Cubs select contract of RHP Michael Fulmer from Triple-A Iowa
Fulmer, 32, returns to the Cubs after going 3-5 with two saves and a 4.42 ERA in 58 appearances for Chicago in 2023.
Fulmer missed the 2024 season after undergoing UCL revision surgery on his right elbow on Oct. 18, 2023.
Fulmer, who was the 2016 AL Rookie of the Year with Detroit, had Tommy John surgery on March 27, 2019, and returned to the major leagues on July 27, 2020, just after the start of the pandemic-shortened season.
'It took me a few months to get stuff and velo back,' Fulmer said about his first Tommy John surgery. 'Once I got all the game reps I needed, my stuff came back. So, I think we're getting on that timeline now where I'm feeling good, body's feeling great, no complaints, stuff's starting to come back a little bit and I'm really just excited.'
Fulmer signed a minor league deal with Boston on Feb. 2, 2024, but did not play for the rest of the season. He allowed three runs on four hits in his lone appearance with Boston in April at Tampa Bay before the Red Sox designated him for assignment four days later.
Fulmer inked a minor league contract with the Cubs on April 22 and went 1-0 with a 2.96 ERA in 24 1/3 innings over 15 games with Iowa.
'You know he's went through a lot, you know he's sticking with it,' Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. 'It's a sign of what you're made of, I think. It really is. I know moments like getting back to the big leagues are important, and they validate a lot of the hard work and a lot of the rehabs and a lot of the things like that. You're happy for guys like Michael who get a shot again.'
Pearson was recalled from Iowa on Saturday, and allowed five runs on five hits and two walks in two innings on Sunday versus Seattle.
Chicago (46-31) entered play Monday with a 3 1/2 game lead over Milwaukee and a 4 1/2 game lead over St. Louis in the NL Central Division.
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USA Today
9 minutes ago
- USA Today
Caleb Williams' 2025 preseason debut was perfect – but don't go nuts, Bears fans
Savvy consumers of NFL football know better than to put too much stock into a preseason performance. Hopefully the same applies to anyone writing about the NFL for a living … though some of us have been known to get a bit too lathered up after, say, watching the Chicago Bears look like a potential juggernaut, steamrolling the Buffalo Bills, presumably a Super Bowl contender, 38-0 Sunday night in a nationally televised game. Pump. The. Brakes. But still... Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams made his game day debut Sunday, albeit in a contest that doesn't count, in rookie head coach Ben Johnson's offense. And Williams looked awesome. Finally. Yes, he was in for all of two drives. Yes, he was facing Buffalo defenders likely vying for middle-of-the-depth-chart jobs (at best) in 2025. No, he likely wasn't seeing exotic schemes designed to confuse and frustrate him. Sure, Chicago's second possession stalled after six plays and resulted in a punt. But did you see that first drive? Maybe before we obsess over the moment, we should review the last 16 months or so. It was just a year ago that optimism was soaring – raises hand – in Chicago, Williams, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 draft, seemingly landing in as favorable a situation as any top pick ever had considering the talent that would be surrounding him. But he didn't. Turns out the guy picked after Williams, Jayden Daniels, was the one who instantly turned a woebegone franchise around and maybe had the best rookie season ever while leading the Washington Commanders to the NFC title game − a performance that reset the bar for Williams. He was torpedoed by his own bad habits, a brutally tough division and an organizational infrastructure simply unable to cultivate him – no accomplished offensive coordinator, no wizened backup quarterback to lean on, apparently no one to advise him to just get rid of the damn ball and live to fight another play. Chicago went 5-12, head coach Matt Eberflus becoming the first in more than a century of Bears football to be fired before the completion of a season. But this year already feels different, even if the scrutiny is somehow heightened. Sure, there has been virtually a daily summer dose of social media clips, whether in proper context or not, of Williams struggling and venting his frustration during practice while trying to ingest his new playbook. He's publicly welcomed Johnson's hard coaching and meticulous schemes even as the coach has attempted to temper expectations around his new quarterback and team – one that reeled one of the hottest coaching candidates in years, aggressively retooled (especially along the line of scrimmage) during free agency and seemingly had a strong draft engineered by GM Ryan Poles. And then came Sunday. There was Williams, opening the game by repeatedly feathering balls to his tight ends, reliable Cole Kmet and first-round rookie Colston Loveland. Then he zipped a pass to veteran slot man Olamide Zaccheaus, the catch and run resulting in a 36-yard touchdown reminiscent of the dozens and dozens Johnson had orchestrated while successfully lording over the Detroit Lions attack amid a high degree of difficulty and productivity over the previous three seasons. But it wasn't just Williams' numbers – which included five completions on six throws for 97 yards during that initial march. He was accurate. He was decisive. He showed off his patented pocket mobility but didn't overextend himself – a wise decision in the heat of relatively meaningless August action. He even dirted a ball at the feet of his lineman when a play failed to develop rather than hoping to make something out of nothing − gambits that often worked during a college career that included a Heisman Trophy but not so much against professionals. 'I think getting started fast is important, it was one of our goals coming into this game," Williams said during Fox's broadcast. 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New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
