https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/page/20/?d=1News: Newsenhttps://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/justin-steele-shut-down-with-flexor-strain-likely-to-miss-first-half-r8339/Craig Counsell had bad news for fans hoping Justin Steele could return soon and bolster the beleaguered pitching staff on 104.3 The Score. Brutal news all around. Steele, eligible to come off the 60-day injured list at the end of May, has a flexor strain in his left arm. He will be shu...8339Wed, 29 Apr 2026 14:08:02 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/cubs-offense-starting-to-surge-r8338/Justin Steele suffers a setback. The Chicago Cubs' offense has been taking off, and two players, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch, are starting to heat up after slow starts! Let's talk about it all! Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-north-side-basebal...8338Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:40:58 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/sturm-and-bang-cubs-survive-wobbly-middle-innings-to-end-losing-streak-in-san-diego-r8337/Pete Crow-Armstrong had, arguably, the two biggest at-bats of the night in the Cubs' 8-3 win over the Padres Tuesday. The impact of one was obvious: he slammed a three-run homer that broke open the game in the top of the seventh inning. The other was a subtler achievement, but a vital one in its...8337Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:00:29 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/cubs-pitching-prospects-hot-sheet-3-arms-setting-the-early-tone-r8318/ A ninth-round pick in the 2024 draft, Caple worked through a full season in 2025 before moving into a larger role at South Bend. Early in 2026, he's already picked up a Pitcher of the Week honor, a sign...]]>8318Tue, 28 Apr 2026 22:09:03 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/does-mois%C3%A9s-ballesteross-profile-indicate-looming-regression-or-continued-brilliance-r8309/Given his lack of a defensive position (and, somehow worse, the times when he does have one), you won't find Moisés Ballesteros near the top of any WAR leaderboard. He doesn't have the two-part value to drive up that number. If you were to flip the order over to wRC+, however, you'd find him pre...8309Tue, 28 Apr 2026 17:05:04 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/chicago-cubs-minor-league-report-426-halbach-records-another-multi-hit-effort-as-affiliates-wrap-up-tough-week-r8307/Chicago Cubs Minor League Report - April 26 Affiliate Overview Triple-A Iowa Cubs Series vs. Louisville Bats (Cincinnati Reds): Bats win series 4–2 Season Record: 13–13 Double-A Knoxville Smokies Series vs. Chattanooga Lookouts (Cincinnati Reds): Lookouts win series 4–2 S...8307Tue, 28 Apr 2026 16:37:02 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/nico-hoerners-advanced-analytics-will-shock-you-r8304/The Cubs extended Nico Hoerner on a 6-year, $141 million deal earlier this season. So far, he's putting together his most impressive season yet. In this video, we'll dive into his whiff rate, strikeout rate, walk rate and discuss how his speed leads to above-average base-running and elite defens...8304Tue, 28 Apr 2026 13:57:00 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/two-bad-challenge-decisions-cost-the-cubs-in-series-opener-against-padres-r8290/In defense of Matthew Boyd and Moisés Ballesteros, neither was put in a position to succeed on Monday night. Craig Counsell tried to force-fit his young designated hitter into the extremely valuable defensive position he played in the minors, but Ballesteros is a poor receiver—a poor defender be...8290Tue, 28 Apr 2026 10:18:27 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/phil-maton-activated-returns-to-cubs-bullpen-r8286/  After a rough medical start to the season, the Chicago Cubs are starting to get some of their arms back. The latest is right-handed reliever Phil Maton, who was activated Monday off the 15-day injured list. Left-handed reliever Charlie Barnes, who was called up Sunday, was sent back...8286Mon, 27 Apr 2026 22:22:15 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/defense-wins-games-how-the-2026-cubs-are-proving-an-old-sports-adage-true-r8282/Despite dropping two of three games to the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend, things look much better for the Chicago Cubs now than they did a couple of weeks ago. The offense has experienced positive regression, and the pitching staff has held together in the wake of an abnormal number of in...8282Mon, 27 Apr 2026 20:04:01 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/cubs-week-in-review-historic-run-reveals-clubs-muscle-resolve-r8273/Fair or not, the 2026 version of the Chicago Cubs came preloaded with comparisons to the revered 2016 World Series championship club, as the 10th anniversary of their historic accomplishment arrived. The frustrations of the opening weeks of this season made any real comparison between the two ve...8273Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:30:00 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/edward-cabrera-is-a-curveball-away-from-brilliance-r8261/Much was said over the offseason about the Chicago Cubs adding more strikeouts to their pitching staff. A lot of this even came from president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer himself: “I felt like we had a very contact oriented pitching staff. Our defense helps that, but, you know, we don’...8261Mon, 27 Apr 2026 11:52:01 +0000