the game.

Several lineup decisions before and during the game are worth noting. Craig Counsell started Shaw in right, who had two hits, including a triple, on top of the walkoff walk. It seems like he is going to be getting more playing time. Sieya Suzuki was at DH after leaving Saturday’s game, having banged up his knee.

Another thing to note was Counsell’s decision to pinch hit Dansby Swanson with Michael Conforto in the eighth inning. Swanson has been beyond brutal at the plate, now slashing .176/.280/.308 on the season with a 69 wRC+. In a close game, to take away that defense because there is no faith in the bat right now is telling and frankly it had to happen. As valuable as his defense is, the hitting is inexcusable.

Lastly, bringing up Ramirez again. He came into the game later and went 2-2 with the game-tying hit in the ninth. In a small sample, he has shown some promise at the plate, even while hitting into some tough luck. He could get more time to play while Swanson and Nico Hoerner continue to struggle.

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The Chicago Cubs are an open book when it comes to their primary need for what they hope to be a second-half playoff push. They need starting pitching.

More News: Chicago Cubs reveal plans for injured Justin Steele and Matthew Boyd

Currently, the Cubs rotation is anchored by the surprising Ben Brown and the reemergence of recent Triple-A call-up Javier Assad. That’s not an ideal position to be in and it’s absolutely not what anyone expected to see at the start of the season.

However, injury has decimated the pitching staff and inconsistency has hobbled those not on the shelf.

If Chicago aims to make the playoffs and make a competitive run through the postseason, they need to shore up their rotation.

But the team is also staring down the reality that they may need to do a rotation rebuild for beyond this year as three of their starting pitchers—Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, and Jameson Taillon—may be lost to free agency at the end of this season.

So, it’s not as easy as acquiring a rental pitcher to fulfill their needs for this year. They need to fulfill their needs as well as keep one eye on the future.

Under pressure

More News: Chicago Cubs: Pedro Ramirez making a case to stay in the majors—maybe at Matt Shaw’s expense

Given the push to win now with this team, ESPN’s Buster Olney recently ranked Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer as one of the MLB execs currently most under pressure.

Per Olney:

“No contender has a more clear-cut need than the Cubs, whose rotation is missing Cade Horton, Justin Steele and Matthew Boyd because of injuries. They need a starting pitcher, and the best fit would be someone who generates a lot of swing-and-miss, as the team ranks near the bottom in average velocity and strikeout rate. It’s a difficult position for any team with championship aspirations in this era.

However, the Cubs might be lucky in that regard at this year’s deadline: There could be more starting pitchers available than any other position. Some of the pitchers who could be moved: Skubal, Peralta, Robbie Ray, Joe Ryan, Sandy Alcantara and others.”

Winning while rebuilding

Then, of course, one must throw in the extra pressure of building for the future as they secure the present. There will be a solid Cubs core coming back, but they could realistically lose all, or most, of the veterans with contracts set to expire—Boyd, Imanaga, Taillon, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Carson Kelly.

When it comes to the pitching, specifically, an ideal scenario would see Chicago picking up a quality starting pitcher before the August 3 trade deadline, who also has team-controlled years beyond 2026. The Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara and the Twins’ Joe Ryan, for example, would give the Cubs at least one more season of work before making their run for free agency.

The good thing is that there should be a number of quality starters on the market before the deadline. The bad news, though, is that the Cubs seem to be stuck in that middle area of being just good enough to contend, but not stacked enough to rate as a guaranteed championship contender.

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The Chicago Cubs entered this past offseason generating belief that their starting rotation would be a strength as it pushed towards a deep playoff run.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Pedro Ramirez making a case to stay in the majors—maybe at Matt Shaw’s expense

Although lacking a sure-thing top-of-rotation ace, they had the promise of a solid, sturdy staff at least nine deep in potential starters. In the front-five were Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, and Shota Imanaga. There were backups Colin Rea, Javier Assad, and Ben Brown. Then, waiting in the wings, was the team’s previous ace Justin Steele, who was expected back from last year’s elbow surgery around May or June.

As things stand right now, though, the Cubs are barely holding on to a five-man rotation, with no real backup options available. Horton was lost for the season with an elbow injury after just two starts. Boyd has only managed five starts due to two IL stints. Taillon is currently on the IL. Cabrera spent about three weeks on the IL as well. Steele, meanwhile, suffered a significant setback in his recovery.

The emergence of Brown as a top-flight starter has helped keep things from full-on crisis, as has the recent run of Assad. But the Cubs are going to need to get back a veteran or two if they want to be serious contenders for postseason glory.

There is news on that front.

Boyd testing the waters

More News: Chicago Cubs may have a 19-year-old phenom on their hands

Boyd, who was initially expected back from meniscus surgery last weekend, suffered lingering soreness in his left shoulder after his second rehab outing in Iowa, forcing the Cubs to keep him on the shelf a bit longer.

Per the team, the 35-year-old lefty will throw a bullpen session on Tuesday. From there, Chicago will decide what they want to do with him. He could be headed back to Iowa for some more rehab innings or they could decide to rest him entirely.

Boyd has an extensive history of injury and also a high level of importance to this team’s playoff future. So, it’s pretty much a sure thing that the Cubs will err on the side of caution in hopes of a healthy post-All-Star break return.

Steele rejoining the team

Steele’s future is murkier.

The Cubs’ most consistently successful pitcher over the three seasons prior to his injury seemed on the fast track to a full return by mid-June. However, a flexor strain in his throwing arm shut him down again. And now the target date for a return is the much more nebulous ‘sometime before the end of the season.’

On Monday, Cubs manager Craig Counsell confirmed that the southpaw will be physically joining the team soon, finishing up some throwing exercises before ramping up his rehab.

“Steele will actually be here,” Counsell told reporters. “He’s flying here right now. He’s going to be with us for the next three-ish weeks.”

“He’s got one more week in the plyo-ball section,” Counsell added. “Then he’ll start throwing next Monday, and then he’s got a couple weeks of throwing program with us before we go to next steps.”

An optimistic assessment would see Steele pitching with the big league Cubs some time in September, but with clearly defined restrictions.

At the very least, getting back at least one of these guys should give a stressed and strained rotation a shot in the arm and a bit of security they absolutely don’t have now.

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The Chicago Cubs have exactly shown some positive signs recently, as they have won four of their last five games in what has been, by far, their best stretch of baseball since early May.

That being said, it’s still blatantly obvious that the Cubs need help. Chicago has gone just 11-23 since its 27-12 start, and it has holes up and down the roster. The offense needs depth, the starting rotation is abysmal and the bullpen is a bit shaky.

So, where will the Cubs turn between now and the MLB trade deadline?

Well, prior to their sudden “surge,” some viewed Chicago as potential sellers before Aug. 3, as the team appeared to be in freefall. As a result, Seiya Suzuki was floated as a possible trade candidate, which made sense considering he is slated to hit free agency next winter.

But is it possible that the Cubs could actually trade Suzuki while still receiving a veteran starting pitcher in return? An idea was pitched late last week that would send Suzuki to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for right-hander Luis Castillo, but Brandon Glick of Cubbies Crib isn’t loving it.

Chicago Cubs warned to avoid trade for Luis Castillo

Castillo has long been one of the more underrated pitchers in baseball, having earned three All-Star appearances since entering the big leagues with the Cincinnati Reds in 2017. He also finished fifth in AL Cy Young award voting as recently as 2023.

However, Castillo is not having the best year in 2026, and Glick does not think trading Suzuki for the Dominican native would be worth it.

“Perhaps trading him for some much-needed pitching, as Bleacher Report’s Zach Rymer suggests, could suffice. Rymer floats Seattle Mariners starter Luis Castillo as a potential fit in a one-for-one swap, which does have some merit; we all know how bad the North Siders need a reliable starter,” Glick wrote. “Castillo is, if nothing else, reliable, having tossed at least 175 innings in each of the past three seasons and at least 150 in each of the past five. The issue is his results have declined with age, as the 33-year-old owns a career-worst 5.00 ERA across 66.2 frames this season.”

Castillo’s strikeout numbers have also declined the last couple of years, and his 1.380 WHIP and 2.60 K/BB ratio this season are both the worst of his career.

It seems pretty clear that Castillo is not the same anymore, and Lord knows the Cubs don’t need any more combustible arms in their starting rotation. It especially wouldn’t be a very good idea to swap Suzuki for Castillo considering that Suzuki has been one of Chicago’s only true sources of offense this year.

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The Chicago Cubs may be in the midst of an up-and-down season, but there’s been some really nice developments so far that give great optimism for the future.

More News: Chicago Cubs may have a 19-year-old phenom on their hands

The rapid progression of infielder Pedro Ramirez is one of them.

On Saturday, the 22-year-old switch-hitting rookie belted his first home run and practically glided over the bases following the milestone moment.

“The first thing that came to mind was my mom,” Ramirez told reporters after the game via interpreter “All I could think was, ‘I hope she’s watching me.’”

And, yes, his mom was watching. Waiting for him on his cell phone was a loving motherly message of support.

Becoming his best self

More News: Chicago Cubs: Counsell offers Matthew Boyd injury update

2026 has been a whirlwind year for the young talent. Over the offseason, things just seemingly all snapped into place and he started playing like his fully self-actualized self. After an eye-catching run in spring training, he hit .312 with 9 home runs and 40 RBIs in 43 games with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs while dazzling with the glove at third base and second base.

His current major league numbers don’t read as all that impressive (.219 batting average, 1 home run and 2 RBIs), but the underlying metrics show a hitter who is, indeed, hitting the ball exceptionally hard.

Per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com:

“Ramirez entered Sunday with a 48% hard-hit rate, per Statcast. For perspective, center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong led Chicago’s regulars with a 49.5% hard-hit rate. Ramirez had an average exit velocity of 92.4 mph going into play Sunday. Crow-Armstrong also led the Cubs’ everyday players with a 91.4 mph average in that category.”

Brought up to replace an injured Matt Shaw on May 22, it speaks volumes that Ramirez is still with the big league Cubs after Shaw’s return.

Trade bait?

And that certainly begs the question of what to do with two players essentially filling the same super-sub utility role as infield-first bench pieces, and doing so similarly well.

The obvious answer is that one of these bench assets—Shaw or Ramirez—will be the primary piece in a trade package for much-needed pitching. It’ll just be a question of which young talent they feel is the best trade bait.

For now, though, Ramirez is happy just to be in the majors and getting his chance to capitalize on the opportunities given to him.

“The young player who comes up and plays every day, it’s a little more rare right now — at least it’s going to be for us, on this team,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell explained to media. “And so Pedro, he’s gotten some opportunities. A lot of them have been like, three days off, a couple days on. And he’s done a good job with that.

“Not overcomplicating it is another thing that’s important to do. Get your work in and then when it’s your turn to play, you just go do your thing.”

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Prior to the start of the 2026 MLB season, the Chicago Cubs were predicted to be one of the best teams in all baseball. Additionally, many experts predicted that they would represent the National League in the World Series. Unfortunately, the Cubs have turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments in the league.

That being said, Chicago does have the potential to be one of baseball’s best teams. After all, they put together two separate ten-game winning streaks earlier in the year. However, they have also had a ten-game losing streak and went over a month without winning a single series.

The Chicago Cubs come in 11th in the latest MLB power rankings

Prior to and early in the season, the high regard many had for the Cubs was shown by their constantly being ranked among the ten best teams in baseball. Even when they were in the midst of their series losing streak, many could not bring themselves to put them too low on their lists.

With their series win over the San Francisco Giants over the weekend, MLB.com moved them up from 12th to 11th:

“The most up-and-down team in baseball got back on another winning streak this week, this a more modest three-gamer before their loss on Sunday. They’re still 10-23 since their second 10-game win streak ended on May 8.”

Fortunately for Chicago, they are now going to be starting a series at home against the lowly Colorado Rockies. That being said, the Rockies can hit, as evidenced by the fact they hung 23 runs up on the Athletics in a single game over the weekend.

Pitching has been the Cubs’ most fatal flaw this season, and they will need it to hold up early this week as they look to win a second series in a row. If they cannot, well, there will continue to be tough conversations had around the team.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Craig Counsell offers Matthew Boyd injury update
• A Seiya Suzuki injury would be a brutal blow on multiple fronts
• Cubs see surprising trade target emerge ahead of MLB deadline

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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The Chicago Cubs may have found their corner outfield solution in a post-Ian Happ, post-Seiya Suzuki future—no, it’s not Kevin Alcantara and, no, he’s not even in Double-A yet.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Counsell offers Matthew Boyd injury update

Josiah Hartshorn has been absolutely killing it in his first full year in pro ball and he’s actually gotten better after his promotion from A-ball Myrtle Beach to High-A South Bend.

Since moving up, the 19-year-old switch-hitter has clubbed 8 home runs in 78 plate appearances, slashing a ridiculous .422/.474/.659 with an OPS of 1.334. On the year, he’s so far slashed a still-ridiculous .320/.439/.586.

Already ranked no. 64 in Baseball America’s list of Top 100 prospects, Hartshorn came to the Cubs as a fairly unheralded sixth round selection in the 2025 draft. His $2 million signing bonus from Chicago, however, spoke volumes as to how much the organization saw value in what they scouted as an elite bat. The record-breaking signing bonus for a sixth-rounder was also used to encourage the young prospect to ditch his commitment to Texas A&M and come straight into the Cubs organization.

Although viewed primarily as a bat-first prospect, his defense has come along and he profiles to be a solid major league corner outfielder. In the minors, he’s also played some center field and first base.

The elite bat of Josiah Hatshorn

More News: Chicago Cubs: Javier Assad thriving despite being consistently overlooked

But the bat is where it’s at for the Orange, California native. The high on base percentage going along with the high batting average and home run power is a testament to a very disciplined approach at the plate, well beyond what could ever be reasonably expected of a hard-hitting offensive stud prospect.

Across two levels, he’s posted a strikeout rate just over 16% along with a walk rate also above 16%. According to FanGraphs’ sabermetric guidelines, both stats rate him elite-to-masterful when it comes to plate discipline.

All signs point to “he’s for real”

Of course, it’s still very early in Hartshorn’s pro career to go too far overboard about the numbers he’s putting up. Still, he already ranks among the best in several offensive categories at High-A—and he’s doing this at a much younger age than those putting up big numbers around him. There’s a case to be made that, right now, he’s the best younger-prospect hitter in all of minor league baseball.

Per Evan Altman of Cubs Insider:

“Hartshorn’s 168 wRC+ across both levels is good for 21st in all of the minors, but six of those ahead of him compiled at least some of their stats in the Complex League.

Of the players above him on the list, none of the 15 who’ve generated better results at A-ball and above are under 22 years old. And only two of those are that young, so we’re talking about an average age just shy of 24 for that group. For those who are reading this while holding their phone and thus can’t use their fingers to count, that means Hartshorn is nearly five years younger than his offensive peers.”

Nobody’s suggesting that Hartshorn will be heading to Wrigley next season to replace the free agency-bound outgoing Happ and/or Suzuki. But, maybe, the Cubs will just have to buy a year or two before getting the young power-hitting corner outfielder of their dreams.

The post Chicago Cubs may have a 19-year-old phenom on their hands appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs finally won a series, for the first time in a month. Unfortunately, they lost on Sunday, unable to complete the sweep of the lowly San Francisco Giants, and fell to 37-35 on the season. Fortunately for Chicago, they welcome another lowly team, the Colorado Rockies, to Wrigley Field for their next series. Hopefully, they can start stringing together some wins.

It will truly be interesting, though, to see how Chicago’s pitching continues to perform amid the injuries issues it has had to deal with all year long. With so many unknowns regarding who will be available, the Cubs have started to add outside help.

The Chicago Cubs trade for Yosver Zulueta from the Seattle Mariners

Earlier today, the Cubs announced that they have received right-handed reliever Yosver Zulueta from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for cash:

Today’s roster update presented by @NuveenInv: pic.twitter.com/p9OHFF4nvk

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 15, 2026

In a corresponding move, left-handed reliever Doug Nikhazy was designated for assginment. Zulueta was optioned to Triple-A Iowa.

A former Cincinnati Reds farmhand, Zulueta has not had much success on the Major League level. In 19 career games, he is 1-0 with a 5.32 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. He does have nasty stuff, though, as he has 25 strikeouts in 23.2 career innings.

As mentioned, Zulueta is coming from the Mariners, who also had him with their Triple-A squad. In 22 games this season, he is 2-3 with a 5.75 ERA. Last season, though, on the Reds’ Triple-A team, he was 2-2 with a 3.28 ERA in 44 appearances.

It is yet to be seen if Zulueta will have a role on the Cubs’ roster this year, or if he was acquired for organizational depth as other pitchers are called up to fill injury voids. He, at least, as some Major League experience.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Craig Counsell offers Matthew Boyd injury update
• A Seiya Suzuki injury would be a brutal blow on multiple fronts
• Cubs see surprising trade target emerge ahead of MLB deadline

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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The Chicago Cubs have been one of the worst teams in baseball over the last five weeks, which is wild to think about when you consider how strong their start to the season was.

The Cubs began the year 27-12 and put together a pair of 10-game winning streaks during that span, but since then, they have gone just 10-23, which has some wondering if they might actually sell before the MLB trade deadline.

Chicago is still smack dab in the middle of the National League playoff race, so right now, the Cubs probably aren’t in selling mode. But if things continue to unravel for the team as we inch closer and closer to the Aug. 3 trade deadline, general manager Jed Hoyer might have a change of heart.

In that scenario, Chicago would actually have several players that would certainly interest other ballclubs, such as outfielder Seiya Suzuki. Suzuki is slated to hit free agency at year’s end, which is why he makes sense as a trade candidate for the Cubs.

Nick Deeds of Cubbies Cribs recently posed a few trade proposals involving Suzuki, and one of them would burn the New York Yankees.

Chicago Cubs could hurt New York Yankees with Seiya Suzuki trade

Deeds pitched a potential deal in which the Chicago would send Suzuki to the Tampa Bay Rays, which would provide a big lift for a Rays squad battling the Yankees for AL East supremacy.

“In exchange for Suzuki’s services, the Cubs should pursue a pitching-focused trade package from the Rays’ stable of talented arms,” Deeds wrote. “Anderson Brito and Michael Forret are sixth- and eight-ranked prospects in the team’s system according to MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Rays prospects list. Brito is currently on the injured list, but both are described as possible mid-rotation starters, with Forret in particular not too far from the big leagues at this point.”

Tampa Bay has a few really good hitters in Junior Caminero, Jonathan Aranda and Yandy Diaz, but it absolutely lacks lineup depth, which is why Suzuki would be a good fit for the team in its hunt for an AL East title.

Meanwhile, Brito and Forret would help restock a Cubs farm system that is very short on pitching outside of Jaxon Wiggins.

Suzuki is slashing .255/.339/.433 with 10 home runs and 28 RBI over 236 plate appearances this season. He came over to the big leagues from Japan in 2022 and boasts a lifetime .814 OPS throughout his tenure in the Windy City.

Should Chicago make him available in the coming weeks, there would be no shortage of potential suitors.

The post Cubs could burn Yankees with blockbuster AL East trade appeared first on ChiCitySports.

One of the most surprising developments for the Chicago Cubs this season has been Ben Brown.

Brown is coming off a poor showing last season, posting a career-high 5.92 ERA in 25 games (15 starts) and bouncing between the starting rotation and the bullpen. A former 33rd round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies (2017) has been the opposite of bad this season, with a 1.74 ERA mostly out of the bullpen, but has carried that success starting, given the Cubs injuries.

Chicago Cubs’ Ben Brown has pitched like an All-Star this season

Between starting and relieving this season, Brown has been a better starter (2-1 with a 1.49 ERA and striking out 37 in 36.1 innings) than he has been a reliever (1-1 with a 2.10 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 25.2 innings). In 15 starts last season, the 26-year-old was 5-5 with a 6.30 ERA and walked 23 in 75 2/3 innings.

More Cubs News: Chicago Cubs: Counsell offers Matthew Boyd injury update

The one area of weakness this season for Brown has been missing the catcher, leading Major League Baseball in wild pitches (six).

Showing growth, Brown has done well enough to represent the Cubs at the All-Star game, and it’s thanks to his sinker, which has been an effective weapon in his arsenal this season.

“After a tough season last year that made Brown’s role unclear, the righty began this season as a multi-inning reliever for the Cubs,” wrote Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. “It was soon evident how his focused offseason had paid off. Armed with a new sinker, Brown was dominant as a bridge arm, and proved crucial early on as Chicago’s bullpen was riddled with injuries. Then, when setbacks hit the rotation, Brown got his opportunity and has not looked back. The hard-throwing righty now has a 1.74 ERA overall and 1.49 ERA in seven starts for the North Siders, emerging as an unexpected All-Star candidate and one of the positive stories of the first half for the Cubs.”

Next to his curveball (.119 batting average and .143 slugging percentage) and changeup (.143/.179), Brown’s sinker has been his third-best pitch. In 198 pitches thrown, opposing hitters have a batting average of .215 and a slugging percentage of .217, and averaged 96.5 miles per hour.

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The Chicago Cubs have certainly had a roller coaster of a season thus far in 2026. Early in the year, they were one of the best teams in Major League Baseball and put together two separate ten-game winning streaks. That was followed, however, with a month of inconsistent play. They just recently clinched their first series win since early May, and had a ten-game losing streak at one point last month.

Throughout the tumult that was the month of May, many Cubs players proved to be inconsistent at best, and flat out undependable at worst. Among these was reliever Phil Maton, who was one of their premier free agent signings over the winter.

Has Chicago Cubs reliever Phil Maton turned a corner?

One can hardly blame the Cubs for giving Maton a two-year $14.5 million contract in free agency. Last year, with the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals, he was 4-5 with a 2.79 ERA in 63 appearances.

He has been far from that productive as a member for the Cubs. To date, he is 0-1 with a 6.17 ERA in 26 appearances.

It does seem, though, that Maton may be turning a corner.

In March, he got off to a rough start with a 7.71 ERA. He was worse, by far, in April, posting a 20.25 ERA and landing on the injured list with knee tendonitis.

Maton was better, but not great, in May posting a 4.61 ERA in 13.2 innings of work.

So far in June, thankfully, he has a 1.93 ERA in five appearances (4.2 innings).

Obviously, this is a small sample size, but it would be a major boost for the injury-riddled Cubs if Maton finally becomes the lock-down reliever they signed him to be over the winter. It would certainly make Craig Counsell’s job easier on any given day, and take some pressure off Jed Hoyer who has come under fire for his poor free agent signings as of late.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Craig Counsell offers Matthew Boyd injury update
• A Seiya Suzuki injury would be a brutal blow on multiple fronts
• Cubs see surprising trade target emerge ahead of MLB deadline

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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Much like the winds that make the city famous, the vibes surrounding the Chicago Cubs can change on any given day. For over a month, though, there was a great deal of negativity surrounding the team. After putting together two different ten-game winning streaks, the Cubs went over a month without winning a single series. In that stretch, they also had a ten-game losing streak.

One event that happened early in their swan dive was Pete Crow-Armstrong getting into a heated verbal exchange with a Chicago White Sox fan. His vulgar message to her was caught on camera and went viral on social media.

At the time, it was used as an example of how bad the Cubs had fallen/were falling. In hindsight, it served as a catalyst for the Gold Glove centerfielder.

Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong has been on fire

At the time of the exchange, Crow-Armstrong was hitting just .229 with five home runs and 16 RBI in 48 games. Manager Craig Counsell had moved him to the very bottom of the lineup while he worked through his struggles at the plate.

Since that time, though, the Cubs’ centerfielder is hitting .329 with six home runs, 12 RBI, and 14 runs scored.

Overall this season, Crow-Armstrong is hitting .263/.341/.462 with 12 home runs with 33 RBI and 15 stolen bases. He leads the Majors in games played (71) and WAR (3.9).

This is certainly a positive development for the Cubs, who signed Crow-Armstrong to a six-year $115 million contract earlier this year. Given his horrid second half in 2025, there was some worry that they had been a bit premature in their willingness to give him that kind of money.

Now, however, it is looking like a bargain.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Craig Counsell offers Matthew Boyd injury update
• A Seiya Suzuki injury would be a brutal blow on multiple fronts
• Cubs see surprising trade target emerge ahead of MLB deadline

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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The Chicago Cubs, for the first time since early May, have officially won a series. With their third consecutive win on Saturday, their second in the series against the San Francisco Giants, they have clinched a series since they swept the Cincinnati Reds.

Now 37-34 on the year, Chicago is in third place in the National League Central Division. With winning has come more positive attention to the club, particularly at players that could be considered for the 2026 National League All-Star roster.

And even though offensive stars may receive the most attention, starting pitcher Ben Brown should get some as well.

Chicago Cubs pitcher Ben Brown is pitching like an All-Star

It is no secret around baseball that the Cubs have had some of the worst luck in the Majors when it comes to injuries to their starting rotation. What is more, the pitchers they have had healthy have all-too-often underwhelmed or have been flat-out disappointing.

But Brown has been a major bright spot for the team, which led Jordan Bastian to write that he is in “All-Star form:”

“The All-Star break is a little over a month away, and the Cubs have an unexpected contender emerging for the National League’s roster. Between his strong showing out of the bullpen and his recent string of stellar starts, Ben Brown has the potential to stay on a path to the Midsummer Classic.

“Brown has already been one of the great storylines for the North Siders within a first half that has really tested the ballclub on all fronts. Representing the Cubs at the All-Star Game would take his impressive campaign to another level.”

Brown started out the season in the bullpen, but has recently been used as a starting pitcher as injuries and inconsistencies mounted. In 19 games (seven starts), he is 3-2 with an impressive 1.74 ERA and one save.

The National League has a high number of great starting pitchers, but not all of them can pitch in the All-Star Game due to their schedules. Even if he does not get named to the NL roster initially, Brown should find himself on it eventually.

If he keeps pitching at this level, he certainly deserves it.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Craig Counsell offers Matthew Boyd injury update
• A Seiya Suzuki injury would be a brutal blow on multiple fronts
• Cubs see surprising trade target emerge ahead of MLB deadline

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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The Chicago Cubs have removed some of the weight from their shoulders after an ugly 7-22 run that saw them fall to fourth place in the NL Central Division at their lowest.

More News: Chicago Cubs: A Suzuki injury—amid hot streak and trade buzz—would be brutal hit

After winning three in a row now, things are actually starting to look pretty good as the bats heat up, the defense keeps being its elite self, and even the starting pitching starts to deliver some consistency.

