Other Signings, Milner, Building a Bullpen, and Other Cubs Bullets ...Middle East

As some of you know, our youngest is disabled. So many simple things that the rest of us take for granted are incredibly difficult for her. But, man, she absolutely blew it out at her school’s holiday concert yesterday, and I was smile-crying the entire time. With some help, she was able to stand up there on stage for most of the performance, doing the choreography, clapping for her peers, and really putting in the effort that I know was 10x harder for her than it would be for a typical kiddo.

I was so proud of her, and I was so thankful that her school – and her friends – do so much to ensure that she can be included in moments like that. It has a real impact on her, the family, and on the rest of the school. We’re all better for making the effort, especially my wonderful little girl.

Some lesser free agent signings to share (and the signs they portend), with old friend Mark Leiter Jr. going to the A’s for $3 million, and outfielder Lane Thomas going to the Royals for $5.25 million. The Leiter deal sounds roughly in the range for a reliever whose results were rough the last two years with the Yankees, but whose peripherals remain fairly strong. He’s not going to get a huge deal because we know how variable his performance gets when the splitter abandons him, but he’s worth having in your bullpen. I actually thought he’d get more. The Thomas deal is, in some ways, the more interesting one to me. The 30-year-old is capable of playing slightly-below-average defense in any of the three outfield spots, and that’s clearly why he’s getting a pretty healthy payday. His 2025 season was injury-marred and terribly-performed, plus he ended it with surgery to address plantar fasciitis. Even in the four years before 2025, he was basically a league-average hitter. So for a guy like that to get $5+ million on a guaranteed deal is quite the reiteration: the outfield market is dire this offseason. The Royals were known to be looking for outfield help, possibly offering up pitching in trade. But maybe they felt they couldn’t keep waiting, and wanted a little coverage in case they weren’t able to pull off a bigger move. So they paid Thomas a lot to get him in house. Of course, if I’m a trade partner, I’m now holding onto my outfield pieces even more tightly, knowing how valuable they clearly are right now. Some folks aren’t enthused about the Hoby Milner signing (or the Collin Snider minor league deal), which is both understandable and fine. It’s not really supposed to be an exciting move – just a probably-useful one. In the bullpen, more than anywhere else, you just take swings. Lots and lots of swings. Do I want the Cubs to also sign another back-end guy? Hell yes. But am I happy they’re adding a weird middle reliever like Milner? Also yes. And adding lots and lots of fliers on reclamation projects from here? Another loud yes. THEY’RE GOOD AT IT! I don’t want to COUNT on the Cubs finding another late-inning trio in 2026 solely through reclamation and cheap veteran types – they’re good at finding utility, but last year was kinda over the top with Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, and Caleb Thielbar all turning into studs – but I do think it’s fair to presume they’ll get meaningful innings out of multiple guys who aren’t “name” signings or trades. Of course, they’ll also undoubtedly get some struggles from “name” signings or trades (look at Ryan Pressly, Ryan Brasier, and Eli Morgan last year), so that’s also why you have to take so many swings. Lots more to add from here, both in terms of guys you’ve heard of and guys you haven’t. As for Milner, he is exactly as good as these other listed relievers and I’ll take no questions:

The only relievers with 240+ K and fewer than 65 BB over the last four seasons (min. 90% games in relief):Edwin DíazRaisel IglesiasEmmanuel ClaseMason MillerHoby Milner ?Chicago adds an underrated piece to its bullpen! pic.twitter.com/6VJH1DLsnD

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) December 11, 2025 CBS Sports’ Matt Snyder wrote a book about the history of the leadoff man, and it’s got a heavy Cubs flavor to it, including interviews with a number of recent Cubs leadoff men (Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Dexter Fowler). And I can’t mention Cubs leadoff men and big national discussions without posting one of the best leadoff shots of all-time:

A complete list of players who have homered leading off Game 7 of the World Series:@DexterFowler pic.twitter.com/Iq2R4qX5RU

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 1, 2020 Just kind of an interesting factoid, and three fairly different situations:

Sammy Sosa and Aaron Judge are the only two players in MLB history to hit more home runs in their age 29-32 seasons than Kyle Schwarber. ? t.co/QPt6YFtN5v

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) December 12, 2025 Bo was unreal:

Bo Jackson crushing MONSTER Bombs Off Legends1. Jack Morris– Nearly out of the Stadium2. Randy Johnson–hits one of the longest HRs the Big Unit ever gave up (estimated at 500 ft). 3. Nolan Ryan–The LONGEST HR Ryan ever gave up in his Career (according Ryan). pic.twitter.com/h7V2a0t5jN

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) December 11, 2025 MORE CUBS FROM BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN Newsletter

The latest episode of the BN Cubs Podcast is up and out:

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