Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Ben Verlander likes this Cubs' roster, hopes they aren't done adding to it

Episode Date: January 29, 2026

Marshall Harris and Mark Grote were joined by Flippin' Bats podcast host Ben Verlander to discuss the Cubs' additions this offseason and the latest MLB storylines.

Essentially what we have right now for the Chicago Cubs is the exact same offense as last year just swapping Alex Bregman for Kyle Tucker. I love both of these guys. I think they're both gamers. It just feels like Alex Bregman might be a little bit of a better fit for the team. So you have the same offense swap Alex Bregman for Kyle Tucker and the rotation has added Edward Cabrera and we'll also get Justin Steele back. So I've really thought about what the Cubs have done this offseason and my thoughts on it. And I landed on that I really like what the Cubs have done. That's nice to hear. That sounded like the flipping bats podcast to me with Ben Verlander.

That's what it sounded like as we welcome me back into the Rahimi Harris and Grotie show here on Chicago Sports Radio 670. The score. Let's bring Ben Verlander in. He is a Major League Baseball analyst. He is the host, as I just alluded to, of the flipping bats podcast. He joins us right now on the Circa Resort and Casino Hops. line, circola Las Vegas.com. Hi, Ben, thanks for coming on with us. What's up, guys? Thanks for having me. Absolutely, man. And again, I'd like getting a little taste of your Cubs thoughts right there.

But the first thing I want to ask you, man, is what is the team that you have spent the most time talking about this off season on said flipping bats podcast? That's a good question. My immediate gut reaction says, it's the New York Mets, just because it's been such a polarizing offseason for them, and it's New York, and whether you're a Mets fan, we're freaking out, Yankees fans jump on board with the conversation. So I feel like I've kind of been like a level head throughout this process of saying, okay, let's wait a second. This team is like completely getting cut down and chopped up and it's not just going to end this way.

I felt when Pete Alonzo, when they let him go, and Edwin Diaz and Brandon Nimmo was traded, everyone thought the world was ending for the New York Mets. And my thought was, okay, let's pump the breaks here. It's November, December, you know, Steve Cohen, you know, David Stern, they're going to do something. And I actually think they'll be just fine. And then they make all of these moves. And it's a totally new look team. So my gut, my gut says I've talked more about the New York Mets than anybody else this offseason.

Well, the Mets certainly disappeared for a moment and then reappeared looking as strong as ever as far as a team that can make a push to challenge for the NL Crown. Although when you talk about the NL Crown, I mean, it starts and ends with the Dodgers, in my opinion. And I'm curious as to what you think of the Dodgers continuing to just add on to a team that obviously is already the best in the major leagues. Yeah, I mean, if you're a Dodgers fan, this is a perfect world scenario, right? I mean, you look at the Dodgers last year in the World Series.

I look at that World Series and say the Blue Jays were every bit as good of a team as the Dodgers. If not, if there's also a world in which you could say they outplayed them for the majority of it and they still lost the series. And then you can come out of that and say, man, the Dodgers have now won back-to-back world series. what in the world is their weakness. And you can immediately say the closer role, they had to figure it out on the fly and then use Yamamoto in back-to-back days. And then they could use another outfielder

because Michael Conforto wasn't very good. And they went out and added the best closer available on Edwin-Tiaz and went out and added the best player available probably and Kyle Tucker. And it's just if you're a Dodgers fan, it's a dream. And if you're not a Dodgers fan, This isn't fair. And like I get it, but like they're within the rules.

And I commend them as just a fan of the game of baseball. I would put much more of my frustration on teams doing the opposite than them taking advantage of what they can. And they're making their very good team even better. And yeah, I mean, I commend them for putting the team in the position they are and for going out and making the team better. All of that said then with, you're right, they are doing, when you spend all your money, that's what it looks like.

Kyle Tucker is with the Dodgers. The Phillies who won 96 games last year, they bring back Schwabber for all the money. Real Muto is back while we're at it too. We talked about the Mets with Bichette and Peralta and Luis Robert, if you would like. So steering into the Cubs, the question I have for you, Ben Verlander,

is I do think the Cubs are better right now than they were last year at this moment. I don't know if they could advance further than they did this year. Are they good enough to advance beyond one round of the playoffs? Got reaction immediately says yes. You know, in that clip you played, I was kind of like, I knew I wanted to talk about the Cubs in the episode, and my thought was, okay, I liked the addition of Bregman.

And throughout that segment of the show, I found myself liking the team more and more. And it's interesting because I don't sit here and say Alex Bregman is a better player than Kyle Tucker. But I do feel like I sit here and say Alex Bregman might be a better fit for the Chicago Cubs than Kyle Tucker. And then you go out and think,

okay, they've added to a rotation, Edward Cabrera. And you can look at Edward Cabrera's baseball reference page and say, is that really the piece that excites you the most? and say, no, but he does have some of the nastiest stuff in baseball and a change of scenery and different pitching coaches and continuing to take steps forward. I do think he can be at top of a rotation guy.

