Saturday, April 11, 2026
✶ Untold Chicago Stories ✶ Amazon Music
Home Blog Page 2906

Cubs Take A Chance On Former 2nd Overall Pick

By
Aldo Soto
-

The Chicago Cubs are no strangers to signing reclamation projects and that’s the case with former second over all pick Danny Hultzen.

The left-handed pitcher was taken second in the 2011 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners. However, because of two major shoulder surgeries the 28-year-old has never made it to the major-league level. Hultzen hasn’t pitched since 2016, and is now trying to make a comeback. The Cubs are giving him that chance, signing him to a deal according to the Chicago Tribune.

Hultzen had an incredible college career at Virginia, winning freshman of the year, then pitcher of the year and finally the John Olerud Award, which is given to the best two-way player in college. The Mariners drafted him second, behind Gerrit Cole and he immediately signed a five-year, $8.5 million deal that included a signing bonus of $6.35 million.

The lefty had a 3.05 ERA in 124 innings in the minors in 2012, but unfortunately a shoulder injury made him miss almost all of 2013. He had surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff that kept him out of action for all of 2014. Since then, Hultzen has only pitched in 10 innings and in 2017 he didn’t pitch at all, as he went back to Virginia to finish his college degree.

The starting pitcher has a lot of arms ahead of him in the Cubs organization and the chance he ever sees time in the big leagues with them are slim. Yet, there’s no doubt he has the talent, as he was also drafted out of high school in 2008 from the Arizona Diamondbacks before electing to go to college instead of signing right away. Before 2012, Hultzen was ranked as high as the No. 16 prospect in MLB.

Will Hultzen be able to stay healthy? That’s obviously the big question and with no risk involved the Cubs will certainly wait to find out the answer.

Jake Burger Suffers Achilles Injury In Spring Training Game

By
Emmet McClain
-

Jake Burger has been a huge bright spot for the White Sox early on in Spring Training. Already having a triple, he roped a double in today’s game and made a great play at third.

Then disaster struck.

Burger hit a soft chopper and was flying down the line in an attempt to beat out the throw when he stepped awkwardly and his leg gave out. He immediately clutched his left ankle and was obviously in considerable pain.

Burger couldn’t put any weight on his leg and had to be carted off the field. So far we know it is an Achilles injury, but the severity of it is still unknown. If it is a complete tear, then he could miss anywhere from 6-9 months.

It looks like Burger will be out for a significant time regardless of the severity. All fans can do is hope it isn’t a true season ender.

Victor Caratini Line Drive Knocks Felix Hernandez Out Of Game

By
Aldo Soto
-

The primary goal for all 30 MLB teams during spring training is to leave either Arizona or Florida healthy. Unfortunately that’s not always the case and for the Seattle Mariners, Monday’s game against the Chicago Cubs is otherwise meaningless if it wasn’t for what happened to Felix Hernandez.

The six-time all-star and 2010 American League Cy Young Award winner left Monday’s game after being struck by a Victor Caratini line drive in the second inning at Sloan Park. Seattle’s trainer immediately raced out to check on the pitcher, who walked off in pain.

The hot smash hit Hernandez on his pitching arm and he was certainly upset walking back to the clubhouse.

You can see the video of the play here.

In the clip you’ll see Hernandez grab at his right elbow. Hopefully it’s nothing serious for the Mariners ace, who was only able to make 16 starts in 2017.

UPDATE:

Good news for Hernandez and the Mariners, as the line drive only resulted in a bruise. Could have been a lot worse.

Wait, Who’s Going To Be The Cubs Backup Catcher?

By
Aldo Soto
-

When the Chicago Cubs signed catcher Chris Gimenez to a minor-league deal some fans immediately made the connection to Yu Darvish. See, when both were with the Texas Rangers, Gimenez caught Darvish and both are close friends. Then, Darvish signed with the Cubs, so Gimenez is guaranteed to be the backup catcher, right? Not so fast.

The following isn’t new, as Joe Maddon talked about the dynamic of who will catch Darvish this season, with Gimenez on board previously having experience with the Japanese star. Gimenez isn’t here just to catch Darvish.

