Chicago Cubs

Outfielder Clint Frazier criticized the culture of his old team, the New York Yankees, in an interview with Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times that published Thursday.

I like it here. Certainly don’t miss some of the things over there. And I’m really enjoying the way that this clubhouse has maneuvered. It seems like there’s a lot of guys in here that are just accepting of everyone. And it’s been really good for me.

You had to be a cookie-cutter version to be on that team. If not, then you were like a really bad distraction, it seemed like. So I don’t miss being told how I had to look for the last five years.

Frazier played 221 games from 2017 to 2021 with the Yankees, hitting .239 (.761 OPS) with 29 home runs and 97 RBI. The Yankees released Frazier on Nov. 23, and he signed with the Chicago Cubs on Dec. 1.

Frazier is no longer with the major league club after getting designated for assignment Friday, per Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. He was hitting .216 (.653 OPS) with no home runs and one RBI.

Frazier had an eventful and challenging tenure in the Bronx.

He showed flashes of great offensive potential in 2019 and 2020 when he hit .267 (.845 OPS) with 20 home runs in 108 games. On the flip side, Frazier struggled defensively.

Finding a consistent everyday spot in the lineup was tough to come by, which Frazier referenced in a December 2021 tweet after the Cubs move.

Frazier also suffered concussion symptoms on and off from 2018 to 2021, to the point where he told The Short Porch podcast (h/t Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News) that he was "severely symptomatic."

That Yankees tenure is over, but Frazier now encounters a new challenge after losing his spot on Chicago's big league roster.

He came into professional baseball with a tremendous amount of potential after Cleveland selected him fifth overall in the 2013 MLB draft. There's still time for Frazier to tap into that potential, even with the recent DFA.

For now, the Cubs will go to Frazier's old home to play the Yankees for a three-game series in the Bronx beginning Friday.

The Chicago Cubs and Willson Contreras, who leads all MLB catchers with 10 home runs in 2022, reportedly reached an agreement Thursday on a one-year, $9.625 million contract to avoid arbitration.

ESPN's Jesse Rogers reported details of the deal, which represents the midpoint between the sides' arbitration proposals—$9 million for the Cubs and $10.25 million for Contreras.

The arbitration process was delayed by the 99-day MLB lockout during the offseason, which is why hearings are ongoing two months into the regular season.

Contreras is playing his final year under arbitration. He's eligible to become a free agent at season's end if the sides don't agree to an extension.

He's off to a terrific start to the campaign. His 10 homers are two more than any other catcher, ahead of the eight by his brother William of the Atlanta Braves and the Arizona Diamondbacks' Daulton Varsho, and his 2.2 WAR is also tops at the position, per FanGraphs.

While he's made a major impact with his bat, his play behind the plate has left room for improvement.

Contreras ranks 53rd on the Baseball Savant catcher-framing leaderboard, which estimates he's cost the Cubs two runs in that aspect of the game.

The 30-year-old would still attract ample interest if he hits free agency next winter because of his production at a position with a limited number of high-end offensive producers.

The Venezuela native is a two-time All-Star who owns a career .260/.353/.463 slash line with 105 home runs across 668 career appearances. He's spent his entire seven-year MLB tenure with the Cubs, who won the World Series during his rookie year in 2016.

Chicago is going through a rebuilding phase and has already trended in the wrong direction this season with a 23-33 record. Contreras' bat at a premium position would make him a prime target for contenders, and that could yield the Cubs quite a trade haul.

In March, the standout backstop said trade rumors are a product of "doing something good on the field that another team might want."

"And I understand that the Chicago Cubs are in a rebuild right now. And if they can get good packages, they're going to do whatever they do best for the team," Contreras told reporters. "Anyways, whatever happens, happens."

He'll be one of the most popular names in the rumor mill over the next two months.

The Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies have gotten off to tough starts in the 2022 season, but help could be coming over the winter.

An MLB general manager told Bob Nightengale of USA Today they expect both teams to be major suitors for a strong crop of free-agent shortstops that likely will include Trea Turner, Carlos Correa and Xander Bogaerts (the latter two have opt-out clauses).

"I guarantee you they’re going to get one of them," the GM said of the Cubs.

The 23-31 Cubs have been utilizing the 25-year-old Nico Hoerner at shortstop, and while he's been solid (.290 with three homers and 16 RBI), he could also be bumped to second base if the team brings in an elite option at the position.

