The Rundown: Now We Wait, Relief Market Thinning, Nostalgia Bomb Concerts

The Winter Meetings have been over for a few days now, but we’re still not past the typically refractory period that follows. Even though the annual summit isn’t quite the same as it once was in terms of deals being consummated, agents and team execs are working around the clock at a frenzied pace for 3-4 days. It’s like the requisite training/prep montage in any sports or battle movie, whether it’s Rocky prepping for Drago or Dutch getting ready to face the Predator.

Most teams, Cubs included, were merely laying the groundwork for what will happen over the next several weeks. CI’s Jacob Zanolla and Blake Cowell were there to cover it all, and I’d wager their experience was not at all dissimilar to most front office members. I’m not sure I’ve got the stamina for it these days, but having a pair of young go-getters in Orlando was great for the site and probably for them personally. While they were able to generate a lot of written content and video recaps, they also got a chance to network with lots of folks in the industry.

I’m really proud of those two for the work they’ve done here at CI so far, and I have no doubt they’ll move on to bigger and better things sooner or later.

Despite what a lot of Cubs fans see as inactivity from their favorite team, there is plenty going on below the surface. Eight of this winter’s top 10 free agents per MLB Trade Rumors remain unsigned as of this writing, and four of the next 10 are still on the market. Of the remaining 30, my unofficial count shows 21 awaiting deals. I understand the desire to see the Cubs go big, but do you want them to overpay for guys just to satiate your need for action?

We could see some moves made here in the next week or two, after which things usually slow down a little for the holidays. I personally like that because it gives me a chance to recharge a battery that holds juice about as well as an old iPhone at this point. Speaking of which, I’m going to be laid up for a while due to a minor medical procedure. Hope it doesn’t keep me from accompanying my son to a prospect camp at Olivet Nazarene University tomorrow.

Relievers Are Hot Commodity

Like the hottest toys each Christmas season, high-leverage relievers are being pulled off the shelf at prices that have tended to exceed expectations. Jed Hoyer isn’t the type of parent to wait in line or stalk a store’s loading dock to find out when the next drop is coming; he’s more prone to cruising the aisles to see if something may have been misplaced or pushed back out of sight. He’s not above buying last year’s model or checking for any open-box items that have been discounted.

That doesn’t mean he will never pay full freight for a free agent, but the nature of relievers is that doing so doesn’t always pay off. Just look at Tanner Scott, who the Cubs failed to get last year when they were unwilling to match the Dodgers’ fourth year. The lefty closer pitched his fewest innings (57) and had his highest ERA (4.74) since 2021 while also allowing as many homers (11) as he had in the last three seasons combined.

While he could very well bounce back, Scott served as a cautionary tale for stretching beyond what might be considered reasonable for one of the most fickle roles in professional sports. That’s why the Cubs tread so carefully when it comes to their bullpen construction, and it’s also why they’ve maintained such a strong pipeline with Tread Athletics. Familiarity matters, and they’re very comfortable with the development methods Tread employs.

There’s also the matter of workload and style, with the Cubs often targeting pitchers with cutty tendencies who have either low mileage on their arms or who’ve shown themselves to be durable. The greatest ability is often availability, but there’s also something to be said for having plenty of bullets remaining. There’s a decidedly non-zero injury risk for any pitcher, so finding guys who’ve dealt with injuries in the past may help to mitigate some of that risk by keeping their cost low.

In Phil Maton and Hoby Milner, the Cubs added a pair of relievers who have averaged just over 67 appearances per season over the last four years. But since neither of them throws harder than 91 mph, now might be a good time to get a guy with a bigger fastball and a slightly more checkered past. Brad Keller actually fits that bill quite nicely, what with his late breakout following a rather disappointing track record over parts of seven seasons spent mostly as a starter.

The problem is that Keller is kind of like what some of you might remember with Beanie Babies, Cabbage Patch Kids, or Tickle Me Elmo. Dude is sought after, perhaps as a candidate to return to someone’s rotation. And though I’d caution strongly against that, especially when his velo jump was largely a product of his role, I can see it earning him more money than what he otherwise might be worth.

Pete Fairbanks and Luke Weaver stand out as the next-best options, though the former seems to be drawing lots of attention. Submariner Tyler Rogers is an interesting option, not only because the Cubs employed his twin for the second half of 2025, and certainly fits with Hoyer’s affection for funky arm angles mixed with an intense hatred for elite velocity.

I still think the Cubs would prefer to invest more significant money into the rotation while maintaining more of a budget bullpen strategy, but we’ll see what the market dictates.

Nostalgia Bomb Concerts

Sorry for the dearth of news coverage today, but there really isn’t much going on that is worth covering. That, and I just realized I’m well behind in my prep work for other items on my agenda for the day. One of those was buying tickets to see Guns N’ Roses perform with Public Enemy this summer. GNR is touring North America with a variety of supporting acts that also includes Ice Cube, The Black Crowes, and Pierce The Veil. PE is doing the most shows, with Tinley Park and St. Louis being the closest to us.

I was hoping to do the Chicagoland show, but it’s on a Wednesday night that also happens to be the first day of my son’s senior year of high school. And since he’s coming with me, it made much more sense to do St. Louis on a Sunday. Kinda wild that he’s really excited to see both groups when their respective heydays came a decade or two before he was born, but it’s cool for me as a dad.

I didn’t get to go to many concerts as a kid, maybe just one or two, so I’m more than happy to put myself at ground zero for nostalgia bombs. My next show is the I Love the 90’s Tour featuring Vanilla Ice, Young MC, Rob Bass, and Color Me Badd. About a month later, my wife and I are seeing Blues Traveler and Gin Blossoms. Sometimes it’s good to just let go and have some fun.

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