From Cubs.com on Feb. 15.

“I think that’s been overplayed a lot,” Maddon said of the Gimenez-Darvish connection. “Of course, ‘Gimmy’ might catch him but Willson is our guy, Willson’s our catcher, and I want Willson to catch him. It’s never been our plan to match him up exclusively with ‘Gimmy.'”

Willson Contreras has certainly established himself as one of the best catchers in the game and the lineup does suffer without him. So in that respect it makes sense to want to have Contreras behind the plate and feel comfortable with all five of the Cubs starting pitchers.

That Maddon quote led to this though, which really isn’t set in stone.

Over at NBC Sports Chicago, Vinnie Duber, wrote about three questions answered and three questions unanswered through the first couple weeks of spring training for the Cubs. Duber’s third answered question in his article says, “It looks like Victor Caratini will be the backup catcher.”

Here’s the explanation.

But Joe Maddon threw some cold water on the idea that Gimenez would be the guy working with Darvish on a regular basis, and it might have signaled that Gimenez, a nine-year veteran who hit .220 in 74 games with the Minnesota Twins last season, won’t even make the Opening Day roster. Maddon pointed out that Contreras is the Cubs’ catcher and that it’ll be Contreras catching Darvish. The two already worked together during bullpen sessions early in spring training.

So with Gimenez’s main contribution — experience catching Darvish — seemingly unnecessary, wouldn’t it make sense that Victor Caratini will be backing up Contreras? The Cubs like Caratini, he’s been working with Contreras a lot, and he was decent enough at the plate in limited big league time last season, getting 15 hits and reaching base at a .333 clip in 66 plate appearances.

See, the biggest point that works in the favor of Gimenez and against Victor Caratini is age. Maddon loves his backup catcher to be your classic veteran presence in the clubhouse, who can spread his wisdom to other players. We saw that last year, when the Cubs went out and traded for Alex Avila despite already having Caratini up for six weeks.

Ryan Davis of FanRag Sports wrote a great article on what the Cubs can expect from Gimenez after he spoke to some of the catcher’s former Minnesota Twins teammates.

Here’s just a small glimpse of what Gimenez means to a team.

Given that Gimenez hasn’t finished a season on a team with fewer than 85 wins since 2011, it’s fair to say he is what many in baseball would call a “winning player.”

“He was one of the guys who don’t like to lose,” said pitcher Ervin Santana. “He just tries to do everything so that we can win the game. Even though he doesn’t play every day, in the dugout he was pushing everybody.

“In the clubhouse, he always motivates everybody. Even though he doesn’t play every day, he was one of the leaders to look up to.”

Make sure you read the entire story here, which includes some praise for Gimenez from Joe Mauer as well.

Also, while Gimenez isn’t a big offensive threat, he has put up a .344 OBP against left-handed pitching during the last three seasons.

Plus, Caratini would be better off getting regular playing time at Triple-A Iowa rather than sitting on the bench in the Majors and maybe getting a start once a week.

So no, one of the answered questions for the Cubs isn’t that Caratini looks like he’ll be the backup catcher.

Good News If You Don’t Want Kyle Schwarber Leading Off

By
Aldo Soto
-

The Kyle Schwarber experiment as the leadoff hitter for the Chicago Cubs was a disaster in 2017, yet manager Joe Maddon didn’t rule out the lefty returning to that role earlier this offseason. However, with the start of spring training a new trio has emerged as the leading candidates to get the leadoff spot and Cubs GM Jed Hoyer essentially confirmed that Schwarber isn’t part of that group.

Before the Cubs played their first spring training game of 2018, Maddon said he was considering a group of 3-4 players to be the team’s leadoff man. Ian Happ and Albert Almora Jr. have gotten their first look at that spot so far in Cactus League play, but Maddon also said Schwarber may get another shot there as well.

Yet, it doesn’t really sound like Schwarber is in the mix according to Hoyer, who was on The Spiegel and Parkins Show Monday morning.

The Cubs GM was asked what he looks at when deciding who the best fit is at the leadoff spot. Here’s what Hoyer had to say.