Ben Brown and Javier Assad have been godsends in the beleaguered starting rotation, but the Cubs would definitely like to see some of their more established starters get back into the mix. Specifically, they’d like to see Matthew Boyd return for good.

The 35-year-old Boyd went down early in the season with a biceps strain and, most recently, after surgery to repair a damaged meniscus. All in all, the lefty has only managed five starts and a total of 24 innings this season.

He was expected to return to the rotation this weekend, but apparent shoulder fatigue forced him to remain on the shelf.

An update on Matthew Boyd

More News: Chicago Cubs: Javier Assad thriving despite being consistently overlooked

On Saturday, Cubs manager Craig Counsell offered a general update on where Boyd currently is on his recovery timeline.

“Everything is good,” Counsell told Marquee Sports Network. “We’re probably trending towards a bullpen early in the homestand. That’s the next step.”

The vague response doesn’t fill a Cubs fan’s heart with gushing optimism, but it also clearly doesn’t sound like anything close to doom and gloom.

With Jameson Taillon also on the IL and Shota Imanaga, Edward Cabrera, and Colin Rea delivering inconsistent performances, Chicago desperately needs a steady veteran presence every fifth day. Boyd hasn’t been that so far this season, but he definitely has the ability to come through.

The importance of Boyd being Boyd

Last season, in the first year of a two-year contract, the oft-injured Boyd surprised with both his durability and his long-haul consistency. Over 31 starts and 179.2 innings, he posted a 14-8 record with a 3.21 ERA and earned a spot as the rotation’s ace. Prior to that year, he hadn’t pitched a full, healthy year since 2019.

Obviously, the Cubs would like to have Boyd back to 2025 form—something which would help the team if they make a strong postseason push or as attractive trade bait should they fall out of contention at the trade deadline.

Staring down a $15 million mutual option for 2027, there’s a good possibility that Boyd won’t be back with the Cubs next season (although a subpar, injury-hampered 2026 could actually push both sides to agree on that option). If the team feels that he’ll be a goner, they may try to get some prospect capital in return.

But, of course, all of this—whether as part of a Cubs playoff push or as a key trade asset—depends on Boyd’s ability to stay healthy the rest of this year. Given his history of injury and how this season is shaping up, that’s no gimme.

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The Chicago Cubs have managed to string together three straight wins.

It’s been a rough road in getting all the pieces lined up to field a consistently winning team, but there are some real positives to support the idea that the Cubs are on the physical and mental mend after a brutal 7-22 run.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Javier Assad thriving despite being consistently overlooked

One of the key pieces starting to show life is right fielder Seiya Suzuki.

While the Japanese star’s bat has been waking up, his defense has really begun to shine.

On Saturday, just in the first three innings of the Cubs’ game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, he threw out Bryce Eldridge at second base on a ball that went into the right field corner and later made a sliding catch to rob Eric Haase of a hit.

Then, the Cubs’ characteristic 2026 misfortune made an appearance.

Suzuki taken out with possible knee injury

More News: Chicago Cubs: Ben Brown’s success carries a big, ugly caveat with it

Suzuki came up gingerly after a failed stab at catching a dying liner from Matt Chapman. He would be removed from the game afterward for evaluation. Early reports labeled the issue as “right knee discomfort”—an injury similar to the one he suffered during the World Baseball Classic, which cost him the first couple weeks of the regular season.

As of right now, the severity of the knee issue has not been established. Everyone seems optimistic that it might be something minor. On Sunday, the Cubs announced that he’d be in the lineup as the DH, so that’s closer to good news than bad news.

“I’m wishing it’s not a big deal,” Suzuki told reporters via interpreter at the time. “I’ll wake up tomorrow, see how everything feels. And if I can go from there, go for it. If not, we’ll see how it goes.”

“The reports kind of after he came out were positive,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell further explained. “But the most important thing is how is he going to feel tomorrow. I don’t have postgame news on him. It’s how he feels tomorrow.”

The potential injury came at the worst possible time for the Cubs, who faced a true lose-lose if the right fielder is out for any extended period of time.

Losing Suzuki would be a lose-lose for the Cubs

Suzuki, either in best of times or worst of times, is expected to play a big role in the team’s immediate future.

If the Cubs are competitive the rest of the year and have real postseason possibilities, Suzuki will be a key figure in the offense, of course. Late last season, he became an absolute spark plug for Chicago, hitting 5 home runs and notching 17 RBIs from September 23 through the playoffs. When hot, he can carry the team for long stretches.

On the other hand, if the Cubs fall to pieces and decide to become sellers at the trade deadline, Suzuki represents the best trade bait they have (if he opts to wave his no-trade clause).

MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today is reporting that at least one team is already eyeing the Cubs’ corner outfielder:

“The Phillies are desperately looking to acquire an outfielder at the trade deadline with Adolis Garcia expected to miss the rest of the season with his torn lat, and have Angels right fielder Jo Adell and Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki on their radar.”

The Yankees and Mariners have also been mentioned in media reports as potential fits for the 31-year-old.

Suzuki is one of several core veteran Cubs eligible for free agency at the end of this season and the reality of the situation may be that a few won’t be retained. Picking up a prospect or two for the outfielder ahead of his departure would be a savvy move for the team.

But all of that—good and bad—is out the window if Suzuki is put on the shelf.

For now, at least, there’s reason for cautious optimism regarding his knee.

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The Chicago Cubs have actually won a series for the first time since early May, taking the first two matchups in their three-game weekend series against the San Francisco Giants.

However, that does not mean all of the Cubs’ problems have suddenly been solved.

Chicago has still gone just 10-22 since its 27-12 start thanks to inconsistent hitting, terrible starting pitching and a shaky bullpen. Luckily, the Cubs got off to a strong enough start to the season that they still find themselves in the playoff hunt, so all is not lost.

But there is no question that Chicago will need to make some moves between now and the MLB trade deadline if it wants to make a serious push.

The Cubs need pitching more than anything else, so they must pursue add least one other arm for their starting rotation. One name in particular that is now emerging as a surprising potential trade target is Detroit Tigers right-hander Casey Mize.

Chicago Cubs could pursue trade for Casey Mize

All of the talk in Detroit is about Tarik Skubal, and understandably so. The two-time Cy Young award winner is one of the best pitchers in baseball, and he is slated to hit free agency at the end of the season. The fading Tigers seem sure to move him, and they should reap a substantial package.

But then there’s Mize, the former No. 1 overall pick who Detroit might also consider dealing before Aug. 3.

Mize has been sidelined due to a groin injury, but he is making his return against the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday. Through nine starts this season, he has pitched to the tune of a 2.27 ERA and 0.965 WHIP while racking up 49 strikeouts over 47.2 innings of work.

The 29-year-old has never really lived up to his initial expectations, owning a lifetime 4.00 ERA since entering the big leagues in 2020. But Mize has also dealt with injuries throughout his career, which has definitely hampered his progress.

Still, Mize is a solid pitcher who made the All-Star team last year courtesy of posting a 3.87 ERA. Like Skubal, he will become a free agent at year’s end, so the Tigers should be motivated to move him.

The good news for the Cubs is that Mize would not be nearly as costly as Skubal, so they could probably afford to swing a trade for the Auburn product. Mize would instantly become one of Chicago’s top arms, so this is a deal the Cubs should already be pursuing.

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The Chicago Cubs are looking to figure out how to get back in the win column consistently. They have been struggling, especially on the mound, to put the team in positions to be successful. Injuries have also played a bit of a role, and the team saw another player recently go on the injured list. Let’s take a look at who it is and when we should expect him to return to the 26-man roster.

Craig Counsell discusses an update on Jameson Taillon’s injury

Ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Colorado Rockies, Cubs manager Craig Counsell would discuss when we could expect to see pitcher Jameson Taillon back on the mound for Chicago.

“We’re looking post All-Star break, after the All-Star break would be what we’re shooting for.”

While this gives some insight, the first game Chicago plays after the All-Star break is on July 17 against the Minnesota Twins. This does not mean Taillon will be active at that point, but it gives a timeframe for the best-case scenario of a return. Taillon left Sunday’s game in the second inning and was diagnosed with a hamstring strain that landed him on the injured list.

This has not been a good season for Taillon, as he is 2-5 with a 5.19 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP in 67.2 innings (13 starts). The 34-year-old has allowed 20 home runs this season after allowing 24 in all of 2025. His control has also been a cause for some concern as he has 23 walks this season after allowing 27 walks last season.

This injury could be a positive for Taillon, as he gets a chance for a mental reset. Chicago has struggled with the depth of their starting pitchers this season, but Taillon will be on the shelf for at least one month. Will this injury force the Cubs to trade for a starting pitcher to help eat some innings? It will be intriguing to see how the front office handles the pitching staff after suffering so many injuries thus far.

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The Chicago Cubs got another stellar outing from Javier Assad on Friday night against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Ben Brown’s success carries a big, ugly caveat with it

On the evening, he delivered six full shutout innings, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out five. This comes on the heels of another shutout performance against the Giants at Wrigley Field last Sunday, where he tossed 6.1 innings in emergency relief of the injured Jameson Taillon—right after being recalled from Triple-A Iowa.

On the season, the 28-year-old from Tijuana, Mexico has a modest 3.99 ERA with the big league Cubs. But it needs to be noted that 15 of his 17 earned runs on the year have come in just two disastrous outings back in April—and one of them involved him taking it on the chin to eat innings for the team. Filtering out those two poor outings, his ERA is a stellar 0.57 over eight appearances and 31.2 innings.

Assad as one of the few positives

More News: Chicago Cubs: Well, at least Alex Bregman isn’t Kyle Tucker

A mature, steady, and highly efficient Assad has been a godsend to a Cubs rotation battered and beleaguered to the point of breaking. Paired with the surprising Ben Brown, Assad’s recent run of success has been among the only positive developments when it come to Chicago’s starting pitching.

“Javy keeps telling you, ‘I’ll be ready when I get my opportunity,’” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters after Friday’s game. “That’s what it takes.”

“He pitched great,” Counsell added. “In the strike zone. Controlled counts. Ball on the ground. A real boost. We’ve talked about guys getting opportunities, and certainly Javy in a time that we really need it has delivered a couple big starts. Big, big performances.”

And the young pitcher has to be extra diligent in seizing opportunities because the Cubs, for whatever reason, have not been so keen to consistently trust him with those opportunities.

Not getting a fair shake with the Cubs?

It’s been a puzzling prejudice against a young, team-controlled pitcher working on a budget salary below $2 million. But the Cubs can’t seem to help themselves when it comes to underestimating and/or flat-out disregarding the righty.

Through his five seasons with the big league Cubs, Assad has a 3.56 ERA over 58 starts and 293.2 innings. Overall, he’s posted a 3.48 ERA through 88 games and 369.1 innings.

All he’s done is deliver consistent quality performances in every role assigned to him, yet he didn’t even start the season with the big league team and has been sent down to Triple-A twice already.

While his back-and-forth runs to Iowa can be traced to his status as one of the few Cubs pitchers remaining with minor league options, the demotions are also a potential kick to the shin for self-esteem as well as for his career.

To his credit, though, he’s been taking all of this in stride and just focusing on what’s in his control—his performances on the mound.

“I try to take advantage of every opportunity,” Assad said via interpreter after Friday’s stellar start. “Obviously, I like to start games. That’s what I’ve done. But whatever opportunity it is…I’m always going to be ready.”

Hopefully for the Cubs, Assad gets to stick around this time and actually prove what he can do.

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The Chicago Cubs have managed to pull themselves up to third place in the NL Central Division after back-to-back wins on the road, although they remain 7.5 games behind the first place Milwaukee Brewers.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Well, at least Alex Bregman isn’t Kyle Tucker

It’s actually a minor miracle that they’re still so deeply in the mix after an absolutely brutal stretch that saw them go 7-22 over 29 games. The offense has been wildly inconsistent. The bullpen has also gone through patches of inconsistency. Meanwhile, the starting rotation has been an absolute disaster.

While many pointed out that the Cubs rotation lacked a true lights-out ace, most acknowledged its depth and thought it could be the backbone of the team’s run towards the postseason. As the offseason ended, they had nine reasonable candidates for the five-man rotation and maybe a couple of viable contenders for a major league gig in Triple-A Iowa.

Then, the season began.

Cubs rotation calamity

More News: Chicago Cubs’ options for rebuilding a broken starting rotation

Cade Horton was lost for this season and beyond following an elbow injury in just his second start of the year. Matthew Boyd has had two separate stints on the IL and just suffered a setback in his recently slated return. Returning ace Justin Steele suffered a setback in his own recovery from elbow surgery and is now on the shelf indefinitely. Edward Cabrera missed more than two weeks with a blister issue. Jameson Taillon had been rocked all season before going on the IL with a hamstring injury. Shota Imanaga, meanwhile, started the season well, but has been getting touched up in recent starts.

The only pleasant surprise coming from the Cubs rotation this season is Ben Brown.

The 26-year-old right-hander stepped into the starter role out of necessity and has become the staff’s de facto ace. In six starts so far this season he’s posted a 1.44 ERA and has looked untouchable at times. It’s been a much-needed development from a previously inconsistent prospect right at the time the team needs him the most.

But there’s considerable dark cloud to go along with Brown’s silver lining.

Ben Brown’s health is a concern

Like many of the young pitchers the Cubs have decided to target via trade or in drafts, Brown has major injury issues in his past. In 2019, as a prospect in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, he underwent Tommy John surgery. He also missed much of 2024 with a neck issue caused by a benign bone tumor.

And, although he looks strong and healthy, Brown’s history and his level of workload this season, are causing the Cubs to put a cap on just how much they load on him.

“We’re going to be cautious because we need him out there,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told The Athletic. “We have to take care of him.”

“But if we want to get him there,” Counsell added, “we have to have some recognition that this is really a guy who’s never made it through a full season as a starter. He started out in the bullpen this year. He’s getting to a pitch-count area (where) the guys that have done it for their whole career (are). Do you want 15 more pitches? Or do you want to prioritize ‘we’re going to walk out of this feeling really good and recover well for the next one’?”

If Brown keeps pitching nearly as well as he has been so far, Chicago desperately needs him to go out to the mound every fifth day. That means rationing him for the remainder of the season.

As things stand right now, that’s about as positive of a development as we can reasonably expect from this Cubs rotation.

The post Chicago Cubs: Ben Brown’s success carries a big, ugly caveat with it appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs made the calculated decision this past offseason to take a hard pass on re-signing right fielder Kyle Tucker in favor of signing third baseman Alex Bregman.

More News: Chicago Cubs’ options for rebuilding a broken starting rotation

Financially, the move was a no-brainer as Chicago spent $175 million over 5 years on Bregman as opposed to the $240 million over 4 years for Tucker.

In terms of what each could contribute to the team, however, there was room for debate.

Bregman vs. Tucker

More News: Chicago Cubs: Consistent Ian Happ making his case for an extension amid 2026 disaster

Tucker had the greater offensive ceiling, but Bregman had, arguably, the higher floor. Defensively, Tucker had clearly slipped. With the Cubs, he was a slightly below league-average right fielder. Bregman, meanwhile, is still elite with the glove at third. Bregman’s huge advantage over Tucker, however, was in the area of intangibles.

Bregman is highly regarded as clubhouse leader and as a positive team influence. Tucker is more of a loner and a brooder who doesn’t add drama to a clubhouse, but also doesn’t add much of anything else.

Tucker, who was acquired by the Cubs in the 2025 offseason via trade with the Houston Astros, had also fallen out of favor in Chicago for a perceived lack of fire and an inability to turn things around during a career-worst slump that actually extended through the end of postseason play.

Cubs fans have recently been voicing their displeasure with Bregman’s offensive output this season—and that’s reasonable, as Bregman, himself, has acknowledged his frustrating lack of production.

The fans, though, are absolutely not making the case that Tucker should’ve been re-signed. And given the stats he’s posted to this point, there’s pretty much no difference in the offensive disappointment between him and Bregman.

Disappointment

As of this writing, Tucker is slashing .237/.332/.382 with 5 home runs and 34 RBIs. Bregman, meanwhile, is at .246/.332/.353 with 6 home runs and 22 RBIs.

Tucker’s lack of production, though, is especially noteworthy given his contract and the Dodgers’ status as World Series favorites.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has moved Tucker around the lineup to jump start his bat, but nothing has produced consistent results. It’s been enough to start questioning whether having him aboard has been a disappointment.

“I wouldn’t say disappointed,” Roberts recently told reporters. “I would say I’m probably just hoping that there’s some traction for him and for our sake. He’s working hard. There’s a day where it looks like he’s back and feeling comfortable. Then a couple days where you look at him and it looks like he’s searching again.

“For me, you just hope he can find something that sticks.”

Given the recent histories of both men, it seems more likely that Bregman will have the wherewithal to pull himself from his funk than Tucker.

On the other hand, the Dodgers are firmly in first place and cruising to a playoff berth, while the Cubs are struggling. So, Bregman is probably of greater importance to the Cubs than Tucker is to the Dodgers.

The post Chicago Cubs: Well, at least Alex Bregman isn’t Kyle Tucker appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are in a self-created limbo right now.

They are close enough to contention—7.5 games behind the NL Central Division-topping Milwaukee Brewers and one game away from a Wild Card spot—to still consider big moves by this season’s August 3 trade deadline. However, losing twenty-two of their last thirty games kind of tells the tale that this team just may not be built for postseason glory this year.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Consistent Ian Happ making his case for an extension amid 2026 disaster

Do they go “all in” for a desperately-needed starting pitching pickup, trading away some precious prospect capital for a longshot chance of doing big things in the playoffs? Or do they hold back and cross their fingers for a team surge “as is” while keeping their eye on making a real run next season?

The wise choice, given the realities of the team we’re seeing, is to work towards the latter. Although a best of both worlds option may be to take a stab at both by acquiring a pitcher with years of team control at the deadline.

Realistically, though, the Cubs are facing the choice of trading for rentals or not.

So, then, what options will there be for a 2027 soft rebuild?

Headed towards a soft rebuild in 2027?

More News: Chicago Cubs: That uncomfortable Craig Counsell conversation is coming soon

In terms of position players, we know that five of eight slots are already filled: Michael Busch at first, Nico Hoerner at second, Dansby Swanson at shortstop, Alex Bregman at third, and Pete Crow-Armstrong at center field.

The fates of corner outfielders Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki, along with catcher Carson Kelly—who are all free agency-eligible at the end of the 2026 season—will very much be up in the air.

The bullpen will also be up in the air, except for Daniel Palencia, Phil Maton, and maybe one or two others pieces. But the Cubs have routinely succeeded with pieced-together bullpens on the fly.

The real concern will be starting pitching.

Cubs need to spend on starting pitching

As of right now, the only Cubs starting pitchers guaranteed to be on the team next year—and healthy enough to start the season—are Edward Cabrera, Ben Brown, and Javier Assad.

Cade Horton is expected back from elbow surgery sometime around mid-season. Meanwhile, Justin Steele’s return date is still up in the air as he’s experienced a setback in his own recovery from elbow surgery.

In terms of outgoing free agents, Jameson Taillon is a goner, for sure, and Shota Imanaga will most likely be gone as well. Matthew Boyd’s injury-plagued year may actually work in favor of him and the team coming together on their mutual $15 million option for 2027, although the Cubs may be wise to move on if they’re depending on him as anything other than a fourth or fifth starter at that point. The Cubs have a $7.5 million team option for next season on sturdy, steady swingman Colin Rea and would be crazy not to exercise it.

All of this means that the Cubs will head into the 2027 season with at least three rotations spots to fill and $40 million in Taillon and Imanaga savings to spend ($55 million if they don’t hold on to Boyd). Plus, add another $20 million+ from losing either Happ or Suzuki to free agency.

That should be enough to pick up at least two studs for the front of the starting rotation.

One can probably rule out Tarik Skubal right off the bat. The Cubs are just not the type of team that will ever spend THAT kind of money on anyone, especially a pitcher.

But there are other options. Freddy Peralta, Robbie Ray, Zac Gallen, and Brandon Woodruff will for sure be out there, barring some unforeseen extension. Corbin Burnes, Michael King, and Sonny Gray will also probably opt to test the free agent market. The 2027 pitching market will actually be pretty deep. And given the Cubs’ conservative nature when it comes to paying for pitching, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to see Imanaga return to the club at a significantly discounted price.

There WILL be options for the Cubs to build a true playoff-caliber starting rotation for 2027 and beyond. The question is whether Cubs president Jed Hoyer and the front office will finally invest in doing that.

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The Chicago Cubs finally managed to get a win on Thursday, defeating the Colorado Rockies after dropping the first two games of their three-game set.

Nevertheless, the Cubs are just 35-34 and have gone a dreadful 8-22 since their 27-12 start, and there does not appear to be any end in sight to their woes. They have prominent issues up and down their roster, and their health situation isn’t getting any better.

Chicago has gone from looking like a World Series contender to a potential seller by the MLB trade deadline, which is not something anyone would have expected just over a month ago.

But here we are, with the deadline now less than two months away, and the Cubs may be left with no choice but to move some pieces. Seiya Suzuki is one of the names that has been floated as a potential trade candidate before Aug. 3, which makes sense because he is slated to hit free agency at year’s end.

Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer has listed Suzuki among his top trade chips between now and the deadline, and he has identified one particular landing spot for the slugger.

Chicago Cubs linked to Seiya Suzuki trade with Seattle Mariners

Rymer feels that the Seattle Mariners, who have surged into first place in the AL West, would be a fine landing spot for Suzuki, and he thinks a one-for-one swap for pitcher Luis Castillo would be a nice deal for the pitching-starved Cubs.

“Castillo is owed $24.15 million this year and next, while Suzuki is making $19 million in the last year of his contract. So albeit with some other trimmings, there’s a swap to be made here,” Rymer wrote. “Otherwise, the Mariners could use another right-handed bat, and there’s a reasonably clean fit for him as either a platoon or full-time player in right field and DH.”

Suzuki bashed a grand slam during Chicago’s win over the Rockies on Thursday, but he hasn’t been up to par on the 2026 campaign as a whole.

The outfielder is slashing .248/.332/.421 with 10 homers and 26 RBI over 229 plate appearances, good the worst OPS of his career. He posted OPSes north of .800 each of the three preceding seasons, and last year, he finished with 32 long balls and 103 RBI.

Suzuki also isn’t the strongest defender in the world, so if he isn’t hitting, he doesn’t really have a ton of value.

Perhaps a change of scenery would be best for the 31-year-old, who boasts a lifetime .267/.345/.467 slash line. Given that the Mariners are headed in a very different direction from the Cubs, they could be a good fit for the Japanese star.

The post Chicago Cubs’ most likely MLB trade deadline partner revealed appeared first on ChiCitySports.

If you were a Cubs fan, you could see it coming last night from miles away.

The Chicago Cubs didn’t just lose 3–2 to the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night. They have completely lost whatever remained of the optimism after a 27-12 start. A walk-off defeat to a rebuilding Rockies team dropped the Cubs to .500, and with it came the unmistakable sense that this season is slipping into something far darker.

Their offense continues to struggle, barely holding on to a 1-0 lead through 8 innings before blowing their fragile lead. They managed to tie it in the 9th with a solo shot by Ian Happ, but that was all the offense they could muster up. When the Rockies walked off in the bottom of the 9th, as closer Daniel Palencia could not record a single out, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.

The Cubs are 7-22 since May 8th after they won their second 10-game winning streak. This is no longer a slump. This is a franchise unraveling in real time.

After reaching a high mark of 27-12 on May 8, the Cubs wake up a .500 team — having gone 7-22 since then. On that day they were 1st in OBP, 4th in home runs, and 7th in starter's ERA. SINCE then: 26th in OBP, 24th in home runs and 29th in ERA. A shocking reversal to their season

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) June 11, 2026

The main reasons for their struggles are simple: Jed Hoyer’s offseason additions have turned into a mitigating disaster.

• Phil Maton has been unreliable and unusable.
• Hunter Harvey suffered an injury and is on a 60-day IL.
• Alex Bregman, the supposed centerpiece, looks like a player whose bat suddenly aged five years.

Even the old investments are crumbling. The players Hoyer signed to big contracts are now dragging the offense.

• Dansby Swanson looks lost at the plate and is veering towards Jason Heyward territory.
• Seiya Suzuki is a shell of the hitter the Cubs believed they were getting.

When your past investments and your new investments fail simultaneously, that’s not bad luck. That’s bad roster construction.

As for the Cubs’ pitching situation, it’s a full-blown crisis mode right now.

• Cade Horton is out until at least 2028.
• Justin Steele’s return remains up in the air.
• Matthew Boyd suffers a setback in his return.

And what about pitchers who are healthy?

• Jamison Taillon is giving up home runs at an alarming rate and is now on the IL.
• Shota Imanaga, once the season’s brightest revelation, is suddenly getting tagged hard and often.
• Daniel Palencia has struggled as a closer and has been hit hard every time he takes the mound.

This is the direct result of their flawed philosophy when it comes to developing pitching. And there is no help available in their minor league system either.

Hoyer’s nightmare scenario: He may have to sell — with nothing to sell

As the Cubs continue to stumble, Hoyer faces a nightmare scenario: needing to pivot toward the future while holding a roster full of depreciating pieces. But what exactly is Hoyer supposed to sell?

Most of his assets have cratered in value. No team is going to trade for Bregman and Swanson’s massive contracts. And Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki both have no-trade clauses. And you can forget about getting anything in value from their pitchers.

Unless something changes — dramatically and soon — they’re on the fast track to becoming the most dangerous thing a big‑market franchise can be:

Irrelevant.

The post Jed Hoyer is living a nightmare scenario entirely of his own making appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are now 34-34 on the season after dropping the first two games of their series against the Colorado Rockies. A little over a month ago, Chicago had one of the best records in baseball after winning ten games in a row for the second time this season. Since that time, though, they have not won a single series.

What is more, they also endured a ten-game losing streak. Now, they sit in fourth place in the National League Central Division and are seeing their rivals create space between them in the standings.

Many players have been struggling during this tough stretch, but Alex Bregman has arguably been the biggest disappointment.

