Cub Tracks’ money players

Welcome to today’s edition of Cub Tracks news and notes™, a greatest-hits from Chicago-style beat writers and bloggers, ground from #Cubs, #MiLB, and #MLB baseball, and cold-brewed overnight for maximum flavor.

Andrew McCutchen is by all accounts a good guy. But I don’t like him as a Brewer. Likewise Kolten Wong, who I had hoped the Cubs would sign when they opted for Eric Sogard. I’m not overfond of the way Hunter Renfroe looks in yellow and gray, either. All are in a long tradition of players I didn’t like as Brewers that stretches back to Don Money. But then I think the Brewers and the Diamondbacks should both be in the American League.

On the other hand, Franmil Reyes is looking better and better in Cubbie blue. One hopes he hits for t’ree bases when Pat Foley does the account. He has doubled his triple total since donning the colors. Smart money says he’s in the 2023 mix.

That wasn’t the only highlight. This one went a few rounds... but in the end won the prize.

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• Alexander Patt (Cubbies Crib*): Cubs fans are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. “... there seems to be a sense of cautious optimism.”
• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): The craze that’s sweeping the Cubs clubhouse. “The Cubs’ chess craze started earlier this season in Cincinnati.”
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib*): Justin Steele has evolved into a frontline starter for the Cubs. “If what we’ve seen from Justin Steele since late May is any indication, the future is bright.”
• Tim Stebbins ()NBC Sports Chicago*): The 4 relievers Cubs already plan for 2023 bullpen. “Look no further than Rowan Wick, Brandon Hughes, Codi Heuer and Adbert Alzolay.”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Cubs scouting reports: What the team got for David Robertson and Scott Effross. “Our player development department had identified some development opportunities.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Franmil Reyes has his confidence back after coming to the Cubs. “The obvious questions are “can this continue?,” and “what happened earlier in the year?””
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs’ Nick Madrigal ‘in a lot better place’ since returning from IL. “Madrigal entered play Thursday hitting .313, with a .421 on-base percentage this month.”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Why the Cubs should extend Nico Hoerner and sign their top free-agent target. “That’s the point: accumulating as many good players as possible.”
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Trea Turner: ‘Mandatory’ to know plan if Cubs want him. “From multiple organizations, you’d want to know what they expect or where it’s going or what they’re trying to do — kind of a vision,” he said.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Brennen Davis still No. 1 Cubs Prospect in Marquee’s updated Top 25. “... Brozdowski knows the Cubs system as well as anyone...” Altman looks at MLB Pipeline’s list. Marquee’s Top 25 list.
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): ‘Life has come full circle’: Joe Girardi returns to the Chicago Cubs as a game analyst for the Marquee Sports Network. “... I understand that these jobs are precious,” Girardi said.
• Charlotte Edmonds (NBC Sports Chicago*): Mark DeRosa to manage Team USA at the World Baseball Classic. “Few people are as informed and attuned to what is going on in professional baseball and the premier players in the game today as he is,” Paul Seiler, CEO and Executive Director of USA Baseball, said.
• Steve Megargee (AP via Chicago Tribune* {$}): TV reporter injured — 6 cracked ribs and a broken wrist — after sliding down Bernie Brewer’s slide in Milwaukee. “It didn’t go quite according to plan.”
• Maureen O’Donnell (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Arlene Gill, an assistant to 8 Cubs general managers, dead at 79. “She had a history of heart trouble and strokes before succumbing to dementia, according to her brother Bud Nykaza.”

Food for Thought:

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