The biggest takeaways from that clip:

  • Leadoff hitter has to be comfortable in the role
  • A willingness to be the leadoff hitter
  • Important to not change approach just because you’re the leadoff hitter
  • Can’t let being the leadoff hitter affect the way you’re going to play
  • No mention of Kyle Schwarber

So, that last bullet point is important if you’re in the camp that doesn’t want to see Schwarber go back to being the leadoff hitter. Hoyer brought up Happ, Almora Jr. and Ben Zobrist, but nothing on Schwarber.

In 2017, Schwarber struggled so much that he was demoted to Triple-A Iowa in June. Theo Epstein said Schwarber simply changed as a hitter, looking more like a slugger than what everyone in the organization expected out of the left-handed hitter.

Epstein from June 22, 2017.

Epstein noted Schwarber’s mechanics have been off and that he’s struggling to handle pitches that he would drill the previous two years, such as the high fastball. So

“The answer is not home runs,” Epstein said. “It’s more how consistent his approach, how hitter-ish is, his ability to handle different parts of the zone, hit the ball to all fields, hit line drives, be a tough out — just start to resemble the hitter he’s been his entire life.”

We’ve all seen the amazing transformation Schwarber has gone through the offseason. However, for now it doesn’t appear as though he’ll be back as the Cubs leadoff man.

Back to Happ, Almora and Zobrist. It’s very possible that we see all three get several games each at the leadoff position simply based on the fact that none of them are currently slated as every-day starters. Happ had a great rookie season, but really struggled against left-handed pitching. Almora Jr. hit .298 and had a .338 OBP overall last year, however vs. righties he only had a slash line of .271/.291/.420. There’s a chance those two could platoon in the outfield.

Then there’s Zobrist who already had a setback in spring training, missing the first few days of camp because of a back issue. How much will he even play this year, with Javier Baez establishing himself as the second baseman?

What do you think, who should be the Cubs leadoff hitter in 2018?

NBA Draft Prospect Profile: Mikal Bridges

By
Patrick Mooney
-

With the Bulls holding two first-round picks this year, one almost certainly in the top eight and another likely in the middle of the first, there are plenty of prospects they’ll evaluating between now and draft day.

We took a look at Michigan State center Jaren Jackson Jr. in part 1 of our prospect profile series, now we’ll turn our focus to Villanova shooting guard/small forward Mikal Bridges.

Height: 6’7

Weight: 210 lbs

Wingspan: 7’1

Age: 21 (22 in August)

2017-18 Stats: 17.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 41.8 3P%, 63.9 TS%, 23.0 USG%, 98.3 DRTg

Bridges has had an atypical career path for a lottery prospect. He’s gone from redshirt, to super-sub on Villanova’s 2016 national championship team, to All-American Josh Hart’s sidekick, to centerpiece of the #3 ranked team in the country

Like Jackson, Bridges could potentially fill an immediate position of need. If this current Bulls core is ever going to develop into a serious contender, they will need to add another starting wing as good or better than Zach Lavine.

So the question for the Bulls is, can Bridges be that guy? Does he check all of the boxes?

Defense

At only 6’5, Lavine is strictly a shooting guard, so the Bulls will be looking for a small forward to put next to him. 6’7 is a tad short for the position, but Bridges’ 7’1 wingspan should make up for that. His tape shows that, thanks to his length, he has the potential to be a premier defender at the next level.

Adding a defender like Bridges could go a long way towards masking Lavine’s defensive inefficiencies. The Bulls rank in the bottom five in the NBA in almost every major defensive category, targeting players such as Bridges makes a lot of sense for them.

Athleticism

Yes

Offense

As Bridges’ role has expanded each season, so has his production. He averaged 6.4 points on just 4.1 FGA as a redshirt freshman, then 9.8 points on 6.5 FGA as a starter last season, and now averages 17.2 points on 11.8 FGA. His usage rate has gone from just 14.5 percent as a freshman to 23 percent this season.

The biggest reason for his improvement has been the development of his 3-point shot. He shot 29.9 percent from deep as a freshman, and now he shoots it at a 42 percent clip in almost 6 attempts per game. Needless to say, that type of 3-point efficiency would be of great value for whoever drafts him.

