Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Cade Horton looked distraught Friday afternoon in Cleveland when he walked off the field in the second inning of his start against the Guardians, suffering from what was described as “forearm discomfort.” Moments earlier, he had indicated to the dugout that things didn’t feel right, physically.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Is it already time to sound the starting pitching alarm?

“I just wanted to be smart about it,” Horton said. “I’ve been in this spot before and I’ve taken the other route where I keep going, and it ends up being worse. So, I just tried to make a mature decision and end it there.”

The 24-year-old was expected to do big things this year after a breakthrough rookie season in 2025 that saw him perform as, arguably, the best pitcher in all of baseball after the All-Star break.

Manager Craig Counsell told media after the game that Horton to will get imaging to see the extent of the injury and will also be placed on the 15-day IL as he’s being assessed.

Who could take Horton’s spot?

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Now, however, the talk must turn to the future. Specifically, how to fill the young arm’s spot in a Cubs rotation that needs the kind of impact starter Horton was expected to be.

Veteran Colin Rea was brought in to replace Horton on Friday and it’s thought that he’ll likely be the full-time replacement until the team knows what’s in their injured pitcher’s immediate future. Last season, Rea was solid as the team’s full-time rotation fill-in, posting a 10-7 record with a 4.33 ERA in 27 starts.

Chicago also has Ben Brown and Javier Assad as possible rotation fill-ins.

Then, of course, ace Justin Steele is slated to return some time before mid-season.

But if Horton is lost for any extended period of time, the Cubs may have no choice but to reach out and try to pick up somebody outside of the organization.

Some people already have an idea of who that outside pickup should be—Lucas Giolito.

Lucas Giolito to the rescue?

In the Friday night edition of MLB Tonight, the host brought up that exact possibility:

“I keep reminding myself that Lucas Giolito is still sitting out there without a team,” he said, following the segment talking about Horton’s injury.

“He might be a Cub,” replied analyst Harold Reynolds.

Jacob Zanolla of Bleacher Nation also brought up the Giolito possibility:

“The Cubs could look to someone outside of the organization, and there does happen to be one (relatively) legitimate arm still available: Lucas Giolito.

Giolito, 31, made 25 starts for the Red Sox last season, pitching to a 3.41 ERA over 145.0 IP. But while that seems encouraging, a quick peek under the hood reveals the more troubling peripherals that are probably conspiring to keep him a free agent this long: 5.01 xERA, 4.17 FIP. But in terms of emergency fill-in options, you could do a whole lot worse than Giolito.”

Last season with the Red Sox, the 31-year-old Giolito had a good year, stats-wise. But, as Zanolla mentions, maybe the raw numbers don’t tell the full story of what’s under the 9-year veteran’s hood. There has to be a reason, after all, why he’s still unsigned when starting pitching is such an MLB-wide priority.

It remains to be seen whether he’d even be much of an upgrade over the pitchers the Cubs already have lined up as fill-ins.

But he’s somebody definitely worth looking into for a Cubs rotation already showcasing some weakness just days into the season.

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The Chicago Cubs entered the 2026 season with significant depth in the area of starting pitching. While analysts weren’t blown away with the high-end potential of the rotation as a whole, most everyone agreed that the team’s strength was in its depth.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Base thievery may be low-key secret to 2026 success

Chicago started the regular season with five established starters (Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Shota Imanaga, Edward Cabrera, and Jameson Taillon) on the Opening Day roster, along with two rotation-capable swingmen (Colin Rea and Ben Brown). Reliable swingman Javier Assad was assigned to start the season in Triple-A Iowa, but would only be a phone call away from Wrigley. Jordan Wicks was also a name tossed about as a possible rotation fill-in. Meanwhile, ace Justin Steele is slated to make his return in May-June.

All told, that makes ten potential starters in the mix for a season where big things are expected.

Now, there’s talk that, maybe, the Cubs won’t have the rotation horses after all.

Horton’s injury spotlights Cubs rotation weak points

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Cade Horton’s forearm injury on Friday and subsequent placement on the 15-day IL is the biggest cause for alarm right now, of course. The 24-year-old right-hander was expected to be an ace-level presence on the mound after a second-half of 2025 that saw him emerge as an elite starter.

But Horton has been injury prone throughout his young career. Last year, he was shut down with a fractured rib late in the regular season and would miss the playoffs entirely. In 2024, he was shut down around mid-season with a shoulder injury. He already has a Tommy John surgery in his past.

At best, Horton had to be seen as a question mark when it came to full season duty.

New Cub Edward Cabrera also has a history of injury, with two stints on the IL just last year.

Matthew Boyd, regarded as injury-prone as well, pitched a full season last year, but it was his first 100+ inning campaign since 2019.

Shota Imanaga got smacked around a bit over the second half of last season and also got smacked around in his first start of this season.

Jameson Taillon got crushed during Cactus League play and looked touchable in his first official start of 2026.

Big problems ahead?

If one of the Cubs’ top starters falters and/or is forced to the IL for a long stretch of time, things will get rough. If a couple starters fall out, there’ll be huge problems. Because, yes, the Cubs have depth, but they’ll need more than seat-fillers. Rea, Brown, and Assad are solid, but there’s a reason they weren’t regarded as rotation fixtures.

For now, as Horton is assessed, the 35-year-old Rea will likely fill the young arm’s spot. The veteran was solid last season as the designated rotation-filler, with a 10-7 record in 27 starts and a 4.33 ERA (11-7, 3.95 ERA overall).

Chicago could do a lot worse when it comes to temporary replacements. But Rea doesn’t bring what Horton brings and “good enough for now” is not what an aspiring championship team needs near the top of their rotation.

For now, it’s reasonable to be alarmed about the team’s starting pitching, especially considering that the season is just beginning and a lot more could happen.

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The Chicago Cubs made a lot of moves this past offseason and are now about a week into a 2026 campaign where big things are expected.

More News: Is Chicago Cubs manager tipping new Dodgers-style late-season pitching strategy?

The biggest move, of course, was the signing of three-time All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman to a 5-year, $175 million contract.

They finally pulled the trigger on a trade with the Miami Marlins for emerging powerhouse pitcher Edward Cabrera, who they had been eyeing already for the better part of two seasons.

They also restocked a depleted bullpen with the signing of four free agent relievers (Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Hunter Harvey).

They even secured the future of the franchise with big-money six-year extensions for centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and second baseman Nico Hoerner.

Despite a tepid start to the 2026 campaign, most would agree that this Cubs team looks deep and all-around good. The starting rotation is deep, the bullpen is versatile, the defense is elite, the offensive firepower is also there.

Speed kills—opposition

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One overlooked strength, though, could be the key to next-level success this season—speed. Specifically, speed as it pertains to having an aggressive mindset on the bases and the ability to pile up stolen bases.

Third base coach Quintin Berry is one of the key leaders in that area, tasked, along with first base coach Jose Javier, with getting the Cubs moving on base.

Last season, Chicago was tied for third in all of baseball with 161 stolen bases in 196 attempts, marking a near elite-level success rate just above the 82% mark. This season, the team is 7-for-7 in stolen base tries.

Berry came over from manager Craig Counsell’s old team, the Milwaukee Brewers, for the 2025 season in a thus far successful attempt at replicating the Brewers’ aggressive mindset on the bases. A former Cub, himself, Berry spent his MLB playing days as a baserunning specialist.

The Cubs’ baserunning specialist

The Chicago Sun-Times recently talked with him about his role in getting the Cubs moving.

“I’m more of a peace of mind [guy] — peace for [Crow-Armstrong],’’ Berry said. “Just like, what is he thinking, what’s he doing with his body. How to keep him relaxed and be confident.

“A lot of times, guys want to be quick. They’re trying so hard. I think the harder you try, the more tense you get, the more locked up, and then you see things that aren’t there, and then you get real passive, or you get real jumpy.

“So I’m just trying to make guys feel confident, confident and comfortable.’’

While home runs and strikeouts get most of the fan and media love, stealing bases and being able to get an extra bag here and there is such an overlooked asset in baseball. It adds a level of extra pressure to an opponent and forces them to operate outside their original plan. And the Cubs have been built with an eye on speed. Up and down the lineup, with the exception of maybe two spots, there’s some serious running ability present.

Could this ability to steal bases prove to be the deciding factor in how this season finishes? As always, time will tell.

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The Chicago Cubs, early this season, appear to be very cognizant of what their postseason should look like and how best to optimize a run at a championship. Last year, the focus seemed to be on just making the postseason.

More News: Chicago Cubs trade deemed both smartest and dumbest move of offseason

In 2025, pitching injuries hobbled their playoff run. By the time they reached the NLDS, they were down to, maybe, two reliable starters and two or three trusted relievers. It was a sobering reality that played out at the tail end of an otherwise tremendous season.

In 2026, however, the pitching focus has seemingly shifted to depth and to pacing themselves for a more pitching-powerful postseason.

That, maybe especially, means keeping an eye on the workload of the team’s younger starters and using their long relief to greater benefit early in the season.

That mindset seemed evident in the first starts of Cade Horton and Edward Cabrera.

An early focus on workload

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Both young arms were cooking into the sixth inning with a minimal pitch count. Manager Craig Counsell opted to take both out of their respective games.

Horton and Cabrera do have a history of injury and durability issues, so it’s no surprise that Counsell would want to be cautious with both. Horton, for example, was shut down late in the season and missed the playoffs entirely with a rib injury, after a sizzling post-All-Star break run. But Counsell’s own words to the media after the Horton game reveal, perhaps, more of a long-term team goal than a simple focus on the health of one young arm.

“If you look at history,” Counsell said, “the first three weeks of the season for pitchers are pretty delicate.”

Counsell has also talked about the benefit of having starter-capable pitchers such as Ben Brown and Colin Rea on the team.

“Having a pair of experienced starters filling in the long-reliever role is a luxury for a team,” Counsell said.

“Early in the season, we thought it could be valuable. With unforeseen weather and being cautious with the starters, I think it’s worked out and will continue to be an asset the next couple of weeks.”

It’s been speculated that the Cubs may be trying to adopt a 2025 Dodgers strategy to managing their starting corps, one where the team is ultra conservative with their starters in order to bring a strong and rested rotation into the playoffs.

Adopting the 2025 Dodgers strategy?

Last season, the Dodgers’ rotation was strained throughout much of the regular season due to injury, with only Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivering more than 112.2 innings as a starter.

They were then careful and judicious with the return of injured/recovering starters Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, and even Shohei Ohtani. Ultimately, they were able to reintroduce all three to the rotation just in time for a strong pennant push and then the postseason.

The strategy paid off as Yamamoto and the fresh, strong threesome of Glasnow, Blake, and Ohtani accounted for more than 68% of the innings pitched in the postseason en route to another World Series win for the Dodgers.

The Cubs don’t have the studs the Dodgers did, but they do have big-time depth. The team currently has seven possible starters on the big league roster and Javier Assad in Iowa, with recovering ace Justin Steele set to make his return before mid-season.

If the workload is handled just right, it’s almost a guarantee that Chicago will be able to put together a very nice four-man rotation for what they hope to be a deep postseason run.

Last season, they really didn’t have that luxury of depth—and they ultimately paid the price. This season, they’re angling for a much different end to the season.

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The Chicago Cubs had been eyeballing right-handed power pitcher Edward Cabrera of the Miami Marlins for the better part of two years, starting from the end of the 2024 season. They finally pulled the trigger on the trade to bring him over this past offseason.

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Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer paid a hefty price for the emerging 27-year-old starter. To bring Cabrera aboard, they had to send over their top prospect OF Owen Caissie, their no. 11 prospect INF Cristian Hernandez, and 19-year-old talent INF Edgardo De Leon.

Both the Cubs and the Marlins walked away from the deal happy. So far, each side has every reason to feel like they came out ahead.

Cabrera and Caissie shining so far

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In Cabrera’s first start with his new team, he blew the Los Angeles Angels away with a masterful showing. On the day, he tossed 6 shutout innings, striking out 5 while giving up only one hit and one walk in a 7-2 win.

The Marlins also have to be pleased with their new outfielder’s season so far, as he’s helped carry them to a very early first place spot atop the NL East. The 23-year-old outfielder has driven in 8 runs so far, with a walk-off home run and an impressive .350 batting average.

The success of both principal players in the Cubs-Marlins swap has created an odd point of debate when it comes to which team actually “won” the trade.

A trade that was both smart and dumb?

Michael Brauner of SI.com encapsulates this perfectly in a recent piece regarding the Cubs dumbest and smartest moves of the offseason—including the trading FOR Cabrera as a smart one and the trading OF Caissie as a dumb one.

Per Brauner:

“Cabrera came in on Monday night and did exactly what he was brought in to do: generate a ton of swing and miss. The right-hander carved up the Los Angeles Angels lineup with six scoreless innings, striking out five and walking one while allowing just one hit.

Cabrera may just wind up as the ace of this staff, and if he keeps looking how he did on Monday night, he very well could be an All-Star as well.

He still has a ton to prove, but it was as strong a beginning to his time with the team as one could possibly hope for.”

Also, per Brauner:

“The way Chicago’s former top prospect has started with the Miami Marlins, it makes fans wish Hoyer had found a way to get Cabrera without sacrificing Caissie.

The 23-year-old has slashed .385/.429/.769 so far this year (.350/.391/.600 currently, as of April 2) coming off a huge showing in the World Baseball Classic and even hit a walk-off home run for Miami the other night. The Cubs needed pitching, but seeing Caissie have a huge rookie season would be a tough pill to swallow.”

There’s no doubt that Cabrera and Caissie will always be connected from this point forward with both team’s fan bases and the value of the trade judged by each player’s performance. But this very well could go down as one of those deals where both sides come out a winner.

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Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has turned heads very early this season with some very intriguing data points.

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By the account of some well-respected baseball analysts, PCA’s bat speed has ticked up considerably and he’s currently swinging the bat faster than anyone in MLB. As a matter of fact, his top-end bat speed right now is greater than that of any qualified player over the last two seasons.

Last season, the emerging young star, who just signed a 6-year, $115 million contract extension, blew people away with a stellar first half of the year before experiencing a significant fall over the second half. Overall, though, he finished 2025 with high-end stats that included 31 home runs, 95 RBIs, and 35 stolen bases, as well as a Gold Glove.

PCA on the verge of even bigger things?

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Over the offseason, the 24-year-old Crow-Armstrong worked on the mechanics of his batting stance and is sporting a more balanced approach at the plate, which is likely leading to the faster swing speed. So far, though, his 6 hits this season have all been singles.

But increased bat speed is considered a harbinger of good things to come, across the board, for a hitter.

Evan Altman of Cubs Insider lays out the case for why increased bat speed is not only important for power numbers, but also for overall success at the plate:

“The thing about increased bat speed isn’t just that it will directly correlate to more home runs, but that it broadens a hitter’s margin for error. Every additional tick of EV correlates to around 7 feet of ball flight, which means carrying over a shortstop’s glove or past a leaping outfielder. And in a game decided by fractions of inches or seconds, hitting a ball even slightly harder puts that much pressure on the defense.”

A 50-home run season?

Driveline Baseball ops analyst Sam Ehrlich is estimating that PCA’s added 3.5 mph of bat speed—the greatest jump in all of MLB—could make for a 50 home run season if the trend continues.

PCA w +3.5mph of bat speed could be looking at a 50HR season. Small sample, but that is a massive gain https://t.co/KGhKX9jI2A pic.twitter.com/1SHZz2Es9l

— sam ehrlich (@SamEhrlich) March 30, 2026

Eno Sarris of The Athletic, using his own metrics, has arrived at the same conclusion that the young star is currently sporting a mighty swing:

“Pete Crow-Armstrong is swinging a powerful stick right now. Using our method, we find that he’s swinging more than 2 mph harder this March than he did in September. At Driveline Baseball, they are big proponents of bat speed training, and they were enthusiastic about PCA’s gains, even modeling what the increased bat speed would mean.

The real gains for the Cubs’ center fielder are probably smaller than this, but it also seems likely that last year’s 31 homers were not a mirage, and more might be coming this season.”

It’s wild to imagine that a 30+ home run season from the Cubs centerfielder in 2025 could actually be the just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what he’s capable of doing.

Of course, all of this actually has to play out on the field, But, still, it’s pretty exciting to think that the best of PCA may be yet to come.

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The Chicago Cubs have a spent a bundle this year extending two prized assets on six-year deals—center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and second baseman Nico Hoerner. In total, that amounts to $256 million invested into the team’s future.

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But even with the bundle of money spent this past offseason, including the extensions and free agent signings of Alex Bregman and four relievers, the team will still have a lot of money coming off the books after 2026.

Several core members of the roster could become eligible for free agency at the end of this season, including names such as Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Carson Kelly, Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, and Jameson Taillon.

Happ or Suzuki?

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The outfield situation for Chicago is especially interesting since they could lose both corner outfielders. The 2027 free agent class is not deep with outfielders and both Happ and Suzuki would rank highly on the list of most desired acquisitions if they hit the open market. That’s why the thought is that the front office will make a move to extend at least one of them.

And although Suzuki has a better offensive upside and is a beloved member of the team, re-signing the more consistent and defensively sound Happ may be a more Cubs thing to do.

As a matter of fact, there may already be a Plan B in place for when Suzuki moves on—Ethan Conrad, the team’s first round draft pick in 2025.

By all accounts, Conrad is a true five-tool player who may already be much closer to major league-ready than many anticipate—and this is without having played in one minor league game last season due to a shoulder injury and after starting this season on the IL with a back issue.

The 21-year-old is, apparently, THAT good.

Ethan Conrad lined up to take Suzuki’s spot?

He’s at least good enough and promising enough for the Cubs to not want someone blocking his path to the majors for the next four or five years.

“He’s somebody that can turn a double into a triple with his speed, and I think he’s somebody that is gonna be able to put pressure on the defense in a number of different ways,” Cubs vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz said at the time of the draft. “His decision-making, his ability to make contact, his ability to hit for damage — all three of those pillars are there, and we think that he’s just getting better across the board.”

“Ethan is a five-tool player, who is a gamer,” Conrad’s head coach at Wake Forest Tom Walter said. “This is a great pick by the Chicago Cubs. Ethan will be a guy who will play in the big leagues for a long time and is a potential All-Star. His bat-to-ball skills are elite and he is just scratching the surface of his power potential.”

And the Cubs may already have a backup to Conrad.

Kevin Alcantara as a Plan B?

Kevin Alcantara, who’s flirted with a major league role over the last three seasons is tearing things up in Triple-A Iowa so far this year. The 23-year-old has already hit two home runs and a double in 13 at bats.

The Cubs could let Suzuki walk and then roll the dice on Conrad or Alcantara winning the right field spot. They may also pick up a lower-level free agent next season as temporary one-season insurance for that spot. Because of their prospects’ promise, they may not want a corner outfield spot filled for an extended period of time anyway.

