January 23, 2018

Chicago Tribune, Cubs reportedly sign veteran catcher Chris Gimenez http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-chris-gimenez-20180122-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Cubs officially sign left-hander Brian Duensing to 2-year contract http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-brian-duensing-contract-20180122-story.html

Chicago Sun-Times, Could backup catcher be key to Cubs’ pursuit of Darvish? Makes Yu wonder … https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/could-backup-catcher-be-key-to-cubs-pursuit-of-darvish-makes-yu-wonder/

Chicago Sun-Times, Nutty ‘Professor’? Kyle Hendricks says Cubs rotation is good enough to win as is https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/kyle-hendricks-chicago-cubs-2018-rotation-nutty-professor/

The Athletic, How Scott Boras is selling Jake Arrieta and where things stand with the Cubs https://theathletic.com/219288/2018/01/22/how-scott-boras-is-selling-jake-arrieta-and-where-things-stand-with-the-cubs/

Cubs.com, Russell full-steam ahead with '18 goals in mind https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/cubs-russell-focused-on-health-in-2018/c-265126180

Cubs.com, Source: Cubs ink Gimenez to Minors deal https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/source-cubs-sign-catcher-chris-gimenez/c-265158268

Cubs.com, Duensing, Cubs complete two-year deal https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/brian-duensing-signs-with-cubs/c-264802178

NBC Sports Chicago, Cubs adding catching depth that may help them out in the Yu Darvish sweepstakes http://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/cubs-adding-catching-depth-may-help-them-out-yu-darvish-sweepstakes-willson-contreras-chris-gimenez-david-ross

NBC Sports Chicago, Reliving the magic of Nacho Man http://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/reliving-magic-nacho-man-cubs-cardinals-addison-russell

NBC Sports Chicago, The Brewers have emerged as a darkhorse in the race for top starting pitchers http://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/brewers-have-emerged-darkhorse-race-top-starting-pitchers-darvish-arrieta-cobb-cubs-cardinals-nl-central

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Chicago Tribune Cubs reportedly sign veteran catcher Chris Gimenez By Staff Veteran catcher Chris Gimenez signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs on Monday, according to multiple reports. Gimenez, who played for Cubs manager Joe Maddon when both were with the Rays in 2012 and 2013, was a teammate of free-agent pitcher Yu Darvish on the Rangers in 2014. Gimenez hit .220 in 74 games with the Twins last year. He has batted .218 with 22 home runs and 82 RBIs in 870 at-bats over nine big-league seasons. -- Chicago Tribune Cubs officially sign left-hander Brian Duensing to 2-year contract By Chris Kuc The Cubs on Monday made official the signing of left-handed pitcher Brian Duensing to a two-year contract. The Tribune reported last week that Duensing, 34, will receive $7 million through 2019. He went 1-1 with a 2.74 ERA in 68 appearances last season for the Cubs. Duensing struck out 61 and walked 18 with 13 holds in 62 1/3 innings in 2017. He had the third-lowest ERA among left-handed National League relievers with at least 65 appearances and also ranked third among NL lefties by stranding 28 of 33 inherited runners (84.8 percent). Duensing is 43-38 with two saves, 58 holds and a 4.01 ERA in 436 major-league appearances with the Twins (2009-15), Orioles (2016) and Cubs (2017). The Cubs’ 40-man roster stands at 39 players. -- Chicago Sun-Times Could backup catcher be key to Cubs’ pursuit of Darvish? Makes Yu wonder … By Gordon Wittenmyer The Cubs agreed to terms with a backup catcher on a minor-league contract, and all of a sudden a slumbering offseason seemed to come to life. Is Chris Gimenez a 35-year-old, .218-hitting prelude to Yu Darvish? Not necessarily. But the agreement with Darvish’s onetime personal catcher in recent days surfaced Monday, about the same time fresh rumors surrounding the free-agent pitcher began swirling — and fueled a social media ministorm.