However, despite the on-paper improvements, there is reason to give pause when projecting him at the NBA level as a scorer.

Xavier is the best team Villanova has faced all season, and Bridges’ 25 point performance on the road in a hostile environment was impressive. However, in the clip above, you’ll notice that there is just one instance of him creating his own shot off the dribble. The more tape I watch, the more I notice he’s not much of a creator.

Is using a top 8 pick on a wing that hasn’t shown much evidence he can create his own shot a good investment?

Fit

While there have been outliers (Luol Deng, Derrick Rose, Lauri Markkanen), the Bulls tend to favor older prospects that have shown year-by-year improvement at the college level. Bridges fits that mold to a tee, therefore I expect there to be plenty of interest in him from the Bulls camp.

Having said that, I’d be a little let down if he ended up being the Bulls first pick.

Bridges has a lot of NBA caliber qualities, but he seems to resemble more of a strict 3-and-D type wing, a la Danny Green or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Those are both fine players, undeniably starter-caliber guys. But the Bulls should be looking for a wing to play Batman so Lavine can be Robin, not the other way around.

Maybe the year-by-year improvement we’ve seen him make at the college level continues in the pros, with ballhandling being his next big improvement. Maybe he’ll be able to put 20 lbs of muscle on his frame without losing a step athletically. If he does those things maybe he could be a star. But those are big ifs.

If he’s still available when the Bulls make their second first-round pick, then he’d be a great fit. He could start alongside Lavine right away and then either move to the bench or be traded for a solid return once (well, if) the Bulls eventually add a top-tier small forward.

Final Verdict

There isn’t enough upside in Bridges’ all-around offensive game to justify drafting him in the top eight, especially if any of the top center prospects are still on the board. Unless the Bulls second pick lands at 13, which appears to be the earliest spot that the NO pick could end up at, it’s hard to see Bridges falling to them. Even hoping he falls to 13 feels like a stretch at this point, considering Luka Doncic is the only SG/SF prospect unanimously ranked ahead of him.

Bridges may end up accomplishing a lot in the NBA. I just don’t expect those accomplishments to happen in Chicago.

 

 

 

Jordan Howard Keeps His Promise, Pulls an Alshon Jeffery

By
Erik Lambert
-
jordan howard

Alshon Jeffery promised the Bears would win the Super Bowl this past year before he left for free agency. It was rather convenient when the Philadelphia Eagles, the team he signed with, ended up winning it. He was all too eager to tell people he was right. Never mind the pesky details of switching teams. Either way, it was a bold prediction that he personally saw through for himself and his teammates. Bears running back Jordan Howard certainly took notice of it.

Of course he meant that in jest, right? Howard isn’t prone to making outlandish statements like that. He’s a down-to-earth guy who works hard. All he wants is to help his team win. He’s not interested in personal gain. It seems though he’s begun to embrace a new role. That of a team leader. It shouldn’t be surprising. That’s expected of star players and he’s the best the Bears have on offense.

It appears he didn’t forget that statement after the Super Bowl because, at his first opportunity, he followed Jeffery’s lead.

Jordan Howard declares Bears will make playoffs in 2018

Now Howard is not greedy. He understands it’s way too early to start thinking Super Bowl. That will come in time. Instead during an appearance on “Good Morning Football” he decided to set a more reasonable if no less ambitious goal for his team this season.

Well now. That’s certainly something. Howard isn’t mincing words. A guarantee is a guarantee. He’s basically written the check and is challenging his teammates to cash it. The 2018 Chicago Bears are not yet a finished product. They already have a drastically different coaching staff from the year before with the arrival of Matt Nagy. Odds are several veterans will be cut in the coming weeks as well. The roster will looked a lot different.

It’s going to take a lot for a team that finished 5-11 last year to turn around and reach the postseason. The NFC North division certainly won’t make that easy. Minnesota reached the NFC championship. Aaron Rodgers is returning to Green Bay. Detroit was in the playoffs a year ago. They have no plans to let the Bears waltz to the top of the heap.

Which means if they want it, they’ll have to take it. Something the Bears haven’t done for almost a decade. Here’s hoping Howard is ready to back up those words, and if the team will follow him.

