The Minnesota Twins signed left-hander Taylor Rogers to a one-year, $2 million contract to bring the veteran reliever back to his original team as part of a bullpen revamp Friday, while also finalizing a two-year, $14 million deal with catcher Victor Caratini.
Rogers and Caratini were at Target Field for their physical exams to make their signings official, after recently agreeing to terms. Rogers had a 3.15 ERA in 319 appearances over his first six major league seasons with the Twins, accumulating 361 strikeouts in 314 2/3 innings. He became a closer in 2019 and made the All-Star team in 2021.
“The Taylor Rogers we knew in ’18 and ’19 is going to be different than this guy, but he’s still a really good reliever and I think he’s going to have a big impact in our bullpen not only pitching-wise but with the ability to lead our group,” said new manager Derek Shelton, who was the bench coach for the Twins during part of Rogers’ first stint with the club.
Over the last four years, Rogers has pitched for five teams. He was traded to the San Diego Padres right before the 2022 season and then to the Milwaukee Brewers right before the deadline. Rogers signed with the San Francisco Giants in 2023 to join his twin brother, Tyler Rogers, and was dealt to the Cincinnati Reds in 2025. The Reds traded him to the Chicago Cubs at the deadline last summer.
The 35-year-old Rogers has a career 3.34 ERA in 566 relief appearances, with 626 strikeouts in 541 1/3 innings and 83 saves. Rogers, who was drafted by the Twins as a starter in the 11th round in 2012 out of Kentucky, was converted to relief just before his major league debut in 2016.
The Twins traded their top five relievers during the week leading up to the deadline last season: Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe. Rogers will mix in with bullpen holdovers Cole Sands, Justin Topa and Kody Funderburk.
“It’s the most obvious area of need coming into the offseason, something we feel like ‘Rog’ is a step in that direction, but help in that regard is going to come in all shapes and sizes,” general manager Jeremy Zoll said ahead of the team’s annual fan festival.
The 32-year-old Caratini, who will also be in the mix at first base and designated hitter while backing up catcher Ryan Jeffers, hit .259 in 2025 in his second season with the Houston Astros and set career bests with 12 homers, 46 RBIs and 386 plate appearances.
The 32-year-old switch-hitter has a .244 batting average over nine major league seasons. The Twins will be his fifth different team. Among active catchers with a minimum of 3,500 innings behind the plate, Caratini’s catcher ERA of 3.92 ranks eighth best in baseball.
To make room on the 40-man roster for Caratini and Rogers, the Twins designated right-handed reliever Pierson Ohl and catcher Jhonny Pereda for release or assignment.
The San Francisco Giants have one of the better rosters in the league, but they need to bolster the lineup even more if they want to close the gap on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.
They need to add a huge bat to their lineup and an ace to their starting rotation, but the front office also needs to prioritize filling out the roster with veteran depth options.
Just Baseball’s Michael Monreal predicted the Giants would sign Willi Castro of the Chicago Cubs to a one-year, $10 million deal this offseason.
“Clearly, if the Giants want to buy low on a potential above-average bat, Castro is a prime candidate. However, second base isn’t an essential need for San Francisco,” Monreal wrote. “If they wanted to, they can contently run Casey Schmitt out as the everyday guy. Known as an elite defender as a prospect and providing flashes of what the bat could be in the past, he has the chance to develop into one of the better second basemen in the National League, if given the opportunity.”
Castro is coming off a down year last season, but he’s a prime bounce back candidate. As a result, he’s expected to sign a very team-friendly deal this winter, which plays right into the Giants’ hands.
Adding Castro to the Giants’ lineup would give the team a lot more flexibility and it wouldn’t break the bank. They’d still have the money to make big moves for a few star players. It would be the perfect complementary move for the Giants this offseason.
Britt Ghiroli of The Athleticreported Sunday that the 36-year-old left-hander is doing more than postingworkoutvideos to his Instagram account this offseason. Collins is planning to throw for scouts Wednesday at the Cressey Sports Performance pro day in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Collins spent the last two seasons as a pitching coach in the Phillies’ minor league system. He joined the advanced Class-A Jersey Shore BlueClaws this past season after spending 2024 with Class-A Clearwater Threshers in the same capacity.
From 2011-19, Collins made 275 appearances, all in relief, for the Kansas City Royals (2011-14), Washington Nationals (2018), and Chicago Cubs (2019). He went 12-17 with a 3.60 ERA and struck out 245 batters in 242.1 innings.
Collins was part of a Royals bullpen that was instrumental in their run to the 2014 World Series. He made three appearances and pitched five innings in the seven-game Fall Classic, allowing only two runs.
Collins needed Tommy John surgery in March 2015, and a revision of that procedure effectively knocked him out of baseball until late in the 2017 season. He would return to the big leagues with the Nats in May 2018, and made 68 appearances that season between the majors and the minors.
Collins opted out of the 2020 season after making seven appearances for the Rockies in spring training. Since then he has been active as a coach, offering private lessons and youth baseball camps before joining the Phillies’ organization as a coach.
A seven-year gap between major league appearances is rare, but not unheard of; recently retired pitcher Daniel Bard did so while serving as an Arizona Diamondbacks coach between stints with the Boston Red Sox in 2013 and the Colorado Rockies in 2020.
Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Jan. 4, according to the Tribune’s archives.
Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.
Front page flashback: Jan. 5, 2017
Six reputed leaders of the Hobos street gang were convicted of racketeering conspiracy charges on Jan. 4, 2017. A federal jury found the gang carried out a total of eight murders over the course of a decade. (Chicago Tribune)
Reputed leader Gregory “Bowlegs” Chester of the Hobos, a Chicago super gang, and alleged lieutenants Paris Poe, Arnold Council, Gabriel Bush, Derrick Vaughn and William Ford were convicted on racketeering conspiracy charges.
Before the Chicago Bears played in the NFL’s fourth All-Star game on Jan. 4, 1942, head coach George Halas told his team: “It looks like this is your real test. This is the worst gridiron you’ve had to play on and it’s up to you to show your greatness, in spite of the conditions.” Despite the muddy playing field, the Bears scored five touchdowns on their way to a 35-24 victory. (Chicago Tribune)
1942: The Chicago Bears — who won the 1941 championship — defeated a team of NFL All-Stars 35-24 on a “dreary, chilly afternoon” at the Polo Grounds in New York City. It was the Bears’ 19th victory in 20 games. The game raised more than $51,000 (or more than $1 million in today’s dollars) for the Naval Relief Society.
Journalist Mike Flannery of WFLD-Ch. 32 at Chicago’s Fox studio newsroom on June 19, 2023. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
1966: Field Enterprises, then publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Daily News, launched WFLD-Ch. 32.
“We plan to be a station of selectivity,” said station director Sterling C. “Red” Quinlan. “We’ll be big in sports. We intend to show Chicagoans how the city works, how it is actually governed, what goes on behind the scenes. We mean to keep an eye on the town and jump into civic issues. We are not locked into anything and we’ll give all sorts of things a try.”
Chicago Bears Coach Neill Armstrong, the 11th man to direct the team in the club’s 58-year history, huddles with the players during his first practice on April 28, 1978. (Walter Kale/Chicago Tribune)
1982: Chicago Bears coach Neill Armstrong was fired after a 6-10 record during the 1981 season.
2002: Washington Wizards forward Michael Jordan became the fourth player in NBA history to score 30,000 career points when he hit a free throw in the second quarter of an 89-83 win against his old team — the Chicago Bulls. Jordan joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Wilt Chamberlain.
Ryne Sandberg, clutching his Hall of Fame plaque, waves to the Cooperstown, New York, crowd on July 31, 2005. (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune)
2005: Chicago Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sandberg was inducted on July 31, 2005, and delivered a stirring speech that criticized the products of the steroid era.
“When did it become OK for someone to hit home runs and forget how to play the rest of the game?” he asked.
Sandberg spoke about playing the game “right because that’s what you’re supposed to do” and said if his election into the Hall validates anything it’s that “learning how to bunt, hit-and-run and turning two is more important than knowing where to find the little red light (on) the dugout camera.”
The Philadelphia Phillies pulled off one of the biggest moves of the offseason, bringing back slugger Kyle Schwarber, which may end up costing the team one of their other stars.
The Phillies signed Schwarber to a five-year, $150 million contract, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Retaining Schwarber was the Phillies’ top offseason priority, especially after mashing a career-high 56 home runs, but after signing him to such a large contract, retaining All-Star pitcher Ranger Suárez appears far less realistic.
Suárez is projected to sign a long-term contract that will have an average annual value likely over $25 million a year, likely pricing out a return to Philadelphia. Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly predicts that the eight-year veteran will leave in free agency, signing a contract with the Chicago Cubs.
“Teams may be hesitant to give Ranger Suárez as many years as he and agent Scott Boras would like given that he’s had a back injury in three of the last four seasons and saw his average fastball velocity dip to 91.3 mph in 2025,” Kelly wrote Friday. “However, the former All-Star is still going to make out quite well. Suárez has shown an ability to thrive both as a top-of-the-rotation starter and a reliever.
“The Cubs need another starter to go with Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton and Shota Imanaga, and MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand previously reported that in addition to the Orioles, Chicago and the Houston Astros are ‘the most serious threats to sign him away from the Phillies.’ Based on how this offseason has played out, we’re going to guess that this comes down to the Orioles and Cubs.”
Despite not being named an All-Star for the second-straight season this year, Suárez excelled in his eighth year with the Phillies. The 30-year-old posted a 3.20 ERA with a career-high 151 strikeouts in 26 starts this season. Chicago needs a bona fide star pitcher to lead its starting rotation, and Suárez may be a perfect fit.
The Kyle Tucker sweepstakes hasn’t captured the baseball world’s attention as the Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes did over the last two offseasons.
Tucker is the top guy this offseason. He’s a four-time All-Star and should have a massive payday ahead, but likely nowhere near the level of Soto and Ohtani. Spotrac currently is projecting his market value to be just over $401 million across 10 seasons.
Who could end up signing the star outfielder? USA Today Major League Baseball insider Bob Nightengale joined “Foul Territory on Wednesday and specifically mentioned the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers while noting that he thinks Tucker’s market will only be three or four teams in general.
“I think the same couple of teams were the Blue Jays, the Yankees, plus the Los Angeles Dodgers,” Nightengale said while joining “Foul Territory” on Wednesday. “There’s only, I think, three or four teams interested. I don’t think there’s any chance in the world he goes back to Houston. They’re not going to spend that kind of money. I think teams like him, but don’t absolutely love him. This is two straight years now he’s had poor second halves with the injuries. The injuries seem like they take a long time. Slow recoveries here.”
