It has been a fantastic start to the season for the Chicago Cubs, who have been as good as advertised coming into the year.
This winter, the Cubs were one of the most active teams and had one of the best offseasons in baseball. Even though they didn’t spend a ton of money in free agency, they spent wisely and worked the trade market nicely.
Now, Chicago has emerged as the team to beat in the National League Central. With it being the easiest of the divisions in the NL, making the postseason seems very realistic for the Cubs.
However, while Chicago is a very good team, they have a couple of noticeable flaws that have been covered up by arguably the best offense in baseball to begin the year.
With the offense performing at an extremely high level, the mediocre bullpen hasn’t had to be counted on all that much. Furthermore, they also haven’t felt the impact of a big loss in their rotation.
Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report recently wrote about the Cubs’ need to add another starting pitcher after the injury to Justin Steele.
“The Cubs will probably need to take a major swing on a starting pitcher to replace Justin Steele this summer, but their start makes you think they are likely to play in the postseason for the first time since 2020.”
Even though the loss of Steele hasn’t been felt yet, that time will soon come. The southpaw was one of the top pitchers on the team and losing him is a significant blow.
For Chicago, with aspirations of not only making the postseason, but having success, their starting rotation simply doesn’t match up against the best of the best in the league.
If the Cubs are going to be a true contender, they will need to add a front-line starter to help regain what they have lost.
This is a pivotal year for the franchise. There is no guarantee that Kyle Tucker will be on the team past 2025, meaning they have to do all they can try to and capitalize on having him this campaign.
Based on the needs that currently appear to be there for Chicago, that means they need to likely add some high leverage help in the bullpen and a front-end starter. For a team that has had a ton of success already, that might feel like a lot.
However, winning a World Series is not easy and the offense of the Cubs alone won’t be able to do it.
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Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh clubbed his 40th home run of the season on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Angels, not only extending his major league lead but also making him the first player in baseball to reach the 40-home run mark this season. It also helped him make some history. With his 40th home run, Raleigh became both the first catcher and the first switch-hitter in baseball history to reach the 40 home run mark before the end of July. Here is a look at his 40th home run. He is already in the process of having one of the best seasons ever for a Mariners player, and also one of the best seasons ever for a catcher, for any team. Especially when you add in his defense, where he is one of the best defensive catchers in the league. His only serious competition for the American League MVP Award remains New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge. But with Judge sidelined for a period of time now due to an elbow injury, it might open the door for Raleigh to really put himself in the lead for that award.
The Green Bay Packers have one of the youngest rosters in the NFL. A big reason for this is their wide receiver room. For the past three seasons, they have relied on rookies and second-year players to carry the load on offense from a pass-catching perspective. However, that has led to some inconsistent play. Last year, drops were a huge issue, especially for former fifth-round pick Dontayvion Wicks. He was able to get open but would drop the ball in key moments. Wicks is determined to change the narrative and is already turning heads in training camp. Green Bay Packers WR Dontayvion Wicks Looking Good Wicks was the star of the 2-minute drill during Friday’s training camp practice. He found a hole in the zone and ran the post route. Quarterback Jordan Love saw him immediately and unloaded a long ball. The former Virginia receiver was all alone and caught a 49-yard touchdown pass to end the drill. This was one of the many great plays Wicks made throughout the practice. He was asked about the play after the practice. “I knew I had the post,” Wicks said. “I had a man on me. I released, ran full speed. I knew X was over the top. So I stemmed out a little bit and broke flat across. It was a runaway, and J-Love gave me the ball and I ran under it, and that was all from there.” This is great news for the Green Bay Packers. Drops can often be attributed to a lack of confidence. They can snowball. Once a player drops one pass, it can snowball into more drops. The same can be said about catches. Once a player gets confidence, it can be hard to stop. If Dontayvion Wicks has gotten his confidence, the league should watch out. No Problems Getting Open Wicks had no problems getting open last year. According to ESPN Analytics, he was open on 84% of his routes, thanks to a quick burst off the snap and his ability to find gaps in the zone. However, getting open doesn’t matter if a player can’t bring in the ball. The Green Bay Packers hope this is the start of a new player in 2025. Matthew Golden has also looked good in training camp, and Jayden Reed has vowed to drop fewer passes as well in 2025. If that trio can haul in passes, this offense could be one of the best in the league. Final Thoughts We always have to be cautious about training camp news. It can sometimes point to what will happen in the season, but not always. However, this seems like a step in the right direction for the Green Bay Packers. If Wicks gains confidence now, that should carry over into the season.
Saudi have arrived to help Chelsea with a shock offer to sell a player they were dead set to make a loss on at one point. Plenty of things have gone on this week involving Chelsea in the transfer market as they’ve looked to get deals going. It was only earlier in the day yesterday when we were hearing that a deal for Joao Felix to join Benfica on a permanent transfer was close and likely, but Chelsea were only set to make about half of what they paid to sign him, which would not have been great at all. Even Fabrizio Romano has been speaking on updated news on Felix to Benfica this weekend, but it doesn’t look like he is heading there at all now and Chelsea are about to get a very decent fee for him. Felix to Saudi! It looks like Saudi are coming to rescue Chelsea again with the Blues having sold a lot of their players to clubs over there in recent seasons, as have many other clubs too mind. Fabrizio Romano put out on his X account late last night: “Al Nassr are in advanced talks to sign João Félix and hijack Benfica’s move! “Understand Al Nassr have sent permanent deal proposal to Chelsea and contract proposal to João. “The agreement is close as final details are set to be discussed in the next 24/48h.” Chelsea will be applauded Journalist Ben Jacobs is reporting that Chelsea are set to receive over £40m for Felix, which is around what they paid to sign him. If this goes through then Chelsea must be applauded for managing to get this fee back for Felix after a poor loan last season and him not being in good form at all in recent years!
The New York Yankees didn't come into the season with the strongest third base situation, and it only got worse over time. They converted traditional second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the hot corner after getting him at the Trade Deadline last season and installed a timeshare with him, DJ LeMahieu, Oswald Peraza, and Oswaldo Cabrera there in 2025. However, the latter player broke his ankle on May 12, and the Yankees released the now 37-year-old LeMahieu on July 10. Chisholm was primarily back at second at that point, so this left Peraza and Jorbit Vivas as their only true remaining third basemen. With Peraza hitting .147 and Vivas hitting .164, it was clear what the team's biggest need was. That's why it acquired veteran third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies on Friday. New York manager Aaron Boone gave his thoughts about the 30-year-old before Friday's bout with the Philadelphia Phillies, via SNY. "I know there's real offensive potential there. I know he's had real offensive success, as well as some struggles there over the last calendar year or two," he said. "It seems like over the last month he's really started swinging the bat like he's capable of. He can impact the ball, he can control the strike zone, he's had some swing-and-misses that have probably hurt him a little bit." "But then he can really defend over there," he continued. "The handful of times that we've played against them that I watch him, you're like, 'That's what it should look like over there.' He moves really well and has that prototypical good third base thing." McMahon is slashing .217/.314/.403 with 16 homers and 35 RBI over 100 games this season. He also has a .978 fielding percentage and six errors. Right-handed pitcher Will Warren (6-5, 4.91 ERA) will start for the Yankees against Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker (3-5, 3.75 ERA) on Friday.
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