Impending Free Agents and a Special Opportunity, MLBPA Fallout, ABS Testing, and Other Cubs Bullets ...Middle East

With baseball broadcast season about to arrive, I noticed a huge sale on the Amazon Fire TV Stick that I thought I’d pass along if you needed a cheap streaming device. #ad

These Cubs have an outsized volume of important players set to hit free agency after the season, which will necessarily color the way the year plays out for these guys. “I’ve talked with some of the other guys who are on their last years,” Jameson Taillon said, per Cubs.com. “We’re all just embracing this year as like, ‘We have the chance to do something really special together.’ Who knows if we’ll all be back next year, so why not just make the most of this year? Work our tails off together. Try to accomplish something really special.” In addition to Taillon, all of the following are free agents after this year: Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Carson Kelly, and a bunch of relievers. This is actually pretty fun (and, hey, you have to make sure the system works and get in your practice!):

Cubs testing out ABS during live BPCounsell ? pic.twitter.com/INS5s5cE2U

— Elise Menaker (@EliseMenaker) February 17, 2026 The executive subcommittee of the MLBPA, and the team representatives, declined to rush into naming a successor to Tony Clark, who stepped down as the union’s chief yesterday. As Chris Bassitt told Ken Rosenthal, “I feel we have made mistakes in the past by making rushed decisions. The executive subcommittee and all the reps agreed we want to get this right. We don’t want to get it done just because there’s a void …. I would think we would have this wrapped up within 24 hours, but at the end of the day I believe that making sure all 1,200-plus players have a true opinion on this and a true understanding of everything we know is more important than filling it as soon as possible.” Having a head of the union in place would seem very important in the coming weeks as the CBA negotiations were theoretically going to kick into actual gear, but it’s also possible that Bruce Meyer, the number two at the union who had done a lot of the negotiating last time around, could simply take over that part of the role while the union takes its time finding a new chief. The MLBPA issued a statement confirming Clark’s departure (and notably not saying any of the kind things you usually see when a 13-year leader departs), and said, “As always, the players remain focused on their ongoing preparations for collective bargaining this year. The strength of this union is – and will always be – the solidarity of our membership. We have a long history of fighting for the rights of every player, and we’re committed to making sure we can continue that fight successfully.” Each of Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ spoke about the topic as part of their media availability: Happ on the upcoming CBA negotiations and the prospect of a lockout: “I think the game’s in a great place. The rules changes have worked. The pace is fantastic. Viewership, attendance — all those things are in a great place. It’s a beautiful game, and you can see that the reception has been really strong from fans in the last few years. And so, I really hope that we can continue playing baseball and avoid anything that would take the game away from the fans.” Tom Ricketts doesn’t speak publicly all that often about the Cubs, but he does it at least a couple times a year, and obviously does his regular walks around the ballpark. So this is pretty nuts:

Today is a special day for Red Sox fans. It marks the six-year anniversary of the last time owner John Henry took any public questions from the media. 2,192 days. No press conferences. No public questions from the media. Nothing. Owner of the team. Crazy. pic.twitter.com/QRwGUWiph1

— Mike Mutnansky (@MikeMutnansky) February 17, 2026 So annoying/stupid/whatever:

Chances of Winning 2026 World Series (FanGraphs):27.3% Dodgers ?9.5% Braves8.3% Mariners7.6% Mets5.8% Yankees5.5% Tigers4.8% Phillies4.3% Blue Jays4.0% Red Sox3.8% Cubs3.7% Orioles1.9% Pirates1.8% Royals1.7% Rangers1.5% Brewers1.4% Astros1.3% Giants1.2% Twins…

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) February 18, 2026 28 years ago today, we lost Harry Caray: MORE CUBS FROM BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN Newsletter

So … Caleb Williams Went on Maxx Crosby’s Podcast t.co/VxMRhbHDUS

— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) February 17, 2026

Blackhawks (Kinda) Update Wyatt Kaiser’s Status #blackhawks t.co/G07N6xYGBE

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) February 17, 2026

Around The NBA: Giannis, Powell, Conley, World Cup, More t.co/85dlLLPpDn

— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) February 17, 2026

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Last updated : 18 February 2026 clock 05:05 PM

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