Alex Bregman gets called out as Chicago Cubs remain outside top-10 in MLB power rankings

Despite how poorly theyhave been playing lately, many national media outlets have been reluctant to completely count the Cubs out yet. This trend continued on ESPN’s latest MLB power rankings:

“As the losses piled up, the Cubs slid in our rankings: from fourth in Week 7 to seventh to 10th to 12th, and now back up to 11th. It has been ugly losing, too, including an 18-3 loss to the Giants on Friday. In a 2-1 loss in 10 innings on Sunday night, the Cubs had Pete Crow-Armstrong on third base with one out, but the final two batters popped out, continuing Chicago’s seasonlong issues with runners in scoring position.

“Alex Bregman was the final out. ‘I need to be better with runners on base, plain and simple,’ Bregman said after the game, adding he has been “terrible. ‘They brought me here to play good baseball, and I haven’t played good baseball. I need to figure it out.'”

Overall, Bregman is hitting .246/.331/.343 with five home runs and 20 RBI. Playing in the first season of a five-year $175 million contract, he is also hitting just .171/.244/.184 with no home runs and 15 RBI with runners in scoring position.

Needless to say, he has to be better. To be fair, many other players on the Cubs roster do too; but he is the $175 million two-time World Series winner. The team is looking to him to lead by example and production. It is admirable that he is willing to take responsibility for his poor play. However, that means nothing if he cannot turn it around.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki situation is worse than fans thought
• Craig Counsell makes disappointing Matthew Boyd announcement
• Cubs face one prickly road block in All-Star trade proposal

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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The Chicago Cubs are in a deep and ugly funk. With a 7-22 record over their last 29 games, the team is now a .500 club that would be firmly out of postseason consideration if the season were to end today.

More News: Chicago Cubs: That uncomfortable Craig Counsell conversation is coming soon

A lot of fingers could be pointed when it comes to blame. Nobody on this team has been fully pulling their own weight—including the coaching—and some have just been a liability from day one. And while bad luck plays a role in their downward team trajectory, much of that misfortune—especially related to injury—can be credited to poor decisions made in the offseason by the front office.

But it’s in the middle of this mess that left fielder Ian Happ, who is eligible for free agency at the end of this season, may be making his case for an extension.

Happ’s consistency making a case for his return

More News: Chicago Cubs should explore this veteran Atlanta Braves castoff

It’s not necessarily because Happ is killing it this year, although he is leading the team with 15 home runs and playing his usual stellar defense. It’s that the Cubs, on this wildly inconsistent squad, need some boring reliability.

You can basically pencil Happ in for a .240-something batting average, .340-something on base percentage, and 20-something home runs every year, while competing for a Gold Glove. And in a mess like this one, Happ’s dependable plug-and-play presence can be invaluable.

He certainly says all the right things expected from a calming and dependable clubhouse influence.

“Offense is contagious in both ways,” Happ recently told reporters. “You guys have seen this offense rolling, scoring eight to 10 runs a game for a week or two weeks at a time. And when that’s going, everybody feels like they’re going to get a hit with runners in scoring position, and it just keeps compounding. When it’s not, the hardest part is getting out of your own way and just letting things happen, trusting your process.

When you’re struggling and going through it, it’s challenging mentally, it’s a challenge on everybody individually. The hardest part is that everybody wants to help, everybody wants to help this group and everybody wants to win ballgames. Everybody looking within and trying to find out how they can do that, that’s the part, the pressure part of it, the thing that makes it so mentally grinding.”

The realities facing the Cubs

On a team brimming with superstars playing at their self-actualized best, Happ might be expendable. A case could be made for trying someone else out in his spot, perhaps a young stud with more explosive game-changing capabilities.

On a team like the Cubs, though, Happ is like a sturdy cement foundation underneath an otherwise rickety house.

Right fielder Seiya Suzuki, who is also eligible for free agency at the end of this season, has a greater offensive upside than Happ, but is also much less reliably consistent. If only one of the two corner outfielders can be re-signed, Chicago would be better served dealing with Happ.

Retaining the veteran won’t fix the struggling Cubs for this year and beyond, but it definitely might keep the team from falling further.

The post Chicago Cubs: Consistent Ian Happ making his case for an extension amid 2026 disaster appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs, once sporting the second best record in baseball, fifteen games over .500, are now at the .500 mark just about a month later after losing twenty-two of their last twenty-nine games.

More News: Chicago Cubs should explore this veteran Atlanta Braves castoff

They’ve also fallen from first place in the NL Central Division to fourth place.

It’s been ugly and, really, it’s been a team-wide thing where pretty much nobody has been consistently pulling their weight. When the pitching is locked in, the offense stalls. When the hitters begin to hit, the pitching fails. Then, there are the injuries and also—and maybe most frustratingly—the absolute inability to execute on a consistent basis.

So, who gets the blame when everyone’s messing up?

Historically, the manager becomes the fall guy in situations like this—and it may be getting to the point in Chicago where Cubs manager Craig Counsell might be offered up as a sacrifice.

Craig Counsell getting the blame?

More News: Chicago Cubs: Two oddball trade proposals spotlight the team’s awful standing

Recently, in an appearance on ESPN Radio Chicago, MLB insider Jesse Rogers talked about the realities of Counsell’s job. Although Rogers would turn things around and lay the blame for this 2026 disaster at the feet of Cubs president Jed Hoyer, he also acknowledged that Counsell will likely be held to a greater degree of accountability.

“The manager is ultimately the guy, right? It’s a result oriented business,” Rogers said. “If the results aren’t there, it is on Craig Counsell. He knows that.”

Counsell is currently in the third year of a lucrative five-year contract with the Cubs, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee that he’ll be kept around as fans call for heads to roll.

The veteran manager has frustrated with his even-keel demeanor and his unbendable reliance on analytics data. Critics have pointed to a perceived lack of fire and a stubborn unwillingness to move on from a course of action, even when it’s failing spectacularly.

Counsell’s not saying the right things

In the midst of an extended losing streak like this one, Counsell’s deadpan public persona can be exasperating for those focused on a quick turnaround to the team’s fortunes.

“The work is positive,” Counsell told reporters after Tuesday’s series opener loss to the Colorado Rockies. “I don’t think I’m seeing the results in the game, but you have to stick to the right work. That’s important, and you have to stick to a plan and a process. I still believe in that, and I think we’re doing the right things. It’s frustrating when you don’t get results, for sure. But you’ve got to stick to something. We’re not seeing the results of it, but I think we’re doing the right things with some guys that are struggling, and hopefully we can get them going here.”

A ‘We’re gonna stay the course’ message is definitely not what anyone wants to hear when ‘the course’ is so clearly downward-bound.

“Look, you start over tomorrow with it, with a new game and a new chance to play well,” Counsell added. “There’s a lot of season in front of us, and a lot of good things can be in front of us, and that’s still how you have to show up every day, and that’s still what I believe.”

The problem is that there’s less and less season in front of the Cubs and, also, more and more that seems to be broken. Counsell riding with messages like this comes off a little like the captain of the Titanic telling everyone, ‘All is well, go back to your rooms,’ as the ship begins to take water.

At some point, maybe soon, there will be some serious internal talk—whether right or wrong—about scapegoating Counsell for this big mess of a season.

The post Chicago Cubs: That uncomfortable Craig Counsell conversation is coming soon appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs were, at one point in the season, the cream of the crop in the National League. They had won ten games in a row on two separate occasions and appeared to be poised to win the NL Central Division for the first time in, well, a very long while.

Now, though, Chicago is playing like one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball. Once NL Central Division leaders, they are now 34-34 and sitting in fourth place, eight games out of first place.

There have, of course, been many factors that have led to their nose-dive from the top of the standings, but Jed Hoyer does not seem to believe any of it is his fault.

Jed Hoyer thinks the Chicago Cubs blessings are also their curses

In a recent article published by The Athletic, Hoyer was quoted as saying the the way in which the players prepare is both a blessing and a curse:

“It’s like your blessings and your curses are very close. Yeah, it’s something you talk about. We are so unbelievably diligent and serious. Our preparation is excellent. When you’re going well, you’re like, ‘Oh my God, these guys are like a metronome every day.’ And then when we’re going badly, it’s like, ‘Oh my God, there’s not enough levity in this room.’

“That is hard. It’s hard to get that perfect balance. But it’s something fair to ask. I’ve asked that question. It’s natural to ask.”

Hoyer loves how serious his players are, but also believes they are too wound up right now amid their skid. The problem, though, is that he is the one who put this roster together in the first place.

Every team needs a player or two who, even though they may not be the best hitter or fielder, is able to keep the clubhouse vibes loose. Hoyer did not see that as something that was necessary this off-season, and now it is a piece that the Cubs are desperately missing.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki situation is worse than fans thought
• Craig Counsell makes disappointing Matthew Boyd announcement
• Cubs face one prickly road block in All-Star trade proposal

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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The Chicago Cubs keep losing, and with every loss they add to their record, the greater the chances they actually sell off some pieces at the MLB trade deadline. That could include Seiya Suzuki, who is mired in what has easily been the worst season of his career.

Suzuki’s struggles have been a microcosm of the Cubs’ collapse as a whole in 2026. He is slashing .247/.333/.409 with nine home runs and 22 RBI over 225 plate appearances, one year after bashing 32 homers and driving in 103 runs. He posted an OPS north .800 each of the three preceding campaigns, but his production his year has fallen off a cliff.

It’s worse than you probably even thought, too.

Suzuki is batting a paltry .133 with runners in scoring position, and while he is hitting .321 in low-leverage situations, his average dips to .185 in high-leverage spots. It’s rather uncharacteristic of the 31-year-old, who batted .309 with men in scoring position last season and owns a lifetime .803 OPS in those spots.

What’s more, Suzuki is slated to hit free agency next winter, so Chicago might lose him for nothing if it doesn’t act now.

Chicago Cubs could trade Seiya Suzuki

As the Cubs continue to fade, it’s becoming more and more likely that Jed Hoyer will be forced to blow it up before Aug. 3, a scenario that seemed unthinkable a little over a month ago.

If it does reach a point where Chicago has to sell, Suzuki will be a prime trade candidate. But how much value will he actually have at this point?

Most of Suzuki’s value is baked into his bat. While he does own a surprising plus-5 DRS in the outfield this season, he has historically been a rather subpar defender, which is why he has spent so much time at designated hitter over the years.

So with the Japanese star owning a .747 OPS in the final year of his contract, teams are not exactly going to be falling over themselves to trade for him.

Sure, a ballclub in need of a bat would be interested in acquiring Suzuki with the hope that a change of scenery would do him some good. But he also might just be a two-month rental, which means the Cubs might really have to search long and hard to find a legitimate suitor.

Suzuki has had a fine tenure in Chicago, but it could be coming to an end, and it’s getting uglier by the second.

The post Chicago Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki situation is even worse than you thought appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are in the midst of a horrid stretch of baseball. They have not won a series against any team since early May, a four-game split with the Pittsburgh Pirates as their only non-losing series during that time. Currently, they are in danger of losing a series to the lowly Colorado Rockies, who were just coming off of being swept at home by the Milwaukee Brewers.

One of the issues the Cubs have had all season long, even when they were winning 10 games in a row, was how many injuries their pitching staff sustained. Indeed, Chicago has yet to field their preferred starting rotation for 2026, and due to season-ending injuries, they never will be able to.

Matthew Boyd will not start for the Chicago Cubs this weekend

One of the many Cubs pitchers that has spent a majority of this season on the injured list is All-Star Matthew Boyd. He missed some time early in the year with a shoulder injury, but recent surgery for a torn meniscus is what has kept him out for weeks at this point.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Boyd was close to coming back and would pitch for the Cubs over the weekend. Unfortunately, that will no longer be happening.

“It’s his shoulder … We think this is minor, that’s the hope, and we can get back on the mound pretty quickly and not lose a lot of time here.”

Matthew Boyd has been dealing with shoulder soreness and will not start this weekend, per Craig Counsell. pic.twitter.com/jWblckisZR

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) June 10, 2026

As seen in the post above, manager Craig Counsell said on Wednesday, “It’s his shoulder … We think this is minor, that’s the hope, and we can get back on the mound pretty quickly and not lose a lot of time here.”

Boyd is 2-1 with a 6.00 ERA in five starts this season.

Right now, it does not sound like Chicago has a good idea of exactly what is wrong with Boyd’s shoulder. Hopefully it is not serious so he can provide some much-needed depth to their depleted rotation.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Cubs should explore veteran Atlanta Braves cast-off
• Jed Hoyer is to blame for Cubs mess, per MLB insider
• Cubs receive serious trade deadline warning about one particular player

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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The Chicago Cubs will almost certainly do something significant before the MLB trade deadline. Either they’ll make some moves to bolster their chances of making the playoffs, or they’ll decide they are out of it and will sell off some pieces.

The latter seemed unthinkable a little over a month ago, but with the Cubs going just 7-21 after a 27-12 start and falling further and further in the National League standings, it could become a surprising reality for Chicago.

In the event that the Cubs do decide to blow it up, there are some obvious names that could become available.

Shota Imanaga seems like a prime candidate to be moved. He is slated to hit free agency after the season, and he has not exactly pitched up to par in 2026. He wasn’t great in 2025, either. Seiya Suzuki is another piece who could be on the trade block given his impending free-agent status.

Then, there is Ian Happ, whose contract expires at the end of the year and whose departure would clear the way for Kevin Alcantara to nab a starting job in the outfield. But there is one potential wrinkle in a Happ trade: his no-trade clause.

Chicago Cubs could face an issue with a potential Ian Happ trade

Happ signed a three-year, $61 million contract extension with the Cubs in April 2023, a pact that featured a full no-trade clause. That means Happ can block any potential deal, so Chicago would need to run trades by him before actually attempting to complete one.

The 31-year-old did leave the door open for an exit before the season when speaking about the final year of his deal, so perhaps Happ would be just fine leaving the Windy City, especially if it meant he could play for a contender the remainder of 2026. But the destination would still have to be right for him.

Happ has spent his entire career in Chicago, so he might not be so quick to want out. He has made an All-Star appearance while also capturing four Gold Glove awards throughout his tenure with the Cubbies, which began back in 2017. Clearly, he has experienced a great deal of success with the only franchise he has ever known.

But if the Cubs continue to slide, you do have to wonder just how much he will want to remain with the ballclub, especially if they make it clear that they want to move him.

If Chicago fades out of playoff contention entirely by Aug. 3, it absolutely should look to trade Happ. He is getting older, and even though he owns an .830 OPS his season (his best mark since 2020), it makes sense to ship him out to forge a path to regular playing time for Alcantara.

Whether or not Happ agrees to that is another story.

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The Chicago Cubs are just one game over .500 after dropping the first game of their series against the lowly Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night. Now just 34-33, the Cubs are in fourth place in the National League Central Division and are in danger of continuing their horrid series losing streak.

The last time Chicago won a series was when they completed a sweep of the Cincinnati Reds back on May 7.

Despite their month-long slide, many media outlets have not given up on the Cubs, still ranking them among the top 10-15 teams in Major League Baseball.

Michael Busch declared the Chicago Cubs most exciting potential All-Star

Earlier this week, The Athletic released their MLB weekly power rankings along with the player on each them they believe is the most exciting potential All-Star.

Despite how poorly Chicago has played, they came in ninth and first baseman Michael Busch was declared their most exciting potential All-Star:

“I wanted to say Ian Happ here, but it’s really difficult to get two outfielders from the same team onto one All-Star roster, and Pete Crow-Armstrong is by far the more likely selection. So I decided to see which Cubs have been the most productive since May 1. Who’s been killing it while the vibes are bad? Who’s going to be the guy who helps pull them out of the malaise?

“And that’s how I landed on Busch. After a dismal start (.576 OPS in March/April), his .924 OPS since May 1 is second best among NL first basemen, behind only Jake Bauers in Milwaukee.

“The slow start might be enough to doom his All-Star chances. And, yeah, the obvious Cubs pick is PCA. But Busch is worth a second look, if injuries open up a roster spot or two (and for that matter, so is Happ).”

As noted above, Pete Crow-Armstrong is the most obvious choice to represent the Cubs in the All-Star Game. Unfortunately, with the way they have been playing over the last month, he might be the only one, too.

Busch, overall, is hitting .247/.371/.402 with seven home runs and 37 RBI. Those are not exactly All-Star numbers at this point in the season, but he could put himself into the conversation with a June that resembles the May he had.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Cubs should explore veteran Atlanta Braves cast-off
• Jed Hoyer is to blame for Cubs mess, per MLB insider
• Cubs receive serious trade deadline warning about one particular player

For More Chicago Sports

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The Chicago Cubs are as close to rock-bottom as possible at this point of the season. They’ve lost 21 of their last 28 games and have fallen all the way to fourth place in the NL Central Division.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Jed Hoyer is to blame for this mess, per MLB insider

There are many focuses for blame, ranging from the front office to the manager to individual players on the team. The reality, though, is that everybody owns this mess and getting at the solution will take some time, effort, and serious team reflection.

But if one were forced to blame one key element for things going sideways in 2026, it would have to be the starting pitching.

The Cubs started the season boasting of their depth and their reserve of at least nine qualified arms to fill the five rotation spots—Cade Horton, Matthew Boyd, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, Colin Rea, Ben Brown, and Javier Assad.

Little by little, however, that depth has been whittled away.

The besieged Cubs rotation

More News: Chicago Cubs: Two oddball trade proposals spotlight the team’s awful standing

Horton went down to a season-ending elbow injury in just his second start of the year. Steele’s comeback from elbow surgery last year has suffered a setback. Boyd is coming back from his second stint on the IL. Cabrera just came back from the IL as well. And now Taillon has been placed on the shelf, not expected back until after the All-Star break.

Add to that the fact that nobody from the Cubs’ list of starters—other then Brown—has executed consistently well and, well, you get what we have right now on the North Side.

With about two months still to go before the trade deadline and a rotation still suffering stress and strain—with nobody really available for a call-up from the minors—the team has to come up with some instant, on-the-spot backup starting pitching options. And the only way to do that is via the waiver wire.

A solution cast off by the Braves?

The Atlanta Braves recently DFA’d someone who the Cubs might be wise to look into, given their situation.

Carlos Carrasco was cut loose by the first place Braves on Wednesday after limited use this season. The 39-year-old 17-year MLB veteran has posted a 3.00 ERA in just 9 innings over 5 appearances for Atlanta after notching a 3.30 ERA in 30 inning over 6 starts at the Triple-A Braves affiliate.

Carrasco, who’s widely regarded as a valuable clubhouse presence, has a 4.22 career ERA over his time with the Braves, Yankees, Guardians, and Mets. He hasn’t been a consistent and quality starting rotation presence since his 15-7, 3.97 ERA season with the Mets in 2022, but he’s looked solid enough overall this season to warrant a look—especially for a Cubs team bordering on desperation.

Chicago has indeed been watching the waiver wire as their pitching has begun to crumble. As the season rolls on, they’ve already picked up Christian Roa, Luis Peralta, Liam Hendricks, Ty Blach, Doug Nikhazy, Andrew Wantz and Eduarniel Nuñez as stockpile arms, along with several others acquired during the offseason.

Carrasco might be closer to a sure thing asset as anyone else the team has added of late.

The Cubs may also want to look at former Cub Keegan Thompson, who was recently DFA’d by the Rockies, as well as the Blue Jays’ Yariel Rodriguez.

At this point, a roll of the dice on a reclamation project is about as close as the Cubs are going to get to the cavalry riding in to save the year.

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The Chicago Cubs have all but tanked this season. And while it’s still too early to definitively say that, with still over three-and-a-half months left of baseball to play, things are looking bleaker and bleaker by the day.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Two oddball trade proposals spotlight the team’s awful standing

Last night in Colorado against the Rockies, the Cubs were manhandled by the worst team in baseball in a 7-3 beating at Coors Field. The loss gives them a 7-21 record in their last 28 games and puts their record at just one game over .500—after being 15 games over that mark just about a month ago.

They’ve also fallen to fourth place in the NL Central Division.

This is most definitely not the team most had envisioned at the start of spring training, when expectations were boldly high and even some World Series chatter began to swirl.

Everybody following the team knows why the Cubs have fallen—lackluster and wildly inconsistent hitting and the physical collapse, en masse, of the starting pitching. The question, though, is who’s to blame for this ugly turn of events.

Blame Jed Hoyer

More News: Chicago Cubs reacquire former prospect in pitching desperation move

MLB insider Jesse Rogers, in an appearance on ESPN Chicago, points the finger squarely at Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer.

“For once, I think we can all kind of agree…this isn’t on ownership,” Rogers asserted. “Tom Ricketts approved enough payroll this year to win in the NL Central…There’s enough blame to go around…But if you are really forcing me to choose…Jed chose Alex Bregman…with a Gold Glove candidate at third base, who was one of their better hitters in the second half. He chose to spend the money on Alex Bregman. Now, the Bregman story is not written yet, but you can’t take back the first two months and, in his words, how much he’s contributed to their struggles…

He chose Alex Bregman. He sat Matt Shaw. He chose the pitchers in the draft who have gotten hurt again in Cade Horton and Justin Steele, both of whom had injuries before they came to the Cubs. He chose a more undersized team. The decisions Jed Hoyer made, to me, have led them to this point more than anything else.”

Rogers’ assertions are all true, as is his statement that there’s enough blame to go around.

Ultimately, players have to execute and coaches have to lead. But at the root of it all, only so much can be done with the team placed on the field. And, obviously, this particular Cubs team has shown enough cracks and misfires to indicate that they weren’t destined for great things.

What if?

There are a lot of “what ifs” now as this team freefalls. What if Hoyer had spent the Bregman money on an ace-level starting pitcher? What if he had not offered Shota Imanaga a $22 million qualifying offer? What if the Bregman and Imanaga money had been, instead, allocated for use on Dylan Cease and Nick Martinez, for example, who have been ace-level workhorses for their respective teams, with sub-3.00 ERAs?

The Cubs would’ve still lost Cade Horton to injury and would still be waiting on a Justin Steele recovery, but their rotation core would be healthy and sturdy not frail and failing.

And, really, it’s pretty likely at this point that the Cubs would’ve been just fine without Bregman and would be getting the same, or better, offensive and defensive production from Shaw at third.

Hoyer has been criticized before for an unwillingness to spend on premium pitching, but this year’s collapse shines a bright spotlight on that apparent fatal flaw.

At this point, though, all the Cubs can do is hope for a mass team turnaround and that a lot of the roster holes begin to fill themselves, while falling back on the Cubs perpetual mantra of “Wait ‘til next year.”

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The Chicago Cubs absolutely need to do some roster tweaking between now and the MLB trade deadline if they want to re-establish themselves as genuine World Series contenders. They have gone just 7-21 since a 27-12 start, and pretty much everything has gone wrong for them.

While the Cubs need help basically everywhere, their No. 1 area of concern is their starting rotation, which has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster this season.

Chicago acquired Edward Cabrera in a trade with the Miami Marlins over the winter, but he has flopped thus far in the Windy City. Justin Steele remains out and no one knows for sure when — or if — he will return, and Matthew Boyd has been sidelined since early May due to a freak knee injury.

The Cubs are expected to be heavy in the market for starting pitching in the coming weeks, and there should be a handful of very intriguing arms available.

Chicago could return to the well in Miami to try and pry Sandy Alcantara away from the Marlins, but Paul Niemiec of North Side Baseball doesn’t seem to think it’s a a good idea.

Chicago Cubs receive warning on Sandy Alcantara

Alcantara has logged a 4.33 ERA over his first 14 starts of 2026, with that number largely being inflated because of a few really bad outings. He has been either great or terrible this season, which is why Niemiec wants the Cubs to stay away from him.

“Alcantara has made 14 starts this season and has allowed two or less earned runs in eight of them. He also has four starts where he has given up six or more runs. His xERA on the season is 4.05 and he has been worth 1.3 fWAR, but the Marlins have been reluctant to trade him to this point, and it might not make sense for the Cubs to meet a high asking price for a guy who blows up this frequently,” Niemiec wrote.

Alcantara was once one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. After all, he was a unanimous NL Cy Young award winner back in 2022 when he posted a 2.28 ERA and 0.980 WHIP. He then battled through elbow issues in 2023 and underwent Tommy John surgery the following year.

The 30-year-old hasn’t been close to the same since, and while he has certainly shown flashes, he hasn’t been consistent enough in that regard. It’s also clear that Alcantara’s stuff is down considerably, as evidenced by his dip in strikeout rate.

The command is still there, and there are times when he is nearly unhittable. But acquiring Alcantara would certainly be a major risk for Chicago given the asking price.

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The Chicago Cubs desperately need to make some moves if they want to make a push for World Series contention this season. Actually, at this point, they probably need to swing some trades if they even want to make the playoffs.

While the Cubs have holes everywhere, their most prominent area of need is their starting rotation, which has been among the worst in baseball.

Chicago acquired Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins over the winter, but that deal has not gone according to plan. Justin Steele remains sidelined, and Matthew Boyd is still making his way back from a freak knee injury.

Times are tough for the Cubs’ pitching staff, so they will almost certainly need to add at least one pitcher if they want to be taken seriously in the NL Central the rest of the way.

A commonly mentioned potential target is New York Mets right-hander Freddy Peralta, with whom Chicago is very familiar from his days with the Milwaukee Brewers. But while Peralta may seem like a good fit, the hurdles to land him may prove too challenging to overcome for the Cubs.

Chicago Cubs receive bad news on Freddy Peralta

The catch with Peralta is that he is slated to hit free agency next offseason, so it’s entirely possible that Chicago would only be getting him for two months.

Based on the recent report by Bob Nightengale of USA Today that Peralta is seeking a contract similar to the eight-year, $218 million deal Max Fried received from the New York Yankees in December 2024, that may very well take the Cubs out of the running for his services.

Jed Hoyer spends, but he probably wouldn’t be willing to go that far on Peralta. Especially not after just handing Alex Bregman $35 million annually over five years. It’s also important to note that he has a bunch of free agents of his own he must attend to next winter, such as Shota Imanaga, Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ.

Would Chicago really be able to fit Peralta’s contract into the mix?

It’s also worth questioning if Peralta is even worth that much. While he posted a 2.70 ERA during his final season with the Brewers last year, he has recorded a 3.63 ERA, 4.01 FIP and 1.319 WHIP with the Mets thus far in 2026. He owns a lifetime 3.59 ERA, so he really isn’t an ace. And that’s ace money.

Perhaps the Cubs should look elsewhere for a starting pitcher, but the market might start drying up quicker than they thought.

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The Chicago Cubs started this 2026 season with big expectations and even some World Series chatter. They’re now at the point where many are considering them sellers at the August 3 trade deadline.