One report originating in Japan said the Brewers have made an offer to Darvish, who already was linked the last two months to the Cubs, Twins, Rangers, Astros, Yankees and Dodgers (the Astros, at least, are now out of the mix after trading for Gerrit Cole this month). Another report said that “at least” one team had offered a five-year contract to Darvish, a rarity so far in the most dormant free-agent market in recent memory, in which the greatest length for a pitching contract has been three years. Gotta be the Cubs, right? A report by the Associated Press late Monday even said the Cubs were in “active talks” with Darvish. After all, Gimenez was Darvish’s personal catcher for a stretch of 12 of 13 starts with the Rangers in 2014. Darvish was 6-4 with a 3.29 ERA in 79⅓ innings and 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings throwing to Gimenez during one of four All-Star seasons. They didn’t play together before that or after, but they evidently remained close after Gimenez was sold to the Indians that summer. Now that Gimenez is a Cub? The implication seems obvious. Except this isn’t anything close to a Jon Lester-David Ross connection. The Cubs considered the Darvish connection in their talks with Gimenez. But Gimenez is a highly regarded backup. Two of his five big-league teams brought him back for second stints. The Indians acquired him three times (he was on the bench for the 2016 World Series against the Cubs). And catching depth is an area of sore need for the Cubs after the free-agent departures of Rene Rivera and Alex Avila. A signing like this gives the Cubs more experience behind the plate. Gimenez also has relationships with several people in the Cubs’ organization. Newly hired Class A manager Steve Lerud is a good friend from Reno, Nevada, where they’re partners in a baseball camp. And manager Joe Maddon and pitching coach Jim Hickey had Gimenez in 2012 and 2013 with the Rays, with whom Gimenez caught Alex Cobb for three starts (1.89 ERA). Wait a minute. Alex Cobb? -- Chicago Sun-Times Nutty ‘Professor’? Kyle Hendricks says Cubs rotation is good enough to win as is By Steve Greenberg Yu Darvish or Jake Arrieta? Jake Arrieta or Yu Darvish? It has to be one or the other. It better not be neither.

If the Cubs don’t complete their 2018 rotation with a top-tier star, they can forget about contending for the World Series. They might as well begin preparing their NL Central concession speech while they’re at it. And what about the rest of us, in that case? Do we curl into the fetal position for the next eight months? Get back in touch with our pre-2015 selves? Is our baseball joy simply dispersed like dandelion seeds in an angry wind? We might as well start dealing with this cold, hard reality: It’s re-sign Arrieta or bring Darvish into the fold — or wait ’til next year. Or is it? “No, no. I don’t see it that way at all,” Kyle Hendricks said. “With the pieces that we have right now, if we were to go into spring training like this, all the answers would lie within the current rotation.” Is Hendricks for real? Has “the Professor” gone nutty? At this time, only one rotation mate — Jon Lester — remains from the 2016 World Series championship team. Chris Bosio, the pitching coach who helped the 28-year-old Hendricks blossom into a Game 1 playoff starter, is gone. The Cubs are looking at Lester, Hendricks, Jose Quintana, newcomer Tyler Chatwood and Mike Montgomery, in whatever order. Hardly a subpar fivesome, but not one that has rival players and managers waking up in cold sweats. Yet Hendricks is undeterred. He raves about Lester’s experience and Quintana’s consistency. He’s a big believer in Chatwood, with whom he played summer ball as a high schooler in Southern California, as both a physical talent and a student of the game. And he continues to see starter/reliever Montgomery as a pitcher with the goods to “pull a Hendricks” — in other words, to take a sudden, dramatic leap forward as Hendricks did in 2016. Most of all, there’s this: The way Hendricks sees it, the biggest addition to the Cubs’ rotation in 2018 might come via his own improvement. After finishing third in NL Cy Young voting two seasons ago, Hendricks won only seven games and pitched only 139.2 innings in a ’17 campaign that was a blend of injury and hard luck. Now? He has 200 innings — that’s goal No. 1 — and 20 victories on his mind. Each would be a career first. “For sure, 200 innings is the one I want to get to — 100 percent,” he said. “And 20 wins, too. Those are the two that I’d love to get to.” Cold, hard reality, meet stone-cold confidence. And we have to take Hendricks’ talk seriously, don’t we? No pitcher is smarter. Few are as self-possessed. Hendricks snuck into the rotation after starters Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel were traded midway through the 2014 season, and all he has done since is flummox hitters and open eyes. At his very best, Hendricks has evoked comparisons to Greg Maddux. Talk about nutty, right? Maddux is merely a Hall of Famer and all. “I’ve been trying to prove that I’m a top pitcher my whole life,” he said. “That’s kind of just always been my M.O. And it’s fine with me. I’ve always flown under the radar with no expectations, really. At this