Where's Kyle Tucker? Right now, the Cubs need more impact from frustrated slugger
CHICAGO — Kyle Tucker is supposed to make the game look easy. It never is that simple, but he came to the Cubs with a well-earned reputation for being a low-key, maintenance star. When a smooth hitter with an even-keeled personality starts chucking his helmet and slamming his bat, you know the frustration is real. Advertisement The clock is ticking on Tucker's time in Chicago, where the size of his next contract is no longer a constant topic of speculation. The Cubs stomached the cost to acquire Tucker in a blockbuster trade with the Houston Astros last offseason, knowing that he would become a free agent and sign with the highest bidder. Unfazed by the adjustment period and a different kind of pressure, Tucker earned his fourth All-Star selection with a great first half that helped put the Cubs at the top of the National League Central. That now feels like a distant memory. While the Milwaukee Brewers took over the division with a 14-game winning streak that ended Sunday, Chicago's offense fell into the same kind of deep spiral that dragged the past two seasons down and out of the playoffs. This was a moment that screamed for the presence of a World Series champion with natural confidence and loose energy. Instead, Tucker's outward reactions after empty at-bats are symptomatic of a Cubs team that, at times, has looked tight or even lost. 'It just kind of happens,' Tucker said. 'Normally, I don't really show much emotion out there or anything. I just try to do my job. But it's been tough over the last two months or so. Just got to keep going.' The crowds were restless this weekend at Wrigley Field, where fans booed Tucker during Sunday's 4-3 comeback victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. That moment happened while the Cubs were down by one run in the sixth inning, when Tucker hit a groundball up the first-base line and did not move far from the batter's box. Kyle Tucker was just boo'd after he grounded out to first and didn't run to first base. — Cubs Zone (@CubsZone) August 17, 2025 It really shouldn't be this difficult to beat a last-place team, especially after the trade deadline and without facing Paul Skenes. And it really doesn't matter how manager Craig Counsell organizes the lineup if the club's best hitters don't perform. The Cubs don't have a more accomplished hitter than Tucker, whose left-handed power and all-around skills are projected to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Advertisement Tucker, though, guessed that he hasn't struggled to this extent since his major-league debut in 2018. 'I don't know how long it's been since I hit a homer,' he said. That would be July 19, the second game after the All-Star break. 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A league source observed that Tucker's bat speed is slightly slower, creating a perception that he just doesn't look quite as comfortable in the batter's box or as ready to turn on inside pitches. Tucker injured his right ring finger on a headfirst slide at the start of June, but that wound up being his best month (.982 OPS) to this point. 'We've played 120-ish games or whatever, so I'm sure everyone around the league is kind of banged up,' Tucker said. 'It's just kind of part of the job. It's what we get paid to come out here and do. You're trying to win games, whether you're banged up or not. It doesn't really matter. It's part of the game. You just got to keep going.' The long track record shows that Tucker is one of the best hitters in the game and probably due for some better luck and a bounce back soon. Even with this downturn, Tucker was so good on the front end of the season that his overall production has been worth 4.4 bWAR this season, with an OPS+ that's still roughly 40 percent higher than average. 'There's a lot of trust in who the man is, and who the player is, that he's going to get it done,' Counsell said. As the Brewers have demonstrated in so many ways, it's never a one-man show or not always about the biggest names. But Tucker's impact was obvious as the Cubs spent most of April, May, June and July in first place. Now they get five games against the Brewers in four days, starting with Monday's doubleheader at Wrigley Field, a chance to chip away at an eight-game division deficit and improve their wild-card chances. 'We still have a really good team,' Tucker said. 'Regardless of how the last couple weeks or whatever have gone, we're still in the playoff hunt right now, and in a playoff (spot) currently, so we don't change our course just because we lose a few games here or there. Our goal is to grind out the season and get to the playoffs and try to win from there.' Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Chicago Tribune
