Praise and Thanks for Rea, Braves Act Quickly, Cubs Infield Depth, Chicago Stars, and Other Cubs Bullets ...Middle East

I don’t follow college football as closely as I once did, but if you’d told me even just a few years ago that Indiana Football would soon be winning a national championship, I’d have been stunned. Good for them.

I’ve had this note tabbed for a good long while, and the Zac Gallen report (the Cubs are still talking) brought it back to mind:

Colin Rea from August 1st on: 10 G, 9 GS, 53.1 IP, 3.38 ERA, 1.7 fWAR (9th), 2.50 FIP. pic.twitter.com/7F7YafeD22

— Sam Fosberg (@discussbaseball) December 14, 2025 It can be true that the Cubs would benefit from adding Gallen, even in spite of their significant starting pitching depth, and it can also be true that bumping Rea down into the 7th/8th/9th starter range is appropriate. But I don’t want any of that to lose sight of just how good Rea was for the Cubs last year – how important – or how valuable he can still be in 2026. It’s a thankless job to be the guy everyone just assumes will be “eh, put him wherever, he’s just depth” guy, but Rea wore it just fine with the Brewers and then again last year with the Cubs. When we talk about the Cubs having “quality” starting pitching depth, far beyond most clubs, it’s exactly things like this. Most clubs do not have a Colin Rea-caliber pitcher to be a 7th/8th/9th starter, and to easily move in and out of the rotation as necessary throughout a season. That is all to say, regardless of whether the Cubs add another sure-fire starting pitcher from here, Rea will have significant utility, and the Cubs were quite wise to (1) sign him in the first place last year, (2) sign him to a deal that included a club option, and (3) re-work the deal to tack on another club option for 2027, just in case. The Braves very quickly addressed the hole created by Ha-Seong Kim’s injury, signing Jorge Mateo to a one-year, $1 million deal. No one will root for an injury, but you have to figure that Mateo, 30, must like he received a gift from God in the form of that contract – he’s coming of a season in which he hit .177/.217/.266/33 wRC+, was worth negative value on defense, and posted a -0.5 WAR overall. The last three seasons combined, he’s at just .216/.261/.350/69 wRC+, all while dealing with myriad injury issues, and although he can play all over, it’s probably debatable just how good he still is at shortstop. That is all to say: it’s beneficial to not need to sign an emergency infielder in late-January, and it’s pretty understandable why the Cubs have hoarded a handful of fringe infield options at Triple-A Iowa just in case disaster strikes (Benjamin Cowles recently added from waivers, Scott Kingery added on a minor league deal, Devin Ortiz added via the Rule 5 Draft). … it’s also why trading Matt Shaw (or Nico Hoerner) would have to come with such a massive return that it makes the deal a no-brainer, even allowing for the fact that an injury to a middle infielder after a deal like that could be a real nightmare. The external options out there to cover a Spring Training disaster are near non-existent. Shaw is out in Arizona getting to work:

The Cubs Matt Shaw getting in some BP work in camp today! #Cubs pic.twitter.com/s1kd4k2zEd

— Rich Biesterfeld (@biest22) January 19, 2026 And Shota Imanaga is getting to work in Japan:

Shōta opened his training to the media. @Cubs #GoCubsGo pic.twitter.com/ztdWmPo9jE

— CubbyMike?? (@CubbyMike76) January 20, 2026 Pete Crow-Armstrong went to the Blackhawks game last night, and with whom did he go? Another young Chicago star, fresh off an incredible season:

We’ve got PCA + QB1 on the glass folks pic.twitter.com/gsCI3cF6A9

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 20, 2026

PCA x Caleb Williams front row at the United Center tonight just feels correct ?‍↕️ pic.twitter.com/nzqMwKGDUg

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) January 20, 2026

We’re so lucky to have PCA and Caleb Williams. pic.twitter.com/ycEk8SRDbG

— Cubs Zone (@CubsZone) January 20, 2026 Keep these two together in Chicago for a long, long time, please and thanks. Speaking of showing up for Chicago sports, Alex Bregman certainly understood the first week assignment:

Alex Bregman’s first week in Chicago ? pic.twitter.com/Y4bpHYrzCL

— Cubs Zone (@CubsZone) January 19, 2026 The attempt here is so bonkers it is almost art:

Bo Bichette career stats per game vs Phillies 3B Alec Bohm#BoBichette has better numbers but it’s not drastic enough to justify the massive difference in money On top of that the New York Mets star was 1 of the worst SS in MLB last season for the Blue Jays pic.twitter.com/1UXnSfsU31

— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) January 17, 2026 Good memories:

10 year anniversary of the 2016 World Series championship team ? pic.twitter.com/OYBVCk483G

— Cubs Zone (@CubsZone) January 19, 2026 Kap with the tease:

Potentially something bigger.

— David Kaplan (@thekapman) January 20, 2026 MORE CUBS FROM BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN Newsletter

Monday Night Felt Like a Significant Moment for Chicago Sports#Blackhawks #DaBears#Cubs t.co/OqP35kAF8i

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 20, 2026

I really think people are underestimating Zac Gallen. Does the free agent righty make as much sense for the Cubs now as he did two weeks ago? No. Of course not. But I can easily understand why the Cubs are "still in" on him. t.co/ksbmTS1Psz

— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) January 19, 2026

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