Cub Tracks’ rumors swirl

Welcome to today’s edition 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, and then cold-brewed overnight for maximum flavor.

“Change comes from within.” — Zen aphorism, often attributed to random ATMs and one-armed bandits.

I dunno about you, but I am discontented with this winter, so far. The narrative is way too diffuse and the plot points, as discussed last episode, all seem like red herrings designed to disprove stasis. Nothing I have seen at this point convinces me that the Cubs will field a competitive squad in 2023.

If they’re not going to, then by all means bring up selected farmhands, and keep them up, and let them find their levels. I’ve, we’ve, had so much smoke blown netherwards that it’s like a colonoscopy.

Too harsh? I think not. The last five years have reset my expectations. “Intelligent spending” more and more seems like an excuse rather than an explanation.

I am dying to be proven wrong. I WANT to be flush with victory at season’s end, but things so far indicate otherwise. It is in fact the burning question of the day, sort of like a hemorrhoid.

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• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Anonymous survey of execs and insiders reveals lukewarm expectations for Cubs offseason. “Lukewarm, this offseason, simply will not cut it.” ESPN said so. But the Winter Meetings could be wild, Taylor says.
• Jeff Passan (ESPN+ {$}): What 2022-23 MLB free agency so far means for the winter meetings. “Not even the low end of the market is moving.” Jordan Bastian has thoughts also.
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Best free agency predictions on Earth include Cubs shocker. “How will that musical chairs game play out among the most aggressive suitors?”
• Matt Snyder (CBS Sports*): MLB free agency: Five fringe contenders who should go for it this offseason, including Orioles and Cubs. “Several teams on the bubble have a chance to make a splash in the market and the standings.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Cubs, other MLB teams reap another $30M each from BAMTech sale. “For a business whose proprietors routinely complain about their lack of profit, Major League Baseball sure does seem to generate a lot of money.”
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): Improved baserunning a central focus for Cubs entering 2023. “Manager David Ross was blunt with his assessment of the team’s baserunning as the season came to a close.”
• Aram Leighton (Just Baseball): Chicago Cubs top prospects for 2023. “A big market team with money to spend, the Cubs may just be buying time for their next wave of stars to break in to the Bigs.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Brennen Davis actually had stress reaction in back, which Is more concerning than ‘general soreness’. “Though it sounds somewhat innocuous, a stress reaction is actually a precursor to a stress fracture...”
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): Pete Crow-Armstrong and Javy Báez have more in common than the Cubs-Mets trade. “I modeled my game after Javy, first and foremost,” Crow-Armstrong said.

Food for Thought:

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