Whichever team can come out on top in the Tucker sweepstakes will land a superstar, even if the buzz around the league isn’t like it was with Soto and Ohtani. Even in a somewhat down season, Tucker still clubbed 22 homers, drove in 73 runs, stole 25 bases, and won a Silver Slugger Award for the Chicago Cubs. If that’s his worst, some team is about to get a whole lot better.
The Chicago Cubs saw Shota Imanaga opt out of his contract and then accept a qualifying offer. And while he will be back next season, the Cubs are still looking to add to the rotation.
During an appearance on “Hot Stove,” MLB insider Jon Morosi revealed that the Cubs are targeting both Michael King and Dylan Cease in free agency, despite retaining Imanaga.
“There is going to be one more significant pitcher added to this list between now and Opening Day,” Morosi said, referencing the Cubs’ rotation options. “Michael King has been on the Cubs’ mind. Dylan Cease has been on their mind.”
Both Cease and King rejected qualifying offers from the Padres and would be upgrades over some of the Cubs’ current rotation options. Along with Imanaga, Justin Steele is expected to be back, Matthew Boyd will look to build on an All-Star season, and Cade Horton will look to build on a strong rookie season. However, Cease and King would be upgrades over Colin Rea, Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad.
Cease did not have his best season this year, but still managed to strike out 215 batters. He has been a Cy Young Award candidate twice in his career and has made at least 30 starts in each of the last five seasons. He leads all of baseball in strikeouts since 2022.
King’s first full year as a starter was in 2024. He had a 2.95 ERA and 201 strikeouts a year ago and received Cy Young Award votes for the first time in his career. However, last season, he only made 15 starts and dealt with injuries for most of the year. He had a 3.44 ERA, but he can still be an effective starter.
Morosi noted that both pitchers are on the Cubs’ minds. Either one would upgrade their rotation as a whole, but both will be expensive. Since they declined the qualifying offer, on top of paying either one, the Cubs would lose draft picks.
Sea lions arrived at Lincoln Park Zoo by train in July 1889. Nineteen of the 21 animals shipped to Chicago from Santa Barbara, California, survived. (Chicago Tribune)
1903:“Big Ben” escaped to Lake Michigan. The 600-pound male sea lion, who arrived at Lincoln Park Zoo from California a year earlier, scaled the 3-foot iron fence around his enclosure and headed 200 yards into the lake. Worried a hunter might shoot the animal, keeper Cyrus DeVry offered a $25 reward for Big Ben’s safe return. The animal was spotted at many different locations, including 2 miles off south Chicago, where he tried to board the dredge tug Mentor. The final sighting was April 25, 1904, when the sea lion’s body was discovered 15 miles south of St. Joseph, Michigan.
Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger, from left, Mick Taylor and Keith Richards on Nov. 16, 1969, at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago. Editors note: this historic print shows age damage. (Dave Nystrom/Chicago Tribune)
1969: The Rolling Stones played the International Amphitheatre as part of the band’s first United States tour in three years (a day before the band played two shows at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign). Three weeks later, the tour would end in tragedy at the Altamont Speedway in California, with an audience member being stabbed and beaten to death by Hells Angels members who had been hired by the Stones to provide security.
But in Chicago, the Stones were in prime form, with their hero, Chuck Berry, as one of the opening acts. The band lineup for this tour included guitarist Mick Taylor for the first time, as a replacement for Brian Jones, who died a few months earlier.
Harry Caray puts on a Chicago Cubs hat at a news conference on Nov. 16, 1981, after he signed a two-year contract to broadcast Cubs games. (Walter Kale/Chicago Tribune)
1981: Broadcaster Harry Caray brought his antics to the North Side after 11 years as the voice of the Chicago White Sox. Caray signed a two-year contract with WGN radio and television to announce Chicago Cubs games.
“After several weeks of talking and negotiating, we made him an offer about two weeks ago,” said Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. “The money was acceptable to him, but he said he wanted to think about it. That was the first time we had any indication he was anything but anxious to come back.”
Caray remained with the Cubs until his death on Feb. 18, 1998.
Ald. William Henry, 24th, with his car near Independence Square Fountain in Chicago on Aug. 18, 1988. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune)
1990: Chicago Ald. William Henry — known at City Hall as “Wild Bill” — was indicted on charges he extorted cash and luxury cars from a car rental firm, took bribes from a West Side janitorial company and put “ghost workers” on the city payroll in exchange for kickbacks.
The West Side politician pleaded not guilty and told reporters that his indictment was a ”smear campaign.” Henry died in 1992, halting the case against him.
Travelers walk through a grandly decorated terminal at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Dec. 3, 2024, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Also in 1990: “Home Alone” premiered. The Tribune gave the modern Christmas classic, which was shot in 62 days in the city and suburbs, three stars.
The film was written and produced by John Hughes (“Sixteen Candles,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” “The Breakfast Club” and more), who was by then deep into his oeuvre of using Chicago-area sites to illuminate his scripts. This one arrived after “Uncle Buck” (which was also shot here) and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (which wasn’t) but before “Dutch” and “Curly Sue.”
