Cub Tracks stove is still warming up

#Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB news, notes, and commentary, four days a week, rain or shine. Maybe the Winter Meetings will shake things loose. This is the deadest offseason ever, so far.

WELCOME to today’s episode of Cub Tracks news and notes™, a greatest-hits collection of Chicago-style beat writers and bloggers, ground from #Cubs, #MiLB, and #MLB baseball, overheated, steeped in writers’ tears, and then cold-brewed overnight for maximum flavor. No artificial intelligences were deployed, employed, entranced, or embalmed in the commission of this missive (apparently I might be training some though). Cub Tracks eagerly awaits the advent of robotic umpires and has already amended the three laws. The going is weird. Cub Tracks turned pro a long time ago.

Cub Tracks. Where the great ones run away.

Cub Tracks is trying to minimize signal-to-noise and will be phasing out X/Twitter links and replacing those with YouTube/Bluesky links in order not to have static text. Pardon our dust?

Buehler? Buehler! The same questions remain. The same names are named. Waiting is.

Team USA is moving on to the next round. Congratulations to those guys. Matt Shaw is en fuego.

*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.

• Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation*): Cubs listed among possible landing spots for Free Agent SP Walker Buehler. We’d like Jackson Ferris back, too. Evan Altman has some of this and some Bieber.
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib*): Everything Cubs fans need to know about Roki Sasaki’s posting. “Chicago – as well as the other 29 teams in the league – will be on equal footing financially in their pursuit of the 23-year-old phenom.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Is Nate Pearson a good Starting Rotation conversion project for the Chicago Cubs? “… you have good reason to be optimistic about what the 28-year-old righty can contribute to the Cubs in 2025.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Shota Imanaga rewarded with placement on All-MLB Second Team. “… Imanaga quickly showed his ability to learn, adapt and execute on the Major League stage.” Brett Taylor has some Shota song. Andy Martinez reports.
• Tim Boyle (Rising Apple*):” Cubs are a bigger threat for a different Mets free agent than Pete Alonso. “If not Manaea, the Cubs should be a match for fellow Mets free agents Luis Severino and even Jose Quintana.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.cm*): How can the Cubs address their needs at catcher for 2025? “… the Cubs’ hope is to find a catcher this offseason to create a kind of 1A/1B timeshare with Amaya.”
• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): State of the Cubs: Some questions marks surround second base. “… if it’s a longer-term injury, the Cubs’ prospect depth will be thrust into the spotlight.” First base. Catcher.
• Bailey Hall (North Side Baseball*): Celebrating progress and hoping for the star turn: Pete Crow-Armstrong’s 2025 outlook. “… despite his Californian roots, he was always a Cubs fan…”
• Brian Kelder (North Side Baseball*): Cubs trade candidate breakdown: Cody Bellinger. “As always, we shall sit back and await developments.”

Food for Thought:

For Apple News users click here for the above.

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. Thanks for reading!