Of course, Conrad has to actually play a game of pro ball before he can be anointed the next big outfield thing and Alcantara has to prove that he can be consistently good over an entire season. But the Cubs do have options and they seem more and more likely to trust in them as soon as next season.

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The Chicago Cubs came up short against the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday night at Wrigley Field, but there was some good news mixed into the bad of a 2-0 loss.

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The biggest piece of positivity was the performance of Ben Brown, who came into the game in the top of the sixth inning with two outs and a pair of runners on base. The 26-year-old proceeded to cook through his appearance.

Overall, the lanky right-hander pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, striking out 5 against 1 hit and 1 walk. The impressive box score numbers, alone, don’t even tell the full story of Brown’s performance, though.

Brown dazzles, Taillon hangs tough:

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The young arm dazzled with a mix of overpowering stuff and outstanding placement. He was also sporting supreme control with 39 strikes in 50 pitches thrown.

This was his second appearance of the season and he delivered much better results this time out, although he did notch 3 strikeouts against the Nationals in relief on Opening Day. Overall this early season, he’s sporting a 2.70 ERA with 8 strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched.

Brown fought his way this spring to the last bullpen spot on the roster and he’s quickly making a case for staying in the majors. If he keeps up the long-relief brilliance, he could also force himself back into the running for a rotation spot.

Starter Jameson Taillon didn’t quite dazzle Tuesday night, but he showed that he could perform well, even when he doesn’t have his A+ stuff. On the evening, the veteran struck out 3 over 4.2 innings while giving up 2 hits and 4 walks.

The reality is that he looked to be on the verge of allowing a big inning on a couple of occasions this outing, but he managed to maneuver out of trouble. Regardless, the scoreless appearance was a relief after a horrendous spring where he posted a 17.55 ERA over 5 games and experienced a significant dip in velocity. That velocity dip (the four-seamer was down to 90-91 mph on Tuesday) is still there, however, and that is definitely something to watch.

“I thought Jameson pitched well,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters after the game. “I thought he navigated it and there was really very little hard contact…They drove the pitch count up on him a little bit, but he did a really nice job.”

After the game, the 34-year-old said he felt good and expressed his relief with being able to get to Chicago and restart his pitching a bit.

A swap of roles?

But the tremendous Brown outing and Taillon’s lower-velocity outing happening on the same day kind of introduces the possibility that, maybe, there could be a swap of roles between the two before the end of the season.

The Cubs believe that Brown’s ultimate place will be as a starter and Taillon is working on the last year of his contract before becoming a free agent. If the younger, cheaper Brown can establish himself as a consistent presence over multiple innings, there could be a push to get him into the rotation and move Taillon into a swing man role, especially if there are no significant injuries in the rotation necessitating the use of both as starters.

That’s a big “if,” of course. Brown has shown flashes of brilliance in the past, before much longer stretches of struggle. Taillon, meanwhile, has shown the veteran ability to stabilize and solidify his game after a rough stretch of outings.

For now, the Cubs will let the season play on and make decisions further down the road.

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Chicago Cubs ownership had been blasted prior to this offseason for being too conservative, too unwilling to spend like the major market team they are. Those criticisms have been quieted this year.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Matt Shaw’s options running out after Hoerner extension

Over the offseason, the Cubs restocked a depleted bullpen with four free agent relievers, signed free agent three-time All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman, and extended center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong on a six-year-deal. After Opening Day, they then extended second baseman Nico Hoerner on another six-year deal. They even flipped on their informal policy against deferred money by using some of that down-the-road cash in the Bregman and Hoerner deals.

Per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic:

“Within one fiscal quarter, the Chicago Cubs guaranteed $431 million to three players [Bregman, PCA, Hoerner] in deals that will cover 17 total seasons.”

Throw in the bullpen acquisitions, minor league contract deals, and a couple of position players, and we’re talking about a half-billion dollars invested into the team this year by the Ricketts family. It’s not Dodgers-level spending, but this isn’t something done unless ownership is really serious about winning.

Bregman speaks on Cubs investment

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“They see the potential of this team being a winner for a sustainable period of time,” Bregman told reporters Saturday at Wrigley Field. “When you have a team like that, you want to invest in it.”

The soon-to-be 32-year-old Bregman was acquired as a cornerstone of the Cubs immediate future and now he has company in that regard with Crow-Armstrong and Hoerner.

Including shortstop Dansby Swanson and first baseman Michael Busch, who are both under contract through the 2029 season, the Cubs are guaranteed to be featuring the same five of eight position players for at least the next four season. And that number becomes six of eight if you include catcher Miguel Amaya, who is also under contract through the 2029 season.

That’s the kind of security most teams would kill for. The Cubs, specifically, believe in the team they’re fielding to such a degree that they were willing to go all-in, monetarily (at least as all-in as the Cubs would realistically go).

Daring in the face of uncertainty

Chicago’s offseason daring wasn’t just limited to spending, though. Trading their top prospect Owen Caissie (along with two other prospects) for three years of pitcher Edward Cabrera also screams of confidence that they can not only compete for a championship right now, but also win one (or more).

“It’s hard to try and re-create something good every year with a bunch of new pieces,” Swanson told media. “That’s in any business. So when you have good things going, you try and find ways to keep them and also improve at the same time. Continuity is huge.”

The Cubs are still facing a lot of uncertainty this offseason, however. Core elements of the team such as Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Carson Kelly, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, and Shota Imanaga could all be gone next season via free agency. The bullpen could also find itself nearly as depleted at the end of 2026 as it was at the end of 2025.

For now, though, the Cubs have locked in much of the foundation for the future. Whether they’re actually serious about winning should stop being a question.

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The Chicago Cubs made early-season headlines when their extension of second baseman Nico Hoerner hit the news, seemingly out of nowhere.

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The deal for Hoerner is a nice, fat one—befitting one a player of his caliber deserves, actually. The elite-level contact-hitter and Gold Glove middle infielder will get $141 million over six years, with deferred money factoring into the equation.

The deal will keep him in Chicago through the 2032 season and ensure that that the Dansby Swanson-Hoerner double play tandem stays together at least through 2029, when Swanson’s contract runs out.

This is good news for the Cubs and for Cubs fans. Hoerner has proven his worth with the team over the years and, last year, he was an absolute spark plug for Chicago, especially in the latter part of the season and through the playoffs, where he hit .419 in eight games.

But Hoerner’s deal to stay in Chicago is not great news for everyone.

Bad news for Matt Shaw

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Matt Shaw has to be a bit troubled by the team’s decision.

The Cubs’ 2023 no. 1 draft pick came through the farm system as a bat-first prospect, but was nudged towards the third base and second base positions because of big league roster needs. He landed his first major league gig last season as the team’s starting third baseman.

The Cubs, then, of course, acquired third baseman Alex Bregman. Shaw was moved from the hot corner and made a utility man. The thought, however, was that the 24-year-old was being kept around as insurance in case Hoerner opted to explore free agency.

Now, that second base plan is off the table.

Shaw will get playing time as the backup third baseman and second baseman. He’s also getting a shot at the outfield and first base.

Right now, he’s playing right field as a replacement for the injured Seiya Suzuki, but Suzuki will be coming back fairly soon. When the Japanese star is back in his spot, Shaw will go right back to the bench, playing a little bit of everywhere.

“Honestly, it’s been a lot of fun,” Shaw told reporters earlier in the spring. “It feels like Little League, playing a bunch of different positions and moving around. I’ve really enjoyed it.”

This player-without-a-position thing might not be so fun and enjoyable, though, as Shaw further faces the reality that there may be no spot for him on the roster, at least not as a full-time starter.

Shaw’s only spot may be corner outfield

That’s why the pressure is on to look as good as he can in right field while he’s being given the playing time. Suzuki and left fielder Ian Happ are both eligible for free agency after the end of the season and the Cubs may not hold on to either.

Shaw’s best chance to wedge himself into a starting position in Chicago is at a corner outfield spot next season if the Cubs don’t bring back Suzuki and/or Happ. Other than that, barring major injury to Bregman or Hoerner, Shaw’s Cubs future may be as a utility man or, more likely, as trade bait for more pitching.

For now, Shaw is getting his shot in right. His Opening Day performance was solid, although he did misjudge one wind-swatted fly ball a bit before recovering to make the catch. Whatever the case, one wouldn’t blame him for feeling added stress these days.

The post Chicago Cubs: Matt Shaw’s options running out after Hoerner extension appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are about to kick off a 2026 season where big acquisitions were made and big things are expected. Manager Craig Counsell just released today’s Opening Day lineup for the game against the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field in Chicago (1:20 pm CT).

More News: The Chicago Cubs’ x-factor in 2026 may be this unsung hero

There are a couple of surprises in this season-opening lineup, but nothing earth-rattling.

Any surprises in the Opening Day lineup?

More News: Could Chicago Cubs top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins be the next rookie surprise?

First, first baseman Michael Busch is leading off. There were some projected Cubs lineups that had him filling that spot, but there was also the belief that maybe his power presence (34 homers last season) would be better felt somewhere near the middle of the lineup.

New Cub Alex Bregman is a good choice for no. 2 and his presence should be of great benefit to no. 3 hitter Ian Happ.

Pete Crow-Armstrong in the cleanup spot is also a bit of a surprise as he moves down from the second-half-of lineup position he worked most of last season. Is this an indication that big things are expected of the newly-extended young star this year?

Nico Hoerner in the fifth slot is, arguably, the biggest surprise of this Opening Day lineup. Hoerner, with his strong contact-hitting abilities and stellar on-base rate, is the prototypical no. 2 hitter. Leadoff would’ve also been a not-so-surprising placement.

Rookie DH Moises Ballesteros will get his first Opening Day lineup designation, batting seventh and serving as the lefty bat between righties Carson Kelly and Dansby Swanson.

Matt Shaw playing right field and taking the no. 9 spot in the lineup is not that much of a surprise given his big spring and the team’s apparent confidence in his abilities as a super utility player. A case could’ve been made for new Cub veteran outfielder Michael Conforto taking the right field Seiya Suzuki spot in this big game, but it’s not too much of a shocker that Counsell decided to go with the sophomore Shaw.

Taking the mound is Matthew Boyd

Taking the mound for the first game of the 2026 season will be lefty Matthew Boyd, who worked his way into Cubs ace status following the early-season year-ending injury of Justin Steele last April, with an outstanding 2025.

The game will be broadcast on Marquee Sports Network.

Here’s your 2026 Chicago Cubs Opening Day lineup:

Michael Busch 1B
Alex Bregman 3B
Ian Happ LF
Pete Crow-Armstrong CF
Nico Hoerner 2B
Carson Kelly C
Moises Ballesteros DH
Dansby Swanson SS
Matt Shaw RF

Matthew Boyd P

The post Chicago Cubs: Today’s Opening Day lineup is set, with a couple of surprises appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are kicking off the 2026 season with a solid roster and big expectations.

More News: Could Chicago Cubs top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins be the next rookie surprise?

This offseason, the team lost right fielder Kyle Tucker and surprise bullpen anchor Brad Keller to free agency. However, they brought in free agent three-time All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman, traded for emerging powerhouse starting pitcher Edward Cabrera, and restocked a depleted bullpen with four free agent relievers (Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Hunter Harvey).

There’s so much enthusiasm with the additions to the roster that World Series talk has even begun to whirl.

But a key factor to the Cubs’ 2026 success may be a holdover from 2025—one that hardly anyone is talking about.

Michael Busch as the under-the-radar hero

More News: Chicago Cubs: Can Alex Bregman live up to expectations?

First baseman Michael Busch came to the Cubs prior to the 2024 season in a trade with the Los Angeles, along with reliever Yency Almonte. The Cubs gave up a pair of quality prospects in the deal (LHP Jackson Ferris and OF Zyhir Hope) who are doing exceptionally well in the Dodgers’ system, but nobody in Chicago is regretting the swap.

Last season, Busch established himself as a “for real” major league presence, hitting 34 home runs and driving in 90 runs with a .261 batting average, all while playing elite-level defensive first base.

ESPN is projecting him to hit 41 homers this season, something which would make him only the second first baseman in Cubs history to pass the 40-home run mark and only the tenth Cub to achieve that feat.

While Pete Crow-Armstrong is a flashier presence and Bregman is the exciting newcomer, Busch may be the glue that holds the offense together. You just wouldn’t know this from the lack of attention he gets.

Hoyer on Busch

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer recently talked about Busch’s under-the-radar presence in a Q&A with Jon Greenberg of The Athletic.

Per Hoyer:

“…The guy had 34 homers during the season, he was our best player in the postseason. He was awesome. The teams were pitching around him in the postseason. It’s who he is as a person. He’s sort of aw-shucks about how he goes about it. He’s very understated. I feel like he’s going to be on my Kyle Hendricks Mount Rushmore of low-maintenance people in the organization. He’s an awesome teammate. There’s never a negative word about him. He just goes about his business and does his thing, but in a very understated way. And I think Kyle Hendricks, for years and years, was so underrated. And then finally, I think he became properly rated. I’m hoping, for Michael’s sake, he becomes kind of properly rated at some point.”

The 28-year-old is heading into his third full season in the majors, but maybe the first year where there are some legit high-end expectations of him. But, as everyone saw from his performance in the playoffs (4 home runs in 8 games), Busch doesn’t easily wilt under pressure.

“Fell short of our goal [in 2025]… and it kind of makes us want a little more,” Busch told CBS Sports in February. “I want us to go back there again, and it kind of creates a little bit of hunger for us.”

The post The Chicago Cubs’ x-factor in 2026 may be this unsung hero appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are, maybe, not as secure in the starting pitching department as many thought they would be this winter.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Can Alex Bregman live up to expectations?

The names are there and there’s still an overflow of arms for the rotation, but just about every proposed starter has looked vulnerable this spring and depth has suddenly become a concern. Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Edward Cabrera, and Shota Imanaga have been beaten up in Cactus League play and that makes one wonder about backups.

Colin Rea, Ben Brown, and Javier Assad will be around, but none project as high-end starters over the long haul.

But could the Cubs have another Cade Horton surprise this season?

The next Cade Horton surprise?

More News: Chicago Cubs: Insider predicts big things for two young Cubs in 2026

Last year, top pitching prospect Horton came up from Triple-A in May, after Imanaga’s injury, and ended up blowing people away with a dominant post-All-Star break run.

This year, current top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins is being predicted by some to be the surprise pitching star of the season.

The 24-year-old Wiggins came to spring training this year as a non-roster invitee and turned some heads, despite getting touched up a bit in his limited play.

“There’s a lot of good signs with Jaxon, there are a lot of good things happening,” manager Craig Counsell told media. “The finishing touches can happen really fast is how I would describe it. But they can also take a while. That’s Jaxon’s job right now, just make himself a little bit more complete pitcher. It’s certainly very close.”

Big league expectations for Wiggins

Michael Brauner of Sports Illustrated fully anticipates the 6-foot-6 Wiggins getting the major league call-up at some point this season:

“He was never going to break camp with the team, but he certainly could be on a similar trajectory as Cade Horton last year, starting the season in Iowa.

Making an impact on the coaching staff, Wiggins established himself as a name to watch and once Ballesteros officially graduates he will become the top prospect in the organization. Jed Hoyer has spoken often about how much pitching depth is needed, and the 24-year-old is the next one up.

It would be a significant surprise to not see Wiggins’ big league debut in 2026.”

Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic echoes the enthusiasm, although he holds back in predicting a likely big league debut in 2026 for the pitcher he describes as having “one of the best fastballs in the minors.”

Per Sharma:

“The fastball is in the upper 90s and has the type of vertical rise that is impossible to ignore. He also has a strong curveball, a quickly developing changeup and a slider. So what are the next steps?

…He has a walk rate well above 10 percent in each of his pro seasons. That has to change. That he walked just 5.9 percent of batters this spring was something that was taken note of. Now bring that into the season.”

Wiggins is, arguably, the last homegrown high-end starting pitching prospect in the Cubs farm system, at least for now. Fast-tracking his development and bringing him up to the majors this coming season will probably be a last resort for the Cubs– and a sign that the rotation is in deep distress.

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The Chicago Cubs finally got their man when they signed three-time All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman this past offseason.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Insider predicts big things for two young Cubs in 2026

The cost was pretty high ($175 million over 5 years) to land the veteran they failed to acquire in a bid before last season. The team also had to move Matt Shaw, one of their top young assets, from third base to a utility role to accommodate Bregman. But the Cubs don’t seem to be second guessing themselves in grabbing at the star.

The question, though, is whether Bregman can live up to the team’s (and the fans’) lofty expectations.

Big expectations of Alex Bregman

More News: The Chicago Cubs bullpen is all set, but will it be enough?

In terms of the lineup, the soon-to-be 32-year-old is expected to fill the offensive spot left behind by right fielder Kyle Tucker, who moved on to a monster free agent deal with the Dodgers.

He’s also expected to assume a big leadership role in the clubhouse. With so many core veteran elements of the team possibly leaving via free agency after this season (Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner, Seiya Suzuki, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, etc.), Bregman was signed, in part, to be a cornerstone to a somewhat restructured foundation.

This spring, however, the third baseman hasn’t had all that much time to bond with his teammates due to his involvement in the World Baseball Classic. He’s been limited to just 9 games of Cactus League play.

Jed Hoyer talks expectations and Bregman

In a recent Q&A with Jon Greenberg of The Athletic, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer talked about the expectations for Bregman and a little about the difficulty in making up for lost spring time with his new teammates.

“I think that’s the fun part of expectations. You want fans excited for the season. You want them to have high expectations. And we have that. I do think Alex raises that,” Hoyer said. “I think he wants that as well. But, you know, he’s been gone a lot, so I think he hasn’t really been able to get into the flow here. He’s a really good hitter. He’s going to do all the things that we like in our hitters in terms of his swing decisions, he puts the ball in play, plays really steady defense. And he provides, you know, a real sense of gravitas, I would say, within the clubhouse. So I think those things are all positive, and we’re just excited to see the season.”

For what it’s worth, Bregman tore things up in the little spring training play he had, hitting .524 with 4 home runs and 5 RBIs in 21 at bats. He’s also saying all the right things.

“The work has exceeded expectations,” the veteran told the Chicago Sun-Times. “It’s a cohesive group, super-intelligent, and the work ethic has been outstanding. Every single day the preparation has been eye-opening, and it’s exciting to be part of a group like this.”

Nobody has to worry about Bregman being Bregman this season and beyond. He’s an established presence in the league at this point. The concern will be with expectations and whether too much is anticipated from one player. Everyone will find out what’s what soon enough.

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The Chicago Cubs’ Opening Day roster is all set. For the most part, the spring played out exactly as expected, except for the WBC knee injury of Seiya Suzuki which shouldn’t be too much of an early setback.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Former Counsell charge named as possible surprise roster addition

But, after making some big offseason moves, big things are expected of this 2026 Cubs team and the pressure is on.

