The Cubs had a great offense last season, and adding Alex Bregman at third base should only help on that side of the ball. And one team insider labeled a pitcher who put up negative-1.6 bWAR last season as a surprise breakout candidate. ...On Wednesday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com named 26-year-old right-hander Ben Brown as his response to a reader question about a breakout player "who is on nobody's radar right now." "One player who has sort of fallen out of the main conversation around the Cubs' pitching is Ben Brown," wrote Bastian. To emphasize that the Cubs still believe Brown can be an impact member of the rotation, Bastian also included a blurb from Chicago pitching coach Tommy Hottovy.