Then you look at the playoffs when they got eliminated in Cade Horton, who was a big part of their second half, wasn't a part of the playoffs. Then you keep going another step further and say, Justin Steele is an absolute ace. They didn't have him for the majority of the year. He's going to come back at some point. I just really started talking myself into, wait a second, I think I really like this starting pitching rotation for the Chicago Cubs. I think it has a chance when Justin Steele comes back to be really solid. And then you add Bregman to a lineup that I think can be, again, good. I'm excited to see what Biaseros can do out of, you know, get more playing time this year and see how he can

evolve at the bottom of the lineup and add some thump down there. So, you know, I just found myself, like, talking through it and realizing I really like this Chicago Cubs roster. In a perfect world, they're not done adding in a world where I know the Chicago Cubs and how they've operated the last few years. I feel like they are done. And I kind of like this team. Well, Ben, we just heard from them as we're joined by Ben Verlander, host of the flipping bats podcast here on Rahimi Harrison Grotie. We just heard from them at Cubs convention. And it sounds like they aren't done.

And there's been rumors and speculation about possibly adding Zach. Gallen, I would like to see them upgrade even more on offense because I just think you never have enough because guys are going to get hurts. Certainly holds true with the arms, but even with the bats, they didn't have that fail safe when Kyle Tucker went down for long stretches and he was what seemed to be the fulcrum of their offense in the first half when they were doing so well up and down. And we thought Sayas Suzuki should have been an all-star. Do you feel like they need the addition of an arm, a big arm, or a big bat more if you're

going to continue to add on and ask for more. First off, let's just take a moment to talk about the sentence that you just said that we thought Saya Suzuki should have been an all-star. Sayah Suzuki absolutely should have been an all-star. It was the most egregious snub out there. That was absolutely ridiculous. So totally agree with you there. I think hopefully everybody does.

I look at this Cubs team. And I think in the show the other day I said, I wish, I hope they aren't done. I think in a perfect world, they add another arm. So my gut says arm, but you're absolutely right, where this lineup doesn't have, you know, if you go into the playoffs with this current lineup one through nine, you feel great about it. But if you go into the playoffs with one of those guys hurt

or just coming back and they're not where they need to be, it is lacking. So I totally agree with you there. So look, my gut still. says arm, but if it's a bat, I don't think you can go wrong adding. I would love a Zach Gallen. I feel like Zach Gallen right now. You can get a little cheaper than maybe if he was a free agent a couple of years ago. I still think he's a stud. I think he's an all-star. He has felt like a Chicago Cove to me. Like since trade rumors started, I could see that being a good fit. And if you could add a,

if you could add a bat, great. So I think the Cubs are in a really good position. And in an addition, way or another. A top of the rotation arm or a bat for depth is going to be huge for them. What about maybe adding like a 42-year-old veteran starting pitcher? I hear there's one out there. I hear there's a couple out there. I see where you're going with this. Justin of the Burlanders. What's your brother up to, man? He is, man, he's feeling great. His year last year, you know, you look at the number. I think everybody looks at age. But to be honest, he's a man. He's feeling great. He is, uh, man, he's feeling great. His year last year, you know, you know, you look at age. But to be honest with you, everyone was starting to look at age with my brother when he had

to get Tommy John surgery a couple years ago at 38, 39 years old, and everybody said he's done. Well, he came back the following year and won the Cy Young Award. So there's just been a few players throughout the history of sports that you can't look at their age and say they're done. Father time catches up with everybody. That may be true. But Justin is doing things a little bit differently, and he's put himself in a position as one of those players in the history of sports that has just pushed father time a little bit down the road. And you can look at his numbers last year, especially down the stretch. I don't care that he's 42, about to be 43 and a little bit less than a month.

He's going to help a team. And he's not going to help a team because he's a savvy veteran. He's going to help a team because he's a really, really good pitcher that really focuses on his craft and it really means a lot to him. And you look at what's still out there. Anything surprised? I mean, we're less than two weeks away or about two weeks away from, you know, pitchers and catchers and then full squads reporting in Arizona and Florida.

Are you surprised by anybody that's still out there as a free agent? Because we know sometimes it does take longer for the last guys to get signed. I'm a little bit surprised that I feel like I haven't heard a single thing about E. E. E. E. E. E. Horeno Suarez. I mean, this is a guy that was a big trade acquisition for the Seattle Mariners. He's a guy that's going to hit you 40 plus homers. I mean, look, I get it's not the most appealing, like, batting average to say this guy's going to hit you around 220 to 230.

But let's look at the OPS. Let's look at this. You can plug a guy right in the middle of your lineup that can hit 40 plus homers and drive in a bunch of runs for you. And I feel like we haven't been talking about him much. We have talked about him, but I would say it's a little surprising Zach Gallen is still out there. and then one more name I'd throw out

just because I was thinking about him the other day and how well he did for the Blue Jays in the World Series and being able to come out of the pen. But a guy like Chris Bassett haven't really heard much about him this off-season. So there's still plenty of names out there. Fram Bavada is an ace. I think the hold-up is just a few different teams

fighting for him there. But there's still some big names out there that can really help a team. So if you're a team or a fan of a team that hasn't done much, there's a lot that is still out there to be done. That's the voice of Ben Verlander right there, MLB analyst, host of the Flippin' Bats podcast, which I recommend. You should check it out. If I may, I want to zero in on one player on the Cubs with you, Ben, that I've been wanting to get your opinion on. And that is Pete Crow Armstrong.