time, I just have to keep proving myself. It puts a little more pressure on you, but it gives you a little more gratification at the end.” Take a spin through Hendricks’ sneaky-good stats and you have to be at least somewhat heartened. He’s 38-22 with a 2.94 ERA in his big-league career, all with the Cubs. He already has pitched 50 postseason innings, with a 2.88 ERA. He has outpitched Corey Kluber, Clayton Kershaw and Stephen Strasburg head-to-head in the playoffs. It all smacks suspiciously of a guy who just might be capable of leading a rotation, even a good one. Just to be on the safe side, can the Cubs make that Arrieta-or-Darvish thing happen anyway? -- The Athletic How Scott Boras is selling Jake Arrieta and where things stand with the Cubs By Patrick Mooney Warning: Scott Boras has an obvious agenda, a huge ego, a polarizing personality and several high-profile clients still looking for jobs in late January. But that doesn’t mean the super-agent is wrong when he talks about how Major League Baseball has exploded into a $10 billion business, setting revenue records for 15 straight seasons, according to Forbes. The rhetoric won’t cancel the $50 million payouts each team will reportedly receive in 2018 after selling Disney a majority stake in BAMTech, the innovative streaming service. It doesn’t discredit the research and databases at Boras Corp., which employs more than 100 people and represents Jake Arrieta, Greg Holland, J.D. Martinez, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas. With all that in mind, here’s a look at where things stand as Boras and the Cubs wait out the long winter: • It’s more a matter of when – not if – the Cubs will make a significant addition to a team that has advanced to the National League Championship Series three years in a row. Even in accounting for benefits, adding the cost of roster churn and setting aside money for the trade deadline, sources with an understanding of the team’s financial picture say the Cubs can spend roughly $30 to $35 million more this offseason and still stay comfortably beneath this year’s $197 million luxury-tax threshold. Twitter already started connecting the dots to Yu Darvish on Monday night when reports surfaced that the Cubs signed catcher Chris Gimenez – who worked closely with the Japanese pitcher when they were Texas Rangers – to a minor league deal. • While the Cubs did get a $2.96 million luxury-tax bill after their 2016 World Series run, chairman Tom Ricketts has signaled that is more the exception than the rule. But next winter’s class of free agents – headlined by Bryce Harper and Manny Machado – is exceptional and expected to push the Cubs back into the luxury-tax territory. Boras has a long, productive history with team president Theo Epstein and no longer makes it personal with Ricketts, a big-picture strategist who doesn’t meddle in baseball operations and believes this slow offseason pace can be explained by teams trying to “keep their powder dry” for next winter. Dropping a trademark metaphor, Boras calls the Cubs one of the game’s “revenue Goliaths” alongside the New York Yankees.

