Cub Tracks’ hash and rehash

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.

We live in interesting times, Buster. Everyone has the same stuff to write about. Besides, I cover the coverage. Brett Taylor writes that Jesse Rogers says Pete Alonso wants to come to the Cubs. Oh, how fun. I’m willing to see it happen. Especially if the Cubs #signbellinger like Bruce Levine envisions. Nice one-two punch. Makes the Cubs awfully right-handed, though. More below about that, and more Bellinger talk and various and sundry other entertainments for an early fall day.

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“Pete Alonso is on their radar. There’s no doubt about it. Here’s the reason: he wants to come here,” he told ESPN’s “Kap and J. Hood” show on Tuesday. “From what I’ve been told…is he’s surveyed now that the Mets have been broken up, and saw that the Cubs don’t have a first baseman ready to rock and roll. They have a pretty good team, and a great market. I think that he wants to come here as much as they want him.” — Jesse Rogers.

“The Cubs aren’t really in a position to wait things out, so it’s possible they’ll move on with their roster construction before Bellinger has made his choice.” — Evan Altman.

• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Rob Manfred says ending blackouts is ‘business objective no. 1 at MLB’. “Whatever exclusivity we give to a particular cable provider, we ought to be able to go side-by-side with a digital product so that people are not blacked out,” Manfred told the Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast.
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune*): David Ross will be back for Year 5 as Chicago Cubs manager. It should be a make-or-break season. “He’s not a new manager anymore,” Hoyer said.
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): If Cubs are serious about next step, luxury tax and higher payroll should not be issues. “Signing Cody Bellinger to the biggest contract in franchise history would only be a first step toward getting back onto the wild-card bubble.”
• James Neveau (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cody Bellinger, Marcus Stroman highlight Cubs’ potential free agents. “... a breakdown of the players from the 2023 Cubs that could find themselves on the free agent market after the World Series ends.”
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): What does the future hold for Kyle Hendricks and the Cubs? “The Professor” has been a mainstay in the Cubs rotation for a decade now... Peter Marzano has thoughts.
• James Neveau (NBC Sports Chicago*): Pete Alonso ‘wants to come’ to Cubs: report. Bruce Levine says so, too. Evan Altman has thoughts.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Will Bellinger return to Chicago? Here’s what Cubs, Hoyer say. “We love Cody. I think he likes it here,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “He’s set himself up — him and his family — for a real good opportunity. And if we don’t have him here, it’s going to be on somebody else to produce, right?” Sahadev Sharma says... “We’d love to bring him back.”{$}. Mike McGraw has a think. Brett Taylor says it’ll take months. Jordan Campbell sets the stage.
• Jacob Misener (Cubbies Crib*): First year of Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ extensions brought solid results for the Cubs. “Both recipients of contract extensions this spring, both played a key role for Chicago in 2023.”

Food for Thought:

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