There are a number of possible breakout stars and team MVP candidates on this roster. It could be argued that Chicago’s success this coming season hinges on some heroes stepping up to next-level achievement.

Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic has boldly predicted two such heroes for the coming season, both 20-something assets who are also key to the team’s success for years to come

A Cy Young year for Cade Horton?

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Sharma is predicting big things for Cade Horton, who’s coming off an eye-catching rookie season.

Horton wasn’t even supposed to be on the big league Cubs’ roster last year, but an injury to Shota Imanaga in May forced him up from Iowa. The kid responded, big time. After a solid start to his majors career, he caught fire after the All-Star break, going 8-1 and posting an amazing 1.03 ERA in twelve starts. In that stretch of time, he was, arguably, the best pitcher in all of baseball and came in second place in Rookie of the Year voting because of it.

The 24-year-old Horton’s late-spring training performances this year would seem to indicate that he’ll start 2026 right were he left off in 2025 before a rib injury cost him his final games of the year.

Per Sharma:

“Craig Counsell is trying to tamp down expectations for the young righty. He knows matching, let alone topping, last season’s success will be a challenge. He’s warned against it…

Horton had a 2.67 ERA over 118 innings last year, finishing runner-up in NL Rookie of the Year voting. He was incredibly efficient, almost forced to with a tight pitch count. The one area he can improve is strikeout rate, which was a mere 20.6 percent last summer. Yet, over his last nine starts, that number jumped to 26 percent while his already strong walk rate dropped to 4.7 percent.

If Horton can stay even close to those peripherals and add 60 innings to his total, he’s a likely Cy Young candidate.”

Miguel Amaya, All-Star?

The 27-year-old catcher seemed on the verge of a breakout in late 2024. Injuries early into the 2025 season, however, stopped his progress. Amaya finished last season with only 28 games played, but he looked like the real deal in all of them.

This spring he looks strong and healthy, hitting .308 with 2 home runs in 26 at bats over 10 games.

For the longest time, Amaya was considered the premier catching prospect in the Cubs’ system and 2026 could be the year he finally realizes his full potential in the majors.

Per Sharma:

“Many are overlooking Amaya after an injury-plagued 2025, along with Carson Kelly putting up a career year. He’ll continue to split time with Kelly, but Counsell won’t be afraid to lean on one or the other depending on who is playing best.

If Amaya can get off to a hot start with the bat — don’t expect a match of Kelly’s April last season — perhaps he’ll get some attention league-wide. The Cubs are expected to be one of the best teams in the NL, so if Amaya, who has appeared healthy and strong at the plate this spring, hits a hot stretch, the All-Star Game shouldn’t be a stretch.”

Having an entire year of Horton’s dominance and a breakthrough full season from Amaya would go a long way in guaranteeing the Cubs’ success in 2026. Soon enough, the actual season will begin and everyone will see what’s what.

The post Chicago Cubs: Insider predicts big things for two young Cubs in 2026 appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs’ roster is all set for Opening Day this Thursday. After an interesting offseason, which saw the team restock a depleted bullpen and add big names in third baseman Alex Bregman and starting pitcher Edward Cabrera, there are big expectations.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Insider predicts big things for two young Cubs in 2026

Anything less than the NL Central Division title and a deep playoff run will be considered a failure after the team’s winter moves.

The biggest x-factor, though, may be the bullpen.

The bullpen as the Cubs’ x-factor

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Chicago’s 2026 pen features four new faces in free agents Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Hunter Harvey, who will make up the breadbasket of the relief corps, along with the re-signed Caleb Thielbar. All are coming into the season with a solid history of success behind them.

The only unknown in the mid-section of the Cubs’ bullpen is Harvey, who has a significant history of injury. So far this spring, however, Harvey has been healthy and strong, throwing 96-97 mph with a 1.80 ERA and 5 strikeouts in 5 innings.

The 26-year-old Ben Brown fought his way on to the Opening Day roster this spring and will take a long relief/swingman role alongside veteran Colin Rea, who was an unsung pitching hero in 2025.

Then, there’s Daniel Palencia, the closer.

Will Palencia’s WBC dominance carry over?

Palencia had a surprisingly dominant run after being called up from Triple-A last April, but then suffered through a prodigious fall from grace over the last part of the season.

This spring, though, Palencia has been monstrous. His dominance in the WBC as the closer for Team Venezuela will go down as borderline legendary. Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic believes that this is the harbinger of good tidings for the coming season

Per Sharma:

“It’s time to go all-in on the Daniel Palencia hype train. Yes, it’s dangerous to assume that a reliever can do it again after just one season of success (see: Porter Hodge from 2024 to 2025). Yet, Palencia came into camp even more determined after a breakout 2025 and looked the part physically. Then he dominated as the closer for the World Baseball Classic champions, Team Venezuela.

Palencia allowed no runs or hits and struck out nine in five innings while walking just one batter and hitting another. He was perfect in his three save opportunities, and his two-pitch mix was dialed in. The Cubs will certainly trade for a reliever. Maybe even a dominant one. Still, Palencia will leave no doubt as to who is finishing games.”

The big question when it comes to every bullpen is whether it’ll hold over the course of a 162-game season and into the playoffs. Last year, the Cubs used 26 different relief pitchers during the regular season, with their season-ending bullpen looking almost nothing like their Opening Day bullpen.

That’s likely to happen again this season, despite there being more of an established veteran vibe in the bullpen right now. Injuries happen, arms go flat, changes need to be made. That’s just the nature of baseball.

Do the Cubs have the bullpen horses to win this 2026 race? That’s the question. If/when someone falters from the bullpen right now, Chicago will have names such as Javier Assad, Jordan Wicks, Porter Hodge, and Gavin Hollowell to move in. It’s also pretty much a guarantee that some arms from the outside will be brought in over the course of the season.

Right now, at least on paper, the bullpen looks more secure this Opening Day than last. But this IS baseball…

The post The Chicago Cubs bullpen is all set, but will it be enough? appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs, for the longest time, appeared to be all set when it came to position players. The thought was that, maybe, just one bench spot (and two at the most) would be up for grabs in the spring.

More News: Chicago Cubs get interesting lineup ranking from former exec

But baseball is baseball and things happen.

In the Cubs’ case, Seiya Suzuki injured his knee in a steal attempt during the World Baseball Classic, suffering a minor sprain of the right posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) that would keep him off the Opening Day roster.

Prior to that, Tyler Austin, acquired to be the backup first baseman behind Michael Busch and a right-handed bat off the bench, suffered a knee injury that would require surgery and, maybe, the loss of at least half the season.

Uncertainty for the Opening Day roster

More News: Chicago Cubs: Pete Crow-Armstrong contract extension talk heats up

That prior certainty regarding the Opening Day roster is not quite there right now.

Patrick Mooney of the Athletic recently spotlighted the team’s possible desire to add an extra infielder to the team, either by waiver acquisition or promotion from within:

“With Suzuki sidelined, Matt Shaw could become a more prominent option in right field, limiting the scope of his super-utility role and emphasizing the need for a versatile infielder off the bench.”

Jordan Campbell of Cubbies Crib, meanwhile, offered up a possible fill for the Cubs’ needs right now:

“As it stands, Matt Shaw is the only backup infielder that the Cubs have on their roster. With Shaw expected to start in right field while Seiya Suzuki is on the IL, it would make sense for the Cubs to add to their infield depth before Thursday.

If the Cubs can’t find a veteran on the waiver wire, perhaps Owen Miller slides onto the roster as the final piece of the bench. He was a bench piece for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2023 and 2024 and has experience playing all over the infield. Miller would also add some speed to the Cubs’ bench, ranking in the 99th percentile in sprint speed last season.”

Internal options

The Cubs have internal options when it comes to backup infielders. Miller, given his past ties to manager Craig Counsell, could be considered a favorite for the gig. The Cubs also have Scott Kingery and some minor league options. Unless they see a need for a long-term bench player, they probably won’t spend too much time looking for still-available free agents or combing the waiver wire.

If veteran pickup Michael Conforto sticks with the roster after Suzuki returns, Shaw could be moved back to full-time infield duty and there suddenly wouldn’t be such a big need for another infielder.

The 29-year-old Miller has played with the Guardians, Brewers, and Rockies over the course of his major league career with playing time at all four infield spots, plus all three outfield positions. He was picked up in early February on a minor league deal.

The post Chicago Cubs: Former Counsell charge named as possible surprise roster addition appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs ended last season, publicly declaring their goal to focus on pitching in the offseason. They lived up to their words with a deep investment in restocking a depleted bullpen via four solid free agent acquisitions. Then, they bolstered the starting rotation with a high-profile trade with the Miami Marlins for emerging powerhouse pitcher Edward Cabrera.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Pete Crow-Armstrong contract extension talk heats up

On the offense side, the Cubs also managed to make some big news, although there was a big subtraction that went along with an addition.

They picked up free agent Alex Bregman, a three-time All-Star third baseman, as a lineup replacement for right fielder Kyle Tucker, who would eventually sign a monster deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Tucker was a linchpin for an overwhelming Cubs offense over the first three months of last season, but then fell apart completely and languished in a career-worst extended slump for the rest of the year. Bregman, meanwhile, is probably a level lower with the bat than Tucker, but offers a more consistent defense and is the kind of positive clubhouse presence Tucker couldn’t be.

Everything else in the Cubs’ lineup is the same as late last year. As a result, the team’s focus will be on revisiting the highs from last season’s offense while avoiding the team-wide hitting slumps that plagued the offense over the second half of 2025.

A conservative ranking for the Cubs’ lineup

More News: Chicago Cubs: Matthew Boyd and rotation get shocking poor assessment

Jim Bowden of The Athletic spotlighted the highs and the question marks of Chicago’s lineup by giving the team a mid-ish no. 7 ranking in his recent list of the MLB lineups, one spot behind the New York Mets and one spot ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Per Bowden:

“The Cubs lost right fielder Kyle Tucker to the Dodgers, but pivoted perfectly by landing third baseman Alex Bregman. In addition to his strong bat, Bregman gives the Cubs a significant clubhouse presence who is willing to help other players and should be a positive influence on this deep lineup.

Pete Crow-Armstrong is working to be more consistent this year after seeing his second-half performance fall off considerably following a very strong first half. Even with the second-half struggles, however, he was worth 6.0 bWAR thanks to his power, speed and excellent center-field defense…

The Cubs will try to win the division with pitching, elite defense and this well-balanced offense.”

Primed for a letdown?

The Cubs are staring down the fact that a lot of their offensive assets had career years last season (PCA, Michael Busch, Seiya Suzuki, Nico Hoerner) and the question will be whether last season was the tip of an iceberg for them or a prelude to a comedown.

It’ll also be interesting to see how rookie Moises Ballesteros does over the course of an entire season. In minimal at bats last year, he certainly looked like the real deal.

Time will tell what the Cubs’ offense looks like this coming season, but there’s a lot to be excited about as well as some things that spark concern.

The post Chicago Cubs get interesting lineup ranking from former exec appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs realize the value of center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and seem to be acting accordingly. By all accounts, they are very willing to make a real effort to extend the soon to be 24-year-old.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Assad leaves game with apparent finger injury, Taillon continues to struggle

MLB insider Jon Heyman recently touched on that in a NY Post article talking about possible MLB extensions.

According to the veteran baseball writer, the Cubs are willing to be significantly more generous with a current offer than they were with the extension deal they tossed PCA’s way prior to the 2025 season.

Per Heyman:

“The Cubs offered $66M last spring and are believed willing to go significantly higher for their star CF. But there’s no indication anything’s close.”

Of course they are. They have to be.

Crow-Armstrong hit 31 home runs, drove in 95 runs, and stole 35 bases last season, while playing Gold Glove defense. Before earning his first All-Star game nod, he was already the talk of baseball and a clear emerging superstar with the charisma and high-end ability to support that assessment.

Even with a particularly brutal dip over the second half of the season, the baseball world is still bullish on PCA. Superstar money is right around the corner.

How much would a PCA extension cost?

More News: Chicago Cubs: Matthew Boyd and rotation get shocking poor assessment

But how much could the young star get in a Cubs extension? Estimates vary, but none are below the $130 million mark.

Aldo Soto of Sports Mockery projects that the deal could reach as high as $240 million over 11 years, something which would keep Crow-Armstrong a Cub through the 2036 season.

Per Soto:

“$130 million guaranteed through 2032 (incentives increase annual value). So, that initial seven-year, $130 million extension would buy out his arbitration years and two free agent years, 2031 and 2032, respectively. Then, you can include escalators for the next four years of the contract where at the minimum Crow-Armstrong is in the $30 million range, incentivizing him to stay with the Cubs and not go into free agency. In turn, the Cubs could add a couple different team options to secure Crow-Armstrong beyond the four years after the initial guaranteed extension expires. Add in three option years and make the total max value near $400 million over 14 or 15 years.”

Cubs are staring down big budget/roster decision

That’s a lot to ask of a Cubs team that generally shies away from contracts that big over that many years. It’s an especially tough proposition when one considers the decisions that need to be made at the end of the coming season.

Chicago will have several core members of their roster either eligible for free agency or staring down options for next season. Important names such as Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, and Carson Kelly could be gone after 2026. Few, if any of the above, will be extended before the end of the 2026 campaign or re-signed as free agents after that. The team will have a lot of budget and roster decisions to make very soon, just as a pending labor dispute challenges the 2027 season.

But Crow-Armstrong is a special player demanding of special consideration. It seems likely that the Cubs will move to lock him in before working on the other issues.

The young talent has gone on record numerous times about his desire to stay in Chicago and remain a Cub.

“I’ve made it clear I want to be here for as long as they want me,” Crow-Armstrong said in a recent Chicago Magazine profile piece. “I want what’s best for the team.

“I play the game because I like beating other people. The money will be life-changing regardless. I would like to get a fair deal so I don’t f**k the market up. I want to look out for the other center fielders who have to go through the same process. Which is why I’m glad [Cubs management] and my agents are figuring out how to do this.”

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The Chicago Cubs are moving through their last week of spring training, fine tuning some things, and hoping for the best as they head into a 2026 season where big results are expected. Things, however, haven’t gone exactly as expected.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Matthew Boyd and rotation get shocking poor assessment

The Cubs’ run of bad luck may have continued on Friday night in a split squad 6-2 loss to the Athletics at Hohokam Park in Mesa, Arizona.

Javier Assad pulled from game

More News: Chicago Cubs: Counsell hints at worries over Daniel Palencia WBC usage

Starter/swingman Javier Assad had to be pulled from the game by manager Craig Counsell in the bottom of the eighth inning, 50 pitches into a relief appearance, with an apparent finger injury. Video replays subsequently showed that injury to likely be a blister-related issue.

Assad, who recently turned 28, had been having a very good spring, along with a very solid run in the World Baseball Classic as part of Team Mexico. His work this offseason seemed to bolster the case for him making the Opening Day roster, despite chatter that being one of the few Cubs pitchers with minor league options could have him opening the year at Triple-A Iowa.

As of this writing, there’s been no update on the injury or on what, exactly, it was, although it pretty clearly shows it to be a blister. The timing of this setback, though, will have big implications on whether Assad breaks spring training with the big league Cubs or finds himself starting the regular season in the minors.

This latest bit of bad news shows one more crack in the foundation of what many saw as a pretty deep and solid starting rotation. While Assad wasn’t expected to make the starting five, he was expected to be a valuable swingman and one of the key backups in case of injury or poor performance.

Taillon’s struggles continue

One of the biggest rotation concerns this spring is Jameson Taillon, who has been getting bashed around during Cactus League play to an alarming extent. The veteran starter, who will be eligible for free agency at the end of this coming season, started Friday’s game with the Athletics and delivered another disappointing outing. Despite four initial shutout innings, 2 home runs in the fifth accounted for 3 earned runs in those 4 innings pitched (although his 6 strikeouts were a nice sidebar). The 34-year-old ends the spring with a 0-4 record and a 17.55 ERA in 5 games and 13.1 innings pitched.

Needless to say, this is not the lead-in to 2026 that Taillon or the Cubs wanted.

An Assad injury just complicated issues further as it possibly takes one of the key backup options off the table for an undisclosed period of time.

As of right now, the Cubs 5-man rotation still seems to be locked in with Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Shota Imanaga, and Taillon. Colin Rea and Assad stand as swingmen who can step in as starters. Justin Steele, meanwhile, is due back around May-June after season ending elbow surgery last April.

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The Chicago Cubs took a gamble in signing oft-injured starter Matthew Boyd prior to the 2025 season on a 2-year, $29 million contract.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Counsell hints at worries over Daniel Palencia WBC usage

The veteran lefty was coming off Tommy John surgery in mid-2023 and had just gotten back into the swing of things at the very end of the 2024 season. Plagued by an assortment of injuries, he hadn’t thrown over 100 innings in a season since 2019.

But the Cubs’ bet paid off. Boyd was brilliant last season, posting 14-8 record with a 3.21 ERA over 179.2 innings. With ace Justin Steele sustaining a season-ending elbow injury after just four starts, Boyd stepped in to become the Cubs’ ace the rest of the way.

The experts and analysts, however, are not very high on Boyd heading into the 2026 season and have almost unanimously predicted a prodigious fall from grace for the starter.

Boyd blasted with poor ranking

More News: Two Chicago Cubs named to star-studded All-Under-25 team, another gets honorable mention

In a collaborative piece for The Athletic ranking the top 50 starters in baseball, Andy McCullough, Will Sammon and Sahadev Sharma placed Boyd nearly at the bottom of the list. They actually him him tied for 49th.

Per The Athletic:

“Boyd made his first All-Star team in 2025, rewarding the Cubs for their faith in giving him a two-year, $29 million contract after an intriguing eight-start campaign with Cleveland in 2024. ‘Good for a solid, back-end arm,’ one executive said. But many of our panelists were pessimistic about Boyd putting together a repeat. ‘Very good 2025,’ one scout said, ‘but that was his first healthy year since 2020.’”

According to their tier system for the rankings, Boyd falls into the area of a fourth or fifth starter.

The Cubs plan on Boyd being their Opening Day starter and implied ace.

Overall, the Cubs starters rate poorly on this list, with the highest placed Cub being Cade Horton as a tie for no. 40 of the top 50. Newcomer Edward Cabrera comes in at 48, one spot below Boyd. Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon are unranked.

This assessment falls in line with MLB projections systems, which don’t view Chicago’s starting pitching in much of a positive light.

Cubs rotation “deep in meh and unexcitement”

Dan Szymborski, the developer of the computer-based ZiPS projection system, blasted the rotation as one “deep in meh and unexcitement.”