“They have done an extraordinary job operating this team,” Boras said. “Their franchise value is up over $2 billion in 10 years. So in a 10-year period, what this club has aspired to is rather remarkable.” • What the Cubs don’t have is another Gleyber Torres or Eloy Jimenez in their farm system, the type of dynamic minor league talent to anchor a midseason trade for an Aroldis Chapman or a Jose Quintana to fortify their pitching staff. Baseball America released its Top 100 on Monday morning and the Cubs didn’t place a single player on that list of the industry’s best prospects (where Jimenez and Torres ranked within the top six). So if the Cubs want to add someone like Darvish or Arrieta or Alex Cobb to their rotation – or build a super-bullpen with an All-Star closer like Holland – it makes more sense to act now. There are also reports that the Milwaukee Brewers are involved in the Darvish negotiations, which would test their small-market limits. The Cubs will face much stronger competition for free agents next winter, once the Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants reset their luxury-tax rates and the Philadelphia Phillies really start flexing their financial muscles again. • While the Cubs have money to spend, it won’t necessarily be on Arrieta, who will turn 32 in March, an age that has made Epstein’s front office leery about a top-of-the-market, long-term investment. The Boras Corp. counterargument is that Arrieta has only about 1,200 big league innings on his odometer, including nine playoff starts with a 3.08 ERA and two World Series wins on the road. Clayton Kershaw, Felix Hernandez and CC Sabathia all experienced similar workloads by their age-25 seasons. Jon Lester, Justin Verlander and David Price reached that level by their age-28 seasons. • Boras laughs at the idea of teams downplaying the risks involved in handing shorter-term deals to midrange starters and back-of-the-rotation types. The Brewers were burned by Matt Garza (four years, $50 million, minus-0.8 WAR) and Jeff Suppan (four years, $42 million, minus-0.7 WAR). Since 2015, the Dodgers have invested more than $120 million in Brandon McCarthy, Scott Kazmir and Brett Anderson and gotten only one playoff start out of that group. Edwin Jackson’s four-year, $52 million contract (minus-3.4 WAR) didn’t sink the Cubs because Epstein’s group hit on so many other free agents, trades and draft picks. • Boras also challenges the conventional wisdom that megadeals are bad business and destined to fail. Halfway through, Lester’s six-year, $155 million contract has already paid for itself, because the big-game lefty accelerated the Wrigley Field rebuild and transformed the Cubs into a championship organization. If just one win is worth millions, then Max Scherzer’s 20.6 WAR through three seasons is paying off his seven-year, $210 million contract with the Washington Nationals. The Yankees don’t regret their nine-figure investments in Sabathia (28.4 WAR) and Masahiro Tanaka (12.8 WAR). Cole Hamels outgrew the Phillies and got traded to Texas, but he’s lived up to the six-year, $144 million extension he signed in the middle of the 2012 season (23.5 WAR). Even a very generous interpretation of Barry Zito’s seven-year, $126 million contract is that he delivered during San Francisco’s 2012 playoff run and helped take pressure off homegrown pitchers like Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum as the Giants captured three World Series titles. • While the Houston Astros trading for Boras client Gerrit Cole eliminated a possible landing spot for Arrieta or Darvish, an agent’s job is to spin it in a different direction.

By shipping out Cole and franchise icon Andrew McCutchen, the Pittsburgh Pirates are preparing to take another step backward in a division where only the Cubs, Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals have realistic expectations to compete in 2018. The Rangers, Anaheim Angels and Seattle Mariners are trying to catch up to the defending World Series champs in the American League West. Boras, who declined to comment on specific players, is clearly trying to position Arrieta as that kind of game-changer, someone who can influence a clubhouse, teach younger pitchers and perform in October. “Teams are in a race,” Boras said. “They’re well behind the Astros in the race. They have the economic sprint to catch them in player talent. Do they choose to just wave and say, ‘I’ll finish a very glorious close (second).’ Or does the distance only get greater and they acknowledge that ‘I just can’t catch them.’ In other words, I’m admitting defeat before the season starts.” -- Cubs.com Russell full-steam ahead with '18 goals in mind By Carrie Muskat CHICAGO -- Addison Russell will celebrate his 24th birthday on Tuesday, and the Cubs' shortstop has big plans for the upcoming year. "My individual goals are to remain healthy the whole season. Maybe an All-Star Game would be nice," Russell said in an interview with the Cubs' social media crew. "Staying healthy. I think everything else will handle itself." Last year, Russell was limited to 110 games because of a nagging right foot injury. He was sidelined Aug. 3 and in his first game back on Sept. 16 against the Cardinals, Russell made the most of it. He led off the eighth inning with a 437-foot home run to help secure a 4-1 win. "It was a pretty special moment in my life," Russell said after the game. "Walking up to the plate, I couldn't help but smile inside. I felt like it was pretty fun." Russell looks healthy as he runs in his hometown of Pensacola, Fla. He starts running and hitting at the start of December to prepare for the upcoming season. "I like to get out on the beach and run," Russell said in an interview during the Cubs Convention. "I like running by the water and seeing all the sights my hometown has to offer on Pensacola Beach. I just put on my earphones and get lost. I love running, I love exercising, all that good stuff." The Pensacola tourism folks will be happy about the video as well. Russell is seen making a sandcastle and collecting shells on the beach with his daughter. "When I'm back home, I like to make sure I see my family and lay low," Russell said. "I love spending time with my family out here, especially on the beach; taking them out to the water. I love fishing, I love what the beach has to offer: the sand, the waves and the great Florida sunshine." Russell also hopes the focus will be on baseball this year. In an Instagram post in December, Russell looked ahead to 2018, saying, "Absolutely no ceilings. No noise. New heights."

