Chicago Cubs: Top 3 Cubs rumors that may be true

Chicago Cubs: Will Brandon Morrow return and challenge?

If there’s one Cubs pitcher that fans have a bit of a gripe with and for a good reason, it’s Brandon Morrow.  Morrow came to Chicago, a victim of his own success.  Morrow had pitched some fantastic stuff in the World Series and against the Cubs in the 2017 postseason.

What no one knew was that Morrow was already seriously injured, and although he passed his physical to join the Cubs in 2018, his arm was in no real shape to pitch anything.

Yet he did pitch in 35 games and finished 30 of them with 31 strikeouts and a 1.47 ERA.  After that, Morrow couldn’t throw the ball any longer the way he used to. In 2019, Morrow had surgery and tried to recover again, hopefully in time to help the Cubs, but he couldn’t get there and so all the sightings of Morrow at the end of last season, never developed into any appearance on the mound for the Cubs.

The Cubs were ready to part ways with Morrow (understandably) when the decision was made to offer him a substantially lower-paying minor league deal with tons of incentives to get back to the mound.

It’s the kind of deal that Morrow should have gotten the first time around, and he and the Cubs both know it, but – water under the bridge. The Cubs are thinking, “We already invested so much time and money in this guy to get him back on the mound, and he’s dangerously close to being there. Why not let the horse finish the race and see if he’s got one last lap in him?

So Morrow continued to train and work in the offseason and has ‘shown up’ to Spring Training.

What about the rumor of Morrow challenging Cubs closer, Craig Kimbrel for his job?

The Cubs already blew the Morrow investment. They put a lot of money into a guy who didn’t play. They are not about to blow the Kimbrel investment by playing Morrow now and sitting Kimbrel. Think of Morrow more as veteran support and relief, and he might surprise his critics this season. What I’m most afraid of is the typical Morrow scenario where he comes in and pitches one dynamite inning for the Cubs, and then he’s back on the injured list – again.

Can Morrow make a difference?

If Morrow can stay healthy, he will begin to earn some of those incentives and, of course, will take the pressure off closer Craig Kimbrel. This scenario will give the Cubs an All-Star caliber closer, ready on the bench to back up Kimbrel.

If it works, the Cubs closing pitching could be the deadliest in the game with the Kimbrel-Morrow combination. If Morrow can show some longevity without injury, then I think the Cubs will have won a significant victory and saved millions of dollars.

If Morrow’s health takes a dive, then nothing ventured, nothing gained for the Cubs who still have an All-Star closer in Kimbrel.

Everyone in Chicago is buzzing about who will be the next leadoff hitter in 2020? Let’s put some truth behind the rumors.

Chicago Cubs: Who will be the Cubs 2020 leadoff hitter?

Fans are buzzing because they would love to know what Ross is thinking about the Chicago Cubs candidates for the leadoff hitter spot in 2020? Looking down the Cubs roster, Ross has got more than a handful of veteran and power options to consider for a leadoff hitter.

Some of the obvious choices for the coveted role have been first baseman Anthony Rizzo, centerfielder Albert Almora Jr., or right fielder Jason Heyward. Leadoff hitter rumors have also swirled around outfielder Ian Happ and utility player David Bote as well.

So which rumor has the most truth?

Until yesterday, rumors that Anthony Rizzo would return to the leadoff hitter position were almost assuredly true. Rizzo had said before that it’s not his favorite thing to do, and he prefers to bat third or fourth. But Rizzo said he would be and do whatever the Cubs asked of him to help the team win.

Rizzo knows that he can do it and has the stats to back it up. That doesn’t mean. However, new manager David Ross won’t fan the flames of manipulation to keep opponents off his thought process and sew a little chaos himself like Tim Stebbins reported earlier this month for NBC Sports Chicago Infinity:

“I’m still gonna look at it. We’ve got some options, just playing things over my head,” Ross said. “Wait to see how some of the at-bats go in spring for sure, see how some of these guys look. I’ve got a couple guys in mind — I’m not ready to publicly announce.”

This, of course, is part of the trickery, deception folks, as Ross already knew that he was going to name third baseman, Kris Bryant, to the leadoff hitter. Ross is spending a lot of time on Bryant this spring. First, he doesn’t want Bryant to feel alienated on the team like he’s about to be traded out the door.

So why not give Bryant a role that speaks to longevity even though Bryant can still be traded tomorrow? Additionally, Ross has been wondering what he can do to get Bryant to prove himself to his team and the Cubs? Bryant already told the world that he wanted to be a Cub and that he’s never said anything different. Well now Grandpa Ross has an excellent way to prove that’s true and show everyone that Bryant’s all-Cub; make Bryant the leadoff hitter as ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported Ross as saying:

“That was part of the conversation we had,” Ross said. “This is a commitment on his part. It’s really easy to change the lineup in my seat, but I think that screams panic when you start to change all that. This is one of the best players in baseball, and how he goes about his business I want representing our team night in and night out. He’s on board with that.”

What about Rizzo?

Rizzo will bat right behind Bryant in the second spot. Rizzo has proven that in 58 games and 244 plate appearances as the Cubs first weapon (leadoff hitter), Rizzo has a .335/.426/.602 slash line with 14 dingers.

So he is well capable of batting first, second, or in any spot Ross wants him.  All those rumors floating around about the leadoff hitter being undecided are pretty much hogwash. Bryant will be back in 2020, smashing the ball around Wrigley Field and ballparks across the U.S. as the Chicago Cubs leadoff hitter.

What does this mean when some of the biggest rumors are still circling around Cubs third baseman, Kris Bryant, and getting traded?

Chicago Cubs: The ‘Winter of Bryant’

If I could name this offseason, it would be the ‘Winter of Bryant’. Kris Bryant, that is, the third baseman for the Chicago Cubs. Since the 2019 season ended, every second of the day, the internet has been humming with stories about the humble third baseman and every aspect of his life.

We went through the baby announcement (congrats btw!). Then Bryant was in the news because of the grievance hearings and then the long-awaited decision. There were minor appearances at the Chicago Cubs Convention, and then there was Chicago Cubs news. Chicago was considering during the winter meetings, trading Bryant to the Atlanta Braves or Philadelphia Phillies. There was other talk by the Cubs that nothing was off the table and then came a possible deal for Colorado Rockies All-Star, Nolan Arenado.

The rumors have been so heavy that it was almost expected that Arenado, who has been alienated by his former team, would be a holdout at the Colorado Rockies Spring Training so he could give the Cubs every chance to create the offer.

Alas, folks, this rumor is false.

Arenado showed up for Rockies camp, and it looks like Ross has done some talking with Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein. It is most likely that Ross went to bat for his Bryant and told Epstein to leave him alone; cause he needs Bryant to win.

I’m betting that part of that conversation with Epstein was Ross relaying his plan to make Bryant the Cubs’ new leadoff hitter. What better way to convince the boss that you do value the player?

The baseball season has just begun, and there are more Cubs rumors around the corner.