Bleacher Bunch Network: A Chicago Cubs Podcast · Bleacher Bunch Network:

CubsPS+ #114: Finally Doing Something

February 15, 2026·44 min·4 clips

After five months of silence, host Mike Waller reveals why he stepped away from analyzing the Cubs.

Almost five quiet months sit right at the top. Waller starts by naming the gap, saying there were no emergency pods, no quick updates, just time away that needed an explanation. It is a softer opening than the title suggests. He says the show has always been about baseball, but also about curiosity, patterns, choices, and the human reasons people step back. Then the switch flips. The personal reset turns into a plain question: are the Cubs putting last year's playoff revenue back into payroll? His answer is yes, though not with much confetti. He wants more aggression and says so, but he also will not act like nothing has happened when the team has plainly moved. From there, February roster math takes over. Waller pulls up the 40-man and starts sorting names like a Cubs fan who has stared at the same spreadsheet too long. Catcher gets crowded quickly. Miguel Amaya, Carson Kelly, and Moises Ballesteros are all in the mix, though Ballesteros sounds more like a DH than a full-time catcher in this read. The infield and DH picture is just as messy. Tyler Austin, Michael Bush, Alex Bregman, Nico Hoerner, Matt Shaw, Dansby Swanson, and others make the position-player count feel tight before the bench is even settled. Then comes the 13-and-13 squeeze. PCA, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Dansby, Shaw, Nico, Bush, Bregman, Austin, and the catchers take up most of the room. Someone has to wait. Ben Cowles, Pedro Ramirez, Kevin Alcantara, and Justin Dean turn the last roster spots into the kind of Cubs argument that starts orderly and gets weird fast. The ending is grateful without getting shiny. Waller says he is happy to be recording again, thanks listeners for sticking around, and closes with the familiar Go Cubs cadence.

As heard by us

A thoughtful return that settles into steady Cubs roster talk.

Mike Waller returns after nearly five months away and does not dodge the silence. He explains the break in plain terms, pointing to life changes and the need to step back, before easing into Cubs offseason talk and the roster math around the 40-man group and the catcher spot.

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Why you'd press play

You want a Cubs check-in that returns after almost five months of silence and turns into roster math.

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