"I think I'm at a point in my life where I have a pretty good opportunity to reach the goals I want to reach without any distractions," Russell said at the convention. "I'm going to use that and take full advantage of that. I have a good, upbeat, positive feel about the year, and that's what I'm looking forward to." He's picked up that same vibe with his Cubs teammates. "It seems the guys are taking full advantage of this offseason," Russell said. "I feel the team itself will be ready coming into Spring Training, ready to hopefully win a World Series. That's the big picture." -- Cubs.com Source: Cubs ink Gimenez to Minors deal By Carrie Muskat CHICAGO -- The Cubs may have found a backup catcher in Chris Gimenez. A source confirmed reports that the Cubs have signed Gimenez, 35, to a Minor League deal with an invitation to big league Spring Training camp. The right-handed hitter played in 74 games last season with the Twins, batting .220 with seven home runs, nine doubles and 16 RBIs. Willson Contreras, 25, is the Cubs' No. 1 catcher but his only backup was Victor Caratini, 24, who made his Major League debut last season and batted .254 in 31 games. If Gimenez makes the team, Caratini would most likely open at Triple-A Iowa, where he could get more regular playing time. Besides the Twins, Gimenez has played for the Indians, Mariners, Rays and Rangers. Not only is Gimenez able to catch, but he made six relief appearances totaling five innings for the Twins last season. The Cubs did need another catcher, but they also may get free agent Yu Darvish's attention. When Gimenez was with the Rangers in 2014, he made 26 starts and caught Darvish 12 times. The Cubs have yet to release a list of their non-roster invitees for Spring Training. -- Cubs.com Duensing, Cubs complete two-year deal By Carrie Muskat CHICAGO -- The Cubs welcomed Brian Duensing back on Monday, signing the left-handed reliever to a two-year, $7 million deal. Duensing, who turns 35 next month, ranked second among Cubs relievers last season in innings pitched (62 1/3) in his first season with the team. He posted a 2.74 ERA in 68 appearances, striking out 61. He became a free agent after the season. The agreement on a deal was first reported last week.

His return gives the Cubs at least three lefties in the bullpen, joining Mike Montgomery and Justin Wilson. However, Montgomery may be in the rotation if the Cubs don't add another starter this offseason. The Cubs have been linked to free-agent starters Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta and Alex Cobb, all of whom remain unsigned. So far this offseason, the Cubs have focused on pitching, signing relievers Dario Alvarez, Brandon Morrow, and Steve Cishek and adding starters Tyler Chatwood and Drew Smyly, although Smyly is coming back from elbow surgery and is not expected to contribute in 2018. Duensing reportedly had other offers but wanted to remain with Chicago. He began last season on the disabled list with a back problem and gave up six runs in his first five appearances, but pitched to a 2.05 ERA in his final 63 outings, limiting opponents to a .232 batting average and .299 on-base percentage while recording a 1.18 WHIP. Duensing took to Twitter on Monday to share his excitement: @BrianDuensing52 My family and I are excited to be back in Chicago to try and win a ring with the @Cubs Thank you for all the kind words from everybody. #youcandanceifyouwantto #oryoucanleaveyourfriendsbehind The two hashtags are reference to the Cubs' relievers celebratory dancing in the bullpen after one of their teammates hits a home run. -- NBC Sports Chicago Cubs adding catching depth that may help them out in the Yu Darvish sweepstakes By Tony Andracki Chris Gimenez, come on down. The 35-year-old catcher isn't exactly a household name, but he's been signed by the Cubs to add backstop depth, according to Chris Cotillo and Ken Rosenthal: Chris Cotillo