The 24-29 Phillies, meanwhile, have relied on Didi Gregorius (.288 with seven RBI) when healthy and Johan Camargo (.246 with three homers and 15 RBI) when Gregorius has been unavailable because of injuries. But the team could clearly use both an offensive and defensive upgrade at the position, even if a woeful bullpen is the team's biggest weakness.

Turner, Correa and Bogaerts should have a vibrant market, meanwhile.

Turner, 28, was an All-Star in 2021 after hitting .328 with 28 homers, 77 RBI, 107 runs, 195 hits and 32 stolen bases between the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers. He's one of the more dangerous offensive weapons in baseball, especially if his added power last season wasn't simply an outlier but a trend going forward.

Correa, 27, is a two-time All-Star, a champion, a Gold Glove winner and was the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year. He perhaps didn't receive the market he was hoping for ahead of this season, ultimately signing a three-year, $105.3 million deal with the Minnesota Twins that included player options for 2023 and 2024.

He seems likely to test that market again in pursuit of a long-term deal.

Finally, the 29-year-old Bogaerts is a three-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger award winner a and two-time champion, and it would be somewhat shocking to see the Red Sox let him walk.

But Boston has hardly bent over backward to keep its own stars in place after trading Mookie Betts to the Dodgers, and this offseason's signing of Trevor Story perhaps foreshadowed Boston's willingness to part ways with Bogaerts, especially with a long-term extension looming for 25-year-old superstar Rafael Devers.

The Chicago Sports Alliance, which includes the NFL's Bears, NBA's Bulls, NHL's Blackhawks and MLB's Cubs and White Sox, made a commitment of $300,000 to find "evidence-based solutions to gun violence" after recent mass shootings in Texas and Buffalo.

Here's the teams' full statement:

On Tuesday, 19 students and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

That tragedy occurred less than two weeks after a racist mass shooting at a Buffalo grocery store killed 10 people.

Both shootings were carried out by gunmen who used high-powered assault rifles.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr delivered one of the most impassioned speeches about his desire for improved gun-control measures on Tuesday:

It's one snippet of the effort made by sports teams and players since the shootings.

The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays used their social-media accounts to raise awareness about gun violence rather than providing game coverage during Thursday's contest.

Minnesota Vikings cornerback Kris Boyd, a Texas native, started a GoFundMe fundraiser to benefit the families whose children were killed in Uvalde.

"These are children, man. ... Try to put that in your mind," Boyd said. "I saw something on Twitter that said they had to identify these kids by their backpacks. I was devastated. I cried."

Donations from the Chicago sports franchises will benefit two organizations.

The Robb School Memorial Fund was set up to help families impacted by the tragedy.

The Sandy Hook Promise Foundation was established after a 2012 school shooting in Connecticut where 20 children and six staff members were killed. It aims to "honor all victims of gun violence by turning our tragedy into a moment of transformation."

Chicago's teams said they are "committed to making a difference through our resources in this gun violence epidemic."

Seiya Suzuki has found a new home in Major League Baseball by agreeing to a deal with the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Suzuki landed a five-year, $85 million contract.

ESPN's Jeff Passan pointed out that's the largest pact for a Japanese position player coming to MLB and the second-largest ever behind Masahiro Tanaka's $155 million Yankees deal.

David Kaplan of NBC Sports Chicago originally reported Suzuki had agreed to a five-year, $70 million contract with the Cubs. 

Earlier in the offseason, MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported Suzuki was going to be posted for all 30 teams on Nov. 22, with a signing deadline of Dec. 22. 

The lockout, which began at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1, interrupted the process. MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball agreed to freeze Suzuki's posting window at that point. 

He has been one of the best players in NPB since making his debut in 2013. The 27-year-old has a .315/.414/.570 slash line with 182 homers and 82 stolen bases in 902 career NPB games with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. He was named to the NPB All-Star team five times in the past six seasons. 

While looking at what MLB had to offer, Suzuki spoke to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic about the challenge of playing against the best baseball players in the world. 

"I was fascinated with how many better players there are in the States," Suzuki said. "That motivated me to play harder and get better so I could play with them someday."

R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports ranked Suzuki as the No. 15 free agent this offseason:

"In addition to posting above-average exit velocities, he's walked more than he's struck out in two of the past three years. (In 2020, the exception, he finished with one fewer walk than strikeout.) Suzuki also has a high-grade arm that should allow him to make an impact on defense. The one blemish in his game is that he's not a particularly skilled basestealer. Teams will gladly overlook that."

