The Rundown: Cubs Need Pitching Punch, Tigers ‘Lukewarm’ on Bregman, Two Pitchers Retire, CI’s Top Articles of 2025

We’re nearly out of the baseball doldrums, but it’s looking like it’ll be 2026 before the Cubs give us anything significant to write about. While we wait to see whether my words serve as a laxative for the sluggish offseason, might I suggest a daily Metamucil regimen to those who aren’t already following one? I have found that a morning cocktail of fiber, super greens, super reds, and collagen peptides is the best way to start my day. Oh, and a big cup of coffee.

Getting quality sleep is a must as well, though I was unable to crash early due to the Bears’ shootout last night. That’s the second time in less than a month that they’ve had a chance to win on the last play of the game, and they’ve authored six comeback wins in the last two minutes of the game. If only they had a defense that was good at something other than taking the ball away. I would love to see Ryan Poles figure out a way to acquire Myles Garrett or Maxx Crosby this offseason, though they still need to address their run defense as well.

The Cubs certainly aren’t worried about their defense, what with Gold Glove-caliber defenders all over the diamond. However, the current group of starters working in front of those position players leaves a bit to be desired. Outside of Cade Horton, there’s no one in the rotation who inspires a ton of confidence.

Justin Steele‘s return date is still unknown, as is his effectiveness following a second elbow surgery. Shōta Imanaga needs to bounce back in a big way after falling apart down the stretch; Matthew Boyd was great, but he’s about to turn 35 and just pitched nearly 56 more innings than he had in the three previous seasons combined. Then you’ve got Jameson Taillon, who was unable to reach 130 innings due to a pair of IL stints.

Colin Rea and Javier Assad provide decent depth and have proven they can fill in for long stretches if needed, but no one other than Horton is scary. That doesn’t mean they can’t all be effective in their own ways, just that it’s not a rotation that can carry you through the postseason. Cubs starters were really good at not beating themselves, as evidenced by an MLB-best 6.2% walk rate and eighth-best 3.83 ERA. The problem is that their 14.4% K/BB rate ranked 14th, their 20.5% K rate was 23rd, and their 93.4 mph average fastball was 24th.

Rather than trying to find a magic bullet, Jed Hoyer needs to load up on ammo to get his team better prepared for October baseball. Tatsuya Imai remains the best way to do that, though his price tag could very easily end up scaring the Cubs away. If Imai goes elsewhere, improving the rotation through free agency may not be in the cards. Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez, and Zac Gallen have all been connected to the Cubs this winter, but none offer more than modest improvement at what figures of at least $20 million AAV apiece.

Hoyer tends to operate like a slap hitter, choking up for contact rather than taking big swings, but we’ve seen him stretch beyond his comfort zone at times. The Kyle Tucker trade stands out as a G-hack and Hoyer should be lauded for the effort, even if it ended up as a warning-track fly ball. The recent acquisition of hard-throwing reliever Hunter Henry is another gamble, albeit much smaller, that signals a potential change in tack.

With full understanding that his budget is constrained by a number of different business operations decisions, Hoyer has to find more ways to increase the risk profile of his moves. As good as he’s been at raising the roster’s floor, only a higher ceiling will bring the kind of success fans need to see.

Tigers Not Pursuing Bregman

According to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, the Tigers are not among the teams pursuing Alex Bregman. At least not yet. Petzold characterized the interest as “lukewarm,” saying the Tigers have not been engaged lately. The Cubs, Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Diamondbacks have remained active, with several reports installing the latter team as a legitimate contender.

I could very well be proven wrong on this take, but I still don’t see how Bregman improves the Cubs — or any team — enough to warrant the contract he’s seeking. Unless ownership is willing to blow through the first luxury tax penalty level, I just can’t see how Bregman at $25-30 million a year turns the Cubs into World Series contenders.

Top Articles

Would you believe that eight of our top 10 most-viewed posts of 2025 came in January and February? Well, they did. As it turns out, people would much rather read about what might be than what is or was. To wit, half of the articles below focused on Bregman.

10) Cubs made offer to Tanner Scott (1/19)
9) Nico Hoerner trade options if Cubs sign Bregman (2/6)
8) Cubs discussed trades with A’s, D-backs (7/19)
7) Kyle Finnegan rumor (1/13)
6) Bregman contract projection (2/11)
5) Cubs offer Bregman a contract (2/4)
4) Rundown with Bregman rumor (2/5)
3) Hoyer regrets Kyle Schwarber non-tender (1/16)
2) Another Bregman rumor (1/2)
1) Willson Contreras apologizes for saying mean things about Cubs (4/22)

Other News & Notes

• Lefty Andrew Heaney announced his retirement via social media on Sunday.
• Righty Joe Kelly, who last pitched for the Dodgers in 2024, told Rob Bradford on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast that he is done playing. Kelly refused to say he was retiring, as that should be reserved for people who work “real jobs” and whatnot.
• Zach Eflin signed a one-year, $10 million Baltimore, where he pitched last year. It was a pretty disastrous season, but he pitched well in two previous campaigns for the Orioles and Rays.
• Though it has not yet been made official, the Pirates signed slugging 1B/OF Ryan O’Hearn to a two-year, $29 million deal that stands as the largest free agent deal for a position player in club history.

Big Snakes on Screen

I saw the new Anaconda movie on Friday, then saw Billy Bob Thornton hang dong (almost certainly with a prosthesis, a la Mark Wahlberg in Boogie Nights) in the seventh episode of Landman’s second season. I guess it wasn’t really hanging since the whole joke was that his character had popped too much Viagra, but whatever. The episode was a little saccharine, bordering on maudlin, but it sure opened with a heavy dose of that overt Taylor Sheridan horniness.

As for Anaconda, I have to say I really enjoyed the campy meta-ness of the whole thing. It was winking at the audience the whole time, never taking itself nearly as seriously as the original to which it both praised and lampooned. I actually watched the OG version the following day, laughing the whole time. Sometimes it’s best to just enjoy things without worrying about whether they’re actually good.