The Houston Astros have a few big needs to address in free agency right now. They’re watching their ace, Framber Valdez, walk into free agency, and it seems like they’re unlikely to land a new deal with him.
Because of that, the Astros could be in the market for a pitcher or two in free agency. They might not have the money to chase the biggest names on the market, but they could certainly land a few respectable pitchers to help push toward a postseason berth next year.
“When it comes to a team fit, the Houston Astros could use a starting pitcher, but may not be able to shop at the very top of the market,” Finkelstein wrote. “Imanaga is no Framber Valdez, but he is also a better bet than Lance McCullers Jr., Jason Alexander, and Spencer Arrighetti, who are all projected to be in their 2026 rotation right now. Hunter Brown is clearly the ace. Imanaga would give the Astros a dependable middle-of-the-rotation arm who still has frontline upside if he can rediscover his 2024 form.”
It certainly wouldn’t be as sweet as retaining Valdez, but the Astros can’t sign all the biggest free agents on the market.
Imanaga would be the perfect addition to the Astros on an affordable deal. He’s not a world beater, but he’s the perfect fit for Houston’s needs.
Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy attributed the taxing Chicago Cubs series as a big reason his team got swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS.
The Brewers were pushed to five games by the Cubs, forcing Murphy to deploy several high-leverage arms in the tight series.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, only played four games in the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies, sparing the bullpen and extending the starters, which gave them a well-rested bullpen heading into the NLCS.
According to Murphy, the Cubs series took a lot out of Milwaukee, and the Game 1 loss at home to the Dodgers was a proper gut-punch.
Following the game, Murphy explained how the series against Chicago affected the team.
“The emotional series in the Cubs, you guys have to know the Brewers-Cubs thing well, you have to have been part of it to understand how it really zapped a lot out of us emotionally,” Murphy said after Game 4.
“And then to have to come back and play right away — and then we lose a one-run game, it just took us off it a little bit. And then the pitching performances by the Dodgers basically put the hammer down.”
The Brewers were really flat offensively, scoring just one run in each game of the NLCS. Milwaukee specialized in putting runs on the board in the regular season, advancing several baserunners through patient approaches at the plate, while also focusing on making contact.
The Brewers hitters showed none of those characteristics. They ended up chasing several pitches across the games and struggled to make quality contact.
Even when the Dodgers’ bullpen got the ball from the quality starters, the Brewers could not get baserunners on regularly, limiting their offensive firepower.
The Dodgers’ offense did not exactly light the world on fire — leaving runners on base multiple times — but they were able to do enough with the hittable pitches to make the difference.
“Chicago is my favorite city,” Keller said, via Mooney. “I love being in Chicago. I love playing for the Cubs. This is definitely a place that I want to come back to and enjoy. I know a lot of these guys are returning to this clubhouse, and I feel like there’s something special here. I would love to be a part of it, for sure.”
Keller, 30, made a career-high 68 appearances in 2025, posting a 2.07 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 69.2 innings. He finished the season on a tear, allowing only one run and eight hits over his final 27.2 innings (0.33 ERA).
Along the way Keller converted his only two save opportunities, then assumed the primary ninth-inning role in the postseason. He allowed only one run in 5.2 innings across five October games against the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers.
The Brewers ended the Cubs’ season by defeating them in a five-game National League Division Series last week.
Keller signed a minor league contract with the Cubs on Jan. 31 that paid $1.5 million if he made the team’s 26-man roster. His contract was purchased on March 25, and he never looked back.
After a dominant finish to the season in the heat of a playoff hunt, Keller can expect a much nicer payday this offseason.
From 2018-21, Keller was primarily a starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals. But after failing to post a winning record outside the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he was demoted to the bullpen midway through the 22 campaign.
A shoulder injury limited Keller to 11 games with the Royals in 2023. Pitching for the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs in 2024, he shuffled between the majors and Triple-A.
Healthy and effective this year, Keller made a strong case for the Cubs to bring him back in 2026.
Working as a starting pitcher in the NL Division Series between the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers has been one tough job.
Twenty-one of the 35 runs in the series have been scored in the first inning. The series concludes on Saturday night with a winner-take-all Game 5 to determine which of these NL Central rivals will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series.
“I think it’s way more common than you think, for pitchers to be vulnerable in the first inning,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Friday. “Everybody’s geeked up. The atmosphere is way different. And I think that’s something that is noted.”
So perhaps it’s no surprise that neither Murphy nor Cubs manager Craig Counsell announced their Game 5 starting pitchers a day in advance.
The Cubs have the option of turning to Game 2 loser Shota Imanaga on four days’ rest, but he posted a 6.51 ERA in September and has allowed six runs over 6 2/3 innings in two appearances this postseason.
“With the exception of (Game 4 starter) Matt Boyd, everyone’s going to be available,” Counsell said. “And so it’s a cliché here, but we have 11 pitchers to figure out how to get 27 outs. That’s how we’re treating it.”
Milwaukee could use a similar approach to its Game 2 strategy, when seven different pitchers contributed to a 7-3 victory. Murphy noted that Aaron Ashby would be available after throwing 32 pitches in the Brewers’ Game 4 loss on Thursday.
Murphy listed Ashby, Abner Uribe, Jared Koenig, Trevor Megill, Chad Patrick and Jacob Misiorowski as guys who are “going to probably pitch.”
