The post Chicago Cubs Need To Prioritize Starting Pitching Depth This Winter appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Chicago Cubs pitcher Colin Rea (53) talks with catcher Carson Kelly (15) as he is pulled from the game during the fourth inning of Game 5 of baseball’s National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf) Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The Cubs are coming off of a very good 2025 season, arguably their most successful year in close to a decade. They won more than 90 games for the first time in seven years, and for the first time since 2017, they advanced past the first round of the playoffs. There will be some notable changes to the roster next year – like Kyle Tucker heading to free agency – but the Cubs need to use this offseason to build on last year’s success and get even better. The best way to do that is by prioritizing starting pitching depth. There are other needs, like rebuilding the back of the bullpen, and the Cubs have taken some steps toward addressing those, but the starting rotation showed in 2025 the need for more arms. Cubs team president Jed Hoyer told reporters in early November that his priority this offseason will be on pitching, especially given that the offensive side of the team is pretty well set. Hoyer also said that the Cubs won’t necessarily limit themselves to adding pitching via free agency. “You have to explore everything,” Hoyer told reporters. “And we’re not just going to focus on the free-agent market with pitching. I think we’ll probably look at the trade market. It may come to fruition, it may not, whereas we’re going to sign some free agents. I think there’s no question. The trade market? We don’t know yet.” At this early stage of the offseason, the… The post Chicago Cubs Need To Prioritize Starting Pitching Depth This Winter appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Chicago Cubs pitcher Colin Rea (53) talks with catcher Carson Kelly (15) as he is pulled from the game during the fourth inning of Game 5 of baseball’s National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf) Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The Cubs are coming off of a very good 2025 season, arguably their most successful year in close to a decade. They won more than 90 games for the first time in seven years, and for the first time since 2017, they advanced past the first round of the playoffs. There will be some notable changes to the roster next year – like Kyle Tucker heading to free agency – but the Cubs need to use this offseason to build on last year’s success and get even better. The best way to do that is by prioritizing starting pitching depth. There are other needs, like rebuilding the back of the bullpen, and the Cubs have taken some steps toward addressing those, but the starting rotation showed in 2025 the need for more arms. Cubs team president Jed Hoyer told reporters in early November that his priority this offseason will be on pitching, especially given that the offensive side of the team is pretty well set. Hoyer also said that the Cubs won’t necessarily limit themselves to adding pitching via free agency. “You have to explore everything,” Hoyer told reporters. “And we’re not just going to focus on the free-agent market with pitching. I think we’ll probably look at the trade market. It may come to fruition, it may not, whereas we’re going to sign some free agents. I think there’s no question. The trade market? We don’t know yet.” At this early stage of the offseason, the…

Chicago Cubs Need To Prioritize Starting Pitching Depth This Winter

2025/12/01 05:22

Chicago Cubs pitcher Colin Rea (53) talks with catcher Carson Kelly (15) as he is pulled from the game during the fourth inning of Game 5 of baseball’s National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

The Cubs are coming off of a very good 2025 season, arguably their most successful year in close to a decade. They won more than 90 games for the first time in seven years, and for the first time since 2017, they advanced past the first round of the playoffs. There will be some notable changes to the roster next year – like Kyle Tucker heading to free agency – but the Cubs need to use this offseason to build on last year’s success and get even better. The best way to do that is by prioritizing starting pitching depth.

There are other needs, like rebuilding the back of the bullpen, and the Cubs have taken some steps toward addressing those, but the starting rotation showed in 2025 the need for more arms. Cubs team president Jed Hoyer told reporters in early November that his priority this offseason will be on pitching, especially given that the offensive side of the team is pretty well set.

Hoyer also said that the Cubs won’t necessarily limit themselves to adding pitching via free agency.

“You have to explore everything,” Hoyer told reporters. “And we’re not just going to focus on the free-agent market with pitching. I think we’ll probably look at the trade market. It may come to fruition, it may not, whereas we’re going to sign some free agents. I think there’s no question. The trade market? We don’t know yet.”

At this early stage of the offseason, the free agent market has favored starting pitchers, so the Cubs will need to be aggressive if they are going to keep pace with teams at the top of the market. They will also need to be willing to open up the pocketbook if Dylan Cease’s seven year, $210 million deal with the Blue Jays is any indicator of how the pitchers’ market is going to go.