Per Szymborski:

“ZiPS sees the Cubs as having a very deep rotation that’s also very deep in unexcitement. There’s certainly some upside here, especially in Edward Cabrera, but ZiPS largely views the team as having a whole lot of broadly average starting pitching options. The good news here is that if Justin Steele has any setbacks, ZiPS likes the team’s replacement options. Even with especially bad luck in the injury department, the computer thinks Javier Assad will be adequate — it has him with an ERA considerably lower than his FIP, though some of that is thanks to the stellar Cubs defense — and that Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks would both be far more acceptable as starters if called into duty than they’ve shown so far. Heck, if Colin Rea or even Connor Noland were forced into starting some games, that wouldn’t be an apocalyptic scenario for the Cubs.”

None of this guarantees the Cubs starters a great, big fail this season. It does raise some concerns, though, that maybe the rotation is not as rock-solid as fans would like to believe. As always, time will tell.

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Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell turned some heads earlier in the spring when he flat-out told reporters that Daniel Palencia would be the team’s closer.

More News: Two Chicago Cubs named to star-studded All-Under-25 team, another gets honorable mention

It’s not the kind of talk one usually hears from Counsell, who usually keeps his cards close to his chest when it comes to roster moves and defaults to a “we’re just trying to win games/get outs” response when pressed.

This time, though, he went bold with his declaration. And there’s definitely a case to be made for that.

Palencia’s up and down 2025

More News: Chicago Cubs: Counsell talks to team, addresses huge issue ahead of 2026 run

Last season, Palencia shocked and awed as a mid-April call-up from Iowa, eventually winning the closer spot. Through the end of July, the hard-throwing righty had posted an impressive 1.40 ERA and was carrying himself with the swagger of an established veteran.

Then, came the struggles.

Over the final two months of the regular season, Palencia delivered a 7.07 ERA in 17 appearances and suffered through an IL stint after the first week of September.

It was a noteworthy fall from grace that put the young arm’s closer status in serious doubt for 2027.

Well, Palencia’s shutdown showing in the World Baseball Classic [WBC] as a member of the champion Team Venezuela has reinforced Counsell’s early spring declaration. In five high-leverage outings, the 26-year-old struck out 9, allowed no runs and no hits. He also closed the show in the championship game versus Team USA.

But, with the great WBC performance, there also come concerns.

Counsell concerned with Palencia’s WBC usage

Counsell recently hinted at, maybe, a discomfort at how his closer was used in the tournament.

“The usage is more than anybody would like at this time of year,” Counsell told media on Wednesday. “But the moment was also a moment that you want someone to experience. So if it was going to be usage that we weren’t comfortable with, we wanted to make sure it was in the moment that every player should get to experience.”

Arm health is a concern at this stage of the spring and Palencia was taxed at a mid-Summer level during the three-week spectacle.

Still, Counsell definitely sees a trade off when it comes to Palencia. The WBC experience was a shot of pure confidence into the body of a young man who could’ve entered into the spring with a few doubts after last season’s late collapse.

“It’s really a confidence thing,” Counsell said. “You’re in a really big moment, you know how you react to those moments. That’s the biggest thing when you’ve had success on the mound in a moment like that. It gives you a lot of confidence that you call on, probably when the bad stuff happens more than anything.”

Right now, Palencia is riding high. His self-belief has to be shooting through the roof, although he never really seemed to be lacking in confidence all that much before.

Hopefully, for the Cubs, this WBC experience has cemented the young pitcher’s status as a legit major league closer and that he’ll deliver a full season with the same fire he had on Team Venezuela.

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The Chicago Cubs enter the 2026 season with a unique roster makeup. There are a number of veterans on the team (Dansby Swanson, Ian Happ, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, etc.), but there are also a lot of young, 20-something stars (Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, Cade Horton, and Daniel Palencia, among others).

More News: Chicago Cubs: Counsell talks to team, addresses huge issue ahead of 2026 run

With so many veterans possibly leaving the team for free agency at the end of the 2026 campaign, it’s reassuring that there are also so many young players still with them over the long haul.

The Athletic recently acknowledged two of the Cubs’ young stars– Crow-Armstrong and Horton– as especially valuable assets by naming them to their MLB All-Under-25 Team.

Pete Crow-Armstrong gets his props

More News: Chicago Cubs: This under-the-radar prospect could end up doing big things in 2026

Pete Crow-Armstrong, who was an honorable mention in the publication’s All-Under-25 Team last year, was named the top young center fielder on this year’s list.

Per Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic:

“Crow-Armstrong was another honorable mention on last year’s All-Under-25 Team; at that point, he carried a meager .652 OPS in the majors. He changed the narrative in 2025. Through Aug. 1, Crow-Armstrong batted .273/.309/.560 (.869 OPS) with 27 homers and 29 steals, then faded down the stretch. He won his first Gold Glove and finished ninth in NL MVP voting. Swing-and-miss remains an issue, but the power-defense combination in center field is immensely valuable.”

The struggles of “PCA” are well-documented, but so is his tremendous upside, which makes him a dream multi-tool star with the competitive drive to match.

The soon-to-be 24-year-old, who came to the Cubs in a 2021 trade involving Javier Baez, has been very open about the stress and strain of maintaining his progress in the rough, tough world of major league baseball. Last season’s second-half dip saw him displaying clear frustration. But it’s his openness, honesty, and competitive drive that could see him through his growing pains.

Cade Horton rewarded for breakthrough 2025

The Athletic also named Cubs starting pitcher Cade Horton to their All-Under-25 squad.

The 24-year-old was not even slated for the major league team in 2025, but was pulled up from Triple-A when starter Shota Imanaga went on the IL with a hamstring injury.

Although Horton performed well enough in his first tour of big league duty, he REALLY took off after the All-Star break.

The Cubs’ 2022 no. 1 draft pick dominated over the second half of the season, delivering an 8-1 record and posting an amazing 1.03 ERA in twelve starts after the All-Star break. Over that run, he was, arguably, the best pitcher in all of baseball. A late September rib fracture, however, put him on the shelf and prevented him from pitching in the postseason. The final season tally saw Horton finish the year with an 11-4 record and a 2.67 ERA, plus a second place finish in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.

Per Nesbitt:

“Despite missing the 2025 postseason with a cracked rib, Horton was vital for the Cubs as a rookie, posting a 2.67 ERA over 118 innings and stabilizing the rotation in the second half. Horton ran a modest strikeout rate (20.4 percent), but his plus command and the elite defense behind him made hunting early contact an effective approach.”

Both Crow-Armstrong and Horton stand to be big parts of the Cubs’ 2026 team and, in many ways, play pivotal roles in the team’s success.

22-year-old Rookie DH/catcher Moises Ballesteros, another big piece to Chicago’s 2026 puzzle, also received an honorable mention by the sports news outlet.

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The Chicago Cubs have the team in place to make a big push to a championship. On the flip side of that big opportunity, though, is the reality that much of this current roster will not be back to make a second run at a title.

More News: Chicago Cubs: This under-the-radar prospect could end up doing big things in 2026

A good portion of this team’s roster– including several core members– will either be eligible for free agency at the end of the coming season or staring down options for 2027. Atop the list of possible outgoing Cubs is Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga, and Carson Kelly.

Anyone facing that kind of uncertainty could be forgiven for suffering through at least a bit of distraction. But with a real possibility of making some waves this offseason, manager Craig Counsell has the task of keeping his guys’ eyes on the prize.

“We certainly feel very confident in our team going forward, but it’s going to look different in ‘27 than this,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer told MLB.com. “There is going to be change. Craig has talked to the players about trying to embrace that.”

Counsell addresses 2026 elephant in the room

More News: Chicago Cubs: Daniel Palencia’s message to PCA ahead of WBC Final– “I’m coming after you”

And Counsell has, indeed, already addressed the gigantic elephant in the room called ‘uncertainty.’

“[Boston Celtics head coach] Joe Mazzulla, who is one of my favorite coaches, said, ‘I go to bed questionable and wake up probable.’ None of us are guaranteed anything, and that’s really a great way to put it,” Counsell told media. “Like, why am I worried about what’s going to happen? I have to make sure I wake up the next day, so let’s just worry about what’s going on right now.

“The whole point of this is to be where your feet are, so I don’t think you worry about it. Everybody thinks about what’s next for them; that’s a natural thought for people to do. But when you have an opportunity like we have, it’s also easier to be where your feet are every day, be present, enjoy it and cherish it. That’s what we’ve talked about our goal being every single day: to enjoy what you have right in front of you.”

Focusing on the here and now

That focus on the here and now will be crucial to a successful 2026. It just takes a small handful of distracted or overly-strained players to ruin a vibe and bring a team down.

There’s hope that at least two or three of these possibly outgoing Cubs could be retained. Ideally, second baseman Nico Hoerner would be one of them. It would also be nice to see at least one of the corner outfielders– Happ or Suzuki– extended, just because of how hard it would be to sign two starter-level corner outfielders in one free agent class. People would also probably not balk at the Cubs doing everything they can to hold on to Boyd.

Ultimately, though, business is business and the Cubs will make the decisions that go best with their business plan. Hopefully, those decisions are made after a very successful 2026.

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The Chicago Cubs went through a lot of effort to restock a bullpen this offseason that was seriously depleted. To do this, the team went on an uncharacteristic spending spree this past winter.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Daniel Palencia’s message to PCA ahead of WBC Final– “I’m coming after you”

The Cubs would sign four free agent relievers for the rebuild (Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Hunter Harvey). They also opted to re-sign lefty Caleb Thielbar. Those five join closer Daniel Palencia and swingmen Colin Rea, Javier Assad, and Ben Brown to make up the new Cubs bullpen.

One can forgive the apparent overflow in relief options. The bullpen is probably the most unstable part of any major league team. Simply put, relievers get hot and cold and they also get injured. A team’s Opening Day bullpen is almost never the same bullpen even at the All-Star break. Last season, the Cubs used 25 pitchers out of the pen.

So, when 25-year-old prospect Jack Neely was sent down to Triple-A in the first cuts this spring training, it didn’t really mean that much to his long term chances of pitching in the majors.

This year’s Daniel Palencia?

Next More: Chicago Cubs manager makes right field decision following Suzuki injury

Actually, some feel that the 6-foot-8 righty could make a big splash this year in Chicago, possibly even becoming the Daniel Palencia of 2026 with an in-season call-up that grabs everyone’s attention.

Neely came to the Cubs in the 2024 trade deadline deal with the Yankees for Mark Leiter Jr. He hasn’t put up great numbers in the Cubs’ system, but he HAS proven himself to be a strikeout machine. Last season, between South Bend and Iowa, he notched 43 strikeouts in 33.1 innings. In 2023, as part of the Yankees system, he struck out a whopping 100 batters in 66.1 innings. In a 2024 cup of coffee with the big league Cubs, he struck out 7 in 6 innings.

The biggest issue affecting him has always been control. But some feel that he may have turned a corner in that area. This spring with the Cubs, he did walk 2 in 4 shutout innings, but he generally looked more in control of his stuff.

Overlooked

Rich Eberwein of Cubbies Crib feels that Neely is an overlooked prospect who demands attention:

“Neely has the potential to be a bullpen weapon and a contributor in high-leverage situations. We know he will not begin the year in the majors, but he should be one of the first arms to get the call if/when someone goes down with an injury. Walks have been the main thorn in Neely’s side in the past and it remains to be seen if he has worked past that issue. But Daniel Palencia struggled with the same thing before he emerged as a legitimate closer last year, so Neely is a guy that I’m keeping a close eye on early in the season.”

It’s likely that Neely will get a call or two from the Cubs this season. There’s no denying that he has a high upside and that he profiles as a shutdown closer-type. The question, as is always the case when it comes to prospects, is if he can live up to his potential.

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The Chicago Cubs and their fans have their eyes fixed on the World Baseball Classic [WBC] final Tuesday night, when Team USA meets Team Venezuela for the championship. Specifically, they’ll be watching Team Venezuela closer Daniel Palencia along with Team USA stars Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman.

More News: Chicago Cubs manager makes right field decision following Suzuki injury

On Monday, Palencia continued his scorching-hot spring by closing out the semifinal game against the surprising Team Italy. It was another dominant showing from the 26-year-old, who pitched a shutout ninth inning, striking out the last two batters of the game.

So far this spring, the Cubs closer has yet to give up a run. In the WBC, he’s pitched 4 shutdown innings, striking out 7. In regular Cactus League play, he’s thrown 3 scoreless innings, striking out 3.

Palencia on the secret to his run of success

More News: Chicago Cubs: Could Ben Brown be taking Jameson Taillon’s spot?

Before Monday’s game against the Italians, Palencia talked to the guys at MLB Network about he found the success last season, that has extended through this spring, after not having much success at the major league level before.

“For me, it was just finding a way to put the fastball wherever I want,” Palencia told them. “Using more my splitter and my slider, in that way I can protect my fastball…and it works right now”

Last season, he had a surprise breakthrough season for Chicago. Called up from Triple-A Iowa in mid-April following the Justin Steele injury, he would soon win the closer gig in an eye-catching run that made him a Wrigley Field fan favorite. Through the end of July, the hard-throwing righty had posted an impressive 1.40 ERA and was working with the swagger of an established veteran.

Then, things kind of went sideways.

Over the final two months of the regular season, Palencia fell off. He posted a 7.07 ERA in 17 appearances during that time and suffered through an IL stint after the first week of September. In the playoffs, he was no longer closing games and, instead, being used by manager Craig Counsell as a mid-game stopgap.

Cubs are bullish on Palencia

Very early this spring, however, Counsell made the bold move of declaring him the Cubs closer.

“I told Counsell the first time I met him, ‘I’m going to be ready wherever you need me,’” Palencia told MLB Network. “Last year, he put me in the sixth, in the fourth, seventh sometimes. I just try to be ready whenever he needs me. If you need me in the first, I’m going to be ready.”

He did acknowledge, though, that “of course” coming out to pitch in the ninth was cooler.

Then, Palencia was asked about the possibility of facing Cubs teammate Pete Crow-Armstrong, who’s playing center field for Team USA.

“I would love to face Pete…[In spring training] I told him, ‘I’m coming after you.’ It was the same with Seiya. I told him, ‘Hey, bro, I’m coming for you.’”

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The Chicago Cubs took a gut shot on Saturday when Seiya Suzuki limped off the field in Japan’s World Baseball Classic quarterfinal loss to Venezuela after a failed steal attempt at second base.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Could Ben Brown be taking Jameson Taillon’s spot?

Initially pulled from the game due to right knee discomfort, the Japanese star has returned to Cubs’ camp in Mesa, Arizona to be evaluated by team doctors.

Suzuki, who had a career power year in 2025 with 32 home runs and 103 RBIs, was slated to be the Cubs’ every day right fielder, replacing the outgoing Kyle Tucker. In January, Chicago traded top prospect Owen Caissie to the Miami Marlins for starter Edward Cabrera, cinching Suzuki’s spot at the position.

Now, things are a bit up in the air, at least until there’s some confirmation as to the seriousness of the injury.

Counsell’s Plan B for injured Suzuki

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Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, meanwhile, is reporting that manager Craig Counsell has a Plan B, at least for now:

“In the meantime, Counsell confirmed that Matt Shaw would be in line to take over as the club’s primary right fielder if Suzuki is sidelined for an extended period. Shaw, a Gold Glove finalist as a rookie third baseman last year, is adapting well to the new super-utility role that will shift him between the infield and outfield.”

It would be fantastical thinking, though, to assume that the sophomore Shaw, who has limited outfield experience and just started seriously taking up the position this spring, could be this team’s every day right fielder.

The Cubs still have veteran Michael Conforto, Dylan Carlson, and Chas McCormick in camp. Justin Dean had just been sent to Triple-A, but he could be brought back. They also have prospect Kevin Alcantara. All five of these options are natural outfielders and could play an adequate fill-in role for a short stretch of time.

But if Suzuki is lost for a lengthier period?

Moves that might need to be made

That would be a major concern and it could have Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer on the phone looking for a trade. Some kind of platoon situation could also be cooked up to get maximum production from the available outfielders, who were all thought to be competing for the fourth outfielder spot on the 26-man roster.

The 31-year-old Suzuki is in the last year of his 5-year, $85 million contract with Chicago and will be eligible for free agency at the end of the season. The Cubs will be staring down the choice of re-signing both Suzuki and the similarly free agency-eligible corner outfielder Ian Happ (along with pitchers Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga, and second baseman Nico Hoerner).

An injury that keeps him out of commission for an extended period of time could likely nudge the Cubs further from the possibility of bringing him back.

Before any action is taken, however, the Cubs and Suzuki need a clear idea of what’s going on with the knee.

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The Chicago Cubs appeared to have things pretty much hashed out when it came to their starting rotation. The offseason acquisition of emerging powerhouse Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins seemed to fill the last spot of a rotation that was already pretty packed before the trade.

More News: Could the Chicago Cubs revisit a rumored trade deadline target from last season?

But things can change in a heartbeat in baseball– both for the better and for the worse.

Some of that “worst” is coming from Jameson Taillon. The veteran starter, who was so clutch last season for the Cubs down the stretch and through the playoffs, has been getting absolutely shellacked this spring. In Sunday’s 14-8 loss to the Dodgers, the 34-year-old gave up 10 runs on 8 hits, with 4 walks, over 3.2 innings, bringing his Cactus League ERA to a whopping 22.18. Perhaps more importantly, his velocity is down significantly, as is the movement on his pitches.

But with the bad news, there’s also some good news.

Brown’s rise paired with Taillon’s fall

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The 26-year-old Ben Brown has been looking like he’s finally turned a corner in his development.

The Cubs have always eyed the tall righty as a potential rotation piece, but, despite flashes of brilliance, his performances have been too inconsistent to really consider him in that role. That may be changing.

Coming into the third year of his young major league career, Brown has added a sinker to his repertoire and is also sporting a fortified mindset.

“I feel like I’m in a much better spot than I was last year,” Brown told the Chicago Tribune. “The resilience and the ability to pitch in different situations is something that I need to add to my repertoire and to be confident in. And that doesn’t mean I can’t stop dreaming of what my career could be like, but for right now, what can my day look like? That’s the focus…Wherever I am right now is where I have to be and be my best because I didn’t really do a good job of that last year.”

Being focused on the present and on growing as a pitcher has yielded solid results this spring. In 10.2 innings of spring training play, Brown has a 3.38 ERA and 15 strikeouts against only 3 walks.

Swapping of roles?

So, the rise of Brown and the apparent fall of Taillon have to bring up the possibility that Chicago might be forced into making a major decision soon. Could they consider a swapping of roles, with Brown taking a spot in the rotation and Taillon moving to long relief duties in the bullpen?

Taillon, set to become a free agent at the end of next season, has been an important starting pitching asset for the Cubs over the last three years, but they can’t go too long with him every fifth day if he’s just not up to the task.

The team has been clear that they hope for Brown to become the rotation stud his raw ability always suggested he could be. But will 2026 be that year where he establishes himself in that regard?