“A lot of those guys are rookies, a lot of those guys are not very experienced, but that’s how we’ve won all these games and come together,” Murphy said. “Now we’re playing in a way bigger environment, and it’s a bigger task. But I’m confident that we’ll have enough pitching.”
The Cubs are trying to become the 11th team to win a best-of-five series after losing the first two games. The last team to do it was the New York Yankees against Cleveland in the 2017 AL Division Series.
Saturday’s winning team would open the NLCS on Monday. The Brewers would host the Dodgers for the start of the series, while the Cubs would travel to Los Angeles.
Chicago has reached this point by winning each of its last three elimination games, though all of them were at home. The Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 3-1 in the decisive third game of their Wild Card Series, and they brought this series back to Milwaukee by winning 4-3 in Game 3 and 6-0 in Game 4.
“I feel like it’s an even slate,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said after the Game 4 victory. “Game 5. Both teams have had great moments in this series. I love where our group’s at.”
Milwaukee is trying to change its recent history of postseason frustration.
The Brewers are in the playoffs for the seventh time in the last eight seasons, but their last postseason series win was in the 2018 NLDS. They lost Game 7 at home to the Dodgers in the NLCS that year and are 4-13 in their last 17 playoff games.
Murphy remains confident in the Brewers’ chances as they look to bounce back from two straight losses in Chicago.
“We’re five wins away from the World Series,” Murphy said. “I’ve learned a lot about this team, and one thing it is, it’s resilient, and they bounce back.”
Milwaukee suffered one of its most heartbreaking playoff exits last year, when the Brewers led the New York Mets 2-0 heading into the ninth inning of Game 3 in the NL Wild Card Series before Pete Alonso hit a three-run homer off Devin Williams as part of a four-run rally.
Losing this series would be just about as painful for Brewers fans because it’s against one of their biggest rivals and Counsell, the longtime Milwaukee manager who grew up in the area but left his hometown team to join the Cubs.
Counsell has downplayed the personal aspect of this matchup throughout the series.
“I’m just thinking about how do we advance,” Counsell said. “It’s almost like the opponent doesn’t matter right now. How do we advance? Because who you play and all those stories around that, that doesn’t matter. How do we advance? That’s really been my focus.”
It was exciting day Tuesday for Cubs fans after the team won game one of the National League Wild Card series against the Padres.
It was the team’s first playoff win since 2017, and it happened right in Wrigleyville. Fans were beyond excited.
The Cubs are in the playoffs for the first time since 2020. The last time the Cubs were in the playoffs, the pandemic prevented fans from attending games at Wrigley. So, people are just excited to get in on all the fun this time around.
Though the Cubs hadn’t flown the W for a playoff game since 2017, fans say this ball club has the talent for a deep playoff run.
The Cubs beat the Padres 3-1 on Tuesday.
The Padres beat the Cubs 3-0 on Wednesday.
The third and final game of the series will be broadcast on ESPN at 4:08 p.m. CT Thursday.
ABC7 Chicago news at 4 p.m. will be a streaming newscast, and “Jeopardy!” will air overnight at 3:07 a.m.
Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell has been subject to backlash several times throughout the season.
None of it has been nearly as bad as it was Wednesday after Chicago was blanked 3-0 by the San Diego Padres in Game 2 of the NL wild card series. Counsell came under fire leaving his left-handed pitcher Shota Imanaga in the game to face Manny Machado in the fifth inning.
The decision backfired when Machado homered off Imanaga to extend the Padres lead. After the game, Counsell defended his decision to stick with Imanaga rather than walking Machado or bringing in a right-handed pitcher.
“The result suggests that we should’ve done something different,” Counsell said via a post on X from MLB Network. “It was really just confidence in Shota though. Plain and simple there. I thought he was throwing the ball really well, but unfortunately he just made a mistake.”
Imanaga did pitch fairly well, going four innings while allowing three hits, two runs and three strikeouts. The one mistake, though, cost the Cubs two runs and put them in a hole that they weren’t able to climb out of.
The backlash toward Counsell was due to the fact that he had right-hander Mike Soroka warming in the bullpen during the at-bat between Machado and Imanaga. Also, there was left-hander batter in Jackson Merrill on deck behind Machado. Using the righty to pitch to Machado or intentionally walking him to get the left-on-left matchup to try and get out of the jam.
Chicago will now host Game 3 against San Diego on Thursday with the winner advancing to the NLDS to matchup against the team with the best record in the regular season, the Milwaukee Brewers.
Atlanta Braves rookie catcher Drake Badwin may have begun the 2025 season platooning behind the plate, but he will finish it as one of the frontrunners for National League Rookie of the Year. Baldwin came into Monday night’s game against the Washington Nationals batting .273 with 18 home runs, 76 RBI, 52 runs scored, and a .799 OPS.
Even though the Braves will end the season out of the National League postseason picture and under .500, Baldwin’s offensive input and defense behind the dish have been important, whatever success the club has had this season.
Rookie catcher Drake Baldwin (above)and the Atlanta Braves hosted the Seattle Mariners at Truist Park on September 6, 2025. Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves
Over the past 30 games coming into Monday night, Baldwin’s numbers were down (.245 from the plate with 11 strikeouts), but he has picked them up of late. During the past seven games, all Braves victories, Baldwin is hitting .348 with a .738 slugging percentage, two home runs, and eight runs batted in. His only true competition for the award is a young starter on the Northside of Chicago.
