The GM Meetings continue in Las Vegas today, and there was finally a little bit of activity overnight, with the Tigers signing Emilio Pagan and the Padres signing Ryan Weiss. I hardly think those two were the key to unclogging a jam, but perhaps their signings are an indication that things are moving a bit.
For the Cubs, they may have to do more in Vegas while leaning on GM Carter Hawkins, as Bruce Levine reports that Jed Hoyer had to leave to attend to a personal matter.
Speaking of Hawkins, he touched on Ben Brown and his neck surgery, which we discussed yesterday:Cubs RHP Ben Brown’s surgery Sunday involved inserting a screw in his neck to stabilize stress fracture & get blood flow to the area. "Hopeful we get 100% of Ben Brown next year once he gets healthy & hopefully put some of these neck issues behind us," GM Carter Hawkins said.
— Meghan Montemurro (@MegMontemurro) November 11, 2026This afternoon Hawkins confirmed that Ben Brown had surgery yesterday. The surgery involved putting a screw in Brown’s neck to stabilize the stress fracture. "He’s walking around the streets of New York, expect him to pitch this year. He’s gonna start throwing after the new year, but hopeful we get 100% of Ben Brown next year once he gets healthy and hopefully put some these neck issues behind us."
— Elise Menaker (@EliseMenaker) November 10, 2026 I do like hearing that Brown is already out living his normal human life – that’s how I read the “walking around the streets of New York” thing – which further confirms that everything went how the surgeon hoped with the procedure. Of course, they do these kinds of things all the time, so that part was probably always the least likely to generate new concerns. Instead, we just have to wait to see how he recovers. At least now the Cubs and Ben Brown and his doctors and trainers can have a firm plan in place for his rehab during the coming lockout. “Ben’s extremely tough,” Hawkins said, per The Athletic. “There’s no one who works harder than Ben. He’s trying to make sure that he’s healthy. The doctors gave him a really good prognosis that he’s going to be able to pitch for us next year and for a long time after that. This stabilizes things and puts him in a really good place.” Consider it another reminder that the Cubs have to prepare their pitching staff for Opening Day with Brown (and Justin Steele, and CERTAINLY Cade Horton) as a bonus possibility. It sounds like a return in the first half at SOME point is possible, but no one is going to know the precise timing until much later, and no one is going to know the effectiveness or innings volume until even later than that. As expected, Pat Murphy won the NL Manager of the Year Award once again, and it’s hard to argue, given the Brewers’ continued success. He, like the front office over there, is clearly doing something quite right.Pat Murphy accepted his third straight Manager of the Year award from a hospital bed after getting a hip replacement t.co/AdNFOcsDTR
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) November 11, 2026Pat Murphy joins elite company with his third Manager of the Year win ? t.co/scIl8vG8QE
— MLB (@MLB) November 11, 2026Cubs manager Craig Counsell received one second-place vote for NL Manager of the Year t.co/17Csl8WaNQ
— Jacob Zanolla (@jacobzanolla) November 11, 2026 It’s a bit ridiculous that Craig Counsell received just one single down-the-ballot vote. It doesn’t matter, as the voting for Manager of the Year has long become a twisted mangle of team performance and pre-season expectations (which is not a shot at the voters – how else are they supposed to vote? It’s pretty hard to actually know what’s going on in every clubhouse behind the scenes). But you can’t tell me, given the injuries the Cubs faced – that absolute onslaught of pitching injuries so far beyond reasonable – that Counsell didn’t do a good job helping the team get to 89 wins and the playoffs. The players, as always, deserve 95% of the credit. The other 5%? Craig Counsell and the coaching staff are in there somewhere. Seems like another vote or two down the ballot would’ve been justified when you consider the season as a whole. Over in the American League, Will Venable took home the honors as the manager of a White Sox team whose record turned around so dramatically this year. I didn’t find that as shocking as some – the seeds of talent were clearly there in the organization by the start of the season – but Venable and his staff no doubt deserve credit for helping harness that nascent talent and turn it into wins. I guess I’m just realizing as I write all this how much I really do not like the Manager of the Year award as being in the same bucket as MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year – awards where anyone on the outside has all the same information available to evaluate performances. With managers, so much of the actual value they provide is obscured or tangential, tied to player development or giving a steady hand behind the scenes. Figuring out who can actually go today, or who needs to rest; how to talk to different guys; when to push, when to pull back. So on and so forth. There’s just no way to actually evaluate that stuff without being an omniscient being. For all we know, the FACTUAL best manager was like Warren Schaeffer of the Rockies. Jameson Taillon is working his way back from surgery, with no intention of hanging ’em up:Hey everyone, I’m back! 5 weeks out from flexor and internal brace surgery. I’m 34 years old and on my 3rd elbow surgery, but I truly believe I have my best years ahead. Going to use this space to document some of my rehab journey over the next 10 months!
— Jameson Taillon (@JTaillon50) November 10, 2026 I anticipate that teams will track Taillon’s recovery into next year, and it’s conceivable he’ll throw for clubs next summer with an eye toward signing down the stretch. MORE CUBS FROM BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN NewsletterHence then, the article about more on brown s neck surgery manager of the year awards and other cubs bullets was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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