Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What will the Cubs' starting rotation look like for the 2026 season?
I mean, I think the important part of it is just, again, it's like a foundational piece of it. It's like it's in us. So that part of it is in us. That experience is in us. With a lot of this group, that experience is in us. That's the important part of it. It doesn't, I don't think it's going to do anything for us this year necessarily on the field.
But for the group, it's kind of in us collectively as an experience. And I think that part's important.
Molly and Haw, Brad Biggs in for David this morning, and you're the right guy to be here because Biggs, he is one of the all-time baseball fans. Everybody knows how good you are with football. Maybe people don't realize that you've been a lifelong baseball fan. You're a baseball player. I've seen your card as a pitcher, and... And you love the game.
Chapter 2: How much playing time can we expect for Matt Shaw this season?
And we just heard from Craig Council, that is, of course, the Cubs manager. Want to give a shout out to everyone, the audience watching us on CHSN. Got the hat on this morning, Brad. Appreciate it. Anytime anyone gives me anything for free, I will wear it immediately. I'm like a walking billboard in a way. There you go. But you love baseball. You've been to plenty of minor league parks.
Have you been to every park in Major League Baseball? All of them? No, I've been to almost all of them. Oh, I know. So you hear from Craig Council, and he's talking about, and we know that every season is different and the carryover is limited. But I'm curious, when you have...
Chapter 3: What were the recent trade talks between the Cubs and Red Sox?
a run like they had last year. And this applies to the Bears, quite frankly, because you saw the same thing. You saw the crowd out at Soldier Field, the way they reacted. Certainly you saw that with the Cubs at Wrigley. It was absolutely incredible, the atmosphere for a playoff game at Wrigley Field in Chicago, both places. I'm wondering, when you look at that, is the carryover effect,
that, man, it's super cool. These people deserve it. I'm glad I'm here. Or is it, can you believe those guys took a photo with an L sign and we owe them one? Because that happened in the aftermath of the thing. But it felt like the Cubs, it was great they made the playoffs, but it felt like they didn't get enough done in the playoffs, right? It felt like they could have gotten farther.
Yeah, I think the better team won that series, but that's last year. They've got high expectations this year, and they should.
Chapter 4: What are the expectations for Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga after a disappointing 2025 season?
And you look around the division and you say, this thing's set up... for them to win it. You said that last year. I mean, we thought last year that that was the end of the run for the Brewers. But the Brewers, they traded Freddy Peralta. I know. Who did they trade the year before? Devin Williams. The shortstop, the closer. I'm just saying.
And they just reload, and they've got more young guys in the pipeline coming up. Okay. Here's one thing I'm curious about. Is there any impact from yesterday's move in Baltimore where the Orioles signed Chris Bassett to a one-year deal for roughly $18 million because the Cubs have been linked. I think Bob Nightingale, who's...
Chapter 5: How does Shota Imanaga's performance impact the Cubs' pitching strategy?
but on the show from time to time have been linked to Zach Gallin. Zach Gallin. There are four teams after him. The Orioles are one of them. Yeah, so now you're down to three. If all the reports are accurate, the Cubs, the Padres, and the Diamondbacks, Gallin turned down a qualifying offer of $22 million for this season. He's represented by Scott Boras. Boras...
Generally does very, very well for his clients, for the players he represents. When you're in that negotiation game, you don't necessarily win all of them. I don't know if he's in a spot where he can win with Gallin. Gallin last year in the first half was bloody awful. And it even bled over, I think, into the second half. In the first half last season for the Diamondbacks, his ERA was 540.
He gave up 21 points.
Chapter 6: What adjustments does Matt Shaw need to make to succeed in the major leagues?
home runs in the first half alone. In the second half, the ERA was 397 for just a touch under four. You can live with that. Got it down to 10 long balls, but he gave up 31 home runs for the season. He's 30 years old. Strikeout percentage dropped this past season. Fly balls went up. Did he figure it out in the second half? I mean, he's a veteran. He's been around.
He's pitched at a high level for a while. But this past season was not a high level. What is the market for him? Is it a one-year deal to reestablish his value? Yeah.
Chapter 7: What role could Matt Shaw play in the Cubs' lineup this season?
The problem is he's apparently looking for a multi-year deal, right? We've heard that he wants at least three years. And I think when you talk about the money he turned down, doesn't it start with more money than that? Isn't that starting point per year? 23 a year? You would think that Boris is aiming for that? Yeah. I don't know what's going to be there, but I do know that Baltimore's
No longer an option. They're out of it. Yeah, and I think in the Cubs, you look at the starting staff because that was a huge question I think if you were honestly evaluating the Cubs, who had a fantastic start to the season last year, April and May, you looked at it and you said, how's this starting pitching going to hold up over the course of the season?
And they've got guys now that if they're healthy, all of them, you look at it and you say, okay, yeah, I feel pretty good about that. But Boyd, Cabrera, Tyon, I mean, Imanaga missed a good chunk of time last year. And then Horton, hopefully, because he was electric.
Chapter 8: How does the Cubs' roster depth affect their pitching and batting strategies?
Absolutely electric. And that's David's guy.
He really believes that he's going to be.
No bad words about Cade Horton allowed on this show. But you need seven or eight starters. Yes. And they've got a lot. There's more depth than just those guys. How would you line them up? Who's your opening day starter? Did Matthew Boyd do enough to become an opening day starter? Yeah, I mean, maybe you give it to him. J-Mo was there forever.
It's not Shota, not after what happened at the end of the year. No, it's not Shota. I don't know if you want to put that on. Cade Horton? Maybe if you want to put that on him, maybe a tip of the cap to Boyd. Some of that stuff like opening day starter, it's a nice talking piece. Guess what? Five of them are going to get their turn, and then you're going to do it all over again.
You're not talking about setting up your rotation for the postseason. What they need is Horton to take that ā sort of next step.
What is the next step for him?
Well, I think that's going out and... More innings, right? Yeah, I think that's going out and putting up 170 innings. If he can pitch the way he pitched, it's perfect, but it would be great if you could get him regularly beyond that. Yeah, Edward Cabrera... Is Cabrera the opening day starter? No, no, no, no. Never.
No, but he's a guy that has the toolbox to, you say, maybe down the road... Turn into an ace for you. Or, you know what, if he turns into a number three that you've got for a couple years... That's a really good move for you. You're winning that trade by a slam dunk because, you know, Owen Casey, like that.
If Owen Casey had been good enough, I really believe they'd have brought him up and played him. He would have played last season. That's what I'm saying.
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