More News: Chicago Cubs: PCA named Player of the Week, shares Counsell motivational advice

There’s no sugarcoating it. Things are bad. After an early part of the season which saw them put together two separate 10-game winning streaks, they are now 7-20 in their last 27 games and have fallen from first place in the NL Central Division to fourth place. If the season were to end right now, the Cubs would not qualify for postseason play.

Because of this ugly turn of events, the whole season dynamic has started to change. Once considered likely to be aggressive buyers at the deadline, they are being increasingly pegged as sellers as their season seemingly slips away.

As a result, Cubs trade proposals involving the team’s established veteran core have started to pop up all over the place. Two such trades particularly exemplify the Cubs’ dilemma in relation to their clear needs.

Swanson back to the Braves?

More News: Chicago Cubs reacquire former prospect in pitching desperation move

The most interesting proposal comes from the Atlanta Braves blog ATL All Day.

In it, Nick Halden sees the first place Braves reacquiring struggling former Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson —and the remainder of his 7-year, $177 million dollar contract—from a Cubs team eager to move on from the struggling veteran.

In return for Swanson, the Cubs would get pitcher Reynaldo Lopez, catcher Sean Murphy, and free agency-bound infielder Ha-Seong Kim.

Oddly enough, though, the trade would have the Cubs adding more than $20 million dollars extra to their budget this season while remaining on the line for at least $38 million more between Murphy and Lopez contract obligations.

This Cubs-Braves deal doesn’t make sense for many reasons. The money is just one of them.

There’s also the addition of a catcher who would be a downgrade from current starting catcher Carson Kelly. While Kelly could end up leaving free agency at the end of this season, Chicago would be much better off—roster-wise as well as budget-wise—swinging a deal to re-sign Kelly.

The swapping of Swanson for three months of Kim in the middle infield would also be pretty pointless and, actually, a downgrade for the Cubs.

The only name that makes any sense for Chicago is Lopez, who reemerged in 2024 as a quality starter before shoulder surgery in 2025 stalled his career. So far this season, he’s been solid with a 4.06 ERA through 15 games (5 starts). He’s also under team control through next season.

Nothing else in this trade proposal touches logic for Chicago.

A ‘what if’ Happ trade proposal

And speaking of not touching logic, there’s the Cubs-Astros trade proposal from Climbing Tal’s Hill for Cubs left fielder Ian Happ.

Writer David Lesky doesn’t offer any names the Astros would give in return for the free agency-eligible Cubs veteran. And, actually, he hinges everything on a threesome of big “ifs” regarding the Astros continuing to improve, the Cubs continuing to slide, and Happ ditching his no trade clause to allow a deal to happen.

But the clear message from this particular proposal, as well as the one with the Braves, is that the Cubs are moving from contention into a place were a sell-off might be considered wise.

The month of June will probably determine Chicago’s mindset heading into the deadline.

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It’s been a rough go for Alex Bregman in Chicago so far. While only a few months into his five-year tenure with the Cubs, he and fans alike are frustrated with the lack of production. He’s hit for little power and has not come up in key situations. The boos at Wrigley Field are starting to be heard.

Alex Bregman completely wore it after going 0 for 5 and making the last out tonight: “I haven’t executed all year. Runners in scoring position, I’ve been god awful.”

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) June 8, 2026

This horrific 7-21 stretch magnifies Bregman’s lack of production, and his struggles have been a big contributor to this spiral. Fans are getting some uneasy feelings.

Cubs fans remember times like these for other key players

Bregman was brought in to be the “Alpha” of the team. Even if the likes of Michael Busch or Seiya Suzuki put up better numbers, Bregman needs to be the driving force. Like when Kris Bryant was the MVP in 2016, he was the best producer and talent, but Anthony Rizzo was the cornerstone.

The lack of production, the jeers, and the scratching of heads, it can remind one of post-June Kyle Tucker last year. He was brought in to be “the guy” last year, and for a while he was, before the finger injury after which it all fell apart. When Tucker struggled, the rest of the team did too. While the circumstances between Bregman and Tucker are not all apples-to-apples, similar dejected and frustrated feelings are present.

Other comparisons are floating around out there. Obviously with the money, one can connect Bregman to the Jason Heyward deal. Though Heyward was not signed to be the primary catalyst. Somewhat similar to Dansby Swanson, though Heyward had a higher offensive ceiling. Another, to a lesser extent, was 2024 Cody Bellinger. He put up okay numbers in a vacuum, but not quite to expectations.

The jury on Bregman has not concluded

There is no sugarcoating how awful it’s been for Bregman, but it is a small sample size. He’s working his tail off to try to fix things.

Fears are real about Bregman’s hitting profile not fitting the best at Wrigley, and being on the wrong side of 30, and coming off a season where an injury derailed what was looking like an MVP caliber season in Boston. With that said, it does not mean this is the best we will get from him going forward. Sometimes, the right tweaks, physically and mentally, can bust downward trends.

There is still bullishness on Bregman turning it around from people in baseball. Hopefully for his and the Cubs’ sake, that happens. He’s a very good talent with a professional approach at the plate, but the production simply has to come. Time will tell if that’s reality or if things are indeed on the downswing for the veteran infielder.

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The Chicago Cubs may be going through an extended rough patch that has seen them fall from first place in the NL Central Division to fourth place, but there are still some silver linings. Pete Crow-Armstrong has become one of them.

More News: Chicago Cubs reacquire former prospect in pitching desperation move

The Cubs’ 24-year-old center fielder was just named NL Player of the Week after his recent MVP-level stretch of games.

Over the course of the last week, “PCA” is 11-for-25 with 4 home runs, 6 RBIs, plus a walk-off. Actually, over the last month or so, the young talent has become one of the team’s most impactful bats, although the stats on paper didn’t initially reflect how well his at-bats have been going. He is currently on a 12-game hitting streak.

PCA’s stellar run at the plate

More News: Chicago Cubs’ unwillingness to pay for pitching brought them to this disaster

Michael Cerami of Bleacher Nation recently crunched the numbers, showing just how good Crow-Armstrong has been:

“During that 12-game stretch, he’s slashing a ridiculous .392/.456/.745 (236 wRC+), with three doubles, five homers, two stolen bases, and just a 24.6% strikeout rate.

He’s also tearing the COVER off the ball with a 94.4 MPH average exit velocity, a 24.3% barrel rate, and a 59.5% hard-hit rate.

But you should know by now that this isn’t merely some tiny sample spark. He may have won the award for this week, but you can go back OVER 200 PAs now to April 14 and find a bona-fide superstar.

.278/.373/.506 (149 wRC+, 20th in MLB)
10 HRs, 10 SBs
9.6 BB%, 23.4 K%
91.9 MPH EV (25th in MLB)
14.4 Barrel% (24th in MLB)
52.3 Hard% (17th in MLB)”

As Cerami also pointed out, he’s currently second in fWAR among pure position players with 2.9, behind only Bobby Witt Jr.’s 3.1.

PCA will now bring his red-hot bat into the light air of the Colorado Rockies’ Coors Field for a three-game series, which has become a must-win set of games for a Cubs team that hasn’t actually won a series in quite a while.

Counsell’s words of wisdom

Crow-Armstrong, who signed a six-year, $115 million contract extension with the Cubs at the start of the season, recently brought up a bit of motivational wisdom shared with him by manager Craig Counsell, amid the team’s ugly, extended slump.

“(Counsell) made an interesting point to me the other day,” he told reporters. “He said, ‘It kind of feels like it’s a bunch of have to, and we have to get the job done, and we have to pick it up, turn it around, win these games — it’s like, you can’t forget that we get to do this.’”

The words highlighted the fact that Crow-Armstrong, and everyone else at the major league level, is privileged to be in a spot where such pressure is heaped on his shoulders. It served as a reminder that the joy of playing the game shouldn’t ever be eclipsed by the work necessary to succeed.

Right now, PCA is putting everything together to wring maximum joy and success from his efforts.

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The Chicago Cubs sit eight games out of the lead of the National League Central, but that doesn’t mean they’re out of the race.

Even though the Cubs are not playing well, they still will be buyers at the trade deadline. The Cubs finished May with a 13-16 record and are 2-4 to begin June. The biggest hole on the roster is the starting rotation. The Cubs have the prospect capital to acquire an elite arm.

Despite the prospect capital, the Cubs may need to dip into the major league roster to get a deal done.

Chicago Cubs Matt Shaw could be used in a trade to acquire a top-tier starting pitcher

Cubs’ infielder Matt Shaw has been on the injured list since May 22 with mid-back tightness. However, after a four-game rehab assignment, Shaw will be activated on Tuesday.

More Cubs News: Chicago Cubs hope Pete Crow-Armstrong continues to heat up in June

Shaw should go back to playing all over the diamond. But he could play a few games at third base to help give Alex Bregman a break. Shaw’s return could help him increase his trade value, as he could be used to acquire an elite arm like Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline (Aug. 3).

“The Cubs figure to be in the market for a starting pitcher this summer, and given that their farm system has fallen from MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 ranking two years ago to No. 23 prior to this season, Chicago may have to deal from its big league roster to acquire an impact arm,” wrote MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. “Switch-hitting infielder Pedro Ramírez — Chicago’s No. 2 prospect — has filled in during Shaw’s stint on the injured list, giving the Cubs a built-in replacement if Shaw was to be dealt.”

Shaw would add value to any team acquiring him, given his versatility. Shaw’s played one game in center and left field, two games at first base, five games at third base and 14 games in right field. A change of scenery would also help Shaw, who could benefit from seeing consistent at-bats.

If Shaw is traded, keeping Pedro Ramirez on the roster to fill his place would be the natural move. The Cubs had Ramirez move around the Diamond at Triple-A Iowa to help increase his versatility.

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The Chicago Cubs have been one of the worst teams in baseball for the last month, as they have gone just 7-20 since their 27-17 start. Talk about a polarizing ballclub.

A litany of problems have plagued the Cubs throughout that span, but the most notable of all has been their starting pitching. Chicago’s rotation is one of the MLB’s least productive, so if the Cubs want to make any sort of playoff push, they’ll have to add some arms.

On the bright side, there should be plenty of pitchers available between now and the trade deadline, so Chicago will have its pick of the litter. And while the Cubs’ farm system may not be as loaded as it once was, they still have some pieces that would intrigue other squads.

But just how much would Chicago be willing to surrender in a trade?

Well, Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller has proposed a trade in which the Cubs would receive Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha from the Kansas City Royals while giving up a king’s ransom in return.

Chicago Cubs linked to massive trade with Kansas City Royals

Miller has Chicago sending Kevin Alcantara, Jefferson Rojas and Jaxon Wiggins to the Royals in exchange for the two veteran pitchers, which is an absolutely massive price to pay for two aging hurlers with serious question marks.

Lugo has logged a 3.91 ERA and 1.355 WHIP over his first 13 starts of 2026. He posted a 4.15 ERA last season, and while he was an All-Star in 2024, it’s important to remember that the 36-year-old had been a reliever for a significant chunk of his career.

Wacha owns a 3.44 ERA and 1.136 WHIP this year, so he has been a bit better than Lugo. But he turns 35 next month and has a very checkered injury history. When healthy, he has been a very solid pitcher, but he would represent a pretty big risk.

And would the Cubs really give up three of their top youngsters for two pitchers who aren’t even aces? It seems like an incredibly steep price, and it’s more something Chicago would give up for Tarik Skubal rather than Lugo and Wacha.

The Cubbies definitely need pitching assistance, but I’m not too sure they would even consider this deal. Maybe trading for just one of them so the asking price would not be nearly as exorbitant would be more ideal.

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The Cubs were back on Sunday Night Baseball, and once again, the Cubs came up short, losing 2–1 in 10 innings.

Starter Jamison Taillon left the game in the 2nd inning when he suffered a left hamstring strain. He was placed on the IL following the game. Reliever Javier Assad, who was called up from AAA Iowa on Saturday, pitched brilliantly in emergency relief, throwing 6.1 scoreless innings and allowing just one hit.

But the Cubs offense was only 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position, a recurring theme that has become so predictable. They had chances, but they are unable to find ways to cash them in. That’s been the story every night.

But this night belonged to Kevin Alcántara, who may have played his last game with the Chicago Cubs because of his base-running gaffes.

With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 8th inning, the Cubs managed to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Rookie Kevin Alcántara was at third when Alex Bregman came to the plate. He hit a liner that was caught by the Giants’ first baseman Rafael Devers, who threw it to third, doubling Alcántara, who was caught too far off. That mistake changed the entire game.

Alex Bregman comes up man on 1st and 3rd, 1-1 game with NO OUTS in the bottom of the 8th.

And he’s swinging first pitch on a ball way outside the zone for a weak line drive that doubles up Alcantara. 68 exit velocity on his hit. That is absolutely horrible #cubs pic.twitter.com/zckoY0MMhI

— Sam Holtz (@ceowildcard) June 8, 2026

Alcántara’s mistakes are too difficult to ignore

Alcántara also had another base-running gaffe against the Athletics last Tuesday. The Cubs in the 2nd inning had Ian Happ at third and Alcántara at first. He tried to intentionally draw himself into a rundown to buy enough time for Happ to score from third before a tag could be applied.

Instead, Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers’ throw took the second baseman right into the running lane. Alcántara failed to stop early enough in his tracks to prolong the rundown. He tagged out easily before Happ could cross home plate. The Cubs ended up losing 2-1.

It turns out the base-running gaffes by Alcántara are nothing new. According to reports during Spring Training, manager Craig Counsell went off during baserunning drills in the presence of media members. It was later revealed that Counsell was angry towards Alcántara.

Counsell has to be deeply disappointed that Alcántara has not made much progress as a player. Alcántara earned a call-up from AAA Iowa based on the power number he put up despite a high strikeout rate. But since his promotion, Counsell has heavily restricted his playing time, and primarily utilizes him as a late-game substitute.

But after tonight, he may have played his final game as a Cub. He looks like a player who is unprepared, unaware, and out of his depth. Fair or not, Alcántara can no longer be trusted in any capacity.

The post Chicago Cubs must make a hard decision on Kevin Alcantara appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs once again suffered a pitching gut punch on Sunday when righty Jameson Taillon went down with a left hamstring injury in the second inning of his start against the San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field. A likely drawn-out stint on the IL awaits.

More News: Chicago Cubs’ unwillingness to pay for pitching brought them to this disaster

At this point, something like this barely registers with Cubs fans who have suffered through a seemingly unending run of pitching injuries that has hobbled the team and is starting to make lofty offseason expectations look like pure folly.

In the ongoing effort to keep adding arms as pitchers fall to injury, the Cubs have claimed right-handed pitcher Eduarniel Nuñez off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles.

Cubs bring one-time prospect back home

More News: Should the Chicago Cubs explore reunion with this former Cubs slugger?

The hard-throwing 27-year-old came up through the Cubs’ farm system, but left via free agency in 2024 after mixed results through all tiers of the organization.

He was then picked up by the San Diego Padres organization where he was subsequently dealt to the Athletics as part of the Mason Miller trade in 2025. This year, he was traded from the A’s to the Baltimore Orioles for cash considerations before being DFA’d by the Orioles and reacquired by the Cubs.

In his limited major league play, he was a combined 1-0 with a 7.11 ERA with the Padres and A’s in 2025 over just ten appearances.

Nuñez is regarded as having high-velocity, electric stuff and has always produced a high strikeout rate. However, control has always been an issue. With an ugly 6.16 BB/9 rate throughout all levels of professional ball, the reliever from the Dominican Republic is a true wild card in every sense of the word. The Cubs are hoping they can be the ones to guide the young arm into reaching his full potential.

Grabbing at arms anywhere and everywhere

Chicago, at this point, is seemingly grasping at any possible arm they can grab to offset some of the pitching losses they have suffered this season.

The Cubs lost emerging ace Cade Horton for this season and beyond with an elbow injury in just his second start of 2026. Matthew Boyd is coming off his second stint on the IL. Edward Cabrera is also coming off the IL with a blister issue. Returning ace Justin Steele suffered a setback in his recovery from elbow surgery. Reliever Hunter Harvey remains on the IL, while other bullpen arms Daniel Palencia, Phil Maton, and Caleb Thielbar have also spent time on the shelf. Even top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins is out of commission. And now, of course, Taillon joins the list of the injured.

So far this season, amid the team’s injury struggles, the Cubs have continuously manned the waiver wires in search of depth arms. They’ve brought in Christian Roa, Luis Peralta, Liam Hendricks, Ty Blach, Doug Nikhazy, Andrew Wantz and now Nuñez. They also recently pulled off a minor trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers for lefty Antoine Kelly.

This is in addition to the mass stockpiling of arms via minor league contracts in the offseason, a prescient move that brought in names such as Collin Snider, Kyle Wright, Vince Velasquez, Trent Thornton, Yacksel Rios, Charlie Barnes, Ryan Rolison, Tyler Beede, John Brigham, Tyler Ras, Gabe Klobosits, and Corbin Martin to the organization. Many of those pitchers have already appeared for the major league Cubs.

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The Chicago Cubs have hit a big wall here in June. Just a month ago, they had the best record in baseball before going on a 10-game losing streak. Now? They are in fourth place in the NL Central and just lost another series, this time at home to the lowly San Francisco Giants.

Chicago’s woes stretch from poor pitching to really bad hitting and base running. Injuries haven’t helped the cause either as they have missed some key pieces the past month. But the Cubs could potentially get some help back sooner than later.

Matt Shaw to come off IL for Chicago Cubs

On Monday, after a tough loss on Sunday Night Baseball, Jesse Rogers is reporting that infielder/outfielder Matt Shaw is coming back from the injured list on Tuesday. Shaw has been on a rehab assignment in the minor leagues as he was recovering from a back injury.

Cubs roster news: The team is activating INF/OF Matt Shaw (back) from the IL tomorrow after he spent a few days on a rehab assignment in the minors, sources tell ESPN. Not a surprise considering the Major League team’s offensive and baserunning woes lately.

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) June 8, 2026

Shaw has been out for a few weeks with that back injury. Now, his return doesn’t guarantee a jump start in the offense but at this point, nothing they try can hurt. Shaw also gives Counsell the ability to use him in the infield to maybe give a struggling Alex Bregman some days off. Or even in the outfield as well.

With Kevin Alcantara struggling since his call up, including on the bases, it will be interesting to see if he is the corresponding move back down to Iowa.

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The Chicago Cubs suffered another pitching setback in Sunday’s 2-1 extra innings loss to the San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field.

More News: Should the Chicago Cubs explore reunion with this former Cubs slugger?

In the second inning of his start, Jameson Taillon felt some discomfort on the mound and signaled for the trainer to come out. He would then be removed from the game after just 35 pitches. Later, it was revealed that he had suffered a left hamstring injury that would require a stint on the IL.

Honestly, though, the Cubs aren’t losing a whole lot with Taillon gone. The veteran has posted a 5.19 ERA through thirteen starts and was well on his way to getting batted around by the Giants (two hits, two walks, one earned run in one full inning) before his injury.

But, at the very least, he was a live body. And the Cubs don’t have that many live starting pitching bodies left.

The recently recalled Javier Assad came in and gave Chicago 6.1 one-hit shutout innings—which was a silver lining deep inside a dark cloud—but that doesn’t change the fact that the battered and strained starting rotation is now operating fully without a net.

The Cubs refused to pay for top pitching

More News: Chicago Cubs: Matthew Boyd gets hammered in latest Iowa rehab outing

This would not have been an issue if the Cubs weren’t so internally stuck on not paying a premium—or even a partial premium—for pitching.

During the offseason, the Cubs made a partial pass at Dylan Cease before demurring. Cease has been a lights-out stud for the Blue Jays. Rumored targets Michael King and Nathan Eovaldi are also doing well with their respective teams. Nick Martinez—who was snatched up by the Rays on a budget $13 million contract—has been a killer. Even Foster Griffin—up for grabs at a cheap price after returning from Japan—is posting better numbers than anybody but Ben Brown in Chicago’s rotation.

The Cubs didn’t even make a serious play at free agent holdout Lucas Giolito after injuries started piling up and they knew they’d need the reinforcement. Giolito hasn’t been great for the Padres, but he’s been doing better than Taillon and Shota Imanaga.

The pitching was there to be had. The Cubs just decided not to have it. Their unusually bold trade with the Miami Marlins for Edward Cabrera was going to have to suffice.

Cubs 2026 rotation was a house of cards

Coming into this 2026 season, the Cubs were actually patting themselves on the back for the starting pitching depth they had built. They may not have had a true, proven superstar, but they had a lot of solid cogs to a machine they believed capable of making a deep playoff run.

The front five consisted of Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, the newly acquired Cabrera, Imanaga, and Taillon, with the returning Justin Steele as an ace in the hole, due back from 2025 elbow surgery in May or June. After that, they had Colin Rea, Javier Assad, and Ben Brown as backup options.

But Boyd, Horton, Cabrera, and Steele all had significant injury concerns (which became realities). Imanaga was coming off a troubling 2025. Taillon’s velocity was way down in spring training and he was getting swatted.

Now, after waves of injury, the front five consists of a returning Boyd and Cabrera, Brown (a positive revelation), Rea, and Assad, with no backup behind them and no hope of a rotation boost until the trade deadline.

The writing was on the wall that bad things were possible for this season. But instead of making the bold move for a big ticket starting pitcher, the Cubs opted for “safe” acquisition Alex Bregman—a move which hasn’t paid dividends at all so far.

Until Cubs president Jed Hoyer and the front office starts rolling the dice on arms, this team will always be crossing fingers and hoping for the best when it comes to pitching. And, as a result, they’ll always be on the outside of a championship picture looking in.

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The Chicago Cubs have been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster over the last month, as they have gone just 7-20 following their 27-12 start and now sit just one game ahead of the Cincinnati Reds in the loss column for last place in the NL Central.

A plethora of problems have affected the Cubs throughout this stretch. It hasn’t been one particular issue.

That being said, everyone knows just how terrible Chicago’s starting rotation has been. The Cubs rank 28th in baseball in starting pitching ERA (4.83), and outside of Ben Brown (who was a late addition to the rotation), there hasn’t been a single Cubs arm that has pitched well.

Chicago is expected to swing a trade for at least another pitcher before the trade deadline, but it might end up dumping one of its own hurlers, as well.

Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller feels that Jameson Taillon in particular is in danger of getting ditched.

Chicago Cubs predicted to part ways with Jameson Taillon

Taillon actually suffered a hamstring injury during his most recent start against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday night, coming out of the game after just one inning.

But Miller also thinks that the 34-year-old might be in his final days with the Cubbies.

“But Taillon, in particular, has been a glorified batting practice arm this season, allowing an MLB-worst 20 home runs en route to a career-worst 5.13 ERA—and a 6.33 FIP that suggests he’s lucky things haven’t gone even worse,” Miller wrote. “… Whether Taillon makes it to the end of the final season of his four-year, $68M deal is questionable at best.”

Taillon had a couple of decent years for Chicago in 2024 and 2025, but his debut campaign with the team in 2023 was subpar, as he logged a 4.84 ERA.

Overall, the right-hander has managed a 4.09 ERA throughout his time with the Cubs and owns a lifetime 3.94 ERA since entering the big leagues in 2016. He spent time with the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees before ultimately making his way to Chicago.

So long as the Cubs do end up buying before the deadline (which is actually a fair question now), Taillon might find himself out of Chicago’s rotation in the coming weeks.

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The Chicago Cubs have seen their starting rotation decimated by injuries ever since before Spring Training began. Last night, starter Jameson Taillon became the latest starter to suffer an injury. Manager Craig Counsell revealed that it is most likely a hamstring strain, and Taillon is going to be joining several other Cubs starters on the injured list.

At 34-32, the Cubs have quickly fallen behind in the National League Central Division standings, currently sitting 7.5 games out of first place. There is, of course, still time for them to make up ground; but they will not be able to do so if their pitching continues to suffer setbacks.

Tarik Skubal is the biggest and best name on the trading block this year, and the Cubs could certainly get him. But it will cost them future building blocks.

The Chicago Cubs would have to give up top prospects to get Tarik Skubal

Skubal is still recovering from a procedure that removed some floating bodies from his left arm, his throwing arm. In seven starts this year, he is 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA for the Detroit Tigers.

As Detroit is one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball, and since Skubal will be a free agent at the end of the season, it is widely believed they will trade the two-time Cy Young Award winner in order to acquire some top prospects to help them rebuild.

Due to their injury issues in the starting rotation, the Cubs are commonly thrown out as a possible suitor for Skubal. But the latest trade proposal from ESPN may be too costly for Chicago:

“Trading Skubal doesn’t mean the Tigers would enter rebuild mode. Having signed Framber Valdez softens the blow (a bit) in the rotation, and they have young position-player talent to create a successful foundation in the AL Central.

“Ramirez and outfielder Alcantara fit that window. Ramirez slashed .312/.395/.547 with nine home runs in 43 games in Triple-A before getting his first call up to the majors. Alcantara has huge power — he has 15 home runs in 41 Triple-A games this season — and the arm for right field at the big league level.

“Both could help Detroit immediately and build on a core featuring Kevin McGonigle, Riley Greene, Dillon Dingler and, eventually, Max Clark. Then there’s Wiggins, who has been sidelined since mid-April with elbow inflammation. That’s obviously a concern, but the right-hander’s stuff is explosive and the Tigers are thin on pitching prospects.

“Ramirez (No. 1), Wiggins (No. 4) and Alcantara (No. 6) are three of the Cubs’ six prospects. And they make sense for the Tigers.”

As one can see, ESPN suggests the Cubs would have to send Pedro Ramirez, Kevin Alcantara, and Jaxon Wiggins to the Tigers to get Skubal.

Here’s the thing, though. Chicago has 14 players of their own that are upcoming free agents, and their top prospects have already or will be in the Majors soon enough. What is more, Skubal is going to be a rental. He will cost more in free agency than the Cubs will want to pay, so they would be giving up years of club control over three of their top six prospects for just a couple months of Skubal.

Oh, and remember, Skubal is coming off of an injury too. It would be just an unimaginable disaster for Chicago to trade three of their best young prospects for a great pitcher who ends up on the injured list with so many others.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Another Cubs pitcher is heading to the injured list
• Jameson Taillon exits in second inning vs Giants
• Cubs linked to jarring All-Star trade as season unravels

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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How long has it been since the Chicago Cubs won a series? One would have to go back over a month to May 7, when the Cubs completed a four-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds, to find it. Since then, Chicago has gone 0-8-1 in series, with their only split coming at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates a week and a half ago.