The Cubs have a deep enough starting pitching pool to absorb the loss of a guy like Taillon. If Brown’s not the man to fill the job, there’s Javier Assad, who’s done very well this spring, as well as the reliable Colin Rea. Then, of course, ace Justin Steele is moving towards his comeback, which is projected to happen in May or June. A little bit down the road, top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins will also be knocking on the door.

For now, though, the Cubs will surely give Taillon every possible chance to figure things out and get back on track. If he can’t, though, there are options.

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The Chicago Cubs pulled the trigger on the big trade that had been rumored for the better part of a year when they acquired emerging powerhouse starter Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins. By all accounts, the Cubs had been eyeballing the young arm since the end of the 2024 season and were finally willing to part with the prospects to secure the deal.

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If one recalls last season, though, there was considerable debate over whether the Cubs should move to acquire Cabrera or the more proven Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara, who was coming back from Tommy John surgery. The debate became more fierce as the trade deadline neared.

Ultimately, the Cubs didn’t move on either pitcher. Now, some feel that the Cubs could have both by the time the 2026 trade deadline passes.

Cubs, back in the Sandy Alcantara hunt?

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Chicago was recently mentioned by Mike Axisa of CBS Sports as a possible landing spot for Alcantara at the trade deadline.

Per Axisa:

“The Marlins moved two veteran-ish starters this offseason (Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers) but hung on to Alcantara, who was a prime trade candidate last winter and again at last year’s trade deadline.

He instead remains in Miami. How long will that last? I don’t think it will be too much longer given his $17 million salary this year and $21 million club option next year. Interested teams will give up more to get two postseason of Alcantara rather than one, making a trade this summer more likely.”

On the surface, this Alcantara-to-the-Cubs scenario wouldn’t seem to make a lot of sense. The Cubs already have a deep rotation with too many starters for too few spots. Returning ace Justin Steele, who’s expected back in May or June, will make the starting corps even more crowded.

But what about 2027?

A holdover for 2027

Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, and Shota Imanaga could all be gone via free agency at the end of this 2026 season. At that point, the Cubs’ surplus of starters could turn into a deficit.

Alcantara has potential ace-level stuff and would be working under a $21 million club option in 2027 before becoming eligible for free agency at the end of that season. He’d fit nicely into a new-look Cubs rotation around guys like Steele, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, and, possibly, top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins.

As for what to do with the 30-year-old righty in 2026? That’s not a problem. You find a place for someone as talented as Alcantara and it’s not difficult to see him wedged somewhere into the rotation as the Cubs push for a deep postseason run. A team can’t have too many quality arms.

Although his 2025 numbers didn’t look good (11-12, 5.36 ERA), he did finish closer to his old self with a 3.33 ERA in 13 starts after the All-Star break.

There will be a market for Alcantara, especially if he’s still available at the trade deadline. So, the Cubs will have competition if they decide to make a play for him. But finding a way to bring him aboard is an idea certainly worth exploring.

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The Chicago Cubs don’t typically target young prospects like Moises Ballesteros. The analytics-loving Cubs staff usually goes after the thoroughbred multi-tool athletes who, visually, stand out as blue chip prospects.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Matt Shaw rolling with punches, killing it this spring

Ballesteros was short and squat. He didn’t fit the bill of a blue-chipper by Cubs’ standards and, by all accounts, his defensive game was all but nonexistent.

Yet, the Cubs signed the kid from Venezuela anyway, snatching him up as an international free agent just about two months after his 17th birthday, forking over a $1.2 million signing bonus. And they did it all because they recognized that this kid could really hit.

Ballesteros’ impressive run

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Ballesteros would prove the team’s faith in him warranted. Despite being the youngest prospect at almost every level he reached in the organization, he never failed to impress with the bat. His advanced hitting prowess would carry him to Cubs Minor League Player of the Year recognition in 2023 and 2024.

In his first major league run last season, he hit .298 in 66 plate appearances split up over three separate call-ups, with an especially impressive .333 average over 39 at bats in September He’s now slotted in to be the team’s full-time DH in 2026.

This spring, the talk regarding Ballesteros has centered around his still-developing defensive game as a catcher because, apparently, everybody just assumes now that he’ll hit (and he HAS, hitting .333 in 27 Cactus League at bats so far after a late arrival due to Visa issues).

Catching is getting rave reviews

The assessments of Ballesteros, the catcher, have been positive.

“From a pitch-calling standpoint, I love the way he thinks,” Cubs pitcher Ben Brown told media. “I love the way he goes about hitters. He’s a great hitter himself. He has great plate discipline. What he can do offensively is really special, so I think he brings that into his catching.

“I think everyone, top to bottom, in all honesty, we truly believe that Bally can stick back there. There’s no doubt. He loves to learn. He’s such a good teammate. He’s such a light in the clubhouse. He’s a joy to be around.”

New Cubs starter Edward Cabrera also praised him for his work behind the plate.

“I was shocked,” Cabrera told reporters, via interpreter, following a game caught by Ballesteros, where the young catcher flipped three balls to strikes via ABS challenge. “Having a catcher who sees the zone that well gives me a lot of confidence, especially in tight counts. He did a great job guiding me through those innings.”

Bat first, everything else is a bonus

The reality when it comes to Ballesteros, though, is that he’ll make the major league roster almost entirely on the weight of his bat. Everything that he can give defensively, would be just a bonus.

“He’s been an exceptional hitter,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters late last season. “That’s the best development for Moisés, really, is that he’s come up to the big leagues and shown everybody what a natural hitter he is, (while being) put in the fire against some tough, tough competition. The rest is a bonus.”

Even as an all-bat prospect, expectations are high heading into this season. There’s even been some Rookie of the Year chatter.

Right now, defensively, he stands to be the Cubs’ third catcher, behind Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya and he’ll also be in the mix as a backup to first baseman Michael Busch. But the team would be ecstatic if he could work his way into becoming an Alejandro Kirk-like asset behind the plate. Early thoughts appear to be that he has the unconventional athleticism and work ethic to develop in that direction. He is, after all, only 22.

For now, he’ll be given the bat and asked to produce come Opening Day. Defensive nuance can wait.

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The Chicago Cubs’ Matt Shaw had every reason to walk into spring training bitter and discontent. The young talent, who fought his way to the starting third base gig over the course of a tough rookie season, had been outright replaced by incoming free agent Alex Bregman. He was now being asked to play a utility role off the bench.

More News: Chicago Cubs ace Justin Steele takes next step to full comeback

Instead of taking it as a blow, however, the Cubs’ 2023 no. 1 draft pick accepted the new role as a challenge and has excelled.

Tasked with playing corner outfield, center field, and most recently first base– in addition to his more comfortable third base and second base spots– the 24-year-old has adapted well, while accepting that there’s still plenty more to learn.

Through all the pressure of learning new positions on the fly, Shaw has also seemingly taken a step forward with his offense. In 35 Cactus League plate appearances, he’s hitting .333 with 1 home run, 2 RBIs, 4 stolen bases, and an OBP of .400.

Passing every test

More News: Chicago Cubs encouraged to sign still-available free agent slugger

“We’re giving him a difficult spring training experience here,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told media. “We’re moving him around a lot. You’re going to see him at first base. I respect what he’s doing this spring, it hasn’t been easy for sure. But I’d rather make it hard right now and then go into the season with at least some experience at all these things.”

Last Wednesday, Shaw played his first game ever at first base and, while clearly still learning the ropes, seemed up to the task.

“Honestly, it’s been a lot of fun,” Shaw said, referring to being moved around the field. “It feels like Little League, playing a bunch of different positions and moving around. I’ve really enjoyed it.”

This humbling experience has just reinforced the team’s opinion of Shaw as a player and as someone with a high ceiling as an every day player.

“He’s not someone that you need to worry about being professional or motivated or driven or working on his game,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner told media. “He’s a very driven young player. You look at how many great players at some point earlier in their career were bouncing around between positions, it’s just the reality of being a part of a really strong roster…he’s going to be a very valuable part of our team this year.”

Getting Shaw where he needs to be

The Cubs will try to strike a balance this season between fielding the best, most experienced team possible and getting Shaw the at bats and playing time he needs to continue his development. He’s still, for all intents and purposes, the team’s chief insurance policy when it comes to injury and, also, when it comes to possibly replacing Hoerner, who will become a free agent at the end of this coming season.

As a chief backup to at least six position player spots, he should get plenty of playing time and get plenty of opportunity to prove his worth.

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The Chicago Cubs figure to have a deep and well-rounded starting rotation as they head into a 2026 season where expectations are high. They’d really like for Justin Steele to be a part of the team’s success. Actually, some think that the lefty might help push the team to that success.

More News: Chicago Cubs encouraged to sign still-available free agent slugger

Steele went down with an elbow injury last season after just four starts, forcing the Cubs to scramble and find an emergency rotation replacement or two. Subsequent elbow surgery (ulnar collateral ligament revision repair) put him on the shelf for the rest of the year.

Hopes were high, though, that the Cubs’ ace could make a full recovery and be a big part of a 2026 squad aiming for a deep postseason run. The 30-year-old has been Chicago’s most reliable and effective starter through the last four seasons, posting a 3.18 ERA over 82 starts in that span of time. A full comeback would be a huge boost to the team’s chances for success.

Justin Steele faces live batters

More News: Chicago Cubs: Matthew Boyd speaks on Opening Day gig as contract uncertainty looms

On Friday, Steele took another big step in the direction of a return. For the first time since he was given medical clearance to resume pitching activities, he faced live batters.

With several teammates in attendance, the southpaw threw 19 pitches to Michael Busch and Jonathon Long, notching three strikeouts and provoking some uncomfortable swings.

It was a small sample size of pitches, which was to be expected, but everything went well and, reportedly, he already looks to have some of his old mojo back.

“Looks like Justin,” Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy told reporters with a smile. “There’s days where he has really good cut to the fastball and gets weak contact. And there’s days where it has a little more carry, where you get more swing and miss. I thought today, you kind of saw a little bit of both.”

“I think it went as well as he could have wanted it and hoped for it to go,” Hottovy added. “Now it’s just continuing to build off every outing, every live BP and making sure we don’t get too far ahead of ourselves.”

“Another box to check,” Steele told media after the outing. “Felt good today, that’s the main thing — I was throwing strikes, putting the fastball where I wanted to for the most part. Just excited about it.

“I’ve worked really hard to come back as fast as I could and as strong as I could. It was really cool to see all my teammates and coaches come out to watch.”

Nice, relaxed return

Steele, who had full Tommy John surgery back in 2017, says that the recovery process this time around is going much smoother, thanks in great part to knowing what to expect and how to handle his limitations.

It also helps that there’s no rush to get him back on the mound.

With the Cubs rotation sporting five capable starters (Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, and Shota Imanaga) as well as several solid backups (Javier Assad, Colin Rea, Ben Brown), Steele can take his time and make sure that he’s truly at 100% before getting back into the thick of things. Right now, the target remains May-June for his return

The Cubs will eventually have to figure out what to do with the surplus of starters when their ace comes back, but that’s certainly a good problem to have.

For now, the Cubs move forward and Steele keeps working to get back.

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The Chicago Cubs acquired Tyler Austin this past offseason for the explicit purpose of being the designated right-handed-hitting relief for first baseman Michael Busch. Before the spring even got into full swing, however, Austin went down with a knee injury requiring surgery and months of recovery.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Matthew Boyd speaks on Opening Day gig as contract uncertainty looms

The bad news has sent the Cubs scrambling for a backup at first base.

Catcher Miguel Amaya has been getting some reps there. Matt Shaw recently made his career debut at first. There’s been talk of rookie DH and backup catcher Moises Ballesteros getting some playing time at the position. Even veteran non-roster spring training invitee Michael Conforto has been mentioned as a possible first base backup. Jonathon Long, the Cubs’ top first base prospect, is also a possibility, but the feeling seems to be that Chicago would prefer to see him back in Triple-A Iowa where he can develop further as an every day player.

Realistically, the Cubs don’t absolutely need a high-end backup to Busch. The team seems ok with letting him see more left-handed pitching. But injuries do happen and even a fully locked-in Busch would benefit from the occasional day off.

A last-minute roster addition?

More News: Chicago Cubs: Rival scout labels Cubs rookie a future “RBI machine”

Chris Landers of Fansided recently speculated that the Cubs could find the ideal first base backup in the form of veteran Wilmer Flores, who remains a free agent and is reportedly dead set on holding out for a major league contract.

The 34-year-old veteran was mostly used as a DH last year with the San Francisco Giants, but also played 208 innings at first base and 9 innings at third. He hit .241 with 16 home runs in 419 at bats in 2015.

Per Landers:

“Speaking of righty bench bats: The Cubs figure to be back in the market for one, after offseason acquisition Tyler Austin — penciled in as the righty counterpart to Michael Busch at first base and/or Moises Ballesteros at DH — underwent knee surgery that will keep him out until at least the summer. Chicago can try to just get by until then, but they could also look at Flores, who intends to continue his career after six seasons in San Francisco.

Flores is a limited player at this point in his career, but one thing he’s always been able to do is crush left-handed pitching. If Chicago needs someone to fill the Justin Turner role on the cheap until Austin returns, Jed Hoyer could do a lot worse.”

Does it make sense?

The 13-year major league veteran could be a viable roster option who might come at a very reasonable price. Last season, Flores made $3.5 million and he stands to make less than that this coming year if/when he’s picked up by somebody. The general feeling is that he’s too good of a hitter to not be signed eventually.

Adding Flores could push utility man Shaw back to more familiar positions. It could also eliminate the need for a fourth outfielder as Shaw could get some time in that spot, especially with Flores being able to play some third base in a pinch.

If brought in this late, he probably wouldn’t be able to start the reason with the rest of the team. But maybe a May Cubs debut for Flores could be in the cards.

It’s certainly something worth considering ahead of big 2026.

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The Chicago Cubs took a gamble on Matthew Boyd prior to the 2025 season, signing the oft-injured lefty to a two-year, $29 million deal– and the bet definitely paid off.

More News: Chicago Cubs named one of the teams under the most pressure in 2026

The Cubs front office made their move based on just about two months of 2024 data following his Tommy John surgery in 2023 and other assorted physical setbacks dating back to 2020. The veteran starter came into the 2025 season without having pitched more than 100 innings since 2019.

Prior to last season, Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy talked about the general expectations of Boyd in 2025– they’d be happy with just 120 innings of solid baseball from him.

Well, Boyd far exceeded those expectations and posted a 3.21 ERA in 179.2 innings pitched over 31 starts and performed his way into becoming the rotation’s ace.

He was rewarded for that stellar season by getting the Opening Day starter nod from manager Craig Counsell.

“You earn these things,” Counsell told reporters. “And Matthew has earned this with how he’s pitched last year and since coming back from an injury. He had a great season last year. He’s a very important player for us, and we’re excited to give him the ball on Opening Day.”

Boyd speaks on Opening Day gig

More News: Chicago Cubs: Opening Day starter assignment spotlights rotation questions

Boyd, meanwhile, keeps being Boyd. Touched by the gesture of getting the 2026 opener gig, the honor weighs more heavily on him as his roots are steeped in Cubs lore, passed to him by his beloved late grandfather who was a hardcore Cubs fan.

“You don’t know if the opportunity is ever going to present itself again,” Boyd said of the Opening Day designation. “So it’s an honor. I mean, 162 games is a long season. It’s really cool to be out there to start it out.”

“Opening Day is special,” Boyd added, “but Opening Day at Wrigley is really something that is truly special. And I understand how much it means to Chicago fans.”

From the end of the line to a new beginning

For a guy who was virtually on the way out of major league baseball or, at the very least, in extreme doubt over his physical ability to pitch again, the gig has to be especially satisfying. What could have been the end of the line ended up being the start of a new beginning.

“If I don’t believe it, who else will?” Boyd said of his mindset prior to the start of last season. “I knew my best was ahead of me. What I didn’t know is if I’d get the opportunity to show it.”

Now, what’s ahead for Boyd is a 2026 where the Cubs are expected to win the NL Central Division and make a deep playoff run. There’s also a crucial career decision awaiting him. Boyd and the Cubs have mutual options at the end of the season and that could mean that the 35-year-old might be pitching elsewhere next year.

For now, though, Opening Day– and then a long, grueling season– await.

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The Chicago Cubs, on Thursday, named Matthew Boyd their Opening Day starter. It was the safe, reasonable choice to make considering Boyd’s 2025.

More News: Chicago Cubs named one of the teams under the most pressure in 2026

The veteran lefty came to the Cubs as a bit of a free agent gamble last season, coming off a long history of injury and Tommy John surgery in mid-2023. Originally targeted for 110-120 innings as a back-end-of rotation starter, Boyd exceeded all expectations and performed his way into being the ace of the staff with a 3.21 ERA in 179.2 innings over 31 starts.

So, yes, Boyd was the logical choice for Opening Day.

That designation, though, probably paints a clearer picture for the rest of the rotation order.

Boyd on Opening Day, and then what?

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The Cubs would probably want a power right-hander coming after the more nuanced lefty. That means probably Cade Horton, but it could also mean newcomer Edward Cabrera. Then, maybe, another nuanced lefty in Shota Imanaga. After that, either Horton or Cabrera, whoever didn’t land the no. 2 spot in the rotation. That would leave Jameson Taillon as the no. 5 starter.

A probable rotation might look like this (although, obviously, the order could easily be all scrambled up behind Boyd):

Matthew Boyd
Cade Horton
Shota Imanaga
Edward Cabrera
Jameson Taillon

Things get a bit more complicated, however, when Justin Steele returns after being on the shelf, recovering from elbow surgery last April. Upon his comeback (expected before mid-season), someone will have to be booted from their rotation spot. Who gets the boot will be determined, obviously, by who has been the least effective at the time of Steele’s return.

One also has to consider the fact that the Cubs have a pair of very capable swingmen in Javier Assad and Colin Rea, with Ben Brown also having starter potential. Assad has been having a killer spring so far and Rea performed admirably in the rotation last season, making up for the injury-related absences of Steele, Imanaga, and Taillon.

A Plan B, Plan C?

Some have theorized that Chicago could possibly go with a 6-man rotation for at least part of the season, given their depth and the need/desire to preserve arms for what they hope to be a deep postseason run.

They could also piggyback starters for a stretch of time, maybe pairing two for a single game, utilizing all of their nine potential starters to deliver multi-inning outings and save wear and tear on a staff that does have considerable injury and durability concerns. Although this strategy might end up taxing the bullpen disproportionately, essentially forcing a small handful of dedicated relievers to cover almost all relief innings.

Whatever the Cubs decide, the elephant in the room will always be the staff’s health and durability concerns. Boyd, Horton, and Cabrera have significant history of injury. Taillon and Imanaga spent a good amount of time on the IL last year. And Steele, of course, is coming back from major elbow surgery.

