The Rundown: More Broken Promises from Marquee, Airbender to Queens, Alcántara Should Be Moved, Cubs Lose Another MiLB Coach

With the Winter Meetings now less than a week away and Cubs Convention just about a month after that, the Cubs have a lot of work to do if they want to avoid fomenting discord among attendees. And we’re talking about the most blissed-out die-hards you’re ever going to find, so pissing them off means there are even bigger problems among the more pragmatic set. It’s possible Jed Hoyer will pull off some big moves between now and then, but the latest announcements from Marquee Sports Network don’t spur optimism.

Following a failure to improve revenue on the digital side, GM Diane Penny was fired and will not be replaced. Content director Tony Andracki and reporter Andy Martinez headlined other cuts to the digital content team, and the future of Marquee’s website is still undetermined. Rather than bringing in experienced industry veterans, control of the network is being turned over to Cubs EVP and chief commercial officer Colin Faulkner.

What was already a fine line between team and broadcast partner has now all but vanished as Marquee fails yet again to proactively meet the demands of an evolving media landscape. That certainly isn’t what was promised over 10 years ago, when the team’s business operations side first started planning for a launch they had at least half a decade to prepare for. The Cubs vowed to avoid carriage problems like those the Dodgers had with SportsNet LA, only to struggle through negotiations with Comcast and other potential partners.

Crane Kenney was supposed to be dumping wheelbarrows full of cash into the front office to spend big on a winner, but it seems like he’s opted for a leaky bucket instead. And he’s continued to blame baseball ops for it. While the Cubs have certainly outspent their divisional opponents, their view of the competitive balance tax penalty as a hard cap — barring an accounting error here and there — tells us they either aren’t making as much or spending as much as they should be. Maybe both.

It was evident from Marquee’s inception that this wasn’t going to be a matter of getting Dodgers money. By playing out the string on their deals with WGN and CSN Chicago, contractual holdovers from the team’s sale to the Ricketts family, the Cubs missed the boat on massive RSN deals. They were also a little ahead of the streaming bubble, plus they had the misfortune of launching just before the pandemic in the spring of 2020.

Perhaps those fractured TV deals were so ironclad that they couldn’t be broken, but I’ve got a hard time believing the Cubs couldn’t have bought their old broadcast partners out early. Doing so might have netted them a much sweeter deal from a network that had deep pockets and its own equipment, and it definitely would have provided a much longer runway. Imagine how much more successful Marquee would have been had it launched ahead of the 2016 season.

Instead, the Cubs opted to partner with Sinclair on a brand-new venture that required the team to foot half the startup costs. Terrible timing had a lot to do with it, but there seemed to be a disconnect from the start. It felt like the people running Marquee were providing an outsider’s interpretation of what Cubs fans wanted rather than getting actual inside perspectives on what would be best.

Look, no one understands the struggle of digital content better than me. I’ve discussed in the past how much of our traffic has been siphoned off due to competing blogs, SEO challenges, and social media algorithms designed to funnel traffic back to the respective platforms. That said, the Cubs’ financial resources should have made it acceptable to keep their digital content team around even as a loss leader.

At the very least, this is a bad look for the Cubs and Marquee. At the worst, it’s yet another sign that the network is in trouble. We could even get more rumblings about a merger with CHSN if things keep heading in this direction. The Cubs promised a network dedicated to providing the most comprehensive coverage of the team possible, including broadcasts of every spring training game and “shoulder programming” that even out-of-market viewers could access.

What we’ve gotten is a scaled-back spring schedule that was down to only 17 of the Cubs’ 25 games in Arizona and a broadcast schedule that includes several other Chicago teams. Based on Marquee’s X feed on weekends, you’d think it was actually the Bears’ flagship station. Between that and the streaming app’s general clunkiness — it’s gotten much better, but the long buffer delay is one of multiple problems — the decision to save $20 by cancelling my subscription as soon as the season ends is an easy one each fall.

Though he’s still got a little time to make good on his pledge from nearly six years ago, Tom Ricketts has done a poor job of stewarding this particular effort.

“Our promise for the next 10 years is to continue to have the best relationship with our fans of any professional sports team in the world,” the chairman said during CubsCon’s opening ceremonies in 2020. “And that starts with the Marquee Network. [crowd starts to boo] Marquee Network…[booing intensifies] What do you have against Marquee Network?

“Believe me, you won’t be booing about that in a year. You guys won’t be booing about the Marquee Network in one year.”

