https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/page/34/?d=1News: Newsenhttps://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/my-imaginary-hall-of-fame-ballot-r5103/Since visiting the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, it's been a small hobby of mine to track the balloting, predicting who will get in, and seeing how accurate the predictions are. With the holidays upon us and activity slowing to a trickle, it seems a good time to tackle the thought exercise of bui...5103Tue, 23 Dec 2025 12:48:01 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/cubs-sign-catcher-christian-bethancourt-to-split-level-contract-r5096/The Chicago Cubs have agreed to a split-level contract with free agent catcher Christian Bethancourt, which would pay the player $1,600,000 if he is on the major league roster. The catcher spent his most recent season in the Toronto Blue Jays' system, appearing in 58 games with their Triple-A af...5096Mon, 22 Dec 2025 20:14:02 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/eli-lovich-a-late-round-cubs-pick-to-watch-r5095/With baseball free agency contracts soaring across the league, finding and developing hidden gems is critical for teams that are unable or unwilling to spend big in free agency. In order to compete with organizations such as the Dodgers, Yankees, and Phillies, teams need to hit on late-round pic...5095Mon, 22 Dec 2025 18:10:02 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/5-cubs-prospects-ready-to-explode-in-2026-r5088/Here are five Cubs prospects who are destined to break into the major leagues, with or without the team, in the coming year. Cory Sparks dives into the strengths, weaknesses, and fit of Jaxon Wiggins, Ethan Conrad, Jonathon Long, Grant Kipp, and James Triantos. View the full article5088Mon, 22 Dec 2025 14:15:00 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/dansby-swanson-made-a-bunch-of-good-adjustments-but-has-to-make-more-r5086/Dansby Swanson had a strong 2025 season. He only batted .244/.300/.417, with that middle number—the most important one, his on-base percentage—sagging alarmingly, but he cracked 24 home runs, stole 20 bases and made good adjustments, even as he endured some wretched luck and sequencing. His DRC+...5086Mon, 22 Dec 2025 12:38:02 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/javier-assad-is-too-good-to-fill-the-role-the-cubs-need-r5054/Shota Imanaga's return to the Chicago Cubs' rotation — after a bizarre double-opt-out that required the qualifying offer to mend — should be a boon at large for the team in 2026, even if his home run problems render him less effective than the pitcher he was in 2024 and the first half of 2025. H...5054Sat, 20 Dec 2025 12:59:01 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/cubs-continue-hunting-small-signing-caleb-thielbar-tyler-austin-r5041/The Chicago Cubs' quiet offseason continues, as the team made two more savvy signings in Caleb Thielbar and Tyler Austin while waiting out the top end of the free-agent market. View the full article5041Fri, 19 Dec 2025 14:55:00 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/after-strong-cluster-of-small-moves-cubs-well-positioned-for-big-game-hunting-r5036/The Cubs were interested in Michael King at the outset of this offseason. After they got a sense of his initial asking price (approaching $100 million on a four-year deal, according to one source), they backed away, but once it was clear that King wouldn't net quite that rich a contract, they ci...5036Fri, 19 Dec 2025 12:57:27 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/cubs-roster-dilemmas-is-there-a-path-to-2026-playing-time-for-scott-kingery-r5027/There was a time (roughly the spring of 2018) when Scott Kingery represented one of the more intriguing names across the baseball landscape. Had the Chicago Cubs brought him into their organization at any point around that particular moment, then his involvement in a potential roster would've ha...5027Thu, 18 Dec 2025 23:22:37 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/news-cubs-sign-first-baseman-tyler-austin-to-big-league-deal-r5019/The Chicago Cubs have agreed to a one-year, major-league deal with first baseman Tyler Austin, according to a report from ESPN's Jeff Passan. Austin, 34, carried a colossal 36.9% strikeout rate over parts of four previous seasons in the majors, and last appeared in the States in 2019. Since then...5019Thu, 18 Dec 2025 20:54:00 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/are-the-giants-attempting-to-trade-for-nico-hoerner-r5018/Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle recently reported that the San Francisco Giants are looking for a second baseman and have checked in on the Cubs' Nico Hoerner. Hoerner,  an Oakland native and former Stanford shortstop, is under contract through 2026 on the three-year, $35 milli...5018Thu, 18 Dec 2025 17:46:25 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/cubs-top-three-bullpen-x-factors-in-2026-r5017/The Chicago Cubs' bullpen picture has solidified to a degree in recent weeks with the signings of Phil Maton and Hoby Milner, as well as the decision to bring Caleb Thielbar back to town. Fans would still like to see more encouraging additions to shore up the group. Roster holes exist elsewhere,...5017Thu, 18 Dec 2025 17:07:02 +0000