An ace in the hole may be top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins, who some are hoping could be the Cade Horton of 2026, moving up from the minors to win a spot in the Cubs rotation. There’s also hope that lefty Jordan Wicks can get healthy and finally put it all together for a good major league run.

For now, all the Cubs can do is lay down their pieces and play them. Soon enough, everyone will know whether a Plan B or C is necessary.

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The Chicago Cubs will be feeling pressure this season. Unlike the situation heading into last season, where the team was expected to contend, the expectations this year are that they will win, at the very least, the NL Central Division.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Rival scout labels Cubs rookie a future “RBI machine”

Although they lost right fielder Kyle Tucker via free agency, they added three-time All-Star free agent Alex Bregman and traded for emerging powerhouse starter Edward Cabrera. They also restocked a depleted bullpen with four free agent relievers (Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Hunter Harvey).

With so many key additions and a returning core of talent from last season, the general feeling is that anything short of a division title and a deep playoff run will be seen as a major disappointment.

Cubs under pressure

More News: Chicago Cubs: Ian Happ putting on a brave face ahead of free agency uncertainty

Karl Rasmussen of Sports Illustrated recently acknowledged that pressure by naming the Cubs one of the teams under the most pressure this coming season. While he placed them outside the “World Series or Bust” category, he did put them high atop the “Postseason Run Required” list.

Per Rasmussen:

“The Cubs are in a good spot as they look to win the NL Central for the first time since 2020. Chicago acquired Alex Bregman in the offseason and should be favorites to win the division, especially after the Brewers parted ways with Peralta. The Cubs made it back to the postseason last year, snapping a four-year drought, and fans will be expecting the team to be playing into October again this season.”

Expectations are running high this spring and everyone feels it, from the front office to the coaching to the players themselves, as well as the fans. Actually, the word “expectations” has been a running theme throughout spring training.

“Everybody in this industry wants expectations,” manager Craig Counsell told The Athletic. “You work hard to get expectations. You work really hard to build a roster that has expectations, you work really hard to get on a team that has expectations. That’s what we want. We’re truly excited we have expectations. It’s not easy to get them.”

Causes for concern

And while there are numerous reasons for optimism, there are also some glaring causes for concern.

Several Cubs had career years in 2025, such as Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, Seiya Suzuki, and Nico Hoerner. There’s no guarantee that they’ll replicate their successes this season.

There are legitimate durability and health concerns in their deep starting rotation. Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, and Edward Cabrera have a history of injury, while Jameson Taillon and Shota Imanaga spent considerable time on the IL last year. Returning ace Justin Steele, meanwhile, will be coming back from elbow surgery.

Then, there’s the bullpen, which is always a wildcard on almost every team. Closer Daniel Palencia had 80% of a great season last year as he came up from Triple-A Iowa to win the bullpen shutdown spot. But he faded late in the year, delivering two months of subpar performances which suggested that, maybe, the young arm was bending under the pressure.

On paper, the Cubs would appear to be a better team than they were at this time last season. But that’s certainly no guarantee of equal or greater success.

The pressure will definitely be on.

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Chicago Cubs top prospect Moises Ballesteros came into Mesa late, held up with visa issues from his native Venezuela for 10 crucial early spring training days. It was an especially tough development since the team wanted to have him focus on his catching this spring and work on building a rapport with the pitchers.

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The 22-year-old is expected to make the Opening Day roster as a bat-first DH, but becoming a viable backup to catchers Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya would be huge for a Cubs team that prioritizes depth and roster flexibility.

By all accounts, he’s caught up to speed and is actually exceeding expectations, especially at catcher, where he’s surprised some observers who had previously envisioned him as a below-average receiver. New Cubs pitcher Edward Cabrera recently praised him for his keen eye behind the plate and his ability to help guide him through his outing.

Ballesteros is also not disappointing with the bat, hitting .294 after just 18 plate appearances with 6 RBIs in his abbreviated spring.

All in all, people are excited about what the Cubs’ 2023 and 2024 Minor League Player of the Year can do in a full season after posting a .298 batting average in 66 plate appearances with the major league team last season.

Rival scout raves about Ballesteros upside

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In a recent interview with the Mully & Haugh Show on 104.3 The Score, Cubs beat reporter Bruce Levine shared a rival scout’s glowing assessment of the squat, 5-foot-8 unlikely top prospect.

“I was talking to a scout who has watched him since he came into major league baseball,” Levine asserted. “He said…don’t worry about his weight as much as look at him as the baseball athlete he is at this weight. Make sure that the dietary part is good, but don’t ask this guy to lose 20 or 25 pounds, you might lose the pop in his bat if you do that…He’s a believer in Ballesteros and, like me, he believes he’s going to be a middle of the order hitter very soon. He said anywhere from fourth to sixth is where Counsell is going to hit him most of the time. He just believes he’s going to be an RBI machine.”

Another Alejandro Kirk?

The unnamed scout also went on to praise Ballesteros as an overall player, comparing him to Alejandro Kirk of the Toronto Blue Jays, who is similarly 5-foot-8 and is actually listed as 50 lbs. heavier.

“It was good to hear from someone outside the organization who thinks not only is he going to be an outstanding hitter, but that he’s going to be a better catcher,” Levine said. “And he brought up Kirk as the idea from the Toronto Blue Jays…Not the greatest body in the world, but he’s turned out to be an outstanding catcher even at a big size.”

For now, the plan with Ballesteros seems to be to DH him against mostly right-handed pitching and slot him in as the team’s emergency catcher. He can also play some first base and might see some time there as a backup to Michael Busch.

But, make no mistake about it, Ballesteros will be with the Cubs for his bat and everyone’s waiting to see how well he does there.

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The Chicago Cubs made a lot of impactful moves this offseason. With the exception of the major signing of free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, most of the other significant moves have come on the pitching side of things.

More News: Chicago Cubs’ Alex Bregman stuns with linguistic feat at WBC presser

That really should come as much of a surprise, though, as the Cubs front office had gone on record saying that their primary focus would be pitching.

The first moves made were aimed at restocking a depleted bullpen that was emptied out due to free agency and other maneuverings. Before anything else, Chicago secured the services of free agent relievers Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Hunter Harvey while re-signing 2025 bullpen anchor Caleb Thielbar.

The Cubs traded for the Miami Marlins’ emerging powerhouse starter Edward Cabrera, giving up no. 1 prospect Owen Caissie and two other prospects to complete the deal. Before that, they re-signed starter Shota Imanaga on a one-year deal for qualifying offer money.

A surprise on the Opening Day roster?

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Given all the additions and the general feeling that the team is pretty much ready to go for the 2026 season, there’s still some room for a surprise or two when it comes to who makes the Opening Day roster.

Al Yellon of Bleed Cubbie Blue recently offered up his prediction for the Opening Day roster and it featured just one name that bucked general expectations– Gavin Hollowell.

Yellon feels that the recent injuries of Porter Hodge and Jordan Wicks create a path for the 28-year-old to make the team, especially considering the outstanding spring he’s had so far:

“This opens a spot, and opportunity, for Hollowell, who’s looked really good this spring: Four innings, two hits, no walks, one run, has struck out eight of the 14 batters he’s faced. Yes, small sample size and some are minor-league hitters. Still, Jed Hoyer has had good luck getting good relievers off the scrap heap and Hollowell could be another one of those.”

Hollowell’s 2.25 Cactus League ERA is catching eyes and he looks to be throwing the ball with confidence and command.

A former Colorado Rockies prospect, the 6-foot-7 righty was selected off waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks in June of 2024 and then selected off waivers by the Cubs in August of the same year.

He hasn’t had a whole lot of sustained success anywhere he’s pitched, posting a career 5.79 ERA in 40 big league games and a 6.96 ERA in Triple-A Iowa last season (with a 4.82 ERA in 9.1 major league innings).

Cubs confidence in young pitcher

But the Cubs seem to love the potential Hollowell carries with him and likely feel that he’s just a tweak or two away from being a consistent bullpen asset.

Brett Taylor of Bleacher Nation feels the Cubs love for Hollowell and also opines on the reasons they decided to keep him around through his struggles:

“It was telling that, despite those bad numbers and not having established himself previously with the Rockies, the Cubs kept the 28-year-old righty on the 40-man all offseason and into the spring. He’s got one option year remaining, and obviously there’s still some belief that it could finally all click. Like last year, though, he’s going to face an exceedingly crowded group of 9th/10th/11th/12th/etc. relief options, and the early-season goal for him is probably going to be trying to put himself into position to be one of the first up-down guys called upon when needed.”

He will have plenty of competition for that last bullpen spot. The Cubs stockpiled a lot of arms this offseason and have a few from the farm system garnering attention. But Hollowell fits the bill of a Cubs reclamation project come to fruition, ala Brad Keller and Drew Pomeranz last season. He’ll get his chance to prove the Cubs’ confidence in him right.

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The Chicago Cubs pretty much shocked the entire baseball world when news broke that they had signed free agent third baseman Alex Bregman to a 5-year, $175 million contract.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Ian Happ putting on a brave face ahead of free agency uncertainty

Up until the announcement, it was thought that the Cubs were at the back of a small pack of interested teams when it came to the three-time All-Star, with the Boston Red Sox favored to retain his services.

But the Chicago front office got the job done and the Cubs got the big-time asset they had tried, unsuccessfully, to grab after the 2024 season.

With Bregman comes Gold Glove-level defense at the hot corner, a lifetime .272 bat with an average of 28 home runs over 162 games, and an absolute ton of intangibles. The 10-year veteran, who’s played in the postseason in his last nine full major league seasons, is known for his supreme leadership abilities and his status as a clubhouse mentor.

Apparently, though, he has one other intangible that has flown under everyone’s radar– Spanish.

Alex Bregman with the big-time Spanish

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In Monday’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) pre-game presser in Houston, before the Team USA game against Team Mexico, Bregman took a standard “how do you feel playing in front of the Latino Houston fans” question from the Spanish-language press. Without flinching or waiting for an interpreter to do his thing, he dove right in with his response, in Spanish.

“Siento bien,” Bregman answered. “Siento listo. Los fanáticos en Houston gustan béisbol mucho y yo también, y listo para un buen partido hoy.”

Translation: “I feel good. I feel ready. Houston fans like baseball a lot, and so do I. I’m ready for a good game today.”

The response stunned Team USA manager (and former Cub) Mark DeRosa and provoked a double-take.

“I didn’t know you spoke Spanish…I didn’t even know that” DeRosa told Bregman.

Bregman responded with a laugh and a shrug.

“It was probably really bad,” Bregman replied.

USA manager Mark DeRosa didn’t expect this from Bregman pic.twitter.com/DL8POSBY0X

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 9, 2026

Actually, his Spanish was pretty good, aside from a little bit of a hangup on the object/reflexive pronoun– the bane of all gringos looking to master the Spanish language.

Bregman’s spring so far

Bregman didn’t do quite as well during the actual game, though. He went 0 for 3 with a walk, bringing his WBC average down to .143 over three games as the team’s starting third baseman. Team USA did come out ahead in the game, though, winning 5-3. It was their first win over Team Mexico in 20 years.

Overall this spring, though, the new Cub has been killing it. In 5 Cactus League games so far, the soon-to-be 32-year-old is hitting .455 with one home run.

This season, Bregman will get the lion’s share of the playing time at third base for the Cubs, with last year’s starting third baseman Matt Shaw switched over to a utility role.

Chicago is hoping for him to become a cornerstone leader for the Cubs’ next generation and as a foundation for the establishment of a continued winning culture.

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The Chicago Cubs feel that they’ve put together a good, complete team that can make a deep playoff run this season. And they did it with a little of everything– some key free agent acquisitions, a big trade, and the rise of various internal pieces.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Young star named 2026 team X-Factor

Looking beyond the 2026 season, though, there are some real concerns.

As much as half the team could be gone via free agency at the end of this baseball year. Chief among the potential outgoing talents are core team components Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner, Seiya Suzuki, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, and Shota Imanaga.

Pressure’s on Ian Happ ahead of free agency

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Happ, especially, has to feel some pressure. He’s been a Cub since the start of his pro career as a 2015 no. 1 draft pick. Heading into his tenth season in the majors, he’s staring down the possibility that Chicago may decide that they can only keep one of their corner outfielders and that the team will have to choose between him and Suzuki.

The 31-year-old is saying all the right things as Opening Day approaches, although it’s still pretty clear that the pending free agency is weighing on his mind. He’s doing his best to focus on this season and on winning with his fellow Cubs.

“The focus is just so much on this group,” Happ told The Athletic. “Both enjoying it and playing really good baseball together. It makes it a lot easier when you’re on a good team that’s going to compete that that can be the main focus.”

When asked if he’d talk to the Cubs regarding an extension during the season, he’s not sure, but he’s also understanding why the front office may not want to engage in contract talk as games are being played.

“It’s hard because they’re focused on this year and winning as well,” he asserted. “If their mind isn’t in that place — I want their focus to be on winning this year, and my focus to be on winning this year. So let’s do that.”

“That’s their job, right?” Happ added. “To figure out what are the things that are valued and how does that equate. My job is to be the best player I can be. You can’t think about what the model is going to spit out on you. You have to play and impact winning, impact the organization.”

A big decision awaits

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer will find himself in a tough spot at the end of this season and he was well aware of that as last year closed.

“I think my hope and expectation is that we’ll have extension talks with a number of our players this offseason,” Hoyer said at his end-of-season press conference last year. “I think that we have a number of players that we’d love to keep long term, and we’ll have those conversations. We have clean books going forward, we have good players, and we’ll have those conversations.”

Hoyer’s decision, when it comes to outfield, seems to be Happ or Suzuki. While Happ has been the much more consistent player and a Gold Glove-level fielder, Suzuki has the greater offensive upside and is coming off a career year with the bat.

Big decisions are ahead for all involved. For now, Happ and the Cubs just seem focused on winning.

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When the Chicago Cubs announced that they had signed free agent third baseman Alex Bregman to a 5-year, $175 million deal, everyone was elated. Who wouldn’t want a three-time All-Star on the team, renowned for his winning attitude and leadership abilities?

More News: Chicago Cubs: Taillon’s continued struggles add strain to rotation depth

For Matt Shaw, though, Bregman coming to Chicago meant utter uncertainty.

Shaw, the Cubs’ starting third baseman last season, thought he had done enough in his rookie year to have earned the starting gig in 2026 as well. On most teams not bringing Bregman aboard, that may have been the case.

“So, of course, I immediately have questions like, Am I going to go here? Am I going to go there?,” Shaw told media back in January. “They’ve been transparent with me, just kind of helping me to understand the role of moving to different positions, giving guys an off-day here and there. I’m pretty excited about it.”

An X-Factor off the bench

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So, now, the 24-year-old sophomore has been pushed into a super utility role. As the top asset on the Cubs’ bench, he’ll play backup roles at third base, second base, and in the outfield. His ability to fill multiple roles will ensure that he gets a good amount of playing time. And, of course, if injury hits, he’ll slide back into the starting lineup on an every day basis.

Maddy Dickens of Sports Illustrated expects Shaw to have such a prominent role off the Cubs bench that she’s named him one of the Cubs’ X-Factors for the coming season:

“…His bat got increasingly better in the second half of 2025, going from an average of below .200 to .258.

His batting average wasn’t the only part of his slash line that got better. His on-base percentage went from .276 to .317, but most impressively, his slugging percentage catapulted from .280 to .522.”

Value in versatility

Defensively, Shaw was surprisingly adept at third base last season and was actually named a finalist for the Gold Glove at his position. Chicago is expecting him to apply that same defensive diligence to multiple positions now.

“He’s not someone that you need to worry about being professional or motivated or driven or working on his game,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner told reporters. “He’s a very driven young player. You look at how many great players at some point earlier in their career were bouncing around between positions, it’s just the reality of being a part of a really strong roster.

“I think this time of year we always try to project the perfect rotation and lineup and things like that, but we all know that’s not the reality of 162, and he’s going to be a very valuable part of our team this year.”

A happy, productive Shaw would most definitely be a major plus for a team aiming to make a deep postseason run. It would allow Chicago to rest some of its starters over the course of the season to stay relatively fresh come playoff time– a luxury they didn’t have last season with a bench that faltered.

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The Chicago Cubs walked into spring training confident about their starting rotation and enjoying the kind of depth that lets a team focus more closely on other issues.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Offseason pickup gives Cubs the ultimate vote of confidence

That sense of security, however, may be slipping away as the team gets closer to their March 26 Opening Day.

Shota Imanaga has been getting touched up this spring, despite a boost in velocity and general good health. Swingman Jordan Wicks, who some projected to have a backup role on the staff, is now on the shelf with nerve irritation in his throwing arm.

Add Jameson Taillon’s state of being to those concerns.

Taillon’s stats in his start for Team Canada on Sunday looked decent. He allowed one run in 3.2 innings pitched while striking out three. But he appeared to be fortunate to get out of jams against Panama and his 90.8 mph fastball average was concerning.

Jameson Taillon’s alarmingly bad spring

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All of this is especially troubling when this spring is assessed in its totality. So far, in three Cactus League appearances, the veteran, who will become a free agent at the end of this 2026 season, has allowed 13 earned runs, 6 home runs, and 13 hits in 6 innings.

“He’s not pitching well right now,” Counsell told media after the 34-year-old’s March 2 outing. “But it’s also his third start of the spring.”

“A fly-ball pitcher is going to be a fly-ball pitcher; we’re not going to change that,” Counsell added. “This is spring training. Taillon’s going to start games for us. We’re always working with every guy to get better and improve. We do have to accept that these games are a different status than the games of the regular season and just move forward.”

And, yes, it IS just spring training. But there always has to be concern when a veteran, headed into his tenth year as a major-leaguer, starts losing velocity and begins to get hit hard (and frequently).

Cubs rotation depth tested

Combined with Imanaga’s struggles and Wicks’ injury, there now seems to be some very early strain on the Cubs’ rotation depth, a little more than two weeks away from the start of the season.

Barring injury, Chicago will still make Opening Day with the same projected 5-man rotation of Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Taillon, and Imanaga and with the same rotation reserves (Colin Rea, Javier Assad, and Ben Brown). Justin Steele is also due back from elbow surgery by mid-season.

But with two of the core veterans– Taillon and Imanaga– struggling and injury/durability issues sprinkled throughout the rotation, the Cubs’ starting pitching depth suddenly doesn’t seem to offer that much of a cushion.

Taillon will get every chance to turn things around. He was a key component to the Cubs’ rotation last year, especially in the postseason, and his steady veteran presence will be needed this season as well.

For now, the Cubs move forward and hope for the best.