He had a superstar first half of the season last year, and they just lost it towards the end of the season. What do you think he is? Is that just a guy who hit a rookie wall, or Is he still, if we not still figured out who PCA is as a major league player? I think we know who he is. I think he's that first half player. Look, it's a long season. I played professionally for five years, and I, it's very different. But if I could relate to it at all, I would go through the same things because of the length

of the season. And it's really difficult to learn how to deal with those. and every year, he's still so young, he is that first half player and he is a star and he is electric. It's just as he's young and learning his way through the big leagues, I think he's just going to have to lean on some other players and lean on veterans about how to get through 162 games because it, that's part of the difficulty of being a majorly baseball player. It's not just hitting a 100 mile an hour fastball, which is the hardest thing to do in sports. It's also playing 162 games in like 180 some days.

It's very, very difficult, and that is part of the learning curve. And I'm really hopeful. I'm hopeful he's able to have that experience from last year and learn from it. And I'm sure he will. And I think having a guy like Alex Bregman on the team, I've said this a bunch, and I think people get confused when I say it about Bregman is, Alex Bregman's a great baseball player. He's an all-star.

But what he does for a team in terms of, in a locker room to a pitching staff, what he's able to see from third base, to the rest of the lineup, what he's able to pick up on from pitchers and what he's able to see other guys working on. I think having a guy like Alex Bregman for Pete Crow Armstrong, which I already heard Pete say they spoke and he's really helped him already, having those veterans there next to him, going through it and saying, hey, this is how good you were last year at the beginning, this is why, and this is how we're going to keep you doing that all year long, I think it's going to be huge for him.

So I'm glad he went through it to learn from it, and I'm glad he has veterans on the team to help him and a new veteran Alex Bregman to really help him as well. Ben, I got to ask you, because this is all precursor to 2027, how confident are you that we will have baseball and how many games do you think we're going to get in if we do have baseball? Yeah, I, you know, I continue to stay cautiously optimistic, I think the fact that everyone in the world thinks we're not going to,

it kind of gives me hope that we are. You know, the league sees that, and everybody sees that. And there are issues that need to be fixed, as there are every time a CBA comes up. These are just in the age of social media, and in the age of what the Dodgers are doing right now, I think everybody's just more vocal about the upcoming CBA. we have a year to we have a year to figure this out and I'm hopeful and cautiously optimistic that

that we are able to I'm obviously not in those rooms and I'm obviously hopeful and a little biased for love of the sport that we don't miss any games so look I hope I think conversations start like right around now I think spring training the year before the CBA is up and and I'm hopeful they I'm hopeful they can figure it out. So I'm going to say they play 162 games. I don't know if, you know, December 1st when it's technically a work stoppage, I don't know if we figure it out by then. But at some point throughout the off season, hopefully both sides can figure this out

because the sport just has too much momentum. We have the greatest player of all time in Shohei Otani. We have Aaron Judge on a Barry Bond's-esk run, and he's, you know, putting himself in the conversation for the great. hitter we've ever seen. We just have so much good happening in the sport and attendance and viewership is on an upward trajectory and it just gives me cautious optimism that everyone sees that and doesn't want to ruin that. Ben, last thing quickly and we are running out of time very quickly here. But when we talk about the White Sox around here, it's not going to be another 100 lost

season. Is it, is it possible, Ben, that the White Sox with their young core, and some of the signings, the Munataka Murakami, Sir Anthony Dominguez, Sean Burke in the bullpen. Is it possible that the White Sox are one of those surprise teams this year, or do you think there's still a little ways off? I spoke about the White Sox recently as well. I love the addition of Murakami.

I think it's a high, upside, low-risk move with the years and dollars attached to him. I love the addition of him with this young, that I'm actually really starting to like. So look, do I see them as a surprise team to get into the playoffs? No, but do I start to view them as an exciting team that might actually be a little bit fun to watch this year? I view them this year as I did like the A's last year. Like this young core is starting to have some exciting players.

I'm now excited to watch them and I don't think they lose a hundred games. That's where I think the White Sox are currently. That's a fair place to put them. When I said surprise team, I mean 500 or 10 games. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I could see that. That would be a surprise team. Ben, thank you so much for your time. Always good to hear from me.

Keep on rocking on the flipping bats podcast. Thanks, Ben. Thanks, guys. Really fun being on here. Appreciate it. Yep, that is Ben Verlander. Again, yes, he is of the Verlander family. I told you, I warned you.

He's an MLB analyst, obviously very good at what he does. And like I said, the flipping bats podcast is very good. When we return on Rahimi Harrison Grotie, Michael Jordan, Michael Jordan, Michael Jordan. We must talk about Michael Jordan and reaction to Michael Jordan about his famous now. We're infamous NBC interview. Can it be both? Can it be both? Let's want to get Charles Barkley in on this too? I think we should. Let's do that. It's next on the score.