The Chicago Cubs’ starting pitcher, Cade Horton, has been lighting up National League hitters this season. Horton is currently 11-4 with a 2.66 ERA, 95 strikeouts, and has only given up 33 walks in 115 innings.
Against the Braves this season, Horton is 1-0 in two starts. During those games, he had an ERA of 0.79 in 11 innings of work and struck out eight Braves while only giving up one earned run.
It wouldn’t be an upset if Horton won the award, but Baldwin has made a solid case this season. The Braves finishing under .500 could be why Baldwin doesn’t come away with it. The Cubs (88-68 overall) are currently atop the National League wild card standings. That makes Horton’s 11 victories this season that much more important.
On Monday night, with the bases loaded and the Braves ahead 2-1, Baldwin, batting in the sixth slot in the lineup, hit a two-RBI single off Nationals pitcher Jackson Rutledge to extend the Braves’ lead to 3-1. The two runs left Baldwin with the third most runs batted in on the team behind Matt Olson (93) and Michael Harris (80).
Baldwin hit a double in the fourth inning, his 17th of the season. That hit started a rally that ended with Atlanta scoring another run on Harris’s third RBI of the game.
Should Chicago Cubs fans stop watching Marquee Sports Network in the final week of their first playoff season in five years?
Should Bears fans tune out their “Monday Night Football” game against the Washington Commanders on Oct. 13 on ABC-7 and ESPN?
Gov. JB Pritzker seems to think so.
The Democrat from Illinois urged citizens to boycott several networks after Disney-owned ABC suspended “The Jimmy Kimmel Show” over jokes Kimmel made about President Donald Trump. The suspension came following moves by Nexstar Media Group Inc. and Sinclair Broadcasting to preempt or suspend the late-night talk show on their affiliates, and after pressure from the FCC to take action against Kimmel.
Pritzker made the statement on MSNBC’s “The Briefing with Jen Psaki,” and his press office later released a statement adding Nexstar and Sinclair to the list.
“An attack on the First Amendment of this magnitude is a five-alarm fire and we should all be treating it as such,” the statement read. “What’s clear here is that Nexstar and Sinclair are capitulating to the president so he approves their mergers. Everything should be on the table.”
Free speech is certainly something to fight for, and Pritzker is right about the urgency of preserving our constitutional rights to say whatever we please without fear of reprisal. Speak up, speak out and protest, for sure. Cancel the Disney+ and Hulu streaming apps, forget about going on that Disney cruise or making a trip to Disney World or Disneyland.
But I can’t imagine viewers would stop watching their favorite teams and sports over Kimmel’s plight, so perhaps we need to come up with another solution.
It’s easy for Pritzker to ask citizens to boycott Disney-owned ABC/ESPN over the Kimmel controversy, and his concern over FCC interference on behalf of President Trump’s fragile ego is justified.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks during a ceremony announcing Wrigley Field will host the 2027 All-Star Game on Aug. 1, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Boycott “Dancing with the Stars?” No problem. Give up “Good Morning, America,” which has turned into an infomercial for Hulu, Disney and ESPN shows? Easy enough.
Will football fans tune out big games to support free speech?
As a longtime viewer of ABC and ESPN who loves and hates Disney’s networks, I’d have a difficult time saying goodbye to all the sports telecasts I enjoy watching.
Maybe Pritzker, who attended Duke and Northwestern, is not a college football fan. Who knows?
“I’m grateful to the Cubs organization and to the Ricketts family, who have made spectacular upgrades to the ballpark and the neighborhood while preserving all that makes it special,” he said. “As governor I’m very proud to have worked with the general assembly to provide security enhancements, to bolster public safety around the park, and I’m also a proud Cubs fan, so that made it especially easy.”
After waiting for applause, Pritzker added: “And I guess here is where I am supposed to say ‘And I love the teams that people in Illinois across the state love.’ But I’m a Cubs fan.”
While Pritzker didn’t specifically mention the Cubs this week in his call for action, he assuredly knows Sinclair is the corporate co-owner of Marquee Sports, along with the Cubs.
John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts talks about the Marquee Sports Network during the opening ceremony of the Cubs Convention on Jan. 18, 2020, at the Sheraton Grand in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Sinclair owns the Diamond Sports Group, which owns 50% of Marquee. The Rickettses own the other half.
Marquee launched in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and televises every Cubs game that’s not part of a national broadcast. Some years there’s been little reason to watch, but this year was the exception, with the Cubs earning a National League wild-card spot, led by young stars such as Pete Crow-Armstrong and Cade Horton.
Cubs fans pay a significant monthly fee to watch them on a DTC app or a streamer or cable provider such as Comcast, which charges $20.25 per month for regional sports. Comcast announced in July that it would move Marquee into the “ultimate tier” of pricing after this season, meaning it will be an extra $20 per month starting in October.
No matter where they stand on Kimmel or the “free speech” issue, many Cubs fans will be canceling Marquee anyway once the regular season ends Sept. 28. The network won’t broadcast any of the team’s postseason games, so there’s no need to have it. They’ll save a few hundred dollars by canceling it for five or six months and starting up again when the 2026 season begins in March. It’s no different than NFL fans canceling Amazon Prime in January and renewing it in September when the next season of “Thursday Night Football” begins.