This, of course, assumes they aren’t able to add via trade, but as Hoyer said at the general managers’ meetings, that is not an option that’s off the table. The Cubs have the organizational depth – especially on offense – to swing at least one deal for a starting pitcher, but the fact that Tucker is gone does mean they will need some of that depth to help fill the void in right field.

With that in mind, free agency remains the most likely avenue for bolstering the Cubs’ starting rotation. The good news is the Cubs don’t have tremendous need. As things currently stand, they will go into 2026 with Matt Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga, and Cade Horton all set to take rotation spots. They should also see the return of Justin Steele at some point in the first half of the season, so this isn’t a situation where the Cubs have a glaring vacancy in their staff.

That said, Boyd was the only member of last year’s rotation to not miss a start, and his performance dipped in the final weeks of the season – possibly because of the heavy workload – so it is clear that the Cubs need more starting pitching depth for next season. Ideally, the rotation stays healthy in 2026, but past precedent does not point in favor of that happening.

Even with Cease off the board, there are still good options for the Cubs to pursue. Padres starter Michael King would come with injury concerns of his own, but his ability to pitch to soft contact would play really nicely with the Cubs defense behind him. The same could be said of Phillies starter Ranger Suarez, and though Astros starter Framber Valdez wouldn’t come with the same kinds of question marks about his health, the Cubs would have to consider what appeared like him intentionally hitting his catcher after a cross-up against the Yankees in early September. Finally, there’s Japanese starter Tatsuya Imai, who would bring much-needed velocity to the Cubs rotation, but there’s always the newcomer variable to consider when a player comes over from the NPB.

According to Spotrac’s current projections, the Cubs should have just over $70 million in luxury tax space, so they could afford a contract with the average annual value that Cease got from Toronto. The good news is that none of the aforementioned pitchers should cost as much as Cease.

The one thing the Cubs cannot do is stand pat while the other top free agent pitchers sign with other teams. They have a strong rotation already, but repeating last year’s success is going to take depth from the starting pitching staff. And if the Cubs want to do more than just replicate a 92-win season and a wild card berth in 2026, then they need to assert themselves in the free agent market this offseason and add depth to their starting rotation.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaredwyllys/2025/11/30/chicago-cubs-need-to-prioritize-starting-pitching-depth-this-winter/

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Wang Yongli, former vice president of the Bank of China: Why did China resolutely halt stablecoins?

Wang Yongli, former vice president of the Bank of China: Why did China resolutely halt stablecoins?

