Cubs News: Veteran outfielder sticking around, painful trade deadline reminder, Alex Bregman

Chas McCormick signed a minor-league deal with the Chicago Cubs near the start of spring training, and initially, it seemed that he would find his way onto the Opening Day roster. Instead, the final spots on bench went to Dylan Carlson and Michael Conforto.

Carlson is now elsewhere while Conforto likely will be sticking around for the entire season. Meanwhile, McCormick has been playing in Triple-A Iowa, and it doesn't sound like he will be going anywhere.

Chas McCormick could still be an option for the Cubs this season

It would seem that McCormick opted out of his original deal with the Cubs last week, but has since returned on a minor-league deal.

McCormick is putting respectable numbers with Iowa. Not anything that makes him deserving of unseating Justin Dean at the major league level, but enough for the Cubs to keep him around as needed outfield depth at the Triple-A level. He's carrying a wRC+ of 103 through 215 plate appearances.

No, there likely isn't a scenario where McCormick is making appearances of consequence for the Cubs this season. That said, there's possibility that Kevin Alcantara and one of Matt Shaw or Pedro Ramirez are traded before the deadline. If that's the case, McCormick could be an option to slide into a role on the bench.

Cubs will need to step outside their comfort zone at the 2026 trade deadline

For the Cubs, things are feeling all too familiar to the 2025 trade deadline. The Cubs had a clear need for pitching, were seeking a top-of-the-rotation pitcher, balked at the asking prices, and walked away with Michael Soroka as their biggest move.

The only thing different this year is that the Cubs' need for pitching might be more dire, considering the injuries they have dealt with. That said, it feels entirely possible that the asking prices scare the Cubs once again.

Eventually, Jed Hoyer and Co. will need to prove they are ready to move on from the kiddie table. Yes, there's a chance that making this type of trade could backfire in the long-term for an organization, but''s inexcusable for the front office to be aware of the same need they've had for multiple years and do nothing about it.

Alex Bregman may be starting the hot streak the Cubs have been begging for

It was just yesterday that we suggested the Cubs needed to move Alex Bregman down in the starting lineup. He then went out and collected a pair of RBI and two hits. No, Bregman isn't fully back but for Cubs fans looking for a reason to have hope, his last 17 plate appearances could be a sign of progress.

Bregman has five hits in that stretch, but most importantly, the slug appears to be coming back. He's carrying a slugging percentage of .500 over those 17 appearances, with three of those five hits being doubles. Small sample size, sure, but we'll take it.

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