Canceling Marquee means they’ll miss Cubs reruns, betting shows, Bears postgame shows, Ian Happ’s podcast and some other sports broadcasts. But Marquee is primarily a seasonal network that depends on Cubs games for viewers. The rest is just filler.
While Sinclair wants to punish Kimmel for jokes it found objectionable and even demanded an apology from him, it should be noted that Marquee knows a little about censorship. In its third season in 2022, Marquee stopped the taping of a sports talk show called “The Reporters” when one of the panelists was slightly critical of Cubs President Jed Hoyer.
In a discussion on the Cubs, WSCR-AM 670 morning host David Haugh said Hoyer “lacked” transparency and asked if he was “tethered to reality.” ESPN-1000 personality Peggy Kusinski agreed with Haugh and called for more “honesty” from the Cubs brass. The show’s producer abruptly stopped the taping, claiming they had some kind of technical difficulty.
Before they began taping again, the panelists were told not to revisit the “transparency” angle. The original conversation criticizing Hoyer was cut from the show, which aired later.
Obviously a Cubs-owned network censoring criticism of a Cubs executive was problematic, even if Hoyer was not at all involved in the decision. But no one would’ve known about the censorship if the story had not been leaked to the Tribune. After the Tribune reported the story, Marquee announced it would televise the show live to avoid a repeat. “The Reporters” eventually was canceled because of lack of interest from viewers.
Marquee has improved under new management, but criticism of the Cubs is rarely heard, with the exception of studio analyst Cliff Floyd. The White Sox, meanwhile, are frequently subjected to harsh criticism after losses from Chicago Sports Network studio host Ozzie Guillén, the former manager, who said in 2023 he would quit the job if the team told him what or what not to say.
“If the White Sox or the player don’t like what I say, too bad,” Guillén said. “I never say, ‘This guy should be fired,’ or ‘That guy should be hitting there.’ … Do I have an easy job? No. But the reason I have it, the reason they picked me to do this job, is because the fans know I will tell the truth.”
It’s not easy telling the truth, especially in this day and age, when a strong opinion can get you canceled in a nanosecond. Viewers deserve honesty and can make up their own minds, whether it’s Kimmel’s opinions or Guillén’s.
Hopefully we can find a way to preserve free speech in this country and still be able to watch the sports and teams we love without boycotting specific networks.
And if you don’t like something, just turn the channel.
Chicago Cubs rookie Cade Horton twirled another gem on Tuesday night – this time, at the expense of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The 24-year-old righty lasted five innings and allowed one run on three hits. He struck out six Pirates batters, and the Cubs went on to win the game 4-1. Horton improved to 8-1 since the All-Star break and has become increasingly reliable someone Chicago can count on in big games.
Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Horton also accomplished a feat not seen since Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Gibson did it in 1968 with the St. Louis Cardinals.
With Horton being 8-1 in his last 11 starts, he’s only allowed six runs in that span. Opta Stats noted that only Gibson had eight or more wins and six or fewer runs in an 11-start span in a single season in the modern baseball era. He did it in 1968.
Gibson, of course, had one of the most dominant seasons ever in 1968. He had 268 strikeouts, a 1.12 ERA and 13 complete games. He won the National League Cy Young award and the National League MVP award that year.
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson pitching during the 1968 season.(Malcolm Emmons/USA TODAY Sports)
Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Horton isn’t likely to win those types of accolades this season. In 21 starts this year, he has a 2.66 ERA with 95 strikeouts.
Chicago improved to 87-64 with the win over the Pirates. The Cubs are five games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the National League Central lead and are nine games up on the San Diego Padres for the first NL Wildcard berth.
The Chicago Cubs flew the American flag at half-staff for Friday’s home game against the Tampa Bay Rays in honor of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated during a campus event in Utah on Wednesday.
The flag at Wrigley Field appeared to be flown at half-staff in accordance with MLB’s request that teams follow President Donald Trump’s presidential proclamation.
President Donald Trump ordered flags lowered to half-mast on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, hours after the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.(Peter Pinedo/Fox News Digital)
In a statement to Fox News Digital on Thursday, the league confirmed that it “asked all of the Clubs to follow the direction of the White House Presidential Proclamation and fly flags at half-staff in their ballparks.”
The proclamation from the White House ordered that flags be flown at half-staff until sunset on Sunday. In addition to the flag, Tyler Bowyer, the Chief Operating Officer of Turning Point USA, reported on “The Charlie Kirk Show” that the Cubs would be “recognizing” Kirk in some way during the game.
Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk is seen onstage at the Fiserv Forum during preparations for the Republican National Convention on July 14, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“He loved the Cubs,” Andrew Kolvet, Turning Point USA spokesman, added. “His grandma was a lifelong Cubs fan and she got to see the Cubs win the World Series and then passed away.”
“She lived to see the greatest thing as a sports fan for her and that meant a lot to him.”
The Cubs broke a 108-year drought when they defeated Cleveland in seven games to win the 2016 World Series. Kirk shared a photo on X of him and his grandmother celebrating the team’s victory at the time.
Charile Kirk and his wife, Erika Lane Frantzve and their two children, prior to his assassination on Sept. 10, 2025.(Erika Kirk via Instagram)
“We are thankful that after 108 years the CUBS ARE WORLD CHAMPS,” he wrote in a post on Thanksgiving Day.