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The Chicago Cubs’ depth in the area of starting pitching has been well documented. If everyone stays healthy and performs up to expectations– and that’s a big “if’ – they could be carrying as many as 10 possible big league starters on their roster.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Shota Imanaga still getting crushed, despite velocity boost

Right now, the rotation seems to be Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, and Shota Imanaga. At some point, by mid-season, ace Justin Steele should be fully back from elbow surgery and ready for a spot. That would give the Cubs six capable starters, plus Colin Rea, Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks, and Javier Assad in reserve.

As things are currently playing out, though, the 28-year-old Assad may have complicated that plan.

Assad is killing it this spring

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Assad, following an injury-marred 2025 that kept him off the big league roster until August 12, is healthy and killing it this spring. He’s thrown 4.1 impressive, scoreless innings in Cactus League play and most recently pitched 3.2 scoreless innings in a start for Team Mexico against Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic.

The native of Tijuana has been an overlook asset for the Cubs, often relegated to being an afterthought in the team’s starting rotation plans. He’s been consistently successful, though, posting a 3.43 ERA over 4 years and 331 innings as both a starter and reliever.

Many feel that Assad may begin the 2026 season at Triple-A Iowa, only because he’s one of the few Cubs pitchers with minor league options remaining. He’s been so sharp this spring, however, that he may force his way on to the big league Opening Day roster.

Some might say that he’s also making a serious bid for a rotation spot.

Complicating the Cubs’ Plan A

“You don’t know what’s going to happen right now,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters. “You’ve got Plan A. It’s, ‘How long can you be on Plan A?’ At some point, you’re going to have to go to a different plan. That’s why more than the [13 MLB pitchers] is really important. And then, just how we handle building out the team, that’s not set in stone by any means.”

There still seems to be some reluctance to give Assad a full-on starter gig. The reason for that is probably tied to underlying metrics and what those numbers say about a pitcher who is clearly not an overpowering thoroughbred stud.

But if he keeps succeeding, there HAS to be a spot for him. And there’s enough history behind him to suggest that his past successes were not flukes.

“Somebody like Javy, the point is, you don’t try to figure out where they fit,” Counsell said on Saturday. “We don’t have to do that. At some point, we’re going to need Javy’s outs. When, is probably the question. But we want him pitching well and obviously he’s shown the ability to get big league hitters out and at a pretty high level.”

At some point, the Cubs will need Assad and what he brings to the team. The only question seems to be how long before he gets the spot he’s earned.

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The Chicago Cubs went through a bit of a contractual tussle with pitcher Shota Imanaga this past offseason, with each side declining options before finally settling on a one-year $22 million qualifying offer deal.

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The misgivings and doubts on the Cubs’ side seemed to be based on a rough 2025 that, while statistically solid (9-8, 3.73 ERA over 25 starts and 144.2 innings), saw significant decline in the Japanese lefty’s effectiveness.

Imanaga’s comeback from bad 2025 finish

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Hampered by an early-May hamstring injury, the first lower-body injury of his career, Imanaga struggled to get back on track upon return. By the end of the season, he was getting hit hard, giving up 20 of his 31 home runs in his final 12 starts and posting a 6.51 ERA in the month of September. An 8.10 ERA in his two abbreviated postseason starts caused manager Craig Counsell to relegate him to a playoff bench spot.

This offseason, though, Imanaga has worked on conditioning and technique and came into spring training, literally, throwing faster than ever. His average fastball velocity is riding at 92.8 mph, up from 90.8 mph last year and even up from his 91.7 mph average in his stellar 2024 rookie season.

Unfortunately, he’s still getting hit hard.

Still getting hit hard

In Saturday’s game against the A’s at Sloan park, despite boosted velocity that touched 95.1 mph at one point, Imanaga gave up 5 hits and 3 earned runs in 3.2 innings pitched, allowing one home run. This spring, in total, he’s posted a 6.48 ERA over 3 appearances and has given up 4 home runs in 8.1 innings.

Right now, nobody seems to be in panic mode. There will always be the reasoning that this is still spring training and that Imanaga, specifically, is in a mode where he’s working on health, conditioning, and overall feel more than stats and on-field outcomes.

But it has to be in the back of everyone’s mind– what if 2026 Imanaga is the same as late-2025 Imanaga?

In that case, the Cubs would have to dip into their starting pitching reserves (Colin Rea, Javier Assad, Ben Brown) and/or wait on Justin Steele to get back in full swing.

For now, though, Chicago seems focused on the positive and on the fact that their southpaw starter is feeling good and that his velocity shows it.

“First of all, it gives him a ton of confidence,” Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy told media. “What he felt at the end of the year last year was he just couldn’t do what he was trying to do, physically… So one big goal for him this offseason was just getting stronger, getting back to that lower-body delivery that he knew he could get to.”

Soon enough, we’ll get the full feel for where Imanaga’s at and what needs to be done down the line.

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The Chicago Cubs had declared that pitching would be their primary focus this offseason. They weren’t lying, although the nice detour to free agent Alex Bregman was greatly appreciated.

More News: Chicago Cubs manager marvels at surprise 20-year-old prospect: “Wow”

The front office restocked a depleted bullpen with four free agent signings and the re-signing of Caleb Thielbar.

They also pulled the trigger on the big trade to acquire emerging powerhouse starter Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins and bit the bullet to retain Shota Imanaga for one more season via $22 million qualifying offer.

Flying under the radar a bit, though, was their move to stockpile quality arms via minor league deals and fringe roster additions. During the offseason, the Cubs added a mini legion of pitchers with the potential of rebounding into major league assets and will likely sit on most as a reserve for when they might need pitching help.

One of those among the stockpile is Kyle Wright.

A 21-game winner opts for minor Cubs spot

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The 30-year-old was once a well-regarded prospect who had finally managed to breakthrough to big league success in 2022 with the Atlanta Braves, posting a 21-5 record and a 3.19 ERA in 30 starts. Subsequent injuries, though, ruined his career momentum and ultimately led to him becoming an unheralded free agent trying to come back after two full seasons away from the majors.

Despite his status as a down-on-his-luck pitcher looking to come back from shoulder surgery, he still had options. Teams wanted him. There was the possibility that he’d even find a spot on someone’s 26-man roster come Opening Day.

Instead, he chose to sign a minor league deal with the Cubs– a team with an overflow of starting pitching and little discernible path to a major league roster spot. He picked the Cubs because he believed they offered him the best opportunity to get his pitching mojo back, even if it came at the Triple-A level.

Wright saw Cubs as the perfect fit, even if it’s at Triple-A

“I knew there was crazy competition in this locker room and maybe I could have signed somewhere else and had a better opportunity out of the gate, but for me it’s about how do we get back healthy and if I get back healthy then everything’s going to take care of itself,” Wright told The Chicago Tribune. “Because I know that I’m capable, I’ve got to get there first. So I knew they weren’t going to rush me. They were going to put the best plan in place to get me back to my previous self.”’

Chicago’s overstuffed pitching staff meant that Wright could take his time and immerse himself in the work of a coaching staff renowned for its ability to breathe new life into struggling major league arms.

Wright has opt-outs built into his Cubs contract– one that would allow him to leave after spring training– but it’s believed that he will stay on and be sent to continue his comeback in Iowa.

The Cubs’ best recruiting tool

The Cubs’ recent successes with the likes of Brad Keller and Drew Pomeranz have not gone unnoticed and the organization’s positive reputation is working as a recruiting tool to attract quality arms in search of a second big league chance.

Shortstop Dansby Swanson recently commented on this dynamic in an interview with the Foul Territory podcast.

“Understanding how to get the most out of guys…I think you’ve really seen that on the pitching side, which has been its own recruiting tool,” Swanson said. “Just guys that have been able to come back from some injuries or from a year or two of what they feel like is a subpar performance and being able to find themselves again and make some money from it. I think that’s a recruiting tool of its own…Just guys getting better coming to Chicago.

For the Cubs, a guy like Wright is money in the bank for possible use later on in the season. It’s also pretty smart to keep promising starters with a history of prior big league success close to the team with pitchers Jameson Taillon and Imanaga due to be free agents at the end of the season and Matthew Boyd staring down a mutual option for 2027.

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The Chicago Cubs are focused on winning big this year and would seemingly have all the horses in place right now to do that. But they still have an eye on the future…and that future is making some big noise in spring training.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Dansby Swanson is killing the ball after rewired hitting approach

20-year-old shortstop Jefferson Rojas has been turning heads as their youngest non-roster invitee– and absolutely killing the ball in the process.

On Wednesday, the kid from the Dominican Republic crushed a 438-foot home run against the Milwaukee Brewers that left everyone in awe. So far, this spring, he’s hitting .318 with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs in 24 plate appearances.

Rojas is no stranger to being the youngest player on the field. Since being signed as a 16-year-old, he’s been steadily moved up the Cubs’ farm system, ahead of schedule, because of his advanced hitting prowess. He’s now, once again, playing up to the level of his older, more mature teammates– only this time at the major league/spring training level.

Jefferson Rojas is killing it

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“Jefferson’s made a great impression,” manager Craig Counsell told media. “Just being able to see Jefferson two years ago, and where we’re at right now — wow…We’ve got a good offensive player here that’s going to impact the baseball and do some damage. He’s going to be a dangerous hitter.”

Cubs 2025 breakthrough pitcher Cade Horton has faced Rojas seven times in the minors and Rojas has homered three times off him.

“He’s really skilled for his age, and just really mature for his age,” Horton told the Chicago Sun-Times. “So I’m happy to have him on our team.”

Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly is similarly in awe of Rojas’ development. He previously marveled at the young talent’s raw ability, but is now seeing some real maturity built off of solid hard work. As a matter of fact, he recently commented to the Chicago Sun-Times that he had to double check Rojas’ age when he saw how well he was performing.

“A lot of the work that he’s done down in the minor leagues is getting into his legs and using his lower half and creating a little bit of posture,” Kelly said. “So, his swing path is really cleaned up, and just the overall efficiency of his swing, where it is right now, is generating some output. He’s hitting the ball really hard — much harder than what I thought or expected from him, especially in a major-league camp at 20 years old.”

On a quick rise to the majors?

Rojas, the Cubs’ no. 5 prospect per MLB.com, just started his Double-A run with Knoxville at the end of last season, so there’s some time to go before fans might see him at Wrigley. He also had some struggles as he moved up.

But those concerns are offset by how great he’s looked this spring as he’s worked alongside major leaguers and high-level prospects.

Scouting reports show that his “average” defensive ability at shortstop may mean that second base could likely be his spot when/if he makes his way to the majors. But Rojas is where he is because of his bat and his big league hopes will ride or die based on how well he hits at Double-A and above.

For now, though, the kid has impressed and he’s definitely leaving his mark in the minds of Cubs coaches.

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The Chicago Cubs have no questions at shortstop. Their guy, barring any sort of unforeseen injury, is Dansby Swanson. They knew this was going to be the case when they signed him to a 7-year, $177 million deal prior to the 2023 season.

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And Swanson has been remarkably consistent as a Cub, even while dealing with injuries and general big league wear and tear. While defensively stellar, the veteran has been a league-average hitter in his 3-year Chicago run at right around the .240 mark. Last season, his power numbers were up a bit as he hit 24 home runs.

But, all in all, the 32-year-old has not been happy with his offensive production with the Cubs. That’s why he set about doing something different this offseason.

A new, natural approach to hitting

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Rather than focusing and fixating on perceived mechanical flaws in his approach at the plate, Swanson has taken a more go-with-the-flow offseason hitting strategy, focusing on movement and athleticism rather than hyper-focused drills.

The logic is sound. On defense, he moves with grace and fluidity, improvising on the fly and relying on his agility and instincts to get the job done. He’s aiming to apply that same mindset to his hitting.

“He doesn’t think about any mechanics on defense,” Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly told the Chicago Sun-Times. “It’s just a natural rhythm and flow. So we’re trying to bring some of that into his cage work.

So far, the approach has paid off. In limited spring training work, Swanson has an OPS of 1.600. On Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he pulled a single to left and then hit an opposite field home run to right.

It’s still far too early to judge his offseason switch-up a real success, but there’s nothing but good feelings about it right now.

“I just hit”

“That’s kind of the point that I’d gotten to, was, ‘You know what, I don’t really need a drill anymore,’ ” Swanson told the Sun-Times. “I need to get back to moving naturally, being a good athlete. The seesaw had gone too far in one direction, and it needed to reverse course a little bit.”

“I just hit,” he would add. “As silly as that sounds, I just hit.”

“We get into ruts in how we practice,” manager Craig Counsell commented. “And I think what Dansby’s saying is, he got into a little rut of how he was practicing his hitting and took some ownership of it and wanted to change from it. And I think it’s a positive change.”

The 2026 Cubs need Swanson to be his usual reliable self– with Gold Glove-level defense and streaks of power and offensive production– but would be ecstatic if he could give even more with the bat on a consistent basis. The team is under pressure to make a deep playoff run this year and Swanson’s leadership by example would help them get over several humps.

Beyond 2026, too, Swanson will be an important piece of the puzzle as one of the few players guaranteed to stay on the team after several core elements become free agency-eligible at the end of the season.

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The Chicago Cubs know that no. 1 ranked prospect Moises Ballesteros can hit. The experts and analysts almost universally agree that the kid’s bat will carry over into major league play.

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The 22-year-old, after all, has risen through the Cubs’ farm system– winning Cubs Minor League Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024– on the weight of his bat, alone. He’s also expected to make the Opening Day major league roster as a bat-first prospect, playing a role as the team’s primary DH.

Last season, in a small sample size of 66 regular season plate appearances sprinkled out over three call-ups, the lefty slashed .298/.394/.474. In the month of September, he really turned heads with a .333 batting average and a .435 OBP, essentially providing the offense an injured Kyle Tucker couldn’t deliver, often placed in the middle of the Cubs lineup.

The question with Ballesteros, though, is defense.

Ballesteros as a catcher: So far, so good

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A catcher by designation, with experience at first base, his defense has lagged far behind his offense. It’s been an aspect to his game that he’s worked on diligently, even trimming as much as 20 lbs. off his squat frame to help with his agility and speed.

On this 2026 Cubs team, where versatility is highly prioritized, Ballesteros will be asked to play the field, at the very least as a third catcher behind Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya and as a backup first baseman behind Michael Busch. So, there’s an added emphasis this spring in getting the young talent some extra time behind the plate.

And…so far, so good.

While catching Edward Cabrera in Wednesday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Venezuelan made three successful ABS challenges, turning three balls into three strikes.

Ballesteros’ keen eye and feel for the strike zone did not go unnoticed.

“I was shocked [at the successful challenges],” Cabrera told reporters after the game, via interpreter. “Having a catcher who sees the zone that well gives me a lot of confidence, especially in tight counts. He did a great job guiding me through those innings.”

“It motivates me to prove people wrong”

By all accounts, Ballesteros is a hard worker and a positive, goal-oriented young man. He’s made it clear that working on his catching is a priority this spring.

“It motivates me to prove people wrong — to prove that I am a good catcher and not just a hitter,” Ballesteros told Cubs beat writer Bruce Levine.

Chicago’s coaching staff doesn’t doubt that he’ll work his way into being the catcher they expect him to be.

“Experience catching is a real goal for him and in the drill work exposure to good players, that was the goal,” manager Craig Counsell told The Chicago Tribune. “He’s not a finished product catching so we just want him to keep taking strides, and a lot of it’s just receiving work, receiving work, receiving work…He has very good instincts for the game so that part of it he’s very capable, it’s not a development goal. That part he will be very good at.”

If his bat turns out to be as good as projected over a full season, he may not need to be a stellar defensive catcher. But the goal will always be to develop a prospect into the best possible player he can be.

In Ballesteros’ case, anything above and beyond his hitting will be an absolute plus.

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The Chicago Cubs made huge headlines in the offseason prior to the 2025 season when they traded for Houston Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker. In return for just one guaranteed year of the free agency-bound All-Star, they would send over their no. 1 draft pick Cam Smith, third baseman Isaac Paredes, and pitcher Heyden Wesneski.

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It was a definite gamble, but one that, arguably, paid off as Tucker started the season as a lineup linchpin helping to motor an overwhelming Cubs offense to early dibs on a playoff spot.

But things also got really bad for the new Cub.

Kyle Tucker fell out of favor in Chicago

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From July 1 through the rest of the regular season, Tucker went into a career-worst extended slump, hitting a measly .225 with just 5 home runs and 21 RBIs. Things got so bad that the mega-loyal and mega-patient Wrigley Field faithful began raining boos on Tucker for what was perceived as a lack of fire.

By the end of his run in Chicago, fans stopped demanding an extension to keep him with the team and were, instead, eyeing life beyond Tucker.

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, in a recent interview on “The Show” podcast, talked about the mutual decision to part ways with Tucker this past offseason.

“As we thought about everything– the fit, the resources, what other things we needed to do with our roster– it made sense for both sides to go in a different direction,” Hoyer said. “It was a good one year with him…When we were at our best, was when he was at his best in the first half…I’ve got nothing but good feelings about Kyle and I wish him luck.”

Parting ways worked out for everyone

Tucker, of course, would go on to sign an insane 4-year, $240 million Dodgers-style deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, loaded with bonus money and deferred payments.

The Cubs, meanwhile, signed three-time All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman to a 5-year, $175 million contract. Looking at the big picture, Chicago was able to grab Bregman and at least two or three of their new free agent relievers for what it would’ve cost to keep Tucker.

All in all, this has to be seen as a winning swap for the Cubs.

Bregman brings a good bat, stellar defense, and, most importantly, the kind of team leadership and motivational fire lacking in the more reserved Tucker. In a lot of ways, Bregman is the kind of player the Cubs hoped to be getting in Tucker last season.

Everybody seems to be happy with the parting of ways.

“He landed an incredible deal in LA and we feel good about where we are right now as a team,” Hoyer commented. “It worked out.”

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The Chicago Cubs had been angling to acquire righty powerhouse pitcher Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins since the end of the 2024 season. They finally pulled the trigger this offseason.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Seiya Suzuki predicted to sign 4-year extension, have monster 2026

They paid a steep price for the 27-year-old starter, giving up no. 1 prospect OF Owen Caissie, no. 11 prospect INF Cristian Hernandez, and 19-year-old talent INF Edgardo De Leon. But, in return, the Cubs got a tremendous emerging talent who will be under contract through 2028.

The native of the Dominican Republic also brings a swing-and-miss power game that last year’s rotation lacked.

“I felt like we had a very contact oriented pitching staff,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said in a recent interview on “The Show” podcast. “Our defense helps that, but, you know, we don’t have that kind of stuff in our rotation other than Cade Horton. So he fit that well. Our pitching guys have long be enamored with him and getting a chance to work with him. And it’s three years of control. I think that was a significant factor. His age and the control”

Cabrera is a whiff machine

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Cabrera’s ability to generate swings and misses was on full display in his scoreless spring training appearance against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday when Sal Frelick was juked out of his helmet waving haplessly at a killer changeup.