Ryan Pace Wasn’t Reason the Bears 2017 Free Agent Class Bombed

By
Erik Lambert
-
bears 2017 free agent class

The Chicago Bears 2017 free agent class has already passed into franchise lore. Since free agency became a thing back in the early 1990s, it might go down as the worst crop of “talent” the team has ever assembled. It seems like every notable name they acquired was either a colossal failure, a big disappointment or did nothing to alter the status quo. Just go through the list of names for an idea.

Mike Glennon, hailed as the veteran starter who could help the team win until Mitch Trubisky was ready, lasted four games and turned it over eight times. Markus Wheaton missed five games with various injuries and made three total catches. Quintin Demps lasted all of three games before breaking his arm. Dion Sims caught just 15 passes for 180 yards and also had three drops.

Only Kendall Wright and Prince Amukamara stopped the group from being a total letdown. Yet even they didn’t play well enough to stop people from lambasting GM Ryan Pace for whiffing so badly. This is what has led to fears about 2018 free agency. What happens if he strikes out for the second-straight year?

Except failures like this aren’t always as simple as they seem.

Bears 2017 free agent class was result of uncertainty at head coach

John Mullin of CSN Chicago brought up a vital point that went ignored throughout the 2017 off-season. Yes, Pace was in charge of the free agent plan and made most of the acquisitions. The problem is he was handcuffed from the start due to the situation surrounding head coach John Fox.

“Because of the unsettled quarterback situation – the Bears were working toward Mike Glennon and cutting Jay Cutler two weeks later – and concerns about a possible lame-duck situation for Fox, free agents and their agents were willing to look at the Bears but only if the Bears would pony up excessive guaranteed dollars. The worry any time a coach is heading into a tipping-point year is that if things go badly, the coach and staff are gone, and the resulting changes will alter the job situation of that particular veteran player.

So the likes of cornerbacks A.J. Bouye or Stephon Gilmore opted for less total money from Jacksonville and New England, respectively, because the Bears weren’t offering higher guarantees to compensate for the uncertainty.”

One of the forgotten aspects of free agency is that it’s not just the teams scouting players. The players scout the teams too. One can bet most of the big names Chicago pursued last year were well-informed about the Bears’ situation. Players are human beings. They don’t like constant change, just a normal person wouldn’t. The idea that Fox could be fired, creating uncertainty for the future? That’s no fun to think about.

Gilmore went to New England where Bill Belichick isn’t going anywhere. Bouye went to Jacksonville where Doug Marrone had just been officially made the replacement to Gus Bradley. Those teams offered far more stability than the Bears could.

That is what makes 2018 different

The Bears no longer have that issue. Matt Nagy is the new head coach. He’s not going anywhere in the immediate future. Not only that but they also have a clear direction at quarterback with Mitch Trubisky. Their two biggest roadblocks to luring in top free agents have been removed. This will drastically increase the negotiating position for Pace.

If Matt Nagy Wants His Next Tyreek Hill, This Is The Guy To Watch

By
Erik Lambert
-
chicago bears 2018 draft

Let’s just get this out of the way before Bears fans riot with protest. Tarik Cohen is not going to fill the Tyreek Hill profile. This is because they’re two different players. Hill is primarily a wide receiver. Cohen is primarily a running back. A better role one should envision him in is a far more dangerous version of Charcandrick West. What head coach Matt Nagy wants is a versatile receiving weapon like Hill.

Right now the Bears have nothing to resemble that. Nobody with his athleticism and definitely nobody with his speed. So it stands to reason Nagy will want to seek out somebody of similar style. It will make his offense that much more diverse and explosive. It’s a matter of where to find it.

The odds don’t favor one is available via free agency or trade. NFL teams don’t typically have a policy of letting such receivers go if they can help it. So that means they may have to focus on the draft. Combing through the list of potential names Nagy might zero in on, one that fits the Hill profile better than most is, ironically, a former favorite target of ex-pupil Patrick Mahomes.