Currently, the Cubs are 34-32 and in fourth place in the National League Central Division. For whatever reason, they have not been able to play consistent baseball, despite the fact that their roster is composed of All-Star caliber players.

As the Mid-summer Classic approaches, there are any number of players that could be voted in or selected if they can snap out of their slumps. Michael Conforto, though, has been identified as the most “fun” Cubs player fans can select.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Michael Conforto named most “fun” All-Star candidate

Let’s face it: the most obvious choice of any one player to represent the Cubs in the All-Star Game currently is Pete Crow-Armstrong, especially considering how well he has been hitting as of late.

However, MLB’s latest power rankings identified the most “fun” player on each team that fans could vote for, and Conforto was their choice for Chicago:

“It wasn’t clear he was even going to make the team out of Spring Training, but it turns out that Michael Conforto has been a life-saver for the Cubs. He’s having his best season since the last (and only) time he made an All-Star team … in 2017.”

In 42 games played this season, Conforto is hitting .250/.356/.489 with four home runs and 13 RBI. These are far from All-Star numbers, but they are his best since 2017. The problem, though, is that Conforto is used primarily as a platoon player, hitting almost strictly against right-handed pitchers. He has 100 plate appearances against them compared to just four against left-handed pitchers.

The Cubs, by the way, fell to 12th in MLB’s power rankings, down one spot from where they were last week. They have a series coming up against the lowly Colorado Rockies, so hopefully they can finally win a series and turn the vibes in the clubhouse around.

Unfortunately, they are still going to have to overcome the challenges presented to them by injuries to their starting pitching rotation.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Another Cubs pitcher is heading to the injured list
• Jameson Taillon exits in second inning vs Giants
• Cubs linked to jarring All-Star trade as season unravels

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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The Chicago Cubs seemingly have a lot of issues going on. After Sunday’s loss, they have dropped 20 of their previous 27 games. There is a lot of blame that can be thrown around, but star players significantly underperforming have a hefty portion of the pie chart. Let’s take a look at one big-name player discussing his terrible beginning to the 2026 season.

Alex Bregman discusses his terrible start to his 2026 season

Following the Cubs’ 2-1 10-inning road loss on Sunday night against the San Francisco Giants, third baseman Alex Bregman spoke to the media and took accountability for his poor start.

“I’ve been terrible. I need to play better. Offenisvely, its been awful. I’ve failed many times in this game. I’ve struggled. I’ve started off slow before, I’ve started out fast before. When you’re struggling, there is only one way forward and that’s straight, head-on through it. It comes down to executing in the game. I haven’t executed all year. Runners in scoring position, I’ve been god-awful. I need to be better. If I’m better over the last how many games, we probably win the majority of them.”

Bregman finished Sunday’s game hitless in five at-bats. That dropped his numbers to a .669 OPS with five homers, 19 RBI, and 29 runs scored. These numbers are even worse when you look at how he is producing with runners in scoring position. He is the fourth-worst hitter in those situations, despite having the fourth-most at-bats. Bregman has a .178/.256/.192 slash line with 14 RBI and one extra-base hit. Going 13-for-73 with runners in scoring position significantly dampens scoring chances for the team as a whole.

To put it into perspective, below are the players who have a worse OPS with runners in scoring position than Bregman’s .448 thus far:

• Ezequiel Tovar (.374)
• Salvador Perez (.427)
• Seiya Suzuki (.438)

Could it be simply seeing a bunch of new pitchers in his first season in the National League? Could it be just bad results or just regression beginning to hit him? Whatever it is, Bregman’s under contract through the 2030 season after signing a five-year, $175 million contract this offseason. It will be intriguing to see what can get Bregman to being close to a star player he was just one year ago with the Boston Red Sox.

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The Chicago Cubs continue to slump here as the calendar has turned to June. After leading the division in early May, the Cubs are now in fourth place and looking up at the Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Chicago sits at 34-32 just a few weeks after the team had the best record in the national league. But since then, everything has gone downhill including injuries.

And now following another series loss, this time to the San Francisco Giants, a key pitcher is heading to the injured reserve.

Jameson Taillon is heading to injured list

The Cubs rotation has been hit hard with injuries this year including losing Cade Horton for the year early on. Both Matthew Boyd and Edward Cabrera also made appearances on the IL at the same time.

Now, after losing to the Giants, it sounds like the Cubs are losing another pitcher. Following the game, manager Craig Counsell announced that Jameson Taillon is heading to the injured reserve. 

“It’s a left hamstring strain, imaging tomorrow. To IL, we will get more information tomorrow on severity and maybe a timeline,” Counsell said.

Craig Counsell announced that Jameson Taillon will go on the IL with a hamstring strain. pic.twitter.com/EtNc0OUs7u

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) June 8, 2026

Taillon left the game in the second inning due to that hamstring injury. This season has been a struggle for the veteran as he’s posted a 2-5 record with a 5.13 ERA.

The post Chicago Cubs’ pitcher heading to injured list appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs have been no strangers to injuries to their pitching staff. Tonight, unfortunately, marks another one. During Sunday Night Baseball, starting pitcher Jameson Taillon was pulled one batter into the second inning. Let’s take a closer look at what happened, what we know, and what this means for Chicago.

Jameson Taillon leaves the Chicago Cubs game with an apparent injury

During tonight’s Sunday Night Baseball game, Taillon struggled a bit in the first inning. He came back out for the second inning and walked the first batter he saw. Before the next batter came to the plate, the Cubs trainer was out on the field evaluating Taillon. He would wind up exiting the game with an apparent injury as Javier Assad replaced him on the mound.

Taillon immediately signaled to the dugout following his 35th pitch, and it did not take long to see him leave the field. Chicago has dealt with some injuries to their starting rotation this season as Cade Horton suffered a season-ending injury, and Matthew Boyd has had a pair of trips to the injured list thus far.

Taillon has struggled this season as the 34-year-old is 2-5 with a 5.19 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP across 67.2 innings (13 starts). Taillon would do a squat on the mound before exiting, indicating a lower-body injury of some sort. The Cubs would officially announce the injury as a left hamstring strain.

If this injury is significant enough to land him on the injured list, expect Boyd to take his spot, and the team to have the following starting rotation:

• Shota Imanaga
• Edward Cabrera
• Ben Brown
• Matthew Boyd
• Colin Rea

This Cubs team continues to test its starting pitching depth due to injuries. It will be intriguing to see what Taillon’s injury is, as it could change what the front office decides to do going forward.

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Things have not exactly gone according to plan for the Chicago Cubs this season, or at least over the last month.

Entering play on Sunday night, the Cubs are sitting at 34-31, and while that record looks respectable, it’s important to remember that they were 27-12 at one time. They have gone 7-19 since, and pretty much everything has unraveled.

Their starting rotation has been terrible, their offense has been hit or miss (quite literally) and their bullpen has also been a source of concern.

Chicago could try and buy before the MLB trade deadline, but with the deadline not until Aug. 3, it will be difficult for Jed Hoyer to patch up all of the holes in the meantime. So could the Cubs actually do what most thought would be unthinkable early in the season and sell?

If things don’t get turned around, it’s possible, and Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller has pitched a stunning potential trade candidate: Shota Imanaga.

Chicago Cubs could trade Shota Imanaga if things spiral

More specifically, Miller noted Imanaga as someone who could get moved if things continue to spiral for Chicago, and while it may seem jarring on paper, it makes sense.

Imanaga is slated to become a free agent after the 2026 campaign after signing a one-year qualifying offer to return to the Cubbies this season, and based on the way he has pitched, the Cubs may not want to bring him back.

The 32-year-old has logged a 4.74 ERA over 13 starts, allowing 17 home runs across 76 innings. His 1.079 WHIP is impressive, but his inability to keep the ball in the yard has sabotaged him this season. His 4.93 FIP isn’t exactly sparkling, either.

Imanaga initially joined Chicago in 2024 and had a terrific debut campaign with the club, posting a 2.91 ERA and 1.021 WHIP to go along with a fantastic 6.21 K/BB ratio. He was named an All-Star and even finished fourth in NL Cy Young award voting as a result.

Since then, however, the left-hander’s stock has dipped considerably. Injuries limited him to 25 starts in 2025, and when he did pitch, he wasn’t quite the same, managing a 3.73 ERA and 4.86 FIP.

Perhaps a change of scenery would do Imanaga some good. He still possesses impeccable control, so that should interest some teams. If the Cubs continue to labor, it’s entirely possible they will look to move the Japanese native in the coming weeks.

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The Chicago Cubs have had a couple of feel-good walk-off moments over the last few day, but that doesn’t erase the realities facing the team and where they stand right now.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Matthew Boyd gets hammered in latest Iowa rehab outing

Currently in fourth place in the NL Central Division, they would not be a playoff team if the season ended today. That’s a far cry from where many thought the team would be at this point in the year, back when the Cubs were expected to be a deep playoff contender with even some possible World Series aspirations.

Pitching injuries have hobbled this team, stressing and straining things as a whole. But it’s been the offense that has been the biggest disappointment so far.

Although center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has been red-hot lately and a couple of other bats have had their moments, the offensive output as a whole as been a massive letdown. The simple reality of the Cubs’ hitting situation is that they need more consistency and a steadier hand when it comes to driving runs home.

But was the answer to Chicago’s hitting needs practically dumped into their laps on Friday?

Nick Castellanos released by the Padres

More News: Chicago Cubs: This trade target could offer ‘best of both worlds’ deadline solution

Veteran bat—and former Cub—Nick Castellanos was released by the San Diego Padres after a subpar run in Southern California that saw him hit just .191 over 39 games.

Now, the numbers Castellanos put up in San Diego wouldn’t normally scream, “Come get me.” But he might be someone worth exploring for a Cubs team in need of fire and someone who has, at the very least, a proven track record of past success.

The 34-year-old, who had significant success with the Cubs in 2019 as a trade deadline acquisition, has been through a career roller coaster over the last year or so.

The Philadelphia Phillies released him this past offseason, eating the final $20 million of his five-year contract, after an ugly clash of personalities with then-Phillies manager Rob Thomson that also brought on an extended slump at the plate.

The Padres had hoped to rekindle the spark in the 14-year MLB veteran when they acquired him prior to the 2026 season, but things never quite picked up.

The veteran did prove, however, that clubhouse personality clashes may have been limited to just his interactions with Thomson. Everybody in San Diego was fine with him and they seem legitimately disappointed in his release.

“Nick is such a pro,” Padres manager Craig Stammen told reporters “I really enjoyed having him in San Diego…It was tough for him to transition from playing every single day to playing two days, then two days off, play another day and another day off. It was a difficult transition to him. It’s something that he probably didn’t love either, you know. In the end, it didn’t feel comfortable for him. So I think the conversations that we had back and forth were great, great communication, but just decided to make a move and change the roster up a little bit.”

“Obviously the news caught everybody by surprise,” Manny Machado said. “I don’t really try to put myself in a GM’s shoes and know why they’re doing the decisions. Obviously we just care about Nick and what he meant to us in the clubhouse.”

What he’d bring to the Cubs

For the Cubs, Castellanos would give them a right-handed bat they could pair with lefty Michael Conforto—another veteran reclamation project paying dividends after a sub-Mendoza line season—that could either be plugged into the DH slot or as a fourth outfielder. A decision would then have to be made regarding rookie Moises Ballesteros and whether it would be wiser to send him back to Triple-A for more seasoning and more actual playing time.

For the minuscule amount of money involved in picking him up and the simple roster fit, trying out Castellanos might be something worth exploring.

Of course, it’s not 2019, where he hit .321 with 16 home runs in 51 games with the Cubs. But if the team could just get some of what’s made him a successful hitter over the course of his career, it might be a win-win.

The post Should the Chicago Cubs explore reunion with this former Cubs slugger? appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs have to feel good after yet another walkoff win—the second in three games—to even up their home series with the San Francisco Giants.

More News: Chicago Cubs bench Dansby Swanson amid ugly team freefall

Although center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong got most of the accolades for his hitting heroics in a 4-for-5, two home run day, starting pitcher Ben Brown has to get some major respect as well.

The hard-throwing right-hander delivered another masterful outing for the Cubs as he registered 5.1 shutout innings while allowing only one hit and one walk while striking out five.

The 26-year-old’s recent run of success as an emergency fill-in starter in a battered and strained rotation has been a godsend for a team at the end of its rope in that regard. Through six starts this season, Brown has posted a 1.44 ERA and is throwing about as well as any other starter in baseball.

Brown’s success, however, is offset by the absolute disaster all around him in a struggling Cubs rotation where nobody else has an ERA below 4.59 at the moment.

Last year’s surprising ace Matthew Boyd, however, is expected to make his comeback from surgery to repair a damaged meniscus—in what was his second stint on the IL this season—to bring some stability back to Chicago’s starting five.

Judging by Saturday’s rehab appearance in Iowa, it might not be prudent to count too heavily on the southpaw veteran being the cavalry the Cubs need.

Matt Boyd gets lit up in Des Moines

More News: Chicago Cubs recall Javier Assad as starting rotation experiences full-on collapse

Against the Toledo Mud Hens at Principal Park in Des Moines, Boyd got the win on the ledger, but gave up five earned runs in five innings pitched and allowed three home runs on seven hits. In his prior outing with the Iowa Cubs, the 35-year-old gave up three runs (two earned) in four innings.

Despite the subpar performance on Saturday and a combined 7.00 ERA in two outings in Iowa since his surgery, Boyd says he feels good and is ready for a return to the major league Cubs.

“I feel real good. I accomplished what I wanted to,” Boyd told the Des Moines Register after Saturday’s game. “Obviously, I wish I didn’t give up the home runs, but sometimes that happens, you know, in a park like this, but you just gotta keep going…I’ll be recovered and be ready for whenever the next one is. I’ll probably play in the next one up there [in Chicago]. I don’t know, we’ll see. You gotta talk to them and we’ll go from there.”

Better than what’s behind him

The reality at this point is that any version of Boyd—even the one that has delivered a 6.00 ERA on the major league squad over five starts so far—is better than what the Cubs have in reserve behind him.

As of right now, the expectation is that Boyd will be back on the big league roster for his next start.

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If the Chicago Cubs have had one issue this season, it’s having a healthy starting rotation.

Not only has the rotation not been unhealthy, but they have also pitched poorly this season. The starting rotation has the second-worst ERA (4.81) and allowed the most home runs (62). Where the starting rotation signs are not allowing walks (24th, 103) and WHIP (10th, 1.23).

The good news for the Cubs is that left-hander Matthew Boyd is progressing well in his minor league rehab assignment. The All-Star left-hander logged five innings on June 6, where he allowed five earned runs on seven hits, walked one, struck out five and allowed three home runs.

More Cubs News: Chicago Cubs hope Pete Crow-Armstrong continues to heat up in June

Even though the starting rotation will appreciate the support of Boyd, who hasn’t pitched like an All-Star this season (a 6.00 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in five starts), adding another frontline starter is in order. However, that may not be the case, as president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer seems to have thrown cold water on the Cubs’ deep-sea fishing at the trade deadline (Aug. 3).

The Chicago Cubs may not be spending the prospect capital necessary to acquire top-tier arms

According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Hoyer is unwilling to discuss the trade deadline at the moment, especially when it comes to “mortgaging the future” for either the Detroit Tigers Tarik Skubal or the New York Mets Freddy Peralta.

“The trade deadline is the furthest thing from my mind right now …” Hoyer said to Nightengale. “Sitting here talking about the deadline, given how we played, seems like the wrong thing to talk about. We have to play better, and we have to put ourselves in a position to do that.’’

Hoyer’s rationale for not acquiring top talents like a two-time Cy Young winner (Skubal) and a two-time All-Star (Peralta) is how the Cubs have played. The Cubs are 11-19 in their last 30 games and have played under .500 since their 10-game winning streak ended (April 28 to May 8).

Another reason to steer clear of Skubal and Peralta is their impending free agency, and both are seeing lucrative long-term deals. Skubal is looking to become the highest-paid pitcher in Major League Baseball, and Peralta is seeking an eight-year, $210 million contract similar to what Max Fried of the New York Yankees received, per Nightengale.

Whatever the case may be, the Cubs need another arm in the rotation, and Hoyer will need to bite the bullet and possibly give up some good prospects to acquire the talent needed to win the National League Central and succeed in the postseason.

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The Chicago Cubs may have completed a walk-off win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday, but that doesn’t change the fact that their season has completely gone off the rails.

Back on May 8, the Cubs were sitting at 27-12 following their second 10-game winning streak of the year. Fast forward to now, and Chicago is just 34-31, having lost 19 of its last 26 games.

A plethora of issues have plagued the Cubs over the last month. The starting pitching has been terrible, the offense has been inconsistent and the bullpen has been unreliable. But with the Cubs having entered the campaign with playoff aspirations, they are widely viewed as buyers heading into the MLB trade deadline.

But could Chicago actually do what most would have considered unthinkable a couple of months ago and sell?

Brian Kelder of North Side Baseball is not completely discounting the possibility, and he pitched a rather intriguing trade candidate for the Cubs between now and Aug. 3: Matthew Boyd.

The Chicago Cubs could consider trading Matthew Boyd

Boyd hasn’t gotten the chance to pitch all that much this season thanks to a freak meniscus injury he suffered while playing with his son last month.

The left-hander has made five starts in 2026, posting a 6.00 ERA while allowing 25 hits and racking up 31 strikeouts over 24 innings of work. His 2.35 FIP indicates he was getting pretty unlucky, but basically everything has gone wrong for Chicago this year, so who knows?

Kelder feels that the Cubs could look to move Boyd, who is in the final year of a two-year, $29 million contract he signed with the club in December 2024.

“Boyd’s contract ends this season and the team acquiring him would only be on the hook for part of his $14.5-million salary. Boyd would probably welcome a chance to pitch in meaningful games (remember, this is the Dark Timeline for the Cubs, not for everyone) to enhance his earning potential next offseason. Boyd would be the first domino to fall in a series of events,” Kelder wrote.

Boyd had a terrific debut campaign in Chicago last season, logging a 3.21 ERA and 1.091 WHIP en route to making his first All-Star appearance. The 35-year-old owns a lifetime 4.61 ERA since entering the big leagues in 2015 and has spent time several other teams throughout his big-league journey.

Should the Cubs decide to sell, Boyd could ultimately serve as an attractive mid-level arm for a contender.

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Hours before an 18–3 humiliation against the San Francisco Giants, Cubs’ president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer tried to project calm as he addressed the looming trade deadline — measured, pragmatic, the steady voice of a front office executive who wants fans to believe the plan is still intact.

In an article by ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, Hoyer admitted the Aug. 3 deadline was “the furthest thing from his mind.” He acknowledged the organization needs pitching if the Cubs are still in the race, but said it wasn’t the right time to talk about it given how poorly they’ve played.

That honesty landed differently after what happened next.

After an emotional 7–6 win over the Athletics the night before, Edward Cabrera returned from the IL hoping to build momentum. Instead, he was torched. He lasted just 3.2 innings, allowing eight runs on eight hits — three of them home runs. The Giants treated him like live batting practice.

But Cabrera’s meltdown wasn’t just a bad outing. It was a reminder of how fragile the Cubs’ pitching infrastructure is — and how much of that falls on Hoyer.

As the Cubs continue to flounder, ESPN Chicago’s Marc Silverman has become one of the most vocal critics of the organization. Late last month, he openly questioned Craig Counsell, asking what — if anything — the highest‑paid manager in baseball has tangibly improved.

This week, he turned his attention to Hoyer.

Speaking on his show Thursday, Silverman didn’t mince words: Hoyer is a mediocre talent evaluator, and the team he built reflects that mediocrity.

The Cubs aren’t underachieving. They’re performing exactly like the roster Hoyer assembled.

Cubs fans have been down this road before

Cubs fans haven’t forgotten the 2021 fire sale — the one Hoyer orchestrated. Kris Bryant, Javy Báez, Anthony Rizzo… all gone. Hoyer defended the teardown as necessary to reset the farm system and avoid a directionless rebuild.

Five years later, the Cubs are the Giants game showed how little margin for error Hoyer has left.

The Cubs aren’t a contender. They’re stuck in the middle — the worst place to be in modern baseball.

Hoyer’s comments were the unmistakable tone of someone who knows he’s boxed in.

• He can’t sell, not after hiring Craig Counsell and selling fans on a competitive window.
• He can’t buy, not with a roster that looks more like a .500 team than a contender.
• He can’t stand pat, because doing nothing will only inflame an already frustrated fanbase.

This is the corner Hoyer painted himself into.

Trading for a high‑end pitcher like Tarik Skubal won’t magically fix the Cubs. Hoyer needs a reason to make such a trade. Right now, though, Hoyer sounds like a man hoping the offense wakes up just enough to justify making a splash.

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The Chicago Cubs are in freefall and there doesn’t seem to be much the team can do about it.

More News: Chicago Cubs recall Javier Assad as starting rotation experiences full-on collapse

With a 6-19 record over their last 25 games, the team has fallen from first place in the NL Central Division to fourth, behind the Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Pittsburgh Pirates. If the season were to end today, they would not even make the playoffs.

That’s a pretty prodigious fall from grace for a team expected to do big things this year and one which had even been generating some World Series chatter.

There are many, many potential reasons for this Cubs collapse.

The starting pitching, for one, has been strained by injury and racked by underperformance. As of this writing, the Cubs hold the dubious distinction of having four of five starters posting an ERA of 4.59 or greater.

Maybe the most frustrating issue plaguing this team, however, is their wildly inconsistent offense.

Not one single batter has been exempt from playing the shrinking violet role for long, significant stretches of the season. Some, though, have been out of sorts for excruciatingly long—and team damning—periods of time.

One of those disappointing bats is Dansby Swanson.

The shortstop is batting .180 on the season—and that’s actually deceptively good considering he’s hitting .150 since May 1 with one home run and 5 RBIs.

Benching Dansby Swanson

More News: Chicago Cubs: This trade target could offer ‘best of both worlds’ deadline solution

Well, Craig Counsell and the Cubs have decided to give the struggling Swanson a seat on the bench for Saturday’s day game at Wrigley Field against the San Francisco Giants following an 18-3 drubbing on Friday where the veteran went 0-for-4.

With Swanson sitting, second baseman Nico Hoerner has been moved over to shortstop and Pedro Ramirez will be playing second.

Counsell has done this forced reset with struggling players many times before, most notably with left fielder Ian Happ this season and right fielder Kyle Tucker last year. In Swanson’s case, it could be argued that the move is long overdue.

Despite playing his usual high-end defense, Swanson has been pretty much a guaranteed out for a lineup that is struggling way too much for as good as it should be.

The Swanson/Cubs predicament

The 32-year-old is in the fourth year of a seven-year, $177 million contract and things have never been uglier for the two-time All-Star. Boasting a new, more naturalistic approach to hitting over the offseason, thing have clearly not worked out for him.

Although known to be a streaky hitter, the Cubs shortstop is well past the point where he should’ve snapped out of his doldrums. More drastic measures are clearly needed.

For right now, though, a benching and a forced mental reset are the only potential remedies in Counsell’s medicine chest.

If this doesn’t work out, Chicago will be forced to face the reality that they’ll probably have to keep playing a flatlined bat anyway and just accept the lack of hitting. There are currently no long term backup plans for shortstop and no way to unload the massive salary attached to Swanson.

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The Chicago Cubs now hold the dubious distinction of having four of five starting pitchers in their rotation posting an ERA of 4.59 or above.

More News: Chicago Cubs: This trade target could offer ‘best of both worlds’ deadline solution

On Friday, Edward Cabrera—returning from a 15-day stint on the IL due to a blister—got absolutely shellacked against the San Francisco Giants in an ugly 18-3 beating at Wrigley Field. The hard-throwing right-hander allowed eight earned runs on eight hits—including three home runs—in 3.2 innings.

Juxtaposed against the Cubs’ heroic come-from-behind walkoff win the prior evening, which many had hoped would motor a turnaround in the team’s dismal play over the last month or so, the drubbing hit especially hard. The jarringly poor performance brought out the rare boo birds at Wrigley, especially as Cabrera was removed from the game.

“It bothers me,” Cabrera said through an interpreter, referring to the booing. “Because I’m a competitive person that doesn’t like to lose.”

And as the team kept taking its lumps against the 25-38 Giants, reality set in that this is the team with which the Cubs will have to ride or die. With two months to go before the trade deadline and nobody of real note available for a minor league call-up, there would be no cavalry riding in to help turn around things around.

Javier Assad recalled from Iowa

More News: Floundering Chicago Cubs rotation to make changes as Cabrera, Boyd return

The best Chicago could do was make the decision Saturday morning to recall Javier Assad from Triple-A Iowa.

The 28-year-old swingman had posted a 5.88 ERA through eight games on the major league squad before being sent to Iowa to stretch out for a potential return to the bigs in a starting pitching role. In the minors, however, he’s been more stretchered than stretched out, working to a 7.88 ERA over five games.

But Assad is all the Cubs got right now and that makes him the only hand they can play. That is absolutely not reassuring for a fan base looking at a long, potentially miserable four months ahead for a team that was all but guaranteed to make a deep playoff run at the start of the season.

To make room for Assad, the Cubs optioned reliever Ethan Roberts to Iowa.

Ugly times

Matthew Boyd is due to make one more start in his rehab assignment in Iowa before returning to Chicago, but that doesn’t necessarily offer much solace. The veteran lefty had posted a 6.00 ERA over five starts before going down to a freak meniscus injury that required surgery.

The Cubs are now entering into desperation when it comes to their pitching and, specifically, to their starting rotation. Through sixty-four games, the team has allowed 95 home runs, with 62 of them coming from starters—by far the most in baseball.

Excuses could be made and fingers could be pointed at the season-ending injury to Cade Horton and to the subsequent injuries affecting Boyd and Cabrera. But, ultimately, the rotation has not pitched well as a group—with the exception of Ben Brown, so far.

And time is running out to fix things up.

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The Chicago Cubs are expected by just about everyone to be buyers between now and the MLB trade deadline, and why wouldn’t they? They entered 2026 with plans to contend, and they were once sitting at 27-12 and in first place in the NL Central.

Well, since then, things have changed.