✔ @ChrisCotillo Free-agent catcher Chris Gimenez is signing with the Cubs, source tells SB Nation. Ken Rosenthal

✔ @Ken_Rosenthal Source confirms: Free-agent catcher Chris Gimenez to #Cubs on minor-league deal. Chance to make the team ahead of Caratini as the backup to Contreras. First reported: @ChrisCotillo. The Cubs didn't have much depth in the catching department beyond Willson Contreras and inexperienced rookie Victor Caratini and while Gimenez doesn't light up the stat column, he's a link to Yu Darvish that could give the Cubs a unique advantage in that domain: Chris Cotillo

✔ @ChrisCotillo Minor-league deal for Gimenez. He's tight with Yu Darvish. https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/955599534511542277 … Darvish and Gimenez played together with the Texas Rangers in 2014-15 (though Darvish was hurt in 2015) and Gimenez has been shedding some light on what the free-agent pitcher may be thinking this winter. Is this Part II of a David Ross-Jon Lester personal catcher situation? Christopher Kamka @ckamka In 2014, Chris Gimenez made 26 starts at Catcher for the Rangers. Yu Darvish was the starting pitcher in 12 of the 26 games. That may be reading a bit too much into things, as the Cubs were always going to sign a veteran catcher to provide depth beyond the unproven Caratini. They saw how important that was in 2017 when Alex Avila spent roughly a month as the starter when Contreras was hurt. The link between Gimenez and Darvish is real, but the frontline starter has also made 48 starts over the last two seasons while throwing to a catcher not named Gimenez. And the free agent catching market is pretty thin beyond Avila and Jonathan Lucroy, both of whom should earn starter's money or close to it. Gimenez has played 361 games in the big leagues over the last nine seasons as a journeyman, with stops in Cleveland, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Oakland, Texas, Cleveland (again), Texas (again), Cleveland (again) and then Minnesota last year. He played for Cubs manager Joe Maddon and new pitching coach Jim Hickey while in Tampa Bay. Gimenez turned in a career season in 2017 with the Twins, notching new highs in games played (74), at-bats (186), runs (28), hits (41), homers (7), RBI (16) and walks (33). He has a career .218 batting average with a .309 on-base percentage, .345 slugging and .654 OPS. But Gimenez isn't just a catcher. He's made nine appearances as a pitcher over the last few years, including six in 2017, where he allowed four runs on seven hits in five innings. Gimenez will probably compete with Caratini for the backup catcher role in Chicago and can lend a veteran presence. He's also the best bet to take for first position player to pitch in a game in 2018. -- NBC Sports Chicago Reliving the magic of Nacho Man By Kelly Crull There have been so many memorable baseball moments between the Cubs and Cardinals throughout the years. In 1958, Stan Musial collected his 3,000th hit at Wrigley. There was the “Sandberg Game” — June of 1984, where Ryne Sandberg hit a pair of home runs off Cardinals closer Bruce Sutter.