Suzuki has played shortstop and third base at times, but his primary position is right field. He has the arm strength to handle the position in MLB. His power and contact skills allowed him to hit a career-high 38 homers with Hiroshima in 2021. 

After turning the pages on many of the remaining players left from their 2016 World Series team last year, the Cubs appear to be loading up to make a run at the playoffs in 2022. 

Prior to the lockout, Chicago signed Marcus Stroman to anchor the starting rotation. 

Suzuki's signing affords Cubs manager David Ross more versatility with his outfield for the upcoming season. Jason Heyward remains a valuable defensive player, but his offense makes him virtually unplayable in right field (.627 OPS in 2021). 

Ian Happ is a slightly better offensive player than Heyward (.757 OPS), but he's not much of a defender in left field. 

Suzuki should help split the difference between Happ and Heyward. He's been a solid offensive player throughout his career in Japan, with the skill set to be an average defender in the corner outfield. 

There is still work for the Cubs to do to replenish their roster, but the additions of Stroman and Suzuki are promising for the short- and long-term future of the franchise. 

Veteran shortstop Andrelton Simmons has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Chicago Cubs.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal first reported the two sides were nearing a deal. MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported the one-year deal will be worth $4 million plus incentives. 

Cubs fans who want Carlos Correa don't need to give up hope with Simmons set to join the team, according to Rosenthal:

The 32-year-old signed a one-year, $10.5 million deal with the Minnesota Twins ahead of the 2021 season. The Twins were coming off their second straight American League Central title, so Simmons was a sensible addition to fortify the infield.

Unfortunately for both parties, they endured a year that fell well short of expectations. Minnesota finished last in the division at 73-89, and Simmons experienced his worst season in MLB. 

The four-time Gold Glove winner has long been valued more for his defense than his offense. Prior to last season, teams could at least expect him to get on base at a healthy rate and collect a solid number of extra-base hits. From 2013 to '19, he averaged 25 doubles per season and had a .315 on-base percentage, according to Baseball Reference.

Those numbers would've been a big upgrade over what he actually delivered in Minneapolis.

Simmons batted .223 and had a .283 on-base percentage in 131 appearances. Among 188 batters with at least 400 plate appearances, his .274 slugging percentage was the second-lowest in the majors, per FanGraphs.

He struck out in 13.7 percent of his at-bats and owned a .252 weighted on-base average. For some perspective, the latter number falls nearly 40 points below the threshold FanGraphs deems "awful."

Not surprisingly, Simmons remains a plus defender. He ranked tied for fifth in MLB in outs above average (16), according to Statcast. He set such a high standard for himself in his prime that he'd still remain elite with the glove when he inevitably begins to decline a bit.

Simmons was so bad offensively that expecting a level of regression to the mean is reasonable for Chicago. But some of his advanced metrics point to a sustained trend over multiple years, per Baseball Savant:

Exit Velocity

• 2018: 88.2 mph
• 2019: 87.8 mph
• 2020: 86.5 mph
• 2021: 84.1 mph

Expected Batting Average

• 2018: .275
• 2019: .243
• 2020: .238
• 2021: .230

Expected Slugging Percentage

• 2018: .387
• 2019: .327
• 2020: .281
• 2021: .281

The addition of Simmons immediately improves the left side of the Cubs' infield defensively. If his offensive contributions continue along their current path, then they may be faced with a dilemma about utilizing him as an everyday option at shortstop.

Regardless of what could happen with Correa, the Cubs needed to add more infield depth. Their current shortstop depth chart has Nico Hoerner penciled in as the starter, with Sergio Alcantara on the bench. 

At this stage of his career, Simmons is best used as a backup defensive player. He has the glove to play shortstop at a high level, but his offensive decline makes it difficult for him to start 150 games. 

Chicago Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman said he was called a racist slur and subjected to death threats during his tenure with the New York Mets.

"Endless death threats, being called a n----r often, hearing black lives don't matter, and playing for a front office who didn't care about any of that," Stroman tweeted Wednesday in response to a fan question about his time with the Mets. "I will speak on this topic on my time and on my podcast at some point. Still dealt on the mound through all of that!"

Stroman pitched 44 games for the Mets after coming over via midseason trade in 2019, going 14-15 with underlying numbers that were far superior to his record.

While Stroman did not detail specific examples, he said "the amount of racial/bias hate I received was truly disgusting" in response to another fan.