The Cubs have lost 19 of their last 25 games to fall to 33-31. They sit in fourth place in the division, but they are tied with the Cincinnati Reds in the loss column for last. The pitching has been terrible, the offense has been woefully inconsistent and Craig Counsell is making fans pull their hair out.

Of course, there is still plenty of time for Chicago to turn things around, but what if things continue going south for the North Siders? Then what? Would the Cubs seriously consider selling off some pieces rather than buying?

Brian Kelder of North Side Baseball feels it’s a possibility, going as far to name Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki as potential trade candidates.

Could the Chicago Cubs trade Ian Happ or Seiya Suzuki?

Kelder thinks that in a world where the Cubs fail to re-establish themselves as contenders, Happ and Suzuki — both of whom are impending free agents — could end up getting dealt.

“The Cubs, seeing their foundation crumble and not wanting to extend older outfielders, inform Happ and Suzuki that Matt Shaw and Kevin Alcantara will be prioritized, and they will not get consistent playing time the rest of this season,” Kelder wrote. “The team also tells them that they have zero intention to bring them back for 2027. The two outfielders then decide to move on, play meaningful games, and hopefully increase the value of their free agency for 2027.”

The chances of this happening seem pretty slim, but if Chicago keeps losing at this rate, it may have no other choice.

While the Cubs may wish to keep one of Happ or Suzuki, they probably won’t be re-signing both of them. They can’t keep blocking Shaw and Alcantara from consistent playing time, and if Chicago feels that it can’t win as currently constructed, then what’s the point of moving forward with the two veteran outfielders?

It’s a depressing thought given where the Cubs were a month ago, but you can envision a scenario in which Jed Hoyer does decide to blow it up by Aug. 3 if things haven’t gotten any better by then.

This is why the Cubbies need to start showing signs of life … fast.

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The Chicago Cubs were absolutely embarrassed by the San Francisco Giants on Friday, losing 18-3 in Edward Cabrera’s first start off the injured list.

It made the Cubs’ need for starting pitching even more obvious, as they own one of the worst rotations in baseball and there really is no clear solution in sight. At least not internally.

Clearly, Chicago needs to make some moves, and it actually should probably try to add multiple arms before the MLB trade deadline. There should be plenty of pitchers available, so the Cubs will be able to have their pick.

The problem? The trade deadline isn’t until Aug. 3, and teams aren’t likely to trade their best players this early. For a Chicago squad that has gone just 6-19 over its last 25 games, that’s scary. How much further will the Cubs fall over the next two months?

So for as much as fans want to be aggravated over Jed Hoyer’s comments about not focusing on the deadline, there is some truth to it.

The Chicago Cubs might be doomed

Hoyer wasn’t necessarily saying that Chicago won’t attempt to swing any trades. Basically, he understands that doing so will be difficult at the current point in time and that the Cubs simply need to focus on getting better in the now.

Of course, that’s tough to do when you really don’t have any clear answers, but it’s important to remember that this is the same club that put together a pair of 10-game winning streaks earlier in the year and was sitting at 27-12 before its slide over the last month.

It seems hard to believe that the Cubs are this bad, even though this stretch of poor play has been pretty extended. And again, even if they are, it’s not like they’ll be able to pry Tarik Skubal away from the Detroit Tigers here in early June.

Chicago will unfortunately have to exercise some patience, even if it doesn’t want to. It’s incredibly rare for teams to swing blockbuster trades two months before the deadline, so even if the Cubs wanted to patch up some holes, they likely won’t be able to.

The biggest trade deadline hurdle for Chicago is time, and that’s something it simply cannot defeat.

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The Chicago Cubs have been playing at a lower level than they were projected to at this point of the season. They have been the streakiest team in the sport, with multiple double-digit win streaks and a double-digit losing streak in the first few months. They are looking to figure out how the team fares as a whole. One Cubs executive spoke to the media and discussed if they will be buyers or sellers if the season continues this way.

Jed Hoyer explains whether the Chicago Cubs will be aggressive at the trade deadline

Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer discussed ahead of Friday’s game how he is not thinking about the Aug. 3 trade deadline. However, he was not shy to acknowledge that the team has needs that have to improve if they are in the race at that time.

“The trade deadline is the furthest thing from my mind right now given how we’ve played. We just have to play better. That’s the priority… Your World Series odds are probably going to be correlated to your odds of getting a bye and getting a bye is such a big deal… A lot of that aggressiveness is based on that ability to get the bye.”

Entering the June 5 slate of games, the Cubs are fourth in the NL Central with a 33-30 record. They are also outside of the National League playoff picture, being 0.5 games back of the Philadelphia Phillies. Hoyer made it known that the team would be looking for pitching instead of hitting if they are in the mix at the trade deadline.

“Our position player group is deep and its pretty set. The backbone of our team is our position play4ers. They have to play well for us to be a good team. We’ll be looking at pitching at that point. (But) sitting here talking about the deadline, given how we’ve played, is the wrong thing to talk about.”

Chicago is dealing with some pitching injuries as players like Cade Horton and Justin Steele are recovering. Edward Cabrera returned to the team on Friday, and Matthew Boyd is not too far behind him. It will be intriguing to see how the Cubs look as they try to correct course this year.

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The likes of Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, and Michael Conforto have to wonder how many times they can watch a ball sail 20-30 feet over the wall. With Edward Cabrera‘s disastrous start on Friday, Cubs starters have now surrendered 62 home runs, and it’s not even Father’s Day yet.

That’s a 1.73 HR/9 as a starting staff heading into Saturday. One expects that from the Colorado Rockies, who pitch in the thin Rocky Mountain air. To no surprise, the starting staff’s flyball rate is among the top third in baseball. They are also among the worst in hard-hit rate, a bad combination of flyballs being hit hard (duh).

The Cubs starting rotation is in a terrible place right now

This is beyond not ideal; this is terrible. A team cannot win like this. These home run problems are going to be hard to resolve with warm weather and wind blowing out. Especially when guys like Jameson Taillon (20 HR against) and Shota Imanaga (17 HR against) are heavy flyball pitchers who are no strangers to giving up homers. That’s part of their games.

With Cade Horton done and Justin Steele still out for a while, they have what they have unless they make a deal. Hope that the Cubs staff finds something to help unlock Cabrera (who keeps getting worse), and Matthew Boyd can be a decent anchor when he returns. Hard to be optimistic right now.

For a team with the philosophy built on run prevention and defense, it’s not possible for a defense to prevent runs when they need jetpacks to catch the ball. For years, fans wondered why they didn’t have more swing-and-miss arms and groundball getters; now it’s catching up to them. Injuries don’t help, obviously, but this is a staff-wide issue.

Comparing to last year

Last season, the Cubs starters gave up the eighth-most homers in the Majors (127). To no surprise, both Taillon (24) and Imanaga (31) struggled with that. Colin Rea gave up 20 (as a starter), and Boyd surrendered 19. They sported the second-highest flyball rate (43.7%) as well.

At least Taillon and Rea limited the damage on those home runs. Plus, having Horton in the rotation helped too. Taillon may have given up a handful of homers, but compare 24 given up in 129.2 innings to already having given up 20 in half those innings. That’s just insane.

There is a lot of pressure right now for Cabrera to get it together, for Rea to be decent enough, and Ben Brown to keep ascending. If Taillon and Imanaga are going to struggle with homers this bad…hope more are solo shots. Taillon had done a good job at limiting damage in previous years.

Either way, this is a really awful trend, and even with the injuries Hoyer has to answer for.

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The Chicago Cubs find themselves in a bit of a tough spot right now. After a brilliant start of the season which saw them put up two ten-game winning streaks, they suffered through a brutal May-early June fall from grace that saw them go from first place to fourth place in the NL Central Division.

More News: Floundering Chicago Cubs rotation to make changes as Cabrera, Boyd return

But as Thursday’s thrilling 7-6 walkoff win over the Athletics clearly shows, there is still a tremendous upside to what this team can do.

The rest of June will probably decide whether the Cubs are all in the way in, destined to be aggressive buyers at the August 3 trade deadline, or if they’ll hold back in favor of minor moves to just get them into the playoffs.

Ideally, the front office would like to acquire an impact pitcher who also has years of team control ahead rather than a three-month rental. Although, if the team is cooking and seen as a real postseason threat, they may bite the bullet and give up some prospect capital for a stellar short-term arm.

A ‘best of both worlds’ acquisition?

More News: Exploring the Chicago Cubs as sellers at the deadline—who goes, who stays?

The cautious, pragmatic Cubs, however, could opt to make a deadline compromise of sorts. They could eschew the big rentals like Tarik Skubal and Freddy Peralta in favor of a lesser impact arm who could be an important part of the team through next season and beyond.

Jordan Campbell of Cubbies Crib brings up the name Reid Detmers of the Los Angeles Angels as one possible target.

Per Campbell:

“It might be closer to a doomsdays scenario for the front office, but it’s fair to wonder if the team rolls back the strategy they had at the 2024 trade deadline. Sell-off some pieces, the Cubs have a number of impending free agents, but add major league talent under control beyond this season.

If that is the approach, Skubal isn’t wrapping up the 2026 season at Wrigley Field. Instead, someone like Reid Detmers could be a target for the Cubs. The former Los Angeles Angels first-round pick is under control through the 2029 season, and is striking out over 28% of the hitter he’s faced in 68 innings pitched this season. He does have an ERA of 4.63, but his 2.98 FIP speaks to the success he has had in his return to the rotation.”

Reid Detmers as a target?

Detmers hasn’t been consistently “lights out” by any stretch of the imagination, with his 4.63 ERA this season and 4.75 career mark. He is, however, a 26-year-old work in progress with high upside potential and under team control through 2028. Acquiring him probably wouldn’t drain Chicago’s reserve of prospect capital either.

The young lefty isn’t the only pitcher the Cubs could target for both immediate need as well as future depth. With Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, and Shota Imanaga eligible for free agency at the end of this season, the front office will have to figure out a way to bring in starting pitching that doesn’t break the bank all at once.

Someone like Detmers could help do that, as well as help the team right now.

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The Chicago Cubs are not at all where they imagined themselves being at this point in the season—just three games above .500 and in fourth place in the NL Central Division.

More News: Exploring the Chicago Cubs as sellers at the deadline—who goes, who stays?

There are several reasons for this not-so-great 2026 run so far, but a full-on collapse of the starting rotation has to rank among the biggest fails of the young season. Coming into the year, the thought was that Chicago would have a pretty good rotation, deep in options and with some ace upside in the 24-year-old Cade Horton, who was one of baseball’s best pitchers over the second half of his 2025 rookie season. They also had Justin Steele as an ace in the hole, expected back from 2025 elbow surgery at some point in May or June.

Things haven’t turned out as anticipated.

Not at all as anticipated

More News: Chicago Cubs: Craig Counsell comes under fire for controversial pitching decision

Horton suffered an elbow injury in just his second start of the season and is lost for this year and beyond after having to undergo the second Tommy John surgery of his young career.

Last year’s ace Matthew Boyd has been on the IL more time than he’s been on the active roster and is currently finalizing a rehab assignment in Triple-A Iowa following surgery to repair meniscus damage.

Steele, meanwhile, has suffered a setback in his recovery and the team’s only hope right now is that he makes it back before the end of this season.

Even new acquisition Edward Cabrera had been forced to miss two weeks with a blister issue.

And while those physical problems have hurt the Cubs, healthy starters Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, and Colin Rea have not consistently performed up to snuff. Actually, Taillon and Imanaga, specifically, rate among the worst starters in all of baseball right now.

Needless to say, the fall of the starting rotation has been a big problem, although the team managed to succeed for about five weeks or so early in the season despite the staff’s issues. Eventually, though, the stress and strain of a failing rotation helped pull the rest of the team down with it.

Emergency fill-in Ben Brown has been the best pitcher on the staff by far, posting a 1.73 ERA through five starts.

But excluding Brown, Cubs’ starters have an ugly -2.4 combined WAR. The rotation as a whole is currently ranked 18th in MLB ERA (4.18), but that is deceptively positive given the staff’s very early success rated against recent failures.

Good news?

The tentative good news is that Cabrera is now officially back in the rotation following his IL stint and no matter what he does upon return, it’ll be better than what Jordan Wicks gave them.

Boyd is also due back after one more rehab start in Iowa.

Then, some decisions will have to be made.

Somebody will have to be dropped from the rotation and put in the bullpen. Rea is the most likely candidate given his status as a swingman who can work as a starter or reliever. But Rea has also been their most effective starter recently, other than Brown.

Whatever the case, it looks like the rest of the way might be a struggle for Cubs starting pitching. And with the trade deadline still two months away, no outside help will be coming anytime soon.

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The Chicago Cubs have not had much to celebrate over the last several weeks. Sure, they had two different ten-game winning streaks earlier this season, but they followed that up with a ten-game losing streak and just an abysmal run of inconsistent baseball.

And while they had snapped their losing streak, they had not won at home in Wrigley Field for a while. Entering play on Thursday, they had lost seven straight games in Chicago, and for a while it appeared they were headed for an eighth consecutive home loss.

The Chicago Cubs make history in comeback win over the Athletics

The Athletics jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, helped by a defensive miscue in centerfield by Gold Glover Pete Crow-Armstrong. But the 2025 NL All-Star hit a solo home run in the bottom half of that inning, and later capped off what was an epic comeback in the bottom of the ninth.

Entering the bottom of the ninth, the Cubs trailed the Athletics 6-3. The bottom half of their order was due up, and hopes of a comeback were low. However, the team rattled off a series of hits, capped off by Crow-Armstrong’s walk-off RBI single that gave Chicago a 7-6 victory.

The Cubs are the only MLB team in the last 50 years to have 7 different players who came into the inning batting .250 or worse get hits in the bottom of the 9th in the same game:

Busch (.242)
Happ (.233)
Hoerner (.250)
Ballesteros (.231)
Suzuki (.239)
Swanson (.180)
PCA (.242) pic.twitter.com/bvczizBn8Q

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) June 5, 2026

As one can see from the post above, no MLB team in the last 50 years had sent seven players with batting averages .250 or worse all come up in the ninth inning and get hits.

This stat shows two things. First, Chicago’s hitters have been struggling mightily for a while. But second, it shows just how tough the Cubs can be when their players meet their potential.

If they can keep hitting regularly, Chicago will be right back to where they were in April, fighting for a spot atop the NL Central.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Cubs already botching their trade deadline with one ridiculous decision
• Exploring the Cubs as sellers at the deadline
• Did Carter Hawkins reveal flaws in Cubs pitching development?

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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The Chicago Cubs got back in the win column in dramatic fashion on Thursday night. After falling behind 4-0 to the Athletics thanks to another defensive blunder by Pete Crow-Armstrong, the 2025 Gold Glover made up for it by slugging a home run and getting the walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Now Chicago is 33-30 on the season, but still in fourth place in the ultra-competitive National League Central Division. Fortunately, all the teams in the division are separated by just a few games. If the 2026 season has shown anything, it is that a team can move up and down the NL Central standings quickly.

The Chicago Cubs need to figure out the MLB trade deadline

The MLB trade deadline is not until the end of July, but teams are already trying to figure out what players they will be able to possibly acquire. Additionally, many teams are trying to determine whether they will be buying or selling at the deadline.

Right now, the Cubs fall into the latter category. While they still are within a handful of games of the division lead, Chicago’s play over the last several weeks is not inspiring. If that kind of inconsistent play continues, they may be trading players away rather than bringing notable players in.

On the other hand, if they turn it around, they could be in the market for a big-name starting pitcher.

Recently, Bleacher Report posted the following:

“It’s tough to know what to make of the Cubs, who followed up an 18-12 month of April by going 13-16 in May. They’re not going to be sellers, but how the Cubs perform over the next two months will determine the extent at which president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer buys at.

“Edward Cabrera (blister) and Matthew Boyd (partially torn left meniscus) will soon return from the injured list, but both of them are injury-prone. It’s unclear if Justin Steele will pitch at all this season.

“So adding another starter would make sense for the Cubs. It’s just a matter of how big of a name we are talking. Do they play well enough for the Cubs to go all-in for someone like Skubal, Peralta or Alcantara, or are the Cubs more in the market for a rental like Ray?”

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Cubs already botching their trade deadline with one ridiculous decision
• Exploring the Cubs as sellers at the deadline
• Did Carter Hawkins reveal flaws in Cubs pitching development?

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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The Chicago Cubs definitely need to make some moves before the MLB trade deadline if they want to seriously contend for a World Series this season. I don’t think anyone would argue that.

But do the Cubs actually have enough ammunition to swing a couple of big move?

Chicago has moved some of its top prospects over the last couple of years, thinning out what was an incredibly deep farm system. Yes, the Cubs do still have some very enticing pieces, but they aren’t quite as loaded with organizational depth as they had been previously.

One name that has regularly been floated in trade speculation is outfielder Kevin Alcantara, a former top prospect who fell off most top-100 lists heading into 2026 and was called up to the big-league club back on May 23.

However, since being promoted two weeks ago, Alcantara has received a grand total of eight plate appearances. What exactly is Chicago doing here, and is Alcantara’s lack of playing time sabotaging his trade value?

What are the Chicago Cubs doing with Kevin Alcantara?

Alcantara had been lighting it up at Triple-A Iowa, owning a .242/.339/.567 slash line with 15 home runs and 32 RBI over 180 plate appearances this season. Last year, he managed an .818 OPS across 430 trips to the dish.

Honestly, if the Cubs weren’t going to play Alcantara, they should have just left him down in the minor leagues where he would have continued to receive regular at-bats.

This is the third time Chicago has elevated the 23-year-old to the big leagues since 2024, and yet, he has amassed a grand total of 30 major-league plate appearances. That simply isn’t enough, and if he can’t find playing time with the Cubs, other clubs might wonder if he is worth pursuing as a centerpiece in a trade.

Chicago needs a whole lot of things before Aug. 3. It desperately needs starting pitching. It could use a big bat. The Cubbies could also afford to patch up its bullpen. You would have to think Alcantara’s name would be mentioned in many trade packages, but how much has his value dipped at this point?

The problem now for the Cubs is if they send Alcantara back down, it doesn’t look very good. So they need to find a way to get him into some games in an attempt to build — or repair — his value prior to the trade deadline. Otherwise, he will be in no-man’s land.

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The Chicago Cubs are a disappointment so far this season. There’s just no sugarcoating it.

Expectations were high as the regular season approached. The team had acquired free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, the man of their dreams over the last couple years. They finally pulled the trigger on the Edward Cabrera trade with the Miami Marlins. They also rebuilt their depleted bullpen with four veteran free agent acquisitions.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Craig Counsell comes under fire for controversial pitching decision

Add to that returning ace Justin Steele, plus a team that seemed swimming in depth all around, and, well, things looked really good. There was even some World Series chatter swirling around.

Then, the season started.

Cubs are collapsing in real time

More News: Chicago Cubs: Matt Shaw’s frustration at bench role may have peeked out in latest quote

Emerging ace Cade Horton went down with a season-ending elbow injury in just his second start. Matthew Boyd has been hurt more than healthy so far. Cabrera was lost for a couple weeks with a blister issue. The bullpen was brutalized by injury early in the season. Steele suffered a setback in his recovery and his return is now much further down the road.

Maybe worst of all, the offense as a whole has been a big disappointment.

The Cubs now sit in fourth place in the NL Central Division, just two games above .500 with a 5-18 record in their last twenty-three games, dangerously close to falling into a deeper funk that pulls them out of contention entirely.

And what would happen if they DID fall out of contention by the trade deadline? Previously thought to be big-time buyers at the August 3 deadline, they may turn out to be sellers instead.

But what would a Cubs team selling at the deadline actually be selling?

The Cubs as sellers at the trade deadline

That’s a really good question because there don’t appear to be many big, tradeable assets on the roster right now.

The team finds a lot of its veteran core eligible for free agency at the end of this season. Guys like Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Carson Kelly, Caleb Thielbar, Hoby Milner, and Jacob Webb, among others, could all be gone next season and, therefore, could conceivably be moved.

Honestly, though, who would trade for most of these players as they are now? And what would the Cubs even be able to get for them?

Happ and Suzuki could have some value, but neither is a tide-changer and both have “no trade” clauses. The Cubs should be talking extension with Kelly, not trade. And as for Boyd, Imanaga, and Taillon? Unless they turn things around, dramatically, what could they even bring in via trade? Probably, next to nothing. The Cubs have a team option on Webb at an affordable $1.5 million price, so it’s not likely they’d offer him up for what they could realistically get in return.

Chicago also isn’t going to touch their core remaining talent because they are most definitely not in full rebuild mode after signing Bregman and extending Pete Crow-Armstrong and Nico Hoerner.

The ugly truth may be that the Cubs are stuck with who they have and with where they find themselves to be on August 3. If they’re still deep in the race at the deadline, deals might get made and things should get fun. If they’re out of contention by then, it’s going to be a long, sad road to the end of the season.

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As the Cubs continue to struggle and are nearing the NL Central’s last place following a 5-4, 10-inning loss to the Athletics on Tuesday, Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins went on “Spiegel and Holmes Show” on 670 The Score and delivered the kind of quote that perfectly captures why the Cubs’ pitching pipeline keeps lagging behind the rest of the division.

When Matt Spiegel asked Hawkins about the organization’s lack of velocity and swing‑and‑miss arms, Hawkins said something that did not sit well with many fans.

He said, “I’d take 17 Kyle Hendricks all day.”  

Carter Hawkins explains the Cubs' mindset after @MattSpiegs asks him why the club hasn't measured up at the big league level in terms of velocity from its pitching staff. pic.twitter.com/rwGWcInff8

— 104.3 The Score (@thescorechicago) June 3, 2026

Hawkins probably meant it as praise for ex-Cubs star Kyle Hendricks’ command and longevity despite his fastballs barely topping 90 mph in his entire career. But this isn’t about Hendricks himself. He’s a Cubs legend and deserves every ounce of respect. But building a modern pitching staff around the idea of replicating him sounds like an organizational malpractice.

Part of their logic comes from the fact that the Cubs’ defense is legitimately one of the best in baseball. The infield of Alex Bregman, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner, and Michael Busch all make highlight plays on defense. And the outfielder Ian Happ won multiple Gold Gloves, and Pete Crow-Armstrong makes spectacular catches like catching regular flyballs. That’s a credit to the front office.

But defense doesn’t help when the ball is leaving the yard. And it doesn’t help when the Cubs have surrendered MLB-worst 84 home runs as of June 3rd. Jameson Taillon has given up league worst 20 homeruns following his start on Tuesday. And Shota Imanaga, who was off to a strong start, has given up 13 home runs. He is going to pitch on Thursday with a wind blowing out. Imanaga’s four-seam fastball averages 92.2 mph, while Taillon’s four-seamer sits around 91.7 mph. 

To be fair, the Cubs may have finally unlocked Ben Brown’s potential as the injuries have hit their staff hard. After being moved into the rotation, he has been one of the few bright spots for the Cubs this season. He added a sinker (two-seam fastball) to his arsenal.

Meanwhile, they had high hopes for Cade Horton coming into this season. But his season was cut short on April 3rd when he left just after 17 pitches against Cleveland. He underwent a revision repair of his ulnar collateral ligament(UCL) and is expected to miss 15-16 months. And Edward Cabrera, their prized addition in the off-season, has been inconsistent. Before he went on the IL on May 24th, he had a blister on his right middle finger.

To add more misery for the Cubs fans, the Milwaukee Brewers have two frontline starters in Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison, who are big reasons why the Brewers are ahead of the Cubs by 6.5 games in the NL Central as of this writing. Milwaukee isn’t just ahead. They’re operating in a different mode. And Hawkins’ “17 Kyle Hendricks” line sounds both arrogant and strategically outdated.

So the Cubs are trying, but they have been beset by injuries just like every other team. But if the Cubs want to compete for the World Series, they need to modernize their pitching pipeline. That means embracing risks by drafting high school pitchers with velocity early in the draft. This applies even if they have college commitments.

Until that shift happens, the Cubs will continue to risk falling further behind the Milwaukee Brewers.

The post Did Carter Hawkins reveal flaws in Cubs’ pitching development? appeared first on ChiCitySports.

For the struggling Chicago Cubs, losers of eighteen of their last twenty-three games, every single mistake or miscalculation is now taking on an exaggerated level of importance.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Matt Shaw’s frustration at bench role may have peeked out in latest quote

And when it comes to mistakes and miscalculations—as well as disappointing underperformance—there’s been plenty to point out in this recent stretch of games.

On Wednesday night at Wrigley Field, against the Athletics, one disputed tactical error may have meant the difference between a solid win and a gut-wrenching extra innings loss.

Second-guessing Counsell’s Colin Rea call

More News: Chicago Cubs’ struggles linked to the same front office blind spot

Up 4-2 in the fifth inning, Cubs manager Craig Counsell made the decision to remove starter Colin Rea despite the veteran having thrown just 69 pitches and not looking to be in any particular trouble. The Cubs bullpen would proceed to give up three runs over the next 4.2 innings, including the game-winning run in the top of the tenth.

Counsell’s decision to remove Rea was a source of extreme second-guessing following the game and into the next morning.

The Mully & Haugh show on 104.3 The Score was one of those places where a “why did he do that” rang out.

“[Counsell] ran out a bullpen that is not a very good bullpen,” declared co-host Mike Mulligan. “You finally gave up the game-tying home run late in the game, and then you ended up losing that game. You had no business losing that game when you scored four runs.”

Mulligan then turned to MLB insider and veteran Cubs beat writer Bruce Levine for his insight on the matter.

“He [Rea] was asked directly afterwards, ‘is that too early to come out?’ He said, ‘No, I was starting to get hit harder. It was the right time for me to come out.’” Levine said. “So, is that a guy being a tremendous teammate and protecting his manager and his coaches or is he the most honest guy on that team? He knows his own limitations, He felt he was getting hit harder and they took him out…What Mike said was true. The bullpen has to protect that win, and trying to get wins right now is a precious commodity that they haven’t been able to do.”

Levine would also acknowledge that during rough patches like this, every move taken by the manager will be under a microscope.

Frustration all around

There is no doubt a lot of scrutiny focused on this Cubs team right now, and deservedly so. After beginning the season with ambitious deep-playoff aspirations, the team now sits in fourth place in the NL Central Division, two games above .500 and already 6.5 games behind the first place Milwaukee Brewers.

There have been legitimate reasons for the flatlining performance, above and beyond just general lack of execution. Notably, injuries plaguing the starting rotation as well as the bullpen have created a very slim margin for error with everything.