Written by: Wang Yongli , former Vice President of Bank of China China's policy orientation of accelerating the development of the digital yuan and resolutely curbing virtual currencies, including stablecoins, is now fully clear. This is based on a comprehensive consideration of factors such as China's leading global advantages in mobile payments and the digital yuan, the sovereignty and security of the yuan, and the stability of the monetary and financial system. Since May 2025, the United States and Hong Kong have been racing to advance stablecoin legislation, which has led to a surge in global legislation on stablecoins and crypto assets (also known as "cryptocurrencies" or "virtual currencies"). A large number of institutions and capital are flocking to issue stablecoins and invest in crypto assets, which has also sparked heated debate on whether China should fully promote stablecoin legislation and the development of RMB stablecoins (including offshore ones). Furthermore, after the United States legislated to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing digital dollars, whether China should continue to promote digital RMB has also become a hot topic of debate. For China, this involves the direction and path of national currency development. With the global spread of stablecoins and the increasingly acute and complex international relations and fiercer international currency competition, this has a huge and far-reaching impact on how the RMB innovates and develops, safeguards national security, and achieves the strategic goals of a strong currency and a financial power. We must calmly analyze, accurately grasp, and make decisions early. We cannot be indifferent or hesitant, nor can we blindly follow the trend and make directional and subversive mistakes. Subsequently, the People's Bank of China announced that it would optimize the positioning of the digital yuan within the monetary hierarchy (adjusting the previously determined M0 positioning. This is a point I have repeatedly advocated from the beginning; see Wang Yongli's WeChat public account article "Digital Yuan Should Not Be Positioned as M0" dated January 6, 2021), further optimize the digital yuan management system (establishing an international digital yuan operations center in Shanghai, responsible for cross-border cooperation and use of the digital yuan; and establishing a digital yuan operations management center in Beijing, responsible for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the digital yuan system), and promote and accelerate the development of the digital yuan . On November 28, the People's Bank of China and 13 other departments jointly convened a meeting of the coordination mechanism for combating virtual currency trading and speculation. The meeting pointed out that due to various factors, virtual currency speculation has recently resurfaced, and related illegal and criminal activities have occurred frequently, posing new challenges to risk prevention and control. It emphasized that all units should deepen coordination and cooperation, continue to adhere to the prohibitive policy on virtual currencies, and persistently crack down on illegal financial activities related to virtual currencies. It clarified that stablecoins are a form of virtual currency , and their issuance and trading activities are also illegal and subject to crackdown. This has greatly disappointed those who believed that China would promote the development of RMB stablecoins and correspondingly relax the ban on virtual currency (crypto asset) trading. Therefore, China's policy orientation of accelerating the development of the digital yuan and resolutely curbing virtual currencies, including stablecoins, is now fully clear . Of course, this policy orientation remains highly debated both domestically and internationally, and there is no consensus among the public. So, how should we view this major policy direction of China? This article will first answer why China resolutely halted stablecoins; how to accelerate the innovative development of the digital yuan will be discussed in another article . There is little room or opportunity for the development of non-USD stablecoins. Since Tether launched USDT, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, in 2014 , USD stablecoins have been operating for over a decade and have formed a complete international operating system. They have basically dominated the entire crypto asset trading market, accounting for over 99% of the global fiat stablecoin market capitalization and trading volume . This situation arises from two main factors. First, the US dollar is the most liquid and has the most comprehensive supporting system of international central currencies, making stablecoins pegged to the dollar the easiest to accept globally. Second, it is also a result of the US's long-standing tolerant policy towards crypto assets like Bitcoin and dollar-denominated stablecoins, rather than leading the international community to strengthen necessary regulation and safeguard the fundamental interests of all humanity. Even this year, when the US pushed for legislation on stablecoins and crypto assets, it was largely driven by the belief that dollar-denominated stablecoins would increase global demand for the dollar and dollar-denominated assets such as US Treasury bonds, reduce the financing costs for the US government and society, and strengthen the dollar's international dominance. This was a choice made to enhance US support for dollar-denominated stablecoins and control their potential impact on the US, prioritizing the maximization of national interests while giving little consideration to mitigating the international risks of stablecoins. With the US strongly promoting dollar-denominated stablecoins, other countries or regions launching non-dollar fiat currency stablecoins will find it difficult to compete with dollar-denominated stablecoins on an international level, except perhaps within their own sovereign territory or on the issuing institution's own e-commerce platform. Their development potential and practical significance are limited . Lacking a strong ecosystem and application scenarios, and lacking distinct characteristics compared to dollar-denominated stablecoins, as well as the advantage of attracting traders and transaction volume, the return on investment for issuing non-dollar fiat currency stablecoins is unlikely to meet expectations, and they will struggle to survive in an environment of increasingly stringent legislation and regulation in various countries. The legislation on stablecoins in the United States still faces many problems and challenges. Following President Trump's second election victory, his strong advocacy for crypto assets such as Bitcoin fueled a new international frenzy in cryptocurrency trading, driving the rapid development of dollar-denominated stablecoin trading and a surge in stablecoin market capitalization. This not only increased demand for the US dollar and US Treasury bonds, strengthening the dollar's international status, but also brought huge profits to the Trump family and their cryptocurrency associates. However, this also posed new challenges to the global monitoring of the dollar's circulation and the stability of the traditional US financial system. Furthermore, the trading and transfer of crypto assets backed by dollar-denominated stablecoins has become a new and more difficult-to-prevent tool for the US to harvest global wealth, posing a serious threat to the monetary sovereignty and wealth security of other countries . This is why the United States has accelerated legislation on stablecoins, but its legislation is more about prioritizing America and maximizing American and even group interests, at the expense of the interests of other countries and the common interests of the world. After the legislation on US dollar stablecoins came into effect, institutions that have not obtained approval and operating licenses from US regulators will find it difficult to issue and operate US dollar stablecoins in the United States (for this reason, Tether has announced that it will apply for US-issued USDT). Stablecoin issuers subject to US regulation must meet regulatory requirements such as Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and Counter-Terrorist Financing (FTC). They must be able to screen customers against government watchlists and report suspicious activities to regulators. Their systems must have the ability to freeze or intercept specific stablecoins when ordered by law enforcement agencies. 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