In March, Kirk shared another photo of his family at a Cubs game.
The Cubs flew the flag at half-staff, but did not hold a moment of silence as the New York Yankees did for Kirk on Wednesday night.
Police confirmed Friday that a suspect in Kirk’s killing was arrested. He was identified as Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox stated that a family member of Robinson’s contacted a family friend who then reached out to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office “with information that Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident.”
Ha-Seong Kim (above) had a single during the Braves’s three-run first inning against the Chicago Cubs on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves
Stop me if you have heard this before, but Bryce Elder was the key reason the Atlanta Braves won tonight. The Braves defeated the Chicago Cubs 4-1 and Elder was lights out.
The Braves were back at Truist Park a day after losing a three-game series to the Seattle Mariners. Monday night’s starting pitcher, Bryce Elder, came into the game against the Chicago Cubs having come off of one of his best outings of the season against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sept. 3. Elder went seven innings, gave up just four hits and one run, while striking out seven Cubs.
He started Monday night’s game on the right track, striking out three of the first seven Cubs he faced in the first inning and second innings, including Pete Crow Armstrong. Elder has experienced some rough early innings this season, so the strong start to this game was a welcomed sight for a Braves pitching staff and defense that gave up 18 runs to Seattle on Sunday.
Elder was pitching well again. The Texas native picked up two more strikeouts in the third inning and had a 1-2-3 fourth inning.
At the plate, Ozzie Albies got things started for Atlanta with a first inning solo home run to left field off Cubs starter Shota Imanaga. Following a single from Braves shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, potential National League Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin laced a double off of the center field fence to bring Kim home and give the Braves a 2-0 lead. Ronald Acuna drove Baldwin in to make the score 3-0, and also snapped a 0-25 hitting streak in the process.
The roughest inning for Elder came in the sixth when he gave up a pair of singles and a walk to Michael Busch, Ian Happ, and Seiya Suzuki, the top of the Cubs lineup. Elder then got Pete Crow-Armstrong to ground out to Albies to end the inning.
Elder would come out of the game in the seventh inning with a runner on third base. That runner, Nick Hoerner, hit a double to start the inning. The hit was the only extra-base hit Elder gave up during his time on the mound. Elder, who went 6.1 innings with five strikeouts, was charged with the run the Cubs scored moments later on a sacrifice fly from Matt Shaw off a Pierce Johnson fastball.
The Braves would get the run back when Matt Olson hit his 23rd home run of the season in the eighth inning, putting Atlanta up 4-1.
According to the Puerto Rican outlet primerahora.com, Lezcano succumbed following a long battle with cancer.
Leones del Caracas se une al duelo por el sensible fallecimiento de Carlos Lezcano, quién en vida fuera manager y coach de banca en nuestra organización.
A todos sus familiares y allegados, nuestro más sincero y sentido pésame.
A native of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Lezcano played collegiately at Florida State. He made his major league debut with the Cubs in 1980, six years after his cousin, outfielder Sixto Lezcano, made his debut with the Milwaukee Brewers.
A view of the Chicago Cubs hat and glove during the MLB game the Cincinnati Reds on September 29, 2007 at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio. A view of the Chicago Cubs hat and glove during the MLB game the Cincinnati Reds on September 29, 2007 at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mark Lyons/Getty Images
Despite winning the Opening Day center fielder’s job, Lezcano struggled at the plate while manning all three outfield spots as a rookie in Chicago. He hit .205 with a .294 on-base percentage and a .385 slugging percentage in 42 games, and spent most of the season with the Cubs’ Double-A affiliate.
The following season, Lezcano appeared in just seven major league games. They would be the last of his career.
After splitting the 1983 season between Double-A and Triple-A without a promotion to the big leagues, Lezcano signed a minor league deal with the Oakland A’s that included a non-roster invitation to spring training in 1984.
But after two months at Triple-A Tacoma, Lezcano was released. He latched on with the Detroit Tigers’ Double-A affiliate, but was released with a .236 batting average in July, effectively ending his playing career.
After several years bouncing around the affiliated minor leagues as a coach, Lezcano got his first managing job in 1992 with the Mariners’ affiliate in the Arizona Summer League, a circuit for players who were just drafted or just promoted from the team’s Dominican Republic complex.
While many men in his position would aspire to move up and manage older players at higher levels of affiliated baseball, Lezcano never strayed far from a position of mentoring entry-level professionals.
From 1993-94, he managed the Mariners’ Class-A affiliate in the Midwest League. From 1995-96, he managed the advanced Class-A San Jose Giants. In 1997, he managed the Giants’ Double-A affiliate — the highest level of affiliated baseball he would manage in 20 years.
Lezcano was the first manager a young Alex Rodriguez had in professional baseball, with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest League.
Lezcano returned often to his native Puerto Rico. After the 1998-99 Puerto Rico Winter League season, he was named the league’s Manager of the Year with Leones Ponce.
Lezcano also won the league’s Rookie of the Year Award in 1977-78, and is one of only five men in history to win both awards.
Lezcano last managed in affiliated baseball with the advanced Class-A Lake Elsinore Storm, a Padres affiliate, from 2007-11. He held various managing jobs in independent leagues and the Puerto Rican Winter League in the years that followed.
