Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Meghan Montemurro talks Cubs' mission to make a deeper postseason run

Episode Date: February 16, 2026

Marshall Harris and Russ Dorsey were joined by Tribune reporter Meghan Montemurro to discuss the latest Cubs storylines from spring training.

Rahimi Harris and Grotie. Middays 10 to 2 on 1043, the score. I think he'd be the first to tell you that he's been very fortunate to be on a lot of good teams, right? The teams that he was on in Houston were really good. Last year in Boston, they obviously got some things figured out. We're able to make the playoffs as well, but he is also a winner. He's won everywhere he's been, whether it was college and pro ball, the whole thing. Just his personality and his ability to get a lot out of other people. definitely leads to those kinds of results.

And he's proven that year and a year out. And we're glad that we have somebody like him on our roster. One highly paid free agent signing talking about another guy who signed a pretty big contract, Dansby Swanson, talking about Alex Bregman here on Rahimi Harris and Grody, Russell Dorsey in on this President's Day. You know, two of us not enough to talk about baseball. Why don't we bring in a third person? Let's go out to the Circa Sports Illinois hotline, download the Circa Sports app today.

That is where Megan Montemuro chimes in. She's on the phone, the Cubs beatwriter at the Chicago Tribune. Megan, good morning. How are you doing? I'm good. How are you guys? You know what? We're making it.

It's a holiday. The streets are empty behind us, but we're making it out here. I know things have been busy. They have been popping. They're in Mesa. Tell me what's going on. What's the biggest storyline you've seen through a couple of days? base.

Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest thing when you, you know, talk to guys in the clubhouse is just the vibe is a little different to this camp. You know, last year, you know, they're coming in looking at getting back to the playoffs, that that was the hope. It obviously had been quite a few years since that had happened. And it's a very focused group coming in this spring. You know, most of the group returns from the postseason, you know, they got a collective taste of that experience.

and now it's okay, you know, not only are we getting back to October baseball, but we're making a deeper run this year. So, you know, the vibe is it's a focus group. There's a clear mission here, and it'll be interesting to see how these next few weeks transpire before the regular season starts. Megan, earlier in the show, I told Marshall that Pete Crow Armstrong was one of my big storylines for the Cubs going into 2026. I know you guys got a chance to talk to Pete a couple of days ago.

what was the conversation that you guys had with him in terms of, you know, we saw how good the first half was last year and then the drop off in the second half into the postseason. And what stood out to you from that conversation? Yeah, I mean, I think one of the biggest things is he's clearly not satisfied with his offensive performance last year. And, I mean, he did say that, you know, Nico Horner kind of helped him put that season in perspective a little bit and kind of pointed out, you know, if the numbers you put up in the

first half you had put up in the second half and, you know, those those halves were flipped, you know, you'd probably be looking at your season offensively a little bit differently. And so for him, you know, he's trying to pull on the good things that he did last year. I mean, he obviously showed he is capable of great plate coverage. He can hit balls up and down the zone. And so now for him is, you know, how does he find more consistency, you know, where you're putting up those numbers over a full season? season or better, but you're not having a two-month stretch like he did to end the year.

And so for him, I mean, he talked about how, you know, he really delved into, you know, looking at what could be behind some of that, you know, once you're removed from the competition aspect of it all. And, you know, working with assistant hindi coach John Maley, you know, one thing that they saw was that he just wasn't setting up consistently in the batters box when he was in those periods of struggle. And so he really focused in this offseason of finding a comfortable setup, maintaining that every time he gets into the box. And for him, he's really hopeful that that consistency, you know, before the at-bat, before every pitch is going to lead to more consistent results.

And ultimately, he said, too, you know, like my number one job is I'm playing elite defense in center field. Like I, he's saying I expect to play gold glove defense there every year, and he knows that's why he brings the most value to the lineup. So it'll be interesting. I mean, I think, you know, kind of the ceiling for this team, I think, in a large part is, you know, what version of Pete Carr Armstrong did they get? Megan, tell me if I'm overstating things here, but it feels like you talked about a different vibe this year compared to last year. They had another player with a lot of success that was added to that roster in Kyle Tucker, but this, to me, feels different.

I don't know if it's because it's a one-year deal for Kyle Tucker versus a free agent signing for multiple years for Alex Bregman. but it just feels like Alex Bregman is already a better fit for the Cubs. Yeah, I mean, I think it's a little hard to compare kind of like what you pointed out. Like, you know, Alex Bragman has made a five-year commitment to this organization. So it makes sense that, you know, he's really trying to learn the ins and outs and the language, you know, the player development staff uses with minor league players and, you know, wanting to make sure he's on the same page with all that. It's a little bit of a different thing if you're a guy like Kyle Tucker coming

on an expiring contract and, you know, probably being able to read the Teele's a little bit of, like, you know, you're not going to be back here next season. So I do think personality-wise, obviously, there's a little bit of a difference. And, you know, when you hear guys talk about Alex Bregman and kind of their initial impression is, you know, he brings an intensity, brings an edge, he brings a very focused level of what do I need to do to help the team win today. And so I think there are some differences. I don't think we should diminish how important Kyle Tucker was to that offense.

I mean, you look what they did in the first couple of months when he was healthy and clicking. I mean, they're the best offense in baseball. And so, but I do think, you know, having Bregman here under contract for multiple years, you still have D.N's be under contract for a couple years. I think having those kind of guys here is really important when you do look around and see, you know, Nica Horner's entering the last year of his extension. Same with Ian Hap. Say it Suzuki is set to be a free agent after the season.