As a whole, though, this Cubs team is in a bad place because hardly anyone is playing up to snuff. And while it could be argued that Counsell also isn’t performing up to expectations, it’s ultimately the responsibility of each and every player on the roster to execute.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Cubs as a whole respond to this ugly stretch of disappointment.

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The Chicago Cubs have lost three games in a row following their late-inning collapse against the Athletics on Wednesday night. What is worse, they have now lost eight consecutive games at home in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. At one point, they had won 15 consecutive home games; but now, winning has become a rare thing on the north side of Chicago.

Since winning their tenth-consecutive game back on May 8 (for the second time this year), the Cubs have the worst record in Major League Baseball at 5-18.

Starting pitching has been a major concern, mostly due to the plethora of injuries the staff has suffered. And while many presume they will add a big-name at the MLB trade deadline, fans should not expect it to happen.

The Chicago Cubs do not like giving up prospects in mid-season trades

Matthew Boyd is currently on rehab assignment and expected back soon. Edward Cabrera is returning from the injured list this weekend, too. But the fact remains that Chicago is going to be without Cade Horton for the rest of this season, and most of next year too. Additionally, Justin Steele had a set-back in his recovery and is going to be out longer.

Unfortunately, Shota Imanaga has struggled following his solid start the season. Colin Rea has been good, but for some reason Counsell does not allow him to stay in games for very long.

All this to say that the Cubs are consistently named as a team that will be looking to add a big name starter at the MLB trade deadline. However, ESPN’s recent power rankings, which saw Chicago ranked 12th, warns that a big mid-season addition is not something the Cubs are known for:

“Manager Craig Counsell’s rotation ranks 24th in ERA, 29th in average fastball velocity and 20th in strikeouts per nine innings. The production has been greatly affected by injuries to Cade Horton and others, of course, but the clear need for the Cubs leading up to the trade deadline will be starting pitching.

“Presumably, they’ll be sorting through the names emerging in speculation: Tarik Skubal, Sandy Alcantara, Freddy Peralta, Joe Ryan, Robbie Ray, etc. It’s worth noting: The Cubs’ recent history shows that they aren’t willing to make acquisitions high in prospect cost midseason.”

As one can see above, there is doubt among baseball insiders that the Cubs will part with the top prospects necessary to land a big-name starter during the season. This past off-season, they landed Cabrera in a big trade by sending out several of their best prospects, but that was before Spring Training.

Tarik Skubal is coming off of surgery to remove floating bodies in his arm and will be a free agent at the end of the year. While many fans would love to see him in a Cubs uniform, the bidding war for the two-time AL Cy Young winner will be intense.

Freddy Peralta makes some sense given his history with Counsell, but he too will be a free agent at the end of the year and probably would be nothing more than a rental.

That being said, he won’t demand the same kind of prospect return as Skubal.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Cubs trade price for Tarik Skubal revealed by MLB insider
• Matt Shaw does not seem happy with bench role in 2026
• Cubs struggles linked to same front office blind spot

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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The Chicago Cubs, a month ago, were in the midst of what would become their second ten-game winning streak of the season. They were atop the National League Central Division and looked like one of the best teams in Major League Baseball. But the bottom has fallen out quickly.

When they won their tenth straight game on May 8, the Cubs improved to 27-12. Now, following their 5-4 loss to the Athletics on Wednesday night, they are 32-30, having gone 5-18 over the last few weeks. That is the worst record in the Majors over that time frame.

Indeed, there is a great deal going wrong in Chicago, but do not expect manager Craig Counsell to make any significant changes.

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell is allowing himself to be uncomfortable

At one point on Wednesday night, Chicago was winning 4-2. However, they ended up collapsing in the eighth inning and gave up the go-ahead run in the tenth without being able to answer in the bottom half of the inning.

For weeks, fans have been calling on Counsell to do something, anything, to spark the team. Based on what he told reporters after the game, though, no such changes are coming.

“It’s one of the challenging things about our game,” Counsell said according to The Athletic. “Sometimes, you do have to wait for things to happen. As much as you want to put your finger on it and say, ‘Change it,’ the game makes you wait. It makes you sit in discomfort for a little while.”

Obviously, Counsell is not panicking. While his team has amassed the worst record in baseball over the last month (approximately), he is content being uncomfortable while his players try to fight their way out of their slumps.

Meanwhile, his former team, the Milwaukee Brewers, are 17-6 in the same span and have taken over first place in the NL Central… again.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Cubs trade price for Tarik Skubal revealed by MLB insider
• Matt Shaw does not seem happy with bench role in 2026
• Cubs struggles linked to same front office blind spot

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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The Chicago Cubs were one of the best teams in baseball about a month ago and seemed like the most prominent threats to dethrone the Los Angeles Dodgers. My, how things have changed.

Since stringing together their second 10-game winning streak of the season, which between April 28 and May 8, the Cubs have gone just 5-18, falling into fourth place in the NL Central division. They are now six-and-a-half games behind the Milwaukee Brewers — eight in the loss column — for first place, and even their Wild Card hopes are in distress.

A litany of problems have plagued Chicago over the last four weeks, but the most notable of all has been its starting pitching.

The Cubs have one of the worst rotations in baseball, and while injuries have certainly played a role, Chicago’s staff isn’t overly impressive even when healthy.

A trade deadline move is expected, and the Cubs could potentially zero in on one big fish: Detroit Tigers star Tarik Skubal. But what would be the cost to acquire the two-time Cy Young award winner? ESPN’s Jeff Passan has revealed what it may take.

Chicago Cubs’ trade package for Tarik Skubal revealed

Because Skubal is slated to hit free agency next winter, the Tigers can’t expect to get the king’s ransom they would have received had they moved him during the offseason. But they will still likely get quite a bit in return, and Passan feels Chicago may have to part with a pair of its top young players.

“So, yeah, if Skubal costs Matt Shaw, it’s the price to pay. If Detroit would prefer Moises Ballesteros, so be it. If the Tigers want both, it shouldn’t be dismissed outright,” Passan wrote.

Shaw has been a super-utility man for the Cubs this season, spending time as an outfielder and at second base, third base and even third base. Now in his second big-league season, Shaw hasn’t hit like Chicago hoped, owning a .691 OPS through 104 plate appearances in 2026. That’s nearly identical to his .690 OPS across 437 trips to the dish last year.

However, Shaw is still just 24 years old and has plenty of value, so Detroit may ask for him in a Skubal package.

Meanwhile, Ballesteros got off to a red-hot start this season but has cooled off considerably and is now batting just .229 with a .709 OPS. That being said, he clearly has significant potential with the bat and may be of interest to the Tigers.

Jaxon Wiggins and Kevin Alcantara are certainly other names to watch, as well.

You just have to wonder if the Cubs have enough juice to win the Skubal sweepstakes.

The post Chicago Cubs’ trade price for Tarik Skubal revealed by MLB insider appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are not in a great spot right now. Coming off a ten-game losing streak that battered their morale, the team is now 3-3 in its last six games with their first place standing now diminished to a lowly fourth place in the NL Central Division and a half-game out of a Wild Card spot.

More News: Chicago Cubs’ struggles linked to the same front office blind spot

But a cavalry—of sorts—may be on the way, at least that’s what the team hopes with two months still to go before trade deadline and a lot of question marks plaguing them. Starting pitchers Matthew Boyd and Edward Cabrera will be back in the rotation shortly. Utility asset Matt Shaw will also be back in the majors before too long.

Matt Shaw begins rehab assignment

More News: Chicago Cubs: Pressure will really mount in make-or-break June

The 24-year-old Shaw played the first game of his rehab assignment for the Iowa Cubs on Tuesday, going 0-for-3 as he started in center field for the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate. He got his first at bat against the rehabbing Justin Verlander, pitching for the Detroit Tigers affiliate Toledo Mud Hens.

The Cubs’ 2023 first round draft pick was placed on the 10-day IL May 22, retroactive to May 20, with mid-back tightness.

The sophomore Shaw has played well for the big league Cubs despite what had to be a disappointing turn of events that saw him lose his starting third base gig to incoming free agent pickup Alex Bregman. Switched to a super-utility role off the bench, he’s played every position but shortstop, pitcher, and catcher so far this season.

On the surface, he’s received the new role maturely and has been an asset on the Cubs’ fortified bench. Although he’s hitting at about the league average at .242, his versatility has helped provide added depth and roster flexibility for manager Craig Counsell.

Beneath the surface, though, there has to be a bit of frustration.

A touch of frustration with Cubs role?

Some of that frustration may have surfaced, ever so slightly, in a recent interview with the Des Moines Register in talking up the start of his rehab assignment.

“It’s not like my role was necessarily every day anyway in the big leagues, so I definitely feel good and obviously have some rest and am getting my back in a good place,” Shaw said after the game, referring to his current physical state. “But I feel great.”

“It’s definitely a lot easier to play one position than to move around a lot,” Shaw added. “I’ve realized that playing six, seven different positions, I think the best thing I can do is just kind of be average at all those positions. You just don’t have enough time in the day to be trained at seven positions like it is when you play there every day and you’ve got your routine and all those things. I’m figuring it out.”

Realistically, no young player sets out to be a bench asset. It’s probably especially hard to see his team flounder as he sits idly by, believing that he could contribute to a greater degree. Career-wise, it’s also not great to be a utility man instead of an every day player.

The Cubs will have to decide how they want to use Shaw or they may lose some of the mental edge that made him a great prospect to begin with. Does he have more value as trade bait or as a role player/insurance, especially ahead of a year where Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki may be gone via free agency?

A decision will have to be made soon.

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The Chicago Cubs are probably one good losing streak away from having to really assess whether their lofty postseason aspirations are realistic. Then, decisions will have to be made regarding a partial rebuild for a roster that seemed already set for the most part as it rolled into this 2026 season.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Pressure will really mount in make-or-break June

Now in fourth place in the NL Central Division—and 6.5 games behind the first place Milwaukee Brewers—the Cubs would miss the playoffs if the season ended today. Luckily for them, there’s still about four months to go for a turnaround from recent poor form.

The question, though, is how to fix what’s broken on this team with not much depth coming internally and long shot options down the road when it comes to trades.

What Chicago really needs is a time machine.

Changing the Cubs’ player acquisition focus

More News: Chicago Cubs: What? Ben Brown is one of the best pitchers in baseball

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and his entire operation need to go back in time and change their entire outlook on scouting and selecting young talent. Rather than hyper-focus on multi-tool stud position players, they should’ve focused on strong, talented—and healthy—arms.

Hoyer’s philosophy has always been to gravitate towards position players, likely because of the inherent greater risk involved in drafting and developing young pitchers. That would certainly fit into his decision-making profile as someone who works analytics and charts probability.

Unfortunately, high-level success often requires high-level risk.

The Brewers are the perfect example of a front office that has excelled at pitcher development and won’t stop reaping the benefits because of it.

The latest example of this is Jacob Misiorowski, who’s been dominant this season, but who also came with some major risk earlier in his career as a high-ceiling prospect with question marks concerning control. The safe draft pick for Milwaukee would’ve been a position player with a more chartable developmental trajectory. And that’s probably where Hoyer and his front office would’ve gone.

The Cubs’ history of drafting and developing young pitchers has been abysmal for a team with an otherwise sound player development system. At the moment, there are zero healthy high-end young arms anywhere near the top of the organization.

Always bargain hunting

Cade Horton and Jaxon Wiggins, who ARE top-level talents, are—not surprisingly—injured and surrounded by uncertainty. They were actually drafted by the Cubs coming right off Tommy John surgery, presumably because their injury status made them a better draft bargain.

Even when acquiring pitchers via trade or free agency, Hoyer gravitates towards bargains. The oft-injured Matthew Boyd was signed to a budget two-year deal prior to the 2025 season. Edward Cabrera, who also has a significant history of injury in his young career, was acquired via trade with the Miami Marlins prior to this season. Reliever Hunter Harvey, who’s seemingly spent more time on the IL over the course of his career than on active rosters, was signed this past offseason on a one-year deal.

Rolling the dice on budget pitchers looks like absolute brilliance when the gamble pays off. They are disastrous, however, when they don’t. And, right now, the Cubs are dealing with some of that disaster. Horton, Boyd, Cabrera, and Harvey—who were all counted on to be valuable assets on a playoff-bound Cubs team—have combined to throw 89.1 innings so far.

But, seeing this mess they’re in this year, will the Cubs and Hoyer ever start investing in young power arms?

They better.

Pitching has become a bigger and bigger key to building any winning organization. It gives teams dominance at the major league level as well as tradeable assets to acquire other puzzle pieces down the line.

Without healthy young stud pitchers, we get the team we see today from the North Side—a fractured mess that gradually falls to pieces trying to compensate for their crucial pitching weakness.

The post Chicago Cubs’ struggles linked to the same front office blind spot appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are not playing good baseball. At 32-29, they have the same record as the cross-town White Sox, who are seemingly emerging from a long rebuild. Meanwhile, the Cubs are supposed to be the cream of the crop in the National League. Many predicted them to not only win the NL Central, but to make it all the way to the World Series.

For a brief moment or two, it certainly looked like they would. Early in the year, Chicago put together two different 10-game winning streaks. But since then, they are 5-17 and floundering.

If things do not turn around in June, they could become sellers at the trade deadline.

The Chicago Cubs have time to turn it around, but can they?

Bleacher Report recently released their grades for each MLB team through the first 60 games of the season. If this had been written about the first 40 games of the year, Chicago would have gotten one of the highest grades in the league. Now, though, they have been given a C-, and a warning that tough trade deadline decisions could be coming:

“Can they turn things back around?

“With this injury-riddled pitching staff, and both Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman hitting worse than ever before in their careers?

“There’s certainly no time like the present to do so.

“Tuesday’s series opener against the A’s was Chicago’s first of 22 consecutive games against opponents who are presently below .500—six each against the Rockies and the Giants, four against the Mets and three each against the A’s and Blue Jays.

“If the Cubs are still sputtering after that scheduling gift, it’ll be time to start talking about the trade deadline and the 14 impending free agents on this roster.”

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Cubs starting pitcher to return on Saturday
• Cubs promote reliever from Triple-A before series with former team
• Pressure will really mount for Cubs in make-or-break June

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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To say that the Chicago Cubs are in freefall would be putting it lightly. Since achieving their second 10-game winning streak of the season early last month, the Cubs have lost 17 of their last 22 games to drop to 32-29 and fourth place in the NL Central, and a litany of problems have caused the collapse.

Of course, the most commonly identified issue with Chicago has been its starting rotation, which has been nothing short of disastrous in 2026.

Not a single Cubs starter has lived up to their billing this year, and it doesn’t help that the rotation has been ravaged by injuries, either.

As a result, Chicago is expected to heavily pursue pitching help before the MLB trade deadline, and the Cubs have already been linked to numerous big names such as Sandy Alcantara, Robbie Ray and Freddy Peralta. But will Chicago actually be able to swing a move for any of them?

Patrick Mooney of The Athletic provided an update on the Cubs’ trade hunt this week, and it wasn’t incredibly encouraging.

Chicago Cubs might have to wait a long time for a trade

Because the trade deadline isn’t until Aug. 3, Chicago may not be able to complete any deals right now, and Mooney feels that a delay may be inevitable.

“While the Chicago Cubs have engaged in preliminary trade conversations, a team source described those check-ins as standard due diligence,” Mooney wrote. “With two months until the Aug. 3 deadline, and a pitching staff dragged down by injuries, the expectation remains that the club will first have to find internal solutions.”

Essentially, no teams are willing to trade any of their big fish at this point, which isn’t too surprising.

Because six teams from each league make the playoffs, just about everyone is still in contention, and even those teams that are falling out of it may want to wait to make a move. The closer we get to the deadline, the more prices increase because of bidding wars.

So for now, the Cubs may have to try and find answers from within their own organization, and the good news is that pitchers like Edward Cabrera and Matthew Boyd appear to be nearing returns from their IL stints.

But does Chicago have enough pitching overall to stay afloat in the loaded NL Central? We’re about to find out.

The post Cubs insider reveals bleak trade deadline update for Chicago appeared first on ChiCitySports.

A month ago, the Chicago Cubs were in the midst of their second ten-game winning streak of the year and sitting pretty in first place of the National League Central Division. Since then, though, they have seen their fortunes turn for the worse. Their 2-1 loss to the Athletics on Tuesday night dropped them to 32-29 on the season, and they currently sit in fourth place in the NL Central.

Since winning their tenth consecutive game on May 8, Chicago is just 5-17. They have not won a single series in almost a month, though they did split four games at home with the Pittsburgh Pirates last week.

Despite these struggles, it appears many MLB analysts still consider them to be one of the best teams in Major League Baseball.

Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong predicted to win Gold Glove as team is ranked 7th

On Tuesday, The Athletic released their weekly Major League Baseball power rankings. Despite the fact that the Cubs have not played good baseball in over a month, they had Chicago ranked seventh. What is more, they also predicted that Pete Crow-Armstrong will win his second consecutive Gold Glove:

“By season’s end, PCA is unlikely to live down the “Little League homer” he allowed against the Milwaukee Brewers and David Hamilton, a player with a 76 wRC+.

“However, let’s try and shift the narrative.

“PCA leads all outfielders in Outs Above Average with 12. The next closest, Boston’s Ceddanne Rafaela, has 9. Those 12 OAA are second to just Bobby Witt Jr.’s 15 for the MLB-wide lead. Among all position players, PCA is tied with Cody Bellinger for the Defensive Runs Saved lead with 13.

“Crow-Armstrong’s 2.4 fWAR is good enough for 13th in baseball, almost all of it attributed to his defense, though the bat is picking up.

“When the 24-year-old called his defensive miscues ‘genuinely laughable,’ he was correct.”

Crow-Armstrong’s defense certainly has been his saving grace this season. Aside from his baffling errors against the Milwaukee Brewers a couple of weeks ago, he has been the best centerfielder in baseball, as described above.

Offensively, though, he has been wildly inconsistent. To date, he is hitting .237/.325/.388 with seven home runs, 26 RBI, and 12 stolen bases.

On a positive note, though, PCA is hitting .273/.389/.477 in his last 12 games played, and .346/.433/.577 in his last six. If he can really turn a corner offensively, he could help spark the lineup. This, of course, would go a long way towards winning more games.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Cubs starting pitcher to return on Saturday
• Cubs promote reliever from Triple-A before series with former team
• Pressure will really mount for Cubs in make-or-break June

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

The post Chicago Cubs [somehow] maintain top-10 MLB power ranking, Pete Crow-Armstrong postseason award prediction appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are working through some struggles as the calendar has flipped to June. At one point in May, the Cubs had the lead in the NL Central and completed their second 10-game win streak of the early season.

But then it all took a turn starting in Atlanta.

After the Cubs lost a series to the Atlanta Braves, they dropped another one to the Chicago White Sox. From there, they had a 10-game losing streak and now they sit in fourth place in the NL Central. It didn’t help that the starting pitching rotation suffered two injuries to key starters. But some help is on the way according to multiple reports.

Edward Cabrera set to start for Chicago Cubs on Saturday

Manager Craig Counsell told the media on Sunday that Matthew Boyd had a good rehab start in Iowa and will join the team on Monday. But he’s not the only one set to return this week.

Per Taylor McGregor, Edward Cabrera is set to make his return this week and will start Saturday’s game against the San Fransisco Giants:

Edward Cabrera will start Saturday for the #Cubs. He’s been on the IL since 5/21.

— Taylor McGregor (@Taylor_McGregor) June 2, 2026

Cabrera has been sidelined since May 21st when he went on the IL. Prior to that, he made 10 starts on the year and was off to a strong start. But he was trending in the wrong direction before he went on the IL. He’s posted a 4.00 ERA so far this season.

The additions of Cabrera and Boyd will hopefully provide a boost to the rotation. However, it’s the bats that have been sluggish as of late for the Cubs.

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The Chicago Cubs are looking for a spark this season as they are struggling right now. They have the talent to be successful, but are currently tied for the final spot in the NL Wild Card. This is not the position many people expected the team to be in right now, but they have made a roster change heading into their upcoming series. Let’s take a closer look at what roster move they made and what it means for Chicago going forward.

The Chicago Cubs select Tyler Ferguson, send down Jordan Wicks

The Cubs have announced that they have made a roster update ahead of Tuesday’s game at home against the Athletics. They have called up pitcher Tyler Ferguson from Triple-A Iowa and sent down Jordan Wicks. Chicago traded for Ferguson last month, and he has been pitching in Triple-A until now. He has not been pitching well since the trade though.

In six relief outings for the Iowa Cubs, Ferguson posted a 3.52 ERA and a .154 opposing batting average in 7.2 innings. He needs to improve his control, though, allowing five walks and striking out five as well. Sending down Wicks makes sense after he threw 49 pitches on Sunday and has struggled in his two MLB outings this season.

Ferguson will likely see the mound at some point during this series against his former team. Chicago’s bullpen has been pitching well throughout the season, ranking ninth with a 3.46 team ERA for the relievers. Ferguson has only pitched once this season in the big leagues as a member of the Athletics, but in three years, he has a 4.47 ERA in 110.2 innings.

With the Cubs using four middle relievers on Sunday and an off-day Monday, this decision makes sense. It will be intriguing to see how manager Craig Counsell uses his bullpen going forward.

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The Chicago Cubs started the month of June with a much-needed day off. May was a rough one for the North Siders as they rode a roller coaster of emotions, zooming high at the beginning of the month and then plummeting into some bad, ugly days the rest of the way.

More News: Chicago Cubs: What? Ben Brown is one of the best pitchers in baseball

As things stand right now, though, the Cubs wouldn’t even make the playoffs if the season ended today. Their first place spot in the NL Central Division is a significantly less prestigious tie for third place.

But now, unfortunately, the pressure will really amplify as June tends to be one of those months that helps set a team’s realistic expectations for the rest of the season. In the Cubs’ case, there were high expectations in the offseason, with even some World Series chatter being tossed about.

Lots of issues heading into June

More News: Chicago Cubs: Why Matt Shaw starting rehab soon really matters now

Chicago, frankly, has a lot of work to do before anyone revisits the lofty possibilities they once held.

The starting rotation, for example, is an absolute mess and it’s going to need much more than some simple tweaking to get it right.

As noted by Tony Andracki of Bleacher Nation, the Cubs’ starting rotation ranked 28th in the majors with a combined 5.33 ERA—and that’s even including Ben Brown’s outstanding 1.86 ERA run.

Matthew Boyd and Edward Cabrera will be back in the rotation shortly and that can only help. But there’s not much other help on the horizon. Jameson Taillon has been banged around all year and would’ve probably been shelved on any other team with serious postseason aspirations. The Cubs, however, simply didn’t have any suitable replacements for the veteran. Shota Imanaga, meanwhile, has fallen deeply into the dumpster after an excellent start to the season. Colin Rea has been subpar, Jordan Wicks was a disaster, and Javier Assad is still in Iowa. Also, Justin Steele won’t play the role of cavalry to save Chicago’s starting pitching as his setback in recovery from elbow surgery seems more serious than previously implied by the team.

The offense is also struggling, with several high-profile players delivering inconsistent or just flat-out weak production. With a couple of exceptions, everyone struggled at the plate in May—Dansby Swanson, with his .183 batting average on the season, is almost to the point of having to be benched for lack of offense

And just like in the case of the starting pitching, there’s no cavalry riding in to save the day for the offense. The struggling Cubs will have to turn things around on their own.

Mounting pressure

Zachary Rotman of Fansided, to back up this mounting-pressure reality, recently named the Cubs as one of the three teams feeling the most pressure headed into June:

“It looked as if the Chicago Cubs were sitting pretty when they won each of their first eight games in May, part of a 10-game winning streak overall. That run brought their record to 27-12, good for first place in the NL Central. But they ended the month with a 32-28 record, meaning they went 5-16 the rest of the way. The Cubs haven’t won a single series since they swept the Reds on May 7.

Chicago isn’t in a bad spot — they’re still four games over .500 — but the pressure is on them to turn it around because of how poorly they’re playing right now. I mean, the Cubs went from a team that was 15 games over .500 to one that’s now in fourth place in the NL Central and would miss the playoffs if the season ended today. That’d be an unacceptable result.

With a light schedule to begin June, the Cubs have a golden opportunity to claw their way back into the NL Central race, even with an unfortunate injury situation. Here’s hoping they don’t blow it.”

The Cubs aren’t “out of it” by a long shot. But June will definitely determine how serious their run for the rest of the season will be.

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When the Chicago Cubs signed Alex Bregman to a five-year, $175 million contract over the winter, some immediately called it an overpay.

Paying $35 million annually for a player who hadn’t really had an elite season since 2019 definitely seemed a bit sketchy, but the Cubs needed to do something, and Bregman was unquestionably one of the top players available.

Unfortunately, the early returns haven’t been good for Chicago, as Bregman is slashing .259/.341/.364 with five home runs and 18 RBI over 270 plate appearances thus far in 2026. He has been hitting the ball a bit better lately, but the power still isn’t there.

So, what’s the issue for the three-time All-Star? Is it mechanics? Is it adjusting to a new city? Or is the 32-year-old simply declining?

Bregman recently spoke to Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic, and he specifically fired back against one narrative that has been plaguing Bregman: bat speed.

Chicago Cubs’ Alex Bregman sets the record straight

When Sharma brought up the topic of bat speed and how Bregman has seen a dip in that area this season, the star third baseman made it clear that he doesn’t think that has much of anything to do with his struggles at the dish.

“I really don’t think bat speed has anything to do with it,” Bregman said. “I think mechanics are everything, to be honest. I actually think I can move the bat faster and I’m stronger now than I’ve ever been in my entire career. The year I focused on bat speed in 2024 was the worst of my career.”

Bregman is referencing his final season with the Houston Astros, where he managed a .768 OPS and got off to an absolutely dreadful start, quite similar to the one he has gotten off to with the Cubs this spring.

The former No. 2 overall pick seems to believe that mechanics are the primary issue right now. Whatever the case may be, Bregman needs to get it squared away, and fast. Chicago has gone just 5-16 over its last 21 games, and while the team’s poor starting pitching has been the primary source of contention, its offense hasn’t exactly been lighting it up, either.

The sooner Bregman can get going, the sooner the Cubs can re-assume their position as legitimate contenders.

The post Cubs’ Alex Bregman fires back at frightening narrative amid painful start appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Cubs lost 5-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday Night Baseball, which felt like a national embarrassment to many Cubs fans. Pitcher Jordan Wicks once again bombed in his second start, and the offense struggled, collecting just seven hits with a single walk, finishing 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Their only run came from Alex Bregman’s solo shot.

