Headlines

  • Indians, Cesar Hernandez Agree To New Deal
  • Nationals Sign Brad Hand
  • Mets Have Made Offer To Trevor Bauer
  • Astros Re-Sign Michael Brantley
  • Latest On Universal DH, Expanded Playoffs
  • Yankees Trade Adam Ottavino To Red Sox
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Indians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2020-21 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2021
    • 2021 MLB Arbitration Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • Last 100 Comments
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Cubs, Holland, Larkin

By Jeff Todd | September 15, 2015 at 3:18pm CDT

The Cubs and Pirates are squared off in a key double-header today at PNC Park as the teams jockey for position in the NL Central — and, quite possibly, the rights to host an all-or-nothing Wild Card game. Let’s check in on the latest notes from that division and its corresponding grouping from the American League side.

  • Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein says he’s not worried about the possibility of losing front office talent to other organizations this winter, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. “I think we have a pretty tight-knit group, and this is a great time to be a Chicago Cub,” he explained, going on to add that, “but if we do [lose front office staff], I think we have a really deep organization, that there’s another layer ready to step up.” Epstein’s own contractual status is set to move towards the front of the burner for Chicago, of course. He says that he’s not giving any thought to the matter at present, and it’s hard to blame him: with organization’s baseball operations department firing on all cylinders, his leverage only seems to be on the rise.
  • There is some real cause for concern with Royals closer Greg Holland, writes MLB.com’s Mike Petriello. His fastball velocity and spin rate have both fallen off a cliff of late, and a recent ten-day rest did not reverse the trend. That not only creates questions the rest of the way for the World Series-hopeful Royals, but adds to the offseason intrigue for the 29-year-old righty. Kansas City already has a ton of cash (relative to its overall payroll) committed to the pen, and Holland will line up for a raise on his $8.25MM salary in his final year of arbitration. He had seemed a plausible trade candidate, but will need to answer some questions over the final weeks of the season and the postseason before his offseason outlook can be assessed.
  • Former Reds great Barry Larkin has seen his name mentioned frequently as a hypothetical candidate to take over in the Cincinnati dugout, though it’s not clear yet whether Bryan Price will be retained for 2016. Larkin said today on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link) that he interviewed for the Rays job last year and had preliminary discussions about the Tigers’ most recent opening, which at least gives credence to the idea that the Hall-of-Famer has interest in such a position.
Share 4 Retweet 37 Send via email0

Chicago Cubs Cincinnati Reds Detroit Tigers Greg Holland Kansas City Royals Tampa Bay Rays

MLBTR Chat Transcript
Main
East Notes: Cespedes, Hutchison, Parmelee
5 comments
newest oldest

Comments

  1. cosmo1

    5 years ago

    Epstein & co. have done a great job overall from day one, and are actually prbly ahead of schedule with an elite ML team coming together this year. Sorry to say tho, they passed on opportunities to shore up the bullpen during the season, and that will prove to be their undoing in October.

    Like
    Reply
    • Larry

      5 years ago

      Yeah, I agree. I believe even the Cubs admit to be one year ahead of schedule (Lester signing moved up the timeline). The Cubs undoing, as we approach October, is going to be their rotation. Beyond Lester and Arrieta, it is not a rotation capable of carrying the Cubs very deep into the playoffs.

      Like
      Reply
  2. Thebare54

    5 years ago

    The Cubs only need David price and Fowler if he take a 2 year contract to the team that raised his value. We don’t need Zoberst we have Baez for infield,Coglin for the Outfield. -Get the Price is right but Grenke great plan B

    Like
    Reply
  3. Thebare54

    5 years ago

    I think the Cubs need to keep the team and staff together but most add David Price and put Hyde in the front office move Ryan Sandberg to First and move Manny Ramieze on Firstbase coach. That Cub team would be awesome in 2016

    Like
    Reply
  4. Frank Richard

    5 years ago

    Another starter and bullpen help have to be on the Cubs offseason list. As well as either resigning Austin Jackson or Dexter Fowler, but my guess is Fowler is gone for greener pastures. The Cubs have so much depth and the ability to move guys around that a Zobrist signing doesn’t seem necessary unless they still feel they need more veteran leadership.

    Like
    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Indians, Cesar Hernandez Agree To New Deal

    Nationals Sign Brad Hand

    Mets Have Made Offer To Trevor Bauer

    Astros Re-Sign Michael Brantley

    Latest On Universal DH, Expanded Playoffs

    Yankees Trade Adam Ottavino To Red Sox

    Yankees Acquire Jameson Taillon

    Astros Sign Jason Castro

    Red Sox To Sign Garrett Richards

    Blue Jays Sign George Springer

    Recent

    Indians, Cesar Hernandez Agree To New Deal

    AL Central Notes: Indians, Rosario, Bradley, Brebbia, Tigers

    Nationals Sign Brad Hand

    Mets Have Made Offer To Trevor Bauer

    Phillies, Bryan Mitchell Agree To Minor League Deal

    Masahiro Tanaka In Negotiations To Return To Rakuten Eagles

    Quick Hits: Dodgers, Blue Jays, Turner, Nationals, MASN, Mets, Minaya

    Minor MLB Transactions: 1/25/21

    Shortstop Notes: Simmons, Story, Polanco

    Astros Re-Sign Michael Brantley

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Trevor Bauer Rumors
    • Kris Bryant Rumors
    • J.T. Realmuto Rumors
    • Marcell Ozuna Rumors
    • Masahiro Tanaka Rumors
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • 2020-21 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2021
    • 2021 MLB Arbitration Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Indians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version