Chicago Cubs news and notes — Alzolay, Shaw, Ballesteros, Strumpf

[ASFN Admin]

You must be registered for see images

Matt Shaw is in the news again, That’s all I’m going to say. Chase Strumpf is calling it a career. Framber Valdez and Pete Fairbanks are in the air.

The next real event is the Cubs Convention, Friday, January 16, through Sunday, January 18, 2026.

*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments. Nudge nudge. Wink wink.

• Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Cubs mailbag: It’s all about pitching with Tatsuya Imai’s deadline looming. “With a Jan. 2 deadline to finalize a deal with a major-league club, Imai and his suitors will soon be forced into action.”
• John Wolf (Rising Apple*): NY Mets can unlock Adbert Alzolay by doing the one thing Cubs never did. “His strengths got lost in mismatched scenarios.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): No. 2 prospect Ballesteros poised to step up for Cubs in ’26. “He’s at the point where, if he can help the Major League team, he’s going to be in the Major Leagues,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said at the Winter Meetings.
• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball*): Dansby Swanson made a bunch of good adjustments, but has to make more. “As he ages, Swanson continues a negotiation with his own skill set…”

Food For Thought:


Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series. We will not wittingly publish A. I. – driven articles and insist on reputable sources.

Continue reading...