https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/page/36/?d=1News: Newsenhttps://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/can-cade-horton-be-the-cubs-ace-in-2026-r6409/Cade Horton's remarkable 2025 campaign had him knocking on the doorstep of some National League Rookie of the Year hardware. Based on his arsenal, durability, and signs of growth, can he be the ace of a crowded room of arms this season? We dive into Horton's strengths, weaknesses, and the likeli...6409Tue, 24 Feb 2026 13:40:04 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/can-cade-horton-be-the-cubs-ace-in-2026-r6362/Cade Horton's remarkable 2025 campaign had him knocking on the doorstep of some National League Rookie of the Year hardware. Based on his arsenal, durability, and signs of growth, can he be the ace of a crowded room of arms this season? We dive into Horton's strengths, weaknesses, and the likeli...6362Tue, 24 Feb 2026 13:40:04 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/buy-stock-in-cubs-reliever-ryan-rolison-while-you-still-can-r6357/When Brad Keller toed the rubber for the Cubs last spring and started touching 98 miles per hour with his fastball, I didn't believe it. Hot radar guns aren't much of a problem in the modern game; Statcast is much less vulnerable to either error or manipulation than old-fashioned stadium or broa...6357Tue, 24 Feb 2026 12:53:01 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/helloooo-ben-brown-sinker-r6351/In his first action of the 2026 Cactus League season, Ben Brown needed just 30 pitches to get through two breezy, scoreless innings. He held the Royals to two hits and didn't issue a walk, while striking out three. That's just part of the story, though. For Brown, the bigger questions were bound...6351Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:03:02 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/cubs-to-sign-outfielder-and-lefty-bat-michael-conforto-r6331/The Cubs need more depth in left-handed hitting, especially with prospective starting designated hitter Moisés Ballesteros delayed in his ramp-up due to visa issues this spring. Overnight, they agreed to sign veteran outfielder Michael Conforto to address that need, according to Jon Heyman of th...6331Mon, 23 Feb 2026 11:23:00 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/how-one-game-in-the-cactus-league-gave-us-important-information-about-jefferson-rojas-r6321/In a key at-bat last September, Nico Hoerner sat on a fastball and got one in his wheelhouse. He had the advantage of being ahead 2-0 on the Rays' Bryan Baker, and there were two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the eighth inning. The score was 4-4. Never have all the incentives been more ali...6321Sun, 22 Feb 2026 17:11:21 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/will-ben-brown-bounce-back-in-2026-r6410/While Ben Brown was hit around and struggled to control at-bats with a two-pitch mix in 2025, there are a few signals pointing towards a bounce-back campaign in 2026. If all goes to plan, and Brown expands his arsenal, Tommy Hottovy eluded that Brown could be a pivotal part of the future of this...6410Sat, 21 Feb 2026 13:46:02 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/shota-imanagas-perilous-journey-from-overrated-to-underrated-r6296/The moment Shota Imanaga first took the mound in Chicago, there was an electricity in the air. On a cold night, with the help of the Wrigley wind, against a hapless Colorado Rockies lineup, Imanaga carved up hitters left and right. Through his first 53 innings in Major League Baseball, the left-...6296Sat, 21 Feb 2026 13:08:02 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/cubs-spring-training-news-roundup-bregman-sets-tone-ricketts-shares-expectations-jamo-starts-cactus-league-opener-r6280/Seeing as the 2026 World Series will mark the 10-year anniversary of that championship, I don't feel it is a stretch to say that most of us would love to skip ahead to March 26 when the 150th version of this squad hosts the Washington Nationals on Opening Day. Lest one of you fine readers be Mar...6280Fri, 20 Feb 2026 17:00:02 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/cobbling-together-the-best-chicago-cubs-uniform-combinations-r6272/Uniforms are an integral part of sports. It may not have started out that way, but today, a team's uniform fleshes out an entire identity. Some teams are able to transcend on-the-field success into off-the-field relevancy simply because of the uniforms they have created (e.g., the Oakland/Los An...6272Fri, 20 Feb 2026 12:54:00 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/3-cubs-non-roster-invitees-who-will-break-out-this-spring-r6261/Spring training is finally here, and the non-roster invitees for every big-league team see it as a prime chance to break into The Show. For the Chicago Cubs, there are three non-roster invitees who could be in line to make some extra noise and contribute on the north side of Chicago in 2026. ...6261Thu, 19 Feb 2026 23:08:02 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/chronicling-the-1918-cubs-part-9-the-world-series-part-1-r6254/Welcome to part nine of North Side Baseball’s offseason series covering the 1918 Chicago Cubs. You can find the first eight parts here: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 When we left off, the National League an...6254Thu, 19 Feb 2026 16:04:01 +0000