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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, overheated, and then cold-brewed overnight for maximum flavor.

The Cubs opened a series with one of my least-liked baseball teams, the Florida Marlins, and opened the scoring early.

But, alas, the lead didn’t last. The Cubs put up a little fight though. Zach McKinstry more and more shows the results of regular play. Might be worth a roster spot.

Is this season over yet?

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• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Small signs of hope emerging at the end of a lost season for the Chicago Cubs. “It is about building the next winning team, not about what happened in the past,” said Tom Ricketts.
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs’ 2023 rotation far from settled. “Aside from Marcus Stroman and Kyle Hendricks, there’s no clear picture about who will be part of the rotation next season.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Hayden Wesneski, Adbert Alzolay offer glimpse of future on multiple fronts. “We’re building something. We’re trying to win,” Alzolay said.
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs pitcher Keegan Thompson willing to keep proving himself. ‘‘I think getting back and [pitching] a couple of more outings will give me innings toward next year,’’ Thompson said Sunday. Tim Stebbins has more.
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Do the Cubs finally have some pitching prospects? Insight on the draft and more. “There appears to be more depth at the upper levels of the minor leagues...” Brett Taylor has more farm reports.
• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): Nico Hoerner, Keegan Thompson hope to rejoin Cubs soon. “I mean, if there’s an opportunity to be healthy and on the field playing Major League Baseball, I’m gonna do that,” Hoerner said.
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): How Yan Gomes brings value behind the plate and gets the best out of his pitchers. “What stands out to me is how he communicates with the pitchers,” Ross said.
• Scott Changnon (Marquee Sports Network*): The heartwarming story of Willson Contreras’ profound impact on one family of Cubs fans. “The Cubs catcher graciously signed the poster and posed with the fans for a photo.”
• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): From Little League teammates to Cubs teammates: Everything has come full circle for Alfonso Rivas and Javier Assad. “He was always one of the Caballos of the team,” Assad said of Rivas.
• Lee Bosch (Marquee Sports Network*): Long, winding road rewarded with Cubs debut for Esteban Quiroz. “When I got the news [of getting called up], I’d be lying to you if I said there weren’t tears,” he said. “So many years fighting for this. I’m going to try and enjoy this the best I can.”
• Anthony Pasquale (MLB.com*): Christopher Morel, Yan Gomes show they deserve playing time in ‘23. “... players like Morel and Gomes are still using September as an audition for what they can bring in 2023.”
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Hoerner, Cubs on ‘same page’ about 2022 return. “He’s played 125 games at a demanding position — and played it well.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): It was “clear” to Jackson Frazier that any potential future with the Cubs was over as soon as he was DFA’d. “Frazier wonders why the Cubs signed him in the first place if they weren’t going to give him much of a chance, saying that he had other options.”
• Michael Brakebill (Cubbies Crib*): 4 prospects the Cubs must protect from the Rule 5 draft at all costs. “With all that is going right for the Cubs in the minor leagues now, navigating the road of protecting the right prospects and which to leave open to the Rule 5 draft will be a critical task for Jed Hoyer and the front office.”

Food for Thought:

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