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Conflicting reports send Cubs fans into a frenzy over star pitcher signing

Eric Cole
Eric Cole

Cubbies Crib

San Francisco Giants v Arizona Diamondbacks / Norm Hall/GettyImages

The Chicago Cubs need to make a real push this offseason if they want to keep pace in the NL Central. The Pirates seem to have woken up all of a sudden and could be active this offseason, the Cardinals are regrouping, and the Brewers continue to be the class of the division despite operating with far less cash at their disposal. Chicago has already been mentioned in a number of trade rumors so far this offseason, but now it appears as though they are about to finally strike.

Rotation help was on the Cubs' wishlist this offseason, but it was unclear exactly how aggressive the team would be to reinforce the starting pitcher crew given that Shota Imanaga did end up returning. For months, it felt like Chicago coveted Zac Gallen, but so did the rest of the league and they were unable to get a deal done...until now.

On Saturday, USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported that the Cubs are close to a deal with Gallen on a four year deal. However, things took a bit of a turn when that reporting got almost immediately debunked.

The Cubs were really close to signing Zac Gallen...until they weren't

Nightegale first had enough to report that he was comfortable putting years and figures out there for public consumption. However, as soon as he did, multiple reports emerged that a deal was not done and wasn't even considered to be close to done. Classic Boob striking again.

While it is funny to point and make fun of Nightengale when he jumps the gun and getting reporting wrong, it does seem like the Cubs are in serious talks with Gallen and a deal could still easily get done. However, Chicago cannot be thrilled that the news broke before they had a deal. Now, the rest of the league knows what the Cubs have on the table and can potentially beat it.

Other than being a reminder of the perils of the real-time news cycle that exists everywhere these day, this situation also serves to remind us that this weekend is going to be the start of a LOT of rumors. Not all of them will end up true or get to the finish line, but the offseason is about to get very busy in a hurry.

Eric Cole

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.