The Rundown: CubsCon Thoughts, Cubs Building Arch to Honor WS Champs, CBT Penalty Not a Concern

I’m still mourning the Bears’ loss while also mentally preparing myself for IU’s national championship game, so pardon me if I’m a little more scattered than usual. My hope is to wrap this up quickly so I can run a few errands, including a trip to the gym and then to City BBQ to pick up pulled pork for Cuban sandwiches. Figured that would be a fun dinner given the site of the game and Fernando Mendoza’s heritage.

Anyway, back to baseball. Cubs Convention took place over the weekend, and I’ve got mixed thoughts about the annual event. My main purpose for attending each year is to catch up with friends and acquaintances, with the panels taking more of a backseat since Marquee broadcasts everything live now. Even if you don’t or can’t get the network, social media is flooded with clips and quotes.

It used to be that a handful of other bloggers and beat writers provided the only information you could get without being at the Sheraton Grand. While that frees up my time, it means far less of a bump for the site. Then there’s attendance in general, which was way up this year. They actually cut off entrance to the ballroom for the opening ceremonies and were only letting people up in small groups by mid-afternoon on Friday.

My son and I made it up right as the ceremony was getting underway, but the speakers in the mezzanine weren’t working for several minutes. It was also sweltering because so many people were packed in. Overselling the event like that meant a lot of folks ended up with a poor experience.

The best part, at least for me, was attending a small panel with staff assistant AJ Lewis and assistant hitting coach John Mallee. Alex Cohen, with whom I’ve developed a good relationship over the years, moderated the discussion in front of maybe 20 fans. I have to give Alex props for hyping my son up prior to the panel as well. Ryne is a quiet kid and he’s also very humble, maybe too humble, so getting that encouragement was great.

We only stayed through the first part of the 2016 reunion panel, which was perfect because the ballroom was standing room only by then and we needed to get home for baseball. I was proud of myself for making the 173-mile commute home in almost exactly 3 hours from the point we left the conference, and that included a stop for gas and snacks. Then Ryne carved some dudes up in his live bullpen that evening.

My overall opinion of CubsCon has evolved over the nearly 15 years I’ve been attending, moving from excitement to borderline revulsion and now to sort of a contented tolerance. It can just be so hectic and tiring, but I always enjoy catching up with friends. Then again, I was able to do disappointingly little of that due to timing. I would still recommend it to anyone who hasn’t been, as it’s truly wild to have that much Cubs energy in the middle of January.

World Series Monument

Crane Kenney told 670 The Score that the Cubs would not be dedicating a statue to the 2016 World Series champs, as they couldn’t possibly honor every member of the team and coaching staff that way. Instead, he later clarified to the Tribune that they will be unveiling an archway monument at the Clark Street entrance of Gallagher Way on July 17. It will be inclusive of the team’s first two titles in 1907 and ’08 as well.

Construction on the archway is set to begin in early June, so you can imagine how much buzz will be generated as the summer heats up. No word yet on whether we’ll get a look at any renderings, as Kenney said the team is still in the early design stages.

Luxury Tax Not a Cap

Cubs GM Carter Hawkins confirmed that the first CBT penalty level does not serve as a cap for the Cubs, calling it “less of a consideration” in light of the team’s latest additions. That is something we had theorized when they traded for Edward Cabrera, then agreed to salaries with Cabrera and Justin Steele that were about a million dollars above projections.

Both Jesse Rogers and Sahadev Sharma have been saying the same thing, so it’s safe to say the Cubs won’t be trying to trade Nico Hoerner just to save money. They will continue to listen, just as they always do, but Hoyer is very much in the driver’s seat in any talks. As our Jacob Zanolla laid out, however, Matt Shaw looks more and more like a trade candidate.

Zanolla specifically noted the Red Sox as a potential partner, and MLB Network’s Jon Morosi connected them as well.

More News and Notes

• Braves infielder Ha-Seong Kim will miss up to five months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right middle finger suffered when he slipped on ice in Korea. That’s pretty ironic since he’ll also have to worry about ICE when he comes back to the States.
• The Cubs have signed yet another pitcher from Tread’s pro day, this time bringing in veteran righty Trent Thornton. The 32-year-old has 401 MLB innings to his credit, mostly as a reliever for the Blue Jays and Mariners. He missed the second half of 2025 due to a torn Achilles, but is ahead of schedule with his rehab. The “super supinator” was credited with eight different pitches last season, which is incredible for a reliever. This class of minor league free agents they’ve brought in looks very strong.
• We touched on this in a previous piece, but Marquee is further reducing spring broadcasts despite being founded on the idea that it would provide full coverage from Mesa.
• Per Jon Heyman, the Cubs are among the teams showing interest in 30-year-old 3B/OF Miguel Andujar. That seems like the kind of signing they’d only make if they are indeed looking to move Shaw, who is expected to get work in the outfield this season.
• I’m just throwing it in here because I’m running out of steam, but The Rip was actually pretty decent. Loads of tension and misdirection with a decent payoff. The pacing bogged down a little in the middle and it felt like something was missing from the plot, but a solid effort for a Netflix movie.
• Next up will be Song Sung Blue, which my wife and I were unable to finish after the Bears game.