He previously detailed racism he faced from fans by posting a DM sent to him featuring a racist slur and also called out Diamondbacks broadcaster Bob Brenly for making comments with "racist undertones" in a game last season. Brenly made a quip about the do-rag Stroman was wearing on the mound and later apologized.

It was clear Stroman, who signed a three-year contract with the Cubs this offseason, was not happy during his time with the Mets. He said he was "very thankful to be out of there for several reasons" and ripped general manager Billy Eppler in a now-deleted tweet posted Tuesday.

"Just look at who the Mets hired as their GM...that tells you enough," Stroman wrote. "His lack of awareness in his previous position is being exposed to the public now. I'm beyond thankful I'm gone from that organization. God got me!"

After being traded by the Chicago Cubs midway through the 2021 season, Anthony Rizzo could return to the club as a free agent this offseason.

Per Bruce Levine of 670 The Score, the Cubs have had "internal conversations" about pursuing Rizzo when Major League Baseball's lockout comes to an end.

As the Cubs were in the midst of finishing 71-91 last season, the front office decided to look toward the future by dealing Rizzo, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant prior to the July 30 trade deadline.

Rizzo was moved to the New York Yankees for prospects Alexander Vizcaino and Kevin Alcantara.

Frank Schwindel was fantastic as the Cubs' primary first baseman after Rizzo was traded last season, hitting .342/.389/.613 with 13 homers in 56 games. But he was also a 29-year-old rookie who had no extended MLB experience prior to 2021.

A three-time All-Star, Rizzo turned in a solid 2021 campaign between the Cubs and Yankees, hitting .248/.344/.440 with 22 homers and 61 RBI in 496 at-bats over 141 games. 

The Yankees could end up slotting Luke Voit back in at first base if they want to move on from Rizzo. Injuries limited Voit to 68 games last season, but he still managed a .764 OPS and 11 homers in 213 at-bats.

The Cubs are in an interesting spot because they made one notable move prior to the lockout that seems to indicate they want to contend in 2022, signing Marcus Stroman to a three-year, $71 million deal on Dec. 1 with an opt out after the second season.

If Chicago's front office believes the roster has the talent to contend, signing a player like Rizzo makes sense. He's only 32 and doesn't figure to cost a ton as a free agent.    

Jon Lester's 16-year Major League Baseball career has come to an end. 

Speaking to ESPN's Jesse Rogers, Lester explained his body isn't able to handle the grind of a full season anymore. 

"It's kind of run its course," Lester said. "It's getting harder for me physically. The little things that come up throughout the year turned into bigger things that hinder your performance."

Lester played for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals over the course of his career. He made five All-Star teams and had four top-10 finishes in Cy Young voting, including a career-best second-place showing in 2016. 

The Red Sox originally selected Lester in the second round of the 2002 MLB draft. He made his big-league debut in 2006, but his rookie season took a dramatic turn near the end of the year when he was diagnosed with a form of lymphoma after experiencing back pain. 

After undergoing chemotherapy treatment, Lester was able to return to the Red Sox late in the 2007 season. The Washington native made his first career playoff start in Game 4 of the 2007 World Series. He tossed 5.2 shutout innings in a 4-3 win to help the Red Sox sweep the series. 

Lester spent the first nine years of his career in Boston before being traded to the A's at the trade deadline in July 2014. He did help Oakland make the playoffs, but the team was eliminated with a memorable wild-card game loss to the Kansas City Royals. 

As a free agent that offseason, Lester became a key piece for the Cubs in their rebuild. He signed a six-year, $155 million deal with Chicago to reunite with Theo Epstein, who worked in Boston's front office from 2001-11. 

Lester was one of the Cubs' heroes during their run to the World Series in 2016. He went 3-1 in six appearances with a 2.02 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 35.2 innings. The left-hander pitched three innings in relief in Game 7 of the World Series against Cleveland on two days rest. 

That 2016 season also wound up being the last great year of Lester's career, though he did turn in an All-Star performance and a ninth-place finish in Cy Young voting two years later. 

Lester finished his career with the Nationals after being traded midway through the 2021 season by the Cardinals. 

All told, Lester went 200-117 with a 3.66 ERA and 2,488 strikeouts over 2,740 innings in 452 career appearances. He won three World Series titles and was named MVP of the 2016 NLCS after allowing just two runs in 13 innings over two starts against the Los Angeles Dodgers.