Matt Nagy will see loads of Hill in Keke Coutee

Keke Coutee isn’t going to garner early round consideration. That’s due in large part to being undersized, a bit on the thin side and playing an offense that tends to inflate a receivers’ production. Then again Coutee certainly didn’t regress after losing Mahomes to the NFL. With Mahomes, he had 890 yards and seven touchdowns in 2016. Without him, he had 1,429 yards and 10 touchdowns. The kid isn’t a system talent.

It terms of size and body type, he is much like Hill. He’s the same height at 5’11” and only five pounds lighter. Watch him for long enough on tape and one would swear you could put them side by side and it’s the same guy. Coutee isn’t a one trick pony. He can do so many things well. He’s quick and agile with his route running, able to create separation at will.

He’s so nimble and quick after the catch. The stop-start ability, the acceleration, and the vision all make it hard for defenders to even get a hand on him.

At the end of the day though, everybody wants to see the speed. Can he take the top off a defense? Coutee laughs at this statement. Not only can he beat them deep, he does it with alarming regularity and can create massive separation at times.

Much of where Coutee goes in the draft will depend on his performance at the scouting combine in Indianapolis. If he runs fast as all expect him to, he could go somewhere on Day 2 in the second or third rounds. He could also slip in the fourth round too. One thing is for sure. There’s no doubt his addition to the Bears receiving corps would create instant big-play opportunities where there were none last year.

Chicago Bears Tagged as Top Destination for Intriguing Free Agent

By
Erik Lambert
-
chicago bears

It’s no secret the Chicago Bears will be active in 2018 free agency. They don’t have a choice. Going 5-11 in 2017 made that inevitable. It was their fourth-straight losing season and fifth-straight without a winning record. Until the roster is to a point where that changes, they have to keep spending money. GM Ryan Pace is certain to keep his focus on the draft like always but this is not something he can ignore. Especially after his ugly run a year ago.

He absolutely has to do better this coming March. People still haven’t gotten the taste of Mike Glennon, Markus Wheaton, Quintin Demps, and Dion Sims out of their mouths. Does this mean Pace will be more aggressive with his spending? That’s hard to tell. One would say he was plenty of aggressive with Glennon and Wheaton and it did nothing.

A better way to put this is he must be smarter with his money. He can’t recklessly throw it at interesting names who had a little prior success. It might be better to go after more proven commodities, even if their ceilings might not be as high. Arthur Arkush of Pro Football Weekly believes one example is likely to make his way north quite soon.

Zach Fulton deemed a clear fit for Chicago Bears offensive line

With Matt Nagy in charge now it stands to reason he might try bringing in players he has prior connections to. Arkush sees one that could slide right into an opening the Bears just created in Kansas City Chiefs guard Zach Fulton.

“It was Fulton’s pinch-hitting for Morse last season that helps fuel his intrigue. In addition to showing off the versatility to move from guard to center, Fulton’s size and durability — he’s 6-foot-5, 316 pounds and has missed only one start in his first four seasons — should strengthen his marketability.

As for his market, two obvious potential destinations would be the Bears, where Fulton would reconnect not only with former offensive coordinator Matt Nagy but former University of Tennessee position coach Harry Heistand. Moreover, the Bears declined former Pro Bowler Josh Sitton’s 2018 option and fellow former Pro Bowler Kyle Long has been limited to by injuries to 17 combined starts over the past two seasons.”

The exit of Sitton most definitely makes this move a possibility, along with the connection to Nagy. However, there is even further intrigue. Fulton is, in fact, a native of Matteson, Illinois. Just 30 miles south of Chicago. He went to high school there. The guy grew up in Bears country. It seems almost preordained that he’s going to play for this team. Here’s the thing though.

He’s actually pretty good.

From the time he stepped in as a starter last season, the Chiefs ran for at least 100 yards in a game eight times and gave up just 27 sacks. He might not be Sitton but he knows the Nagy offense and did good work under Hiestand at Tennessee. If the Bears are looking for a decent-priced player who can keep a vital part of their offense stable, they could do a lot worse than Fulton.

1...2,9052,9062,907...3,201Page 2,906 of 3,201

Subscribe to our Newsletter

✶ An Unfiltered Voice For Chicago Sports Fans ✶

Chicago Sports News

About Us

© Sports Mockery, Inc. 2026