Skip ahead to 2008, when Ted Lilly collided with Yadier Molina at home plate during a game at Busch Stadium. Few could forget that. Just a few years ago, Anthony Rizzo was hit by a pitch in what the Cubs viewed as retaliation, so Joe Maddon dropped the Soprano reference: “We don’t start stuff, but we will stop stuff.” And last season, there was Addison Russell’s run-in with Nacho Man, which is likely to go down as the only collision to bring the two rival fanbases together. It was something I witnessed firsthand. Sitting next to the Cubs dugout on the third base side in Busch Stadium that night, the play transpired so quickly it was tough to see from my vantage point. As he often did, Russell broke backward for the foul ball and started sprinting towards the wall in left. I could tell from the crowd reaction that the Cubs shortstop didn’t make the play, but I could see that he was slow to get back to his position. It was about this time that the video board in center field showed the replay of Russell diving into the stands and crashing into a Cardinals fan who had lost his full plate of nachos. Russell had nacho cheese all over his arm and I heard the dugout yelling, “Get him a towel! Grab a towel!” As Russell wiped the cheese off his arm, a few of the coaches next to me were collaborating on a way to get some new nachos for the man. Within minutes, a tray of nachos were delivered to Dave Martinez — the Cubs' bench coach at the time — and later passed along to Russell. In between innings, the often-reserved infielder made amends by bringing out another order of nachos and taking a selfie with Nacho Man. "Normally I don't do that, but being the case of me being nacho'd all over — my cleats even — I was like, 'you know what, why not?'" Russell said after the game. "A once-in-a-lifetime experience." Within minutes, the video of this exchange went viral. Both myself and Jim Hayes of Fox Sports Midwest set out to get our in-game interview with Andrew Gudermuth, the Nacho Man. Not exactly hard-hitting journalism, but it was entertaining nonetheless and boy did Gudermuth enjoy his 15 minutes of fame. “I came to catch a foul ball, but instead I caught a Russell,” he joked. Which to be more accurate, Gudermuth’s poor girlfriend actually “caught a Russell.” If you watch the replay, she took the brunt of the hit, but what a good sport! No doubt, an unforgettable night for all involved, and one that proved that one thing can bring Cubs & Cardinals fans together — nachos! -- NBC Sports Chicago The Brewers have emerged as a darkhorse in the race for top starting pitchers By Tony Andracki The Milwaukee Brewers are making sure nobody forgets about them in the National League Central. While the St. Louis Cardinals continue to make trades and the Cubs remain linked to the top starting pitchers on the market even after signing three pitchers, the Brewers have been rather quiet. All winter,

the only noteworthy moves from Milwaukee came in the form of under-the-radar pitcher signings — starters Jhoulys Chacin and Yovani Gallardo plus reliever Boone Logan. Beyond that, the Brewers have added a bunch of other low-leverage players — catcher Christian Bethancourt and relievers J.J. Hoover, Ernesto Frieri, Michael Brady and Erik Davis. (Nobody would blame you if you haven't heard of any of those players before.) But maybe the Brewers have just been saving their cash for one of the big guys, with Ken Rosenthal confirming a report Sunday night Milwaukee is not only one of the teams in on Yu Darvish, but they've even made a formal offer: Ken Rosenthal

✔ @Ken_Rosenthal Source confirms: #Brewers have made offer to Darvish. First reported: Yahoo Japan. The Brewers securing Darvish or one of the other top pitchers — Jake Arrieta or Alex Cobb — would be a huge development in their effort to keep pace with the Cubs and Cardinals in the division. Milwaukee was a surprise contender in 2017 before they faded down the stretch. The main reason they hung around the top of the NL Central all year was a shockingly-effective pitching staff. However, the Brewers have some serious pitching questions long-term that need to be addressed. Beyond Chase Anderson and Zach Davies in the rotation, there are no sure things. Jimmy Nelson underwent shoulder surgery last fall and it's currently unknown when he can be counted on again, though things are progressing ahead of schedule. Junior Guerra — the 33-year-old right-hander formerly of the White Sox — went 9-3 with a 2.81 ERA in 20 starts in 2016 but followed that up with some serious struggles in 2017 (5.12 ERA, 1.48 WHIP). Chacin, 30, was good in 2017 (13-10, 3.89 ERA, 1.27 WHIP), but struggled with health and inconsistent performance in the five seasons prior. Gallardo, 31, has a 5.57 ERA and 1.55 WHIP over the last two seasons. All that adds up to a staff that doesn't inspire much confidence behind a high-powered offense led by Ryan Braun, Travis Shaw, Domingo Santana, Eric Thames plus up-and-comers Lewis Brinson and Orlando Arcia. Adding Arrieta or Darvish would certainly go quite far in improving the Brewers' biggest weakness and even Cobb could be a serious game-changer in Milwaukee. As an interesting footnote to the whole Darvish rumor, the minute after Rosenthal confirmed the report, the Brewers official Twitter account took a shot at the Cubs: View image on Twitter Milwaukee Brewers

✔ @Brewers

Tailgate ready. #ThisIsMyCrew

🚫🐻 Cubs Twitter — never one to back down from a good-natured social media spat — responded Monday morning with a sick comeback: Chicago Cubs

✔ @Cubs

The first step is admitting your best-performing content is #Cubs content. ❤️🐻 https://twitter.com/Brewers/status/955265414610776064 … --