3 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
3 takeaways from the weekend as the Chicago Cubs prepare for a 5-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers
The National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers are coming to town for a five-game set against the Chicago Cubs, starting with a doubleheader on Monday at Wrigley Field. Here's the math. A Cubs sweep puts them three games out of first place. A Brewers sweep means the Cubs would be 13 games back with 34 games left in the season. Logic would say that the results would fall in the middle and the Cubs would be somewhere between 5-10 games back. But this season, logic is not a part of the equation. Whatever happens, the Cubs know they will be in a battle against a team that won 14 of its last 15 games and had a 14-game win streak snapped in Cincinnati on Sunday. 'This series has a lot of attention and there will be a great atmosphere,' left fielder Ian Happ said after the Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Sunday at Wrigley Field to prevent a fourth straight series loss. 'They play fundamental baseball. They run the bases well, they play defense well. They pitch and hit. We just have to go out and play our game.' Cubs manager Craig Counsell, who managed the Brewers from 2015-23, is looking forward to doing battle with his old team. 'We're excited for the series,' he said. 'We're getting to the point where the number of games left means that the games are important and the wins are helpful.' Dansby Swanson, who was honored Sunday with a bobblehead of him and his wife, Chicago Stars standout Mallory Swanson, hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth to bring home Carson Kelly with what turned out to be the winning run for the Cubs in front of a crowd of 38,012. Happ and Pete Crow-Armstrong each had two hits for the Cubs (70-53). Starter Javier Assad, pitching in just his second game this season after suffering an oblique injury, gave up one run on five hits in four innings. While the Cubs salvaged the Pirates series, the offense is still scuffling, scoring nine runs in three games against a last-place team one series removed from getting blown out 33-6 by the Brewers. Here are three takeaways before the big series. Some fans are thirsting for sweeping changes in a Cubs lineup that is not producing the runs and showing the power it had before the All-Star break. Counsell was partially amused and partially piqued before Sunday's game when asked by members of the media about the lineup. 'What do you guys — what do you want to do?' Counsell said. 'Why don't you tell me what you want to happen and then I'll respond to that.' Someone suggested third baseman Matt Shaw, whose 1.086 OPS since the All-Star break ranked third in the National League, should be moved from ninth to higher up in the order. 'Looking at (leadoff hitter) Michael Busch, he's a really good hitter,' Counsell said. 'He's a very productive hitter. And we want that guy to hit a lot. Yeah. 'Matt's had a nice two-week stretch where he's been productive and we tried to put him in good matchups. And we try to develop him as well.' Another suggestion was giving slumping Happ some time off in favor of rookie Owen Caissie, who was tearing it up at Triple-A Iowa. 'Ian's a really good baseball player,' Counsell said. 'Ian's had some bad luck this year, if you want to check that. And he's swung the bat pretty, pretty darn well. This is where baseball gets tough. There is not much difference between Ian's season last year and in 2023 and this year. Do you make a decision based off of that?' Caissie was called up Thursday and went 0-for-4 in one game against the Toronto Blue Jays, then sat out the first two games against Pittsburgh. He was a pinch hitter on Sunday and popped out to third. Happ, who entered the game 4-for-26 in his previous eight games, got back on track. Counsell said that Caissie will play in one of the doubleheader games against the Brewers on Monday. There was a time this season when right fielder Kyle Tucker would single or hit a home run and fans on social media would say, 'Pay the man whatever he wants!' Tucker, who came to the Cubs in an offseason trade with Houston with one year left on his contract, was speculated by some to command a $500 million price tag on his next contract. Now that he is in a slump — he hasn't homered since July 19 and hits have been hard to come by — fans are getting testy with him. On Sunday, when he didn't run out of the batter's box on a grounder to first in the sixth inning, he was loudly booed. Since the Cubs have not been in the postseason since 2020, let's have a refresher course on the playoffs. The American League and National League each get six representatives — three division champs and three wild cards. The top seed is the team with the league's best record, the second seed is the second-best division winner and the third seed is the third-best division winner. The top two seeds will get first-round byes. It's looking like the Cubs won't have to worry about that. As of Sunday, the Cubs own the top NL wild-card mark and would be the fourth seed and host the fifth seed, another wild-card team, in a best-of-three series at Wrigley Field. Playing at home and having starters Shota Imanaga, Cade Horton and Matthew Boyd doesn't sound like a bad deal right now.