But the fans’ frustration has now shifted towards shortstop Dansby Swanson. Swanson had a rough series, where he struck out with bases loaded on Saturday and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout on Sunday.

Swanson also misplayed a ground ball that went underneath his glove in the third inning, the kind of routine play he’s supposed to make in his sleep. Instead of ending the inning, it extended it, opened the door for more damage, as they scored 3 runs, effectively ending any hope of a comeback.

But Swanson’s struggles at the plate have become a nightly storyline that is hard to ignore. Every time he has struck out, he is late, passive, and overwhelmed. His strikeouts have sent Cubs fans into a full‑blown rage spiral.

Even more alarming about Swanson’s struggle, according to Sahadev Sharma of “The Athletic”, is that he is unable to see the ball well because he is right‑eye dominant, and that’s his back eye in the batter’s box. Therefore, he hasn’t been consistently getting that eye on the ball.

His production has cratered from March/April to May:

• 124 wRC+ → 30 wRC+
• Walk rate: 16.4% → 6.8%
• Chase rate: 21.5% → 32.1%
• Breaking balls faced: 36.5% → 47.9%

But as he works on vision, pitch recognition, and getting his dominant eye on the ball earlier, is it too late for him to reinvent himself at the age of 32?

The Jason Heyward comparison is no longer avoidable

The Cubs fans have been through this before. Outfielder Jason Heyward signed an eight-year, $184 million contract before the 2016 season. But his offensive numbers fell off immediately after joining the Cubs. Eventually, the Cubs granted his unconditional release in November 2022 while eating the final $22 million left on his contract.

Heyward was beloved for everything except his bat. And you don’t throw around the Jason Heyward comp lightly. But the parallels are getting harder to ignore:

• Big contract
• Defensive reputation
• Offensive black hole

The only thing keeping Swanson in the lineup is the contract and his stellar defense. But the Cubs are drowning offensively, and Swanson is one of the anchors tied to their ankles.

Manager Craig Counsell is running out of ways to justify Swanson’s spot in the lineup. He needs to put Nico Hoerner at short and rookie Pedro Ramirez at second more often while Swanson figures out his swing in the foreseeable future.

As the comparisons are getting louder, Swanson needs to respond fast, or he might end up with a similar fate as Heyward.

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Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has fallen short of his All-Star level talent this season. Crow-Armstrong had what seemed to be a breakout season in 2025, where he hit .247 with a .768 OPS (career-high) and was third on the team in home runs (31).

His performance helped earn him the six-year ($115 million) contract extension that he signed in the offseason. Through 60 games after earning his pay raise, Crow-Armstrong has not lived up to the billing.

He is batting .237 with a .713 OPS and has mashed seven home runs in 219 at-bats. For the first two months of last season, Crow-Armstrong mashed 15 home runs and batted .447 with a .921 OPS.

Crow-Armstrong put together a better May — posting a .233 with a .761 OPS, four home runs, 13 RBI, six stolen bases (caught once) and was hit by a pitch five times — the Cubs hope that June will be the month the Gold Glove winner will go off.

The Chicago Cubs hope that Pete Crow-Armstrong’s strong May will be a precursor to a better June

Over a third of the way through the Major League Baseball season, June is a time when hitters and teams show you whether they can turn things around or not. According to MLB.com’s Manny Randhawa, Crow-Armstrong is one hitter that needs to get going, as the team itself tries to get back on track. The Cubs went 13-16 in May after finishing 17-9 in April.

More Cubs News: Chicago Cubs continue to fall in MLB power rankings after series loss to Cardinals

“At this time a year ago, Crow-Armstrong was an early MVP candidate — entering June, PCA had produced a .272/.306/.557 slash line with 15 home runs and 17 steals. Compare that to his numbers entering Sunday — .237/.327/.391 with seven homers and 12 steals,” wrote Randhawa. “Not only is PCA’s offensive production crucial to the Cubs’ success, but so is his electric style of play, which is enhanced exponentially when he’s hot at the plate. We saw that on Saturday against the Cardinals, when PCA recorded four hits, including a home run, and made yet another highlight reel grab in center.”

Crow-Armstrong enters June with a six-game hitting streak and had a four-hit performance against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday, so the signs that he’s heating up are there.

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A month ago it looked like the Chicago Cubs were going to be one of the teams to beat in the National League this season. Chicago was in good shape and on top of the NL Central.

They have had two separate 10-game win streaks this season. But then it all went downhill with their trip to Atlanta and then the Crosstown Classic with the White Sox. The Cubs suffered a 10-game losing streak to drop them in the NL Central standings, that’s where they stand now.

The Cubs are looking up at Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates, sitting five games out of first place. A big reason why has been the struggles of the starting pitching and the injuries that came with it. But there appears to be some good news on the horizon as they begin a critical week.

Matthew Boyd set to return to Chicago Cubs

Matthew Boyd hit the injured list on May 6th after suffering a freak knee injury, hurting his knee while sitting down on the ground to play with his kids. He’s missed most of May with the injury but now, he’s ready to return.

Per manager Craig Counsell, Boyd made a rehab start for the Iowa Cubs on Sunday and will now join the team in Chicago on Monday:

“Everything went good, he did well,” Counsell said to reporters after Sunday’s game. “We will see him tomorrow in Chicago.”

Matthew Boyd made a rehab start today with Triple-A Iowa and will return to Chicago tomorrow, Craig Counsell said. pic.twitter.com/KPoQg1H4Ub

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) June 1, 2026

Boyd is coming off a breakout season in 2025 and so far in 2026, he’s 2-1 with a 6.00 ERA in 24 innings pitched in five starts. He struggled in his first start but got better in each start after that.

Getting Boyd back will help the rotation and Chicago’s also expected to get starter Edward Cabrera back as well sometime soon.

Chicago begins a home series against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night before hosting the San Francisco Giants over the weekend. It’s unknown when Boyd will make his next start.

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The Chicago Cubs are just 6-16 in their last 22 games. After sweeping the Cincinnati Reds back on May 7, they have not won a single series against any other team that they have played. On Sunday night, their struggles continued as they fell to the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 5-1.

Saturday night saw Ben Brown throw a gem as the Cubs defeated the Cardinals by the score of 6-1. For a brief moment in time, fans in Chicago believed they had finally figured it out.

But Sunday’s loss brought back a glaring reality: the Cubs do not have the pitching required to be a legitimate contender.

The Chicago Cubs need better pitching as June begins

Bleacher Report recently released a list of each MLB team’s biggest concerns as the calendar turns from May to June. While the Cubs have several hitters all going through slumps at the same time, it is easy to see that Chicago’s biggest concern is their pitching:

“As of Saturday morning, Chicago Cubs hitters had amassed a combined total of 13.9 bWAR, good for the second-highest mark in the majors, trailing only the Dodgers at 14.7.

“But Cubs pitching? It had a combined bWAR of 0.5, which would’ve been dead last if not for the Giants at a slightly worse 0.2.

“Shota Imanaga got out to a great start to the year, but he has come crashing back to earth with 20 earned runs allowed in his last three outings. And with Edward Cabrera recently joining Cade Horton, Justin Steele and Matthew Boyd on the IL, it’s little wonder that wins have become difficult to come by.”

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Bears QB Caleb Williams reacts to what Pete Crow-Armstrong did in Cubs game
• Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong silences doubters with 4-5 night
• Cubs’ Ben Brown is one of the best pitchers in baseball

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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For a brief 24-hour period, Chicago Cubs fans believed their team had turned it around. Pete Crow-Armstrong went 4-5 at the plate with a home run and sealed a 6-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals with an amazing diving catch in center field. A day later, though, the Cubs dropped the series finale in St. Louis, scoring just one run on an Alex Bregman solo shot.

Indeed, the Cubs have been one of the coldest teams in baseball for almost a month. While they snapped their ten-game losing streak by splitting a four-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates, they have not won a series since May 7. Since that win, which saw Chicago improve to 26-12, they are just 6-16 and now in fourth place in the National League Central Division.

The Chicago Cubs fall out of the top-15 in latest MLB power rankings

The good news for the Cubs is that this past week saw them snap that aforementioned ten-game losing streak. However, the bad news is that they still split the series with Pittsburgh 2-2 and then lost their series to the Cardinals 2-1.

After a 3-4 week, Bleacher Report knocked Chicago down a spot in their MLB power rankings, from 15th to 16th:

“The Cubs snapped a 10-game losing streak with a win over the Pirates on Wednesday, with that rough patch serving as an unfortunate counterpoint to the two 10-game winning streaks they rattled off earlier in the year. Right-hander Ben Brown tossed seven innings of three-hit, one-run ball on Saturday, and he now has a 1.73 ERA in 26 innings over five starts since joining an injury-plagued rotation.”

Ben Brown certainly has been one of the few bright spots on the Cubs roster over the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately, it does not appear like any other pitchers are ready to step up with him. Matthew Boyd should return this week, which might help, but he was not exactly pitching well when he went down with [another] injury.

The fact of the matter is that the Cubs currently do not have the pitching necessary to make a deep run in the postseason even if they make it as they are currently constructed. In order for them to turn this season around and make some noise, they have to add pieces to both their starting rotation and bullpen.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Bears QB Caleb Williams reacts to what Pete Crow-Armstrong did in Cubs game
• Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong silences doubters with 4-5 night
• Cubs’ Ben Brown is one of the best pitchers in baseball

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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Caleb Williams forged close friendships with other athletes playing for Chicago professional teams. The Chicago Cubs star quarterback spent a lot of time hanging out with Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis earlier in the offseason. They watched baseball and soccer games, and also had dinner together recently with Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.

It showed how much the young QB embraced the city and his appreciation for his fellow athletes. All three do their best to give Chicago fans more reason to cheer for them and their teams. Williams led the Bears to an 11-6 record last season, capturing the NFC North title and reaching the Divisional Round. Buzelis comes off a strong campaign, averaging 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game. 

Meanwhile, Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs are currently tied for third in the NL Central with a 32-28 record. They are 5.0 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the division.

Caleb Williams posts reaction to Pete Crow-Armstrong’s home run

St. Louis Cardinals fans chanted “overrated” when Crow-Armstrong was at the plate during Saturday’s game. He responded by silencing the crowd at Busch Stadium with a homerun in the eighth inning. Williams reposted the clip on X and reacted with two laughing emojis.

😂😂 https://t.co/pz9hkCQVEs

— Caleb Williams (@CALEBcsw) May 31, 2026

The 2025 All-Star recorded four hits on the night to guide the Cubs to a 6-1 win. Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ backed him with two hits each. However, they lost the three-game series decider on Sunday, 5-1. The team will head home to start a series against the Athletics. Crow-Armstrong has 52 hits and seven homers so far this season.

Williams, on the other hand, impressed during the Bears’ OTAs. He turned heads with some of his passes, showing he’s raring to start the 2026 season. Next up for him and the Bears is mandatory minicamp from June 9-11, giving head coach Ben Johnson and his staff a chance to run more plays with the squad.

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The Chicago Cubs bounced back from a disappointing series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday by dismantling them 6-1 on Saturday night. Ben Brown was absolutely electric on the mound, stepping up in a big way as the Cubs’ starting rotation continues to take hit after hit.

But the star of the night was center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who had a huge night at the plate and flashed the kind of defense that won him a Gold Glove in 2025.

Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong on silencing the doubters

Entering play on Saturday, Crow-Armstrong was not performing well as Chicago’s lead-off hitter. Prior to his performance last night, he was hitting  just .192/.333/.269 at the top of the lineup.

But on Saturday, he was 4-5 from the plate with a home run, two RBI, and two runs scored. He also ended the game with a highlight reel catch in centerfield.

Afterwards, he talked about silencing the doubters and complimented the Cardinals and their fans:

“They got like hundreds of shirtless guys out in right field. Interesting theme for the year, but they’re rowdy and they’re showing up, like they’re buying into something, so I can appreciate it.

“We love playing against the Cardinals too, like in division rivals, always fun. And it’s nice that they got a really good squad this year, and they’re playing good.”

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Ben Brown is one of the best pitchers in baseball
• Cubs’ mysterious injury is reaching a boiling point
• Why Matt Shaw starting rehab really matters now

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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The Chicago Cubs, just like that, have now won three of their last four games after an ugly ten-game losing streak that had fans and pundits wondering if they were a broken team.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Why Matt Shaw starting rehab soon really matters now

One bit of consistency through these recent worst of times and the current best of times is Ben Brown.

The 26-year-old, since being put into the starting rotation due to an injury to Matthew Boyd, has been pitching like an ace. In his five starts this season, he’s 1-1 with a 1.73 ERA. On the season, he’s got a 1.92 ERA through seventeen appearances and is averaging more than one strikeout per inning.

On Saturday, against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, Brown delivered another stellar outing, allowing one earned run on three hits through seven innings in a 6-1 win over the Cubs’ division rivals. Except for one brief moment in the fourth inning, the 6-foot-6 right-hander was in command throughout, showing maturity and confidence along with a pitch arsenal boasting a new sinker and changeup.

“I thought the last at-bat to Gorman was just a maybe a little symbolic of how Ben’s changed,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters. “He threw four changeups to Gorman, and that’s just something that couldn’t happen last year, right? It wasn’t going to happen, and just tip of the cap to how he’s improved, and that was a real sign in there.”

Brown is one of MLB’s best

More News: Chicago Cubs: PCA’s poise has been a bright spot during tough times

On paper, as well as on the field, Brown’s excellence so far this season has been noted.

Writer Matt Clapp recently dug through the numbers to highlight exactly how good the young pitcher has been and how his execution this year actually places him among the best in MLB.

Per Clapp:

Ben Brown ranks among MLB pitchers with at least 50 IP…

ERA: 7th
FIP: 4th
xERA: 7th
xFIP: 9th
AVG: 3rd
GB%: 8th
HR/9: 2nd
GB/FB: 8th

That’s pretty impressive stuff from someone who came into spring training without any guarantee that he’d even break camp with the big league Cubs.

Becoming his best self

Brown had shown flashes of brilliance throughout his young career, but had been unable to deliver consistently good work. Still, the Cubs kept him on the roster for those flashes of brilliance and for the promise that he’d eventually be able to put everything together for a grab at his full potential. The new pitches perfected over the offseason, along with the confidence that comes along with a more fully-developed arsenal, might have pushed him to that next level of development.

No matter the reason, Brown’s rise has come at exactly the right time for a Cubs staff reeling from injury and inconsistency. Without any exaggeration, he’s become the linchpin for the team’s rotation.

But Brown, himself, seems to be taking this all in stride.

“That was exciting,’’ Brown said of Thursday’s outing. “This is something to build off, but you’re never as good as you think you are and never as bad as you think you are.’’

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Pete Crow-Armstrong did not hold back when rounding the bases after his 444-foot bomb in St. Louis on Saturday night. The Cubs’ lightning rod centerfielder had a huge day, going 4-5 with a homer, double, two RBI, and reaching five times. He also added a sliding catch to end the game for good measure.

TARPS OFF. BALL GONE. pic.twitter.com/4oW1AuryUG

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 31, 2026

Crow-Armstrong’s solo blast in the top of the eighth landed into the now famous “Tarps Off” fan section at Busch Stadium. The ball was hit as the Cardinal faithful were chanting “Overrated” at him. He made celebratory gestures towards his dugout while rounding the bases as the heckles turned to boos.

A much more effective way to respond to heckling.

It was just a few weeks ago when Crow-Armstrong made national headlines for his controversial interaction with a White Sox fan during the Crosstown series. He left Rate Field with a loss that day and eventually a fine. It’s a moment he seems to wish he had back, and one that will be remembered forever, regardless of how one feels about it.

In St. Louis, he did the best thing one could do to hecklers: beat them in the box score.

Worth noting the masses chanting at Crow-Armstrong at Busch Stadium was not quite the same as the 1-on-1 interaction on the South Side. It was more personal that time. Still, having a night like that to back up the lightning rod personality on the field is how to come out on top.

This will be a new normal for Crow-Armstrong

Crow-Armstrong has established himself as a lightning rod. It feels safe to say, regardless of how much he ends up growing as a player, many baseball fans have made up their minds about him. He’s going to get booed and heckled in a lot of parks, especially in rival parks and Dodger Stadium.

If he can further grow as a player, then he can have more of these moments to shut down hecklers without barking back. It obviously won’t work every time, as every player will fail in many games. With that said, it was hard when he was really struggling. That just fueled the flames for the people not so fond of him.

One can easily argue it’s good to have a “villain” on a team. Even if they are not harming others and are good citizens, players like Crow-Armstrong, who are emotional and speak their mind, tend to be naturally off-putting for opponents. Regardless, the villains need to produce and win battles on the field to reign over the jeers.

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The Chicago Cubs could use reinforcements across the board right now, as they have gone just 5-15 over their last 20 games and are on the verge of getting swept by the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend.

Nothing is going right for the Cubs at the moment. Their starting rotation is a complete mess, their bullpen is shaky and they aren’t hitting consistently. So while acquiring another starting pitcher should be at the top of their priority list, they have other holes to fill, as well.

The problem for Chicago is it doesn’t have many internal answers, and one player we thought could represent a potential impact solution for the Cubs isn’t even currently playing: Tyler Austin.

Chicago signed Austin over the winter after the 34-year-old spent the last six seasons in Japan, slashing .293/.377/.568 over the course of 1,491 plate appearances in the NPB. The Cubs could certainly use his bat right now, but he has been sidelined with a knee injury since Spring Training, and now, Chicago fans are wondering what’s going on.

Chicago Cubs have provided no updates on Tyler Austin

Jordan Campbell of Cubbies Crib spoke for many Cubs fans in a recent piece, questioning why exactly we have not heard any updates on Austin’s status.

“Two months into the season, as Craig Counsell has provided daily injury updates, Austin hasn’t been mentioned. Looking at the Cubs’ injury update on their website, Austin’s status was last updated on March 24. It’s around the time that an update on Austin should be expected, but that hasn’t been the case,” Campbell wrote.

Austin underwent surgery to repair his knee issue back in late February, but Campbell notes that Chicago has not even elaborated on what type of procedure he had.

The Conyers, Ga. native began his big-league career with the New York Yankees back in 2016 and spent parts of three seasons in the Bronx. He has also spent time with the Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants and Milwaukee Brewers.

Austin owns a career big-league slash line of .219/.292/.451, but the hope was that his time in Japan revitalized him and would result in better major-league at-bats. Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten the chance to see that this season, and who knows when we actually will.

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The Chicago Cubs may or may not be out of the deep end of a major funk which has recently cost them ten games in a row and their spot atop the NL Central Division.

More News: Chicago Cubs: An update on top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins

Either way, though, some serious planning has to currently be in play for the immediate future.

Assuming the Cubs are still buyers by the August 3 trade deadline, the front office needs to decide how deep they want to go when it comes to acquisitions. Assuming starting pitchers Matthew Boyd and Edward Cabrera return to the rotation healthy and productive, the decision will have to be made regarding what type of player they want to add.

Do they want to spend the trade capital on a high-end, front-of-rotation starter or can they make due with a more back-of-rotation workhorse? Do they want to go big on relievers to help stabilize an inconsistent bullpen? Do they want to pick up a reliable bat to give a boost to an offense that has gone through spells of flatlining?

Why Matt Shaw’s return is a big deal

More News: Chicago Cubs: How the MLB cap proposal and labor dispute would affect the Cubs

Matt Shaw, in one way or another, figures heavily into these future plans. That’s why the 24-year-old about to start his rehab assignment at Triple-A Iowa is taking on an exaggerated level of importance.

The sophomore utility player was placed on the IL on May 22 (retroactive to May 20) with mild back tightness and is right on track for a comfortable return to the big league Cubs.

“Matt’s doing super well,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters on Friday in St. Louis. “The plan kind of remains intact that we think he’s going to be able to start a rehab assignment on Tuesday in Iowa. So, assuming everything progresses like it progresses, he’s going to have basically a full weekend of kind of normal pregame stuff. He should be good to go on Tuesday in Iowa.”

Shaw’s status as a pivotal player in this team’s trajectory—despite not having a full-time starting spot—comes directly from his value as an underutilized talent with a high ceiling and a whole career ahead of him.

Trade bait or building block?

If the Cubs chose to shop him around, they’d find takers. He’s a guy who could be plugged right into a lineup and begin to contribute immediately, especially at third base or second base. He would be doing so with Chicago if they hadn’t acquired third baseman Alex Bregman in the offseason. His current .242 batting average doesn’t fully reflect how far he’s come along, offensively, since his rookie 2025 season and he’ll probably keep getting better.

The Cubs are taking a good long look at no. 2 prospect Pedro Ramirez who was brought up to replace Shaw as the super utility man on the 26-man roster. If Ramirez pans out as everyone seems to expect, Shaw could be valuable yet expendable trade bait.

The front office, however, may find Shaw’s presence more valuable than his trade worth. With Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki eligible for free agency at the end of this season, Shaw could be converted to a full-time corner outfielder to take one of those spots. He also has big-time value as a backup in case of injury to guys like Bregman or Nico Hoerner.

All of this is why it’s noteworthy that Shaw will be back to the team soon. From there, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether he’ll be used as a super sub or as trade capital.

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The Chicago Cubs have been riding a roller coaster of emotions and fortunes this season. After a 20-3 run that included two 10-game winning streaks, the team fell into the deep doldrums with a confidence-testing 10-game losing streak.

More News: Chicago Cubs: PCA’s poise has been a bright spot during tough times

Through the tail end of the winning streak and the entirety of the losing streak—where wins have been big and losses have been equally big—there really hasn’t been much use for a closer to lock down games. As such, hard-throwing right-hander Daniel Palencia has mostly been just hanging around doing nothing.

The 26-year-old has only logged one inning since May 20—with his last appearance to date being on May 26—and hasn’t had a save opportunity since May 14. On the year, he has just 10.2 innings pitched and has posted a 2.53 ERA with 3 saves.

Part of the inactivity issue is due to Palencia’s lat strain in mid-April which cost him about three weeks of potential playing time. But the perhaps the biggest culprit for his lack of work is just the fact that the Cubs have been so “feast or famine” this season.

Big expectations hit a roadblock

More News: Chicago Cubs: How the MLB cap proposal and labor dispute would affect the Cubs

Palencia, coming into this 2026 campaign after his utter domination for the WBC-winning Team Venezuela earlier in the spring, expected big things for his first full-season run as the Cubs’ closer. Those expectations have been dashed a bit by how this year has played out so far.

Palencia, himself, has acknowledged his frustration at having so few opportunities to showcase his abilities.

‘‘I would love to have more saves,’’ Palencia told reporters on Thursday before the Cubs’ 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. ‘‘I want to be an All-Star; I want to be a great closer. So, yes, it’s kind of frustrating for me to keep my mind clean.’’

‘‘Things happen,’’ he added, referring to how things have panned out. ‘‘Sometimes you spend six days without throwing and then you may throw five days in a row.’’

Palencia needs to pitch

Whatever the case, Palencia needs work and manager Craig Counsell needs to find him some innings, even when the game is not on the line. If not, he may be put into high-leverage situations when he’s not at his sharpest, something which could rock his confidence or even lead to injury from over compensating.

The Cubs pitching staff as a whole has been rocked with injury this year. Three of the projected top five rotation arms are on the IL (Cade Horton, Matthew Boyd, and Edward Cabrera—with Horton out for the season) and the bullpen has been hobbled by injury and inconsistency as well. This team cannot afford to also cross their closer off the list of reliable, contributing arms.

Palencia clearly wants the ball and Chicago needs to find a way to give it to him more than once every ten days or so.

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The Chicago Cubs fell to the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 6-5 on Friday night. Now, fans are holding their breaths, hoping that it will not be the start of yet another long losing streak. Entering play on Friday, Chicago had won two games in a row, but those had come on the heels of a ten-game losing streak.

In April and early May, the Cubs were considered one of the more elite teams in Major League Baseball. They had two separate ten-game winning streaks and had an early lead in the National League Central Division.

Outside of those winning streaks, though, Chicago is just 11-27. They have not been able to win series consistently, and multiple everyday players in their lineup have or are currently going through offensive slumps.

Pete Crow-Armstrong is one of them.

Pete Crow-Armstrong should not hit lead-off for the Chicago Cubs

In 2025, Crow-Armstrong got off to an electric start to the season. In the first half of the year, he hit .265/.302/.444 with 25 home runs, 72 RBI, and 27 stolen bases. He was named to the National League All-Star team for the first time as a result.

But in the second half, he struggled mightily at the plate. After the All-Star break, he hit just .216.262/.372 with six home runs, 24 RBI, and eight stolen bases. He ended up with a 30-30 season, but his second half drought at the plate was concerning.

And this year, so far, he has not been anywhere close to matching the production he had in the first half of 2025. Through the first 58 games of 2026, Crow-Armstrong is hitting .226/.314/.362 with six home runs, 24 RBI, and 12 stolen bases.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell recently moved his star center fielder to the lead-off position to help him break out of his prolonged slump. The problem, though, is that Counsell may have already had him where he should be.

As a lead-off hitter this year, Crow-Armstrong is hitting just .192/.333/.269. Clearly, that is not good enough.

Prior to being moved to the lead-off spot, PCA was hitting .321/.387/.357 as the number nine hitter. As far as sample sizes go, he has 33 at bats leading off, and 31 at bats as the nine hitter.

Furthermore, the Gold Glove winner is hitting just .189/.283/.302 when leading off any inning at all. Not only that, he is also hitting .174/.258/.261 when the bases are empty.

However, when there are men on base, PCA is hitting .284/.378/.484. He is also better with runners in scoring position, hitting .296/.371/.463.

And as far as these splits go, PCA has had 115 official at bats with the bases empty, and 95 with runners on base.

It is clear, therefore, that he should not be hitting lead-off, but further down in the order. His best numbers come from the ninth-spot, but he could be moved up in the order too.

One has to wonder, given the sample sizes and their results, why Counsell continues to have PCA bat lead-off when it is clearly obvious that he does not belong in that role.

More Chicago Cubs news from ChiCity Sports

• Cubs connected to unthinkable trade for star pitcher
• PCA’s poise has been a bright spot amid tough stretch
• How MLB cap proposal and labor dispute could affect the Cubs

For More Chicago Sports

Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Robin Adams via email at robadams14@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

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