So in a lot of ways, this group is kind of viewing this as a potential last hurrah with the core that they've had the last few years because there's so many unknowns of what this roster could look like after the season. Megan, we saw the additions that the Cubs made this offseason. We saw the rest of the NL Central not really make additions. And for the Milwaukee Brewers, actually made some subtractions. But you've been to ball writer for a long time as a fellow ball writer. You know we're very realistic about things. We know baseball has really long seasons.

If you had to look at this Cubs roster and say, where are the question marks, what are the remaining question marks that the Cubs have in your mind going into 26? I think the biggest one, which is hard to predict, is health. I mean, they were incredibly healthy on the position player side last year outside of not having Kyle Tucker those couple weeks and Miguel Amaya. I mean, they really were able to, you know, post up with their stars on a daily basis. And so I think that's a big question of, you know, they're anticipating some potential regression in that area because they were so healthy. And so in that case, you know, I'm curious how much they're going to be relying more on the bench. You know, they obviously made an investment there with Tyler Austin.

You have Matt Shaw who's going to be in the super utility role. You still have kind of like the catching tandem between Carson Kelly and McGilley. Elamaya, but still, like, you don't know where that potential drop-off could come. And so I think, you know, one question is how much have they raised the floor of the group, especially on the position player side, since they really didn't need to rely on that much last year. And then I think the other question, I think for every team that they face is, you know, will the starting pitching in particular hold up? You know, they really tried to address the depth of that.

You know, Justin Steele is expected back somewhat early this season, maybe potentially mid-May. and so it's a really intriguing group. There's a lot of potential upside within that. You get a full season of Cade Horton. But I think the health component is obviously a big question mark and the ripple effect that that could have. Megan Montemarro of the Chicago Tribune, she covers the Cubs.

She is in Arizona, and she joins us via the Circus Sports Illinois hotline. Megan, I know Moises Bayosteros at last check was not in camp yet. It seemed like he was having some visa issues. how concerning is that for the Cubs? Because I know Moises Bios Stairs expected to have a pretty sizable role in this offense. Yeah, both him and Christian Bethincourt are still not here yet

due to visa issues. Correct counsel was telling us yesterday that, you know, his kind of expectation at the moment is maybe they're here by the weekend at the earliest, but that there just really is not a lot of clarity at the moment in terms of when they'll be able to arrive. And, yeah, it's really tough for Ballaseros, who is very much in the mix to get regular at bats as their designated hitter.

And, you know, part of that, too, is, you know, they still want him developing as a catcher. And so for him, I mean, he's already, this is day six since pitchers and catchers first reported last week. And so that's a lot of hands-on experience and guidance that, you know, he really needs to continue his catching development. So I think there's definitely a little bit of concern, you know, within the organization that both these guys aren't here yet and that there's not exactly

known clarity of when that will happen, but the hope is potentially by this weekend. And we listen to you talk about Matt Shaw, who's going to have this kind of super utility role. What do you think that ideally looks like if you're the Cubs organization in terms of how many played appearances he's getting, how many games he's getting out in the field? And is he a candidate to get a lot of a batts at DH? Yeah, I mean, I think it's really a situation where you can, if they feel like he can handle, you know, the corner outfield spots, you can put him out there and you can give, say, a day at DH. You can give Ian a day at DH. You can really try and protect against infield injuries and wear and tear by moving him around second, third, third.

even short if needed. And, yeah, and obviously you could factor him into the DH role, too. So, I mean, I think there's definitely a pathway to, you know, 400 late appearances, if not more. I mean, again, I think it's going to come down to player health. And, you know, I think that made it appealing to keep him and Nico because you just don't know what's going to happen over the course of the season. And, you know, for them, they just need him to continue to develop offensive. I mean, he shows some promising signs in the last, you know, two months of the season and in the playoffs. You know, he certainly got some exposure to top pitching.

So for them, I think it's just going to be a rotation where you can give guys a day off their feet and obviously mix them in at D.H. is needed. All right. Thank you so much, Megan. One more question before we let you go. Weather report? What's the weather looking like there? You know, it almost got to 60 degrees here in Chicago yesterday? I mean, it might have been a little bit warmer almost yesterday in Chicago than here. Right now it's about 65 and partly cloudy.

So it's a little brisk for Arizona. Yeah, man. Listen, that's a veteran baseball writer right there because they'll always tell you you got to pack warmer than you think you need. Yeah. Yeah, the 65 hits different when you're thinking that it's going to be more like 80. I tell you what, we would all take 80. brisk quote unquote 65 here in Chicago

Hey I'm not saying I'm cold I'm just giving you know an objective weather report We appreciate your objectivity as always Megan Montemarro the Cubs beat writer for the Chicago Tribune. Thanks so much for stopping by Megan. Thanks for having me All right so that was Megan Montemarro

Up next we've got half time and let me tell you something Barack Obama is making a lot of waves over the weekend at All-Star Weekend. And then also he was on a podcast. He was. And on this podcast, he was sharing.

He's out here revealing state secrets about extraterrestrial life. Is that... Question mark? Is that what's going on? Maybe not. Maybe yes. We'll find out on the other side. That's when Rahimi Harris and Grody returns Russell Dorsey in.

Along with me, Marshall Harris.