The Tampa Bay Rays made room for Nick Madrigal by cutting ties with a former Cubs arm, and that move may have cracked open a path back to Chicago for Hunter Bigge.
Madrigal, the former Chicago Cubs infielder, is back in the majors after the Rays selected his contract from Triple-A. He was already in the big leagues earlier this season with the Los Angeles Angels, and Tampa Bay will use him as infield depth after losing shortstop Taylor Walls.
To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the Rays designated Bigge for assignment. The right-hander logged 18 relief appearances for Tampa Bay this season and finished with a 6.98 ERA, while striking out 16.5% of the hitters he faced.
Bigge’s path to this point has already included a stop with the Cubs. The Harvard graduate was drafted by Chicago in the 2019 MLB Draft and made his debut with the club in 2024.
Armed with a fastball that lives in the upper-90s, he briefly looked like he could grow into a meaningful late-inning option. In four appearances with the Cubs that year, he posted a 2.70 ERA before being dealt to the Rays in the Christopher Morel trade.
At first, Tampa Bay had reason to believe it had found something. Bigge turned in a 2.57 ERA across 15 appearances and struck out more than 32% of the hitters he saw.
Then came a rough 2025, when injuries knocked him off track. He dealt with a lat strain and later suffered a facial fracture after getting hit by a ball while sitting in the Rays’ dugout.
Even with that stretch of bad luck, he still made 13 appearances last year and posted a 2.40 ERA while striking out 20% of hitters.
He arrived at spring training this year healthy, but the results went the wrong way, and that made him an easy DFA choice once Tampa Bay needed roster space. Still, for a Cubs team looking for answers in the bullpen, Bigge looks like the kind of low-cost gamble worth considering.
His velocity and pitch shape remain the obvious selling points. According to his Baseball Savant page, Bigge’s fastball velocity sits in the 82 percentile, and his extension is in the 79 percentile. That gives the Cubs’ pitch lab something to work with, even if the immediate big-league impact isn’t guaranteed.
There’s also another reason Chicago could take a look: Bigge still has two minor-league options left. So even if he doesn’t become a quick fix this season, there’s still some roster control attached to the move. He’s a work in progress, but this is the kind of flier Jed Hoyer and Co. should be interested in taking.
In Other News...
Caleb Williams Only Reached Chicago Because One Team Blew It
Caleb Williams is in Chicago because the Bears took the aggressive route to secure the No. 1 pick, a move that ultimately came from trading with Carolina and reshaping the top of the draft. Williams has already shown he understands the scale of what the Bears invested to get him, noting his appreciation for the chance to join a historic franchise and help move it forward.
For Chicago, the trade was about more than landing a quarterback. It was a bet on a long-term centerpiece, the kind of swing the franchise needed after years of searching for stability at the position, and it now leaves both teams measured against the same deal every time Williams takes the field. The part that still hangs over it is how Carolinas side of the move will be remembered if Williams develops into the kind of player the Bears believe they finally found. [Read more 🡒]
Kyler Gordon Situation Is Starting To Feel Like A Bigger Bears Problem
Kyler Gordons calf injury has turned into one of the more uneasy early-season storylines around Halas Hall. The Bears already know they will be without the cornerback for at least the first four games, and what was supposed to be a temporary absence has started to feel more open-ended as the team waits for a clearer read on when he might actually be back.
Former Bears coach Dave Wannstedt added to the concern by questioning whether Gordon will even make it back this season, and the uncertainty has only sharpened the pressure on Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles to have answers they do not seem to have yet. For a defense that counted on Gordon as part of its backbone, the longer this lingers, the more it stops looking like a simple injury update and starts looking like a real problem. [Read more 🡒]
Caleb Williams And Ben Johnson Could Be The Bears' Most Explosive Bet Yet
Caleb Williams already looks like the kind of quarterback Ben Johnson can build an offense around, because his game naturally leans toward aggression. He is a shot taker, and that matters in a Bears system that wants to live on explosive plays downfield, whether they come through the air or by way of the run game. Chicago showed last season it can stress defenses with big gains in both passing and rushing, and that template gives this pairing a clear identity.
The intrigue now is how far that fit can go once the offense gets deeper into its second season with Williams and Johnson working together. If the Bears keep leaning into the same formula, the ceiling is obvious: more chunk plays, more stress on opposing defenses, and a chance for Williams to become the kind of quarterback who turns design and daring into regular offense. The question is no longer whether the pieces make sense, but how explosive they can become when everything starts clicking. [Read more 🡒]