Airbender Switches Burroughs

Former Brewers closer Devin Williams recently wrapped up his worst season in MLB, putting up a 4.79 ERA with his lowest strikeout rate since a limited rookie campaign in 2019, but that didn’t stop him from securing the bag. Williams never quite found his footing after being traded to the Yankees in December of 2024 for Caleb Durbin and Nestor Cortes, though his peripheral numbers suggest he was pitching better than what the box score said.

Even so, he was a far cry from the dominant reliever we saw in Milwaukee over the five previous seasons. The Mets are banking on a return to that performance with a three-year, $51 million deal that has a decreased net present value due to $15 million in deferrals. He did have a 39.3% strikeout rate in the second half, second only to Mason Miller over the same period and slightly higher than his career average.

The Mets say they are still open to bringing back closer Edwin Díaz, and Williams is reportedly on board with serving as a setup man if that happens. While I will continue to take every opportunity to point and laugh at the Mets for missing the postseason despite a massive payroll, I am envious of them having an owner who’s willing to keep spending through it.

Alcántara out of Options

On the list of things this Cubs front office prioritizes, you’ll find value in the top spot and flexibility close behind. Kevin Alcántara could find himself at the inflection point of those two factors when it comes to offseason moves, as he’s got loads of potential and no more minor league options. Between Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Owen Caissie, and the expected addition of another outfielder, not to mention Moisés Ballesteros at DH, Alcántara’s role in Chicago appears to be limited at best.

Rather than watching him languish on the bench, Jed Hoyer should be shopping him to any team that is willing to move a starting pitcher. The potential trade market seems to be pretty robust and the 23-year-old outfielder isn’t enough on his own to bring back an impact arm for the rotation, but the Cubs can’t very well afford to hang onto him at this point.

Remember how they waited too long to move Nelson Velázquez and Alexander Canario, with the former netting Jose Cuas from the Royals and the latter bringing back cash considerations from the Mets after being DFA’d. There are really only three paths for prospects: They come up and contribute; they’re traded for other needs; or they wither on the vine. If the Cubs choose not to move him, Alcántara could be headed down that third path.

Unless the scouting reports are so low on him that there’s simply no demand — and he has dropped in evaluators’ estimation, sitting at No. 5 in the org and nowhere to be found on top 100 lists — I would view not trading him this winter as a failure.

Ray Joins Nats Staff

The Nationals announced Monday that they have hired former Cubs Arizona Complex League coach Corey Ray as their first base coach. The 31-year-old joins young manager Blake Butera’s staff as the Nats cleaned house after firing former Cub Dave Martinez. Former Cubs greats Miguel Cairo, Henry Blanco, and Ricky Gutierrez were also on the previous staff, along with former Cubs pitching coach Jim Hickey.

Ray was the fifth overall pick by the Brewers in 2016, but only ended up playing one game in the bigs before being waived and going unclaimed in June of 2022. He didn’t sign with another team, opting instead to join the Cubs organization as the bench coach for Low-A Myrtle Beach. He then moved to the ACL while also serving as a minor league baserunning coordinator.

There has been nothing but the highest praise for Ray from those who’ve gotten to know him over the years, and I know some of those folks well enough not to question the sincerity of their comments. Iowa Cubs broadcaster Jason Kempf noted Ray’s “unique ability to connect with people,” which should serve him very well in his new role and in the future.

This is yet another loss for an organization that recently lost hitting instructor Rachel Folden to the Mets, and I can’t say I like the trend. It’s impossible to keep everyone because new opportunities and challenges will always come up, but some people are harder to replace than others.

Amazing Halftime Show

I’m a little late to the party on this one, but it’s still worth watching even if you saw it live. Jack White took a little time away from woodworking, or whatever it is he does these days, to shred the stage with his custom Fender Triplecaster Telecaster in “Detroit Lions Blue” and his 1950s Kay hollowbody. The latter is tuned to Open A and he often plays it with a slide to create his signature sound. White played the Triplecaster for “That’s How I’m Feeling” and opted for the Kay for “Seven Nation Army,” but it was his second song that brought the house down.

The Triplecaster was present for “Hello Operator,” which featured a mashup of the background vocals from “‘Till I Collapse.” Sure enough, the most famous Lions fan in existence joined the rock icon for an incredible performance that I’m not sure how you could dislike even if you don’t particularly care for either’s music.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Detroit’s own…Eminem!”

The three-song live set is available wherever you stream music.

Jack White featuring Eminem. One of the best halftime shows you’ll ever see. pic.twitter.com/6qWGfkkpol

— Sid Seixeiro (@Sid_Seixeiro) November 27, 2025