#chicago-cubs

#chicago-cubs

When you have a semi-dedicated designated hitter on your roster (Moises Ballesteros, for mental planning purposes), you have just four bench spots available on your 26-man roster. And since one of those four spots has to go to your second catcher, you really have just three. On the 2026 Chicago Cubs, we know that one of those three spots is going to go to Matt Shaw. Another is likely, though not guaranteed, to go to Tyler Austin.

According to the Cubs, the first 150 people who find a bobblehead or bobblehead box will win a pair of tickets to a regular season game. In addition to the free tickets, fans can get complimentary donuts and Cubs-branded items at each spot: - 7:30-8 a.m.: Ben Zobrist bobblehead at Chicago Union Station- 8:45-9:15 a.m.: Sammy Sosa bobblehead at Tribune Tower- 10-10:30 a.m.: Kerry Wood bobblehead at 875 North Michigan Avenue

Actual Cubs baseball is only two days away, even if it is just a glorified scrimmage. I'm still trying to find a way to get out to spring training this year, but a pesky jury duty summons is mucking up my plans. Maybe I'll just have to take a little extra PTO and go earlier than initially planned. For some reason, I find it difficult to make time for myself with stuff like this.

Marty Pevey returns as manager of the Iowa Cubs for the 14th consecutive season, extending his franchise-record tenure while his 822 victories are also a franchise mark. Entering his 18th season in the organization, he has over 30 years of professional experience, beginning with 13 seasons as a player. All told, Pevey owns a 1,466-1,511 minor league managerial record and his 1,466 victories are fifth-most among active minor league skippers through 2025. The I-Cubs last year went 74-75 in the International League West Division.

The wait is over, Chicago Cubs fans! The promotional calendar for the 2026 regular season is here with 150th anniversary-themed gate giveaways, an expanded Special Ticket Offer lineup and theme games fans won't want to miss when single game tickets go on sale Friday, February 20. BOBBLEHEADS To celebrate the club's 150th anniversary as a National League franchise, commemorative bobbleheads spotlighting iconic figures in Cubs history will be available starting in April.

The hard-throwing righty has suffered a number of maladies over his career, most recently last summer when he was limited to just 10 2/3 innings with Kansas City with a right teres major strain and later, an adductor injury. But when healthy, Harvey throws in the upper-90s with a nasty splitter and can be a high-end bullpen arm. Paired with Daniel Palencia (who is also pitching in the WBC),

Today, the Chicago Cubs and Marquee Sports Network announced the broadcast schedule for 2026 Spring Training. As had been previously suggested in reports, the number of games is down significantly, and it's just 11 games total getting a Marquee broadcast. Some other games may/will be available via MLB.tv to the extent other teams are generating a broadcast, but it's also possible that, like in the olden days, a lot of games just won't have a live video production.

For reasons discussed only a little bit ago, a guy like Aaron Civale became a relatively poor fit for the Chicago Cubs over the last couple months. The rotation really filled up, the bullpen really filled up, and the reclamation group of pitchers became so robust that the competition to win innings will be fierce. If you're the Cubs, bringing Aaron Civale back on a guaranteed deal might not make a lot of sense, because who is he bouncing?

Though I wouldn't go so far as to say it is the predominant "identity" of the Chicago Cubs of recent vintage, I do think it's important to note that the Cubs have typically sported one of the better defenses in baseball going back at least a decade. Defense was critical to the 2026 championship run, as a lot of the excellent pitching was really an excellent combination of pitching and defense.

Miller, 29, has spent some time in the big leagues in each of the last five seasons, after coming up as a notable Padres and then Guardians prospect ( you may remember his name from the big pandemic season trade that saw the Padres sending him, Austin Hedges, Cal Quantrill, Josh Naylor, Gabriel Arias, and Joey Cantillo to the Guardians (then Indians) for Mike Clevinger, Greg Allen, and Matt Waldron).

There's a lot of young talent on the big league roster, and the Cubs have used prospects well in trade, but the natural thinning that has accompanied the trades and promotions tended toward a reduction in overall talent down on the farm. Combine that with relatively poor outcomes in International Free Agency going back a decade, plus not a whole lot of surprise breakouts

The story is about a little boy (inspired by my son, Leo!) who gets surprised with a trip to his very first Cubs game. And it follows his journey from getting the tickets, to being stuck in traffic on the way downtown, to reaching his seats, experiencing "the troughs" for the first time, making friends in the bleachers, getting nervous about the game, eating snacks, throwing the other team's home run balls back on the field, singing Go, Cubs, Go! (spoiler alert), and so much more!

I know that the big league moves draw most of the attention - and, for good reason, since they are designed to generate most of the big league impact - but I have been very pleased by the Chicago Cubs' front office continuing to supplement deeper within the organization throughout December and January. Plenty of reclamation pitching signings, as always, and a number of more development-inclined pitcher signings, too.

Shortly after the Cubs began celebrating the 10th anniversary of the longest title drought in professional sports, the Indiana Hoosiers captured a national football title with the first 16-0 record in modern history. With all due respect to those who said the Cubs winning is all was the last great American sports story, I think Curt Cignetti and his team might have something to say about that.

"I'm super excited, that's all you can ask for, an opportunity and a chance to play. I'm super excited to be with another good organization."

Ríos is a 32-year-old righty who has logged parts of six seasons in the majors. The Puerto Rico native got the majority of his work early in his career as a member of the Phillies. He saw more limited action with the Pirates, Mariners, Red Sox and Athletics between 2019-23. Ríos has spent the last two seasons in the Mets organization without getting a look at the MLB level.

Jesse RogersJan 15, 2026, 09:55 PM ET CloseJesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com. The World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers got even better Thursday night, landing prized free agent Kyle Tucker, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan. Tucker, who turns 29 on Saturday, was the top free agent bat on the market. He'll join a star-studded Dodgers team -- which could be the perfect fit for the laidback Tucker.