“Cabrera is a nasty guy,” catcher Moises Ballesteros commented after the game at American Family Fields of Phoenix. “Every pitch is nasty…[the changeup is] REALLY nasty.”

Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic crunched the numbers and laid out the facts regarding just how dominant the new Cub can be:

“Among eligible starters, his curveball got the highest whiff rate in baseball (45.2 percent). By Statcast’s RunValue metric, it was the third most valuable curveball. By the same RunValue metric, his changeup — a very unique offering that averages 94.2 mph and that he often uses to both righties and lefties — is 15th in baseball.”

Cabrera’s changeup has been getting all the raves this spring, but he really is a complete package, drawing comparisons from Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy to former Cub Yu Darvish.

The injury issue

The concern with Cabrera, though, is injury. He was on the IL twice last season and has had shoulder and elbow issues throughout his young career. Last season was the first time he pitched more than 100 innings as a major leaguer.

Still, through injury, the young talent was able to shine (8-7, 3.53 ERA with 150 strikeouts in 137.2 innings over 26 starts) and affirm his reputation as an emerging talent on the cusp of breaking through to next-level success.

The Cubs have plenty of depth in their rotation, which would allow them to avoid putting too much stress and strain on Cabrera this season. Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Jameson Taillon, and Shota Imanaga are slated into the mix around Cabrera. They have ace Justin Steele returning from elbow surgery at some point in the first half of the season. They also have capable swingmen in Colin Rea, Javier Assad, and Ben Brown as rotation backup.

Cabrera just has to do what he was built to do and prove that the Cubs’ long-standing interest in him was warranted.

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The Chicago Cubs could be accused of having given Seiya Suzuki a bit of the runaround last season.

More News: Chicago Cubs: How does PCA rank among MLB Best? ESPN has an interesting take

For the second straight year, they pulled him from his right field spot for what they felt was a better defender, opting to go with new acquisition Kyle Tucker in the field.

There was some grumbling early on from the Japanese star and some buzz about possibly being traded over his discontent as a full-time DH.

But, to his credit, Suzuki overcame his wounded pride and had a banner year at the plate, hitting 32 home runs and driving in 103 runs. He also did an outstanding job back in right field through the last part of the season and the playoffs, taking the spot of the injured Tucker and contributing with big power and big production.

Heading into 2026, the Cubs face the reality that Suzuki will be eligible for free agency at the end of the season. However, with so many of their core assets also potentially headed to free agency at the same time (Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga, etc.), there’s some reasonable doubt when it comes to whether Chicago will move to re-sign him.

Cubs predicted to extend Seiya Suzuki

More News: Chicago Cubs: Debate rages on where/how to use incoming no. 1 prospect

But in ESPN’s ranking of the Top 100 players in baseball (where Suzuki ranks no. 92), writer Eric Karabell is predicting that Suzuki will be the recipient of a four-year extension early in the season. He’s also making the call that the right-hander will respond with a huge year.

Per Karabell:

“Suzuki agrees to a new four-year contract in April, earns his first All-Star berth and tops his power numbers with 35 homers and 110 RBIs.”

Too optimistic?

That’s certainly an optimistic take on his immediate future. With left fielder Happ also in the same position as Suzuki, many believe that the Cubs will only be able to re-sign one of their corner outfielders. And while the Japanese star has a greater offensive upside than Happ, Happ has proven himself to be the more consistent performer, both on offense and defense.

“I’m not sure,” Suzuki recently told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, via interpreter, regarding his future with the Cubs. “It depends on my performance. If I perform well, I want to stay. I feel like I still haven’t put up the numbers that people are expecting me to. It comes down to how I perform.”

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has been vocal about Suzuki’s ups and downs, but also the importance of his bat in the lineup, especially last season.

“It came with some really high highs and some really low lows,” Hoyer told Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. “I was really happy for him in the way it ended. He was so dangerous for us at the end of the season and so dangerous in the postseason. That was something that was really important to him. He’s a really, really good middle of the order hitter.”

So, consider ESPN’s prediction as a best case scenario for all involved. In the real world right now, though, everything is still very much up in the air.

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Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong had a roller coaster year last season.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Debate rages on where/how to use incoming no. 1 prospect

The “ups” were really up. At the All-Star break, he had 25 home runs, 71 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases – all while playing spectacular defense.

After making his first All-Star game (and as a starter), “PCA” experienced his “downs.” The rest of the way, he managed just 6 home runs, 24 RBIs, and 8 stolen bases, although his defense remained stellar.

It only stands to reason, then, that the experts don’t quite know what to make of the young star and can’t really wrap their heads around just how good he may turn out to be.

ESPN displayed that PCA confusion in their recent ranking of MLB’s top 100 players, where they placed the 23-year-old no. 22.

PCA’s ranking on ESPN Top 100 sparks debate

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The placement would make him the no. 8 outfielder in all of baseball and the no. 2 center fielder, behind the Seattle Mariners’ Julio Rodriguez

Per ESPN’s Jesse Rogers:

“The baseball world is wondering who the real PCA is. The easy answer is he’s somewhere between who he was in the first and second half of last season. Vowing to get on more this season, he will steal 50 bases and hit 20 home runs.”

Hitting 20 home runs and stealing 50 bases would make him an elite-tier asset, especially when one considers what he brings to the field defensively. There’s definitely an argument to be made, though, that he has a higher ceiling than that.

Crow-Armstrong has anguished over the poor finish to his sophomore 2025 season and is working on the mechanical and psychological tweaks needed to produce a more consistent 2026.

Working on 2026

“It’s definitely the swing decisions,” Crow-Armstrong recently told The Athletic. “I know what I do well. I know what I don’t do well. I know that I chase. I know I can get away with hitting bad balls and doing damage on bad balls, but there is no consistency there. It’s very sporadic.”

Calming down and avoiding the urge to press will be key to his success. That may come with maturity and continued experience.

For what it’s worth, new Cub Alex Bregman has been observing and is predicting good things for the coming season, telling PCA directly that he can see how the improvements will lead to less chasing of bad pitches.

“He’s so good already,” Bregman later told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. “And he has so much potential. I think he’s going to have the best year of his career this year, for sure.”

To be fair, it’s actually quite impressive that Crow-Armstrong would be ranked as high as no. 22 after such an uneven season that trended downward as the year advanced. It’s a testament to just how much faith experts and analysts have in his abilities.

Other Cubs making ESPN’s Top 100: Nico Hoerner (55), Alex Bregman (61), Dansby Swanson (82), Michael Busch (86), Seiya Suzuki (92).

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The Chicago Cubs seem pretty much set when it comes to their starting, non-pitching roster. But if there’s one minor area of debate and uncertainty, it lies with the every day designated hitter spot.

More News: Chicago Cubs no. 1 draft pick gets sky-high vote of confidence

As of right now, it appears that the Cubs’ top ranked prospect Moises Ballesteros is being targeted as the man for that job.

And, really, why wouldn’t he be?

Moises Ballesteros is a hitting savant

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The 22-year-old lefty has been a hitting savant throughout his run in the Cubs farm system, carried through each level of the organization on the weight of his bat alone. He was Chicago’s Minor League Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024, again, carried there entirely by his bit.

Last season, in a small sample size of 66 regular season plate appearances over three separate call-ups, he slashed .298/.394/.474. Down the stretch, he turned a lot of heads, hitting .333 (with a .435 OBP) in the month of September, offsetting the loss of Kyle Tucker, usually working from the middle of the lineup.

But Ballesteros IS a rookie with much more modest success against left-handed pitching. He also has defensive issues, probably with a ceiling of “adequate” at catcher and first base if used sparingly.

All of that leads to the questions of where and how to use the young hitter.

Where will he hit in the Cubs lineup?

In terms of his placement in the lineup, most everyone agrees that he will get every opportunity to click at DH. There is a difference of opinion, however, in where to place him in the order.

Cubs beat writer Bruce Levine, in a recent appearance on “Mully and Haugh” on 104.3 The Score, feels that Chicago will stick him right into the heart of the lineup:

“If you’re not paying attention to Moises Ballesteros and him batting third or fourth in that lineup this year, then you’re not paying attention…I would say right in the middle, between 3 and 5…This is a guy who is, potentially, one of the top young hitters in the National League…”

David Haugh, co-host of “Mully and Haugh” disagreed with Levine:

“I have high hopes for the kid, too, but third our fourth on a playoff team…I don’t know. That’s expecting a lot…I don’t know why he would bat higher the seventh.”

Haugh’s reasoning is solid. With so many more proven bats in the lineup, why would they feature a rookie in such a prominent spot?

However, there’s also an argument to be made for aiding Ballesteros’ progression by sticking him between established players to ensure he gets more good pitches to hit.

Cubs have confidence in top prospect

Whatever the case, the Cubs seem confident in the young star and are pointing to last year’s successes as proof positive of his “realness.”

“We kind of asked a lot of him,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told media during January’s Cubs Convention. “You saw where he was hitting in the lineup at times. I think that is a sign of a lot of confidence in a young hitter. He showed us a lot.”

As for where he might play defensively, the answer may be that he won’t be playing much in the field.

Positioned as the third catcher on the team and the second or third first baseman, he’ll likely be used exclusively as an emergency fill-in or as an in-game replacement for games that are out of reach.

Among experts and analysts, there’s a lot of excitement surrounding Ballesteros and it’ll be interesting to see how this season shapes up for him.

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The Chicago Cubs feel that they got quite the bargain in the 2025 draft when they signed outfielder Ethan Conrad with their 17th pick.

More News: Chicago Cubs Opening Day roster projection features a pair of shockers

The talented prospect was expected to go earlier in the first round, likely in the top 10 or even sooner, but an injury to his throwing shoulder in his final season of NCAA ball that year and subsequent surgery somewhat cooled down interest.

The Cubs, though, happily picked up the multi-tool 21-year-old when it came their time to pick.

And now, fully recovered from injury, without even a single game played in the minors, he’s being listed as the no. 3 prospect in the Cubs organization in the updated 2026 top 30 prospect rankings.

Ethan Conrad was a draft day steal at no. 17

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“We felt he’s somebody that, had he played out the entire season, would have been considered in the top 10,” Cubs vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz said at the time of the draft. “A pretty exceptional value in terms of getting him at 17.”

“He’s somebody that can turn a double into a triple with his speed, and I think he’s somebody that is gonna be able to put pressure on the defense in a number of different ways,” Kantrovitz continued. “His decision-making, his ability to make contact, his ability to hit for damage — all three of those pillars are there, and we think that he’s just getting better across the board.”

Many experts agree on Conrad’s projected major league ability and on the upside he carries with him. Despite zero experience at the pro level, the 6-foot-3 blue-chipper recently received some votes in Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects list.

A “five-tool” star

“Ethan is a five-tool player, who is a gamer,” Conrad’s head coach at Wake Forest Tom Walter said, shortly after the draft. “This is a great pick by the Chicago Cubs. Ethan will be a guy who will play in the big leagues for a long time and is a potential All-Star. His bat-to-ball skills are elite and he is just scratching the surface of his power potential.”

On the Cubs’ prospects list, only DH/C Moises Ballesteros and RHP Jaxon Wiggins rank above him at no. 1 and no. 2, respectively. Ballesteros is expected to make the big league Opening Day roster and Wiggins will be at Triple-A Iowa, expected to possibly see some major league time this season in Chicago.

Conrad, meanwhile, has been given a 2028 estimated time of major league arrival.

Last summer, the no. 1 draft pick visited Wrigley Field and had his first interaction with Cubs manager Craig Counsell. He left the introduction inspired and eager to get down to the business of playing baseball.

“It was awesome,” Conrad said during a broadcast both appearance during the game. “Just being able to meet him was really cool. We were just talking about playing baseball every single day and how you’ve got to be grateful for it. It’s hard, but just embracing it. That’s probably the biggest thing. I’m just excited to get to work, for sure.”

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The Chicago Cubs currently have few question marks en route to Opening Day. Unless something shocking happens from now until the end of spring training, all eight starting position spots are settled, the starting rotation is set, and the bullpen, for the most part, is pretty locked in.

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However, there’s still some debate brewing over the final couple of additions on the 26-man roster ahead of March 26.

With new backup first baseman Tyler Austin out for months with a leg injury, there are now questions about who will round out the Cubs’ bench.

A surprising 2026 Opening Day roster prediction

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The Locked on Cubs podcast recently made their own Opening Day roster projection and slotted in a pair of outfielders for the final two spots on the team– Michael Conforto and Dylan Carlson.

Both free agents were picked up this offseason and signed to minor league deals and both are coming off horrible MLB stretches.

The 33-year-old Conforto’s fall from grace was more prodigious than Carlson’s. The veteran outfielder went from being a $17 million free agent Los Angeles Dodgers signee with a decent body of work behind him to a pretty undesirable castoff on the weight of a 2025 where he hit .199 in 486 plate appearances for a Dodgers fan base that was absolutely seething with anger over his lack of production.

Underlying metrics, though, make the case that the 10-year major leaguer could possibly be due for a rebound year. Even in a career-worst 2025, he hit the ball hard and had a top-tier walk rate. At the very least, signing him to a minor league deal as a potential fourth outfielder was a low-risk gamble.

Carlson is even more of a shot in the dark for Chicago, but there’s also a case to be made that the 27-year-old switch-hitting outfielder was a low-risk move with a decent upside.

Per Matt Polites of Locked on Cubs:

“He’s had a couple of down seasons, but if you look back to 202…he had a WAR over 3. So, he could see some kind of return to form there. A good switch-hitting bat in the outfield. He could play all three spots”

An outfield-heavy roster?

The real surprise from the Locked on Cubs roster projection is that they see Chicago carrying five outfielders with Conforto and Carlson slotted in and Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Seiya Suzuki as starters.

There’s been talk of Conforto playing some first base this season and, if true, that would make sense when it comes to him making the Opening Day roster. The Cubs do need a backup to Michael Busch beyond DH/C Moises Ballesteros and C Miguel Amaya. But Conforto has never played the position, not in the majors nor the minors.

For now, predictions are just predictions. There’s a lot more spring to play out and some decisions that still need to be made.

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The Chicago Cubs are heading into the 2026 season with great expectations and a feeling that this year could most definitely be their year. Part of the reason for such optimism is in the fact that their starting rotation is so deep and locked in.

More News: Chicago Cubs are not shoo-ins to win NL Central, according to analysts

Barring some unforeseen surprise, the Cubs will start the season with a rotation of Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, and Shota Imanaga. Then, possibly as early as May or June, Justin Steele should be coming back from last year’s elbow surgery.

That would give the team six viable starters, plus Colin Rea and Javier Assad as capable swingmen who could step in and take a rotation spot for a good period of time.

So, what would Chicago do with six starters (or possibly eight) and only five slots in which to put them?

An unprecedented trade

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Jake Misener of Cubbies Crib predicts that the Cubs could trade one of them away at the trade deadline for whatever they may need to take them comfortably into the postseason.

Per Misener:

“…Nobody is doubting the sheer volume of arms in the mix here. Cabrera and Horton are joined by Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga – as well as Javier Assad, Colin Rea and Ben Brown, not to mention Justin Steele, who is expected to return in May or June.

That math doesn’t math – at least not when everyone is healthy. There could be a deal out there this summer to the Cubs’ liking, maybe to add a bona fide late-inning arm, and seeing Hoyer deal from a position of strength makes a decent amount of sense.”

Dealing from a position of strength

It’s unprecedented for a likely playoff-bound team to trade AWAY a starter at the deadline. However, if the Cubs’ rotation stays healthy and Steele can return to ace-level form, the front office, as Misener says, could cut a deal from a position of strength.

Maybe they’d get a bullpen stud, someone who could add some end-of-game stability and step into a closer or co-closer role. Maybe the acquisition could be a proven power hitter.

Of course, such a deal would probably mean that their trade partners would also see themselves as contenders for postseason play. So, a trade like that would require some boldness from both sides.

But, why not? Imanaga and Taillon are free agency-eligible at the end of the season. Boyd, meanwhile, is staring down a mutual option at the end of 2026 and is not an absolute guarantee to return next year.

In a Cubs-perfect world, the team would still be carrying five starters into August with some solid backup behind them.

First, though, the Cubs have to stay healthy and live up to expectations. If not, any deadline trades would be sell-offs and not roster reinforcement.

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The Chicago Cubs have real reason to believe that they are the favorites to win the NL Central Division. They made a lot of impact moves this offseason and a lot of smaller depth acquisitions that provide ample insurance if/when plans go sideways.

More News: Chicago Cubs feeling good about recent Shota Imanaga developments

The biggest move may have been the signing of free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, who brings veteran leadership, a strong bat, and stellar defense to the team.

Right behind the acquisition of Bregman, in terms of potential impact, was the trade for emerging powerhouse starter Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins.

Then, there was the re-stocking of a depleted bullpen with four free agent relievers (Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Hunter Harvey).

And beyond all of that, Chicago went out of its way to acquire depth pieces at every possible position, but especially in the area of pitching.

So, yes, given their success last season and the moves made this offseason, it’s no mystery why the consensus opinion among fans and experts is that the Cubs will win their division.

But that belief is not universal.

The emerging Reds

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Steve Phillips of MLB Network is giving the Cincinnati Reds a real chance of winning the division this coming season:

“Their starting pitching matches up with anybody… I think the Reds have a real chance to win the NL Central this year. They’re going to be well beyond 78-79 wins.”

This past offseason, the Terry Francona-led Reds acquired free agent slugger Eugenio Suarez, who just happens to be a verifiable Cubs killer. They also made considerable efforts to rebuild their bullpen.

Given their spirited 2025, which led to an NL Wild Card spot, they will be a team to watch in 2026.

The Pirates as dark horse NL Central contenders

Robert Murray of Fansided is fancying the Pittsburgh Pirates as dark horse contenders to upset the Cubs’ hopes:

“Ryan O’Hearn compared them to the 2023 Baltimore Orioles, a group that came out of nowhere to win 101 games and the AL East, and it’s hard not to be impressed by what Pittsburgh is building.

Their pitching staff, headlined by Paul Skenes, speaks for itself. But now they have a credible offense with new additions such as Marcell Ozuna, Brandon Lowe and O’Hearn to pair with Bryan Reynolds, Oneil Cruz and more. Their new manager, Don Kelly, has drawn rave reviews from folks early on. I’m optimistic about what’s to come with the Pirates, and I know I’m not alone there.”

Both the Reds and Pirates are notably improved teams with, seemingly, real hunger heading into the 2026 campaign. The Milwaukee Brewers, however, should also never be counted out, even after trading away pitcher Freddy Peralta and making other high-profile subtractions.

The Cubs, meanwhile, do have some question marks and causes for concern.

Causes for Cubs concern

Chicago’s deep starting rotation, which will carry six viable starters when Justin Steele returns, is also full of health and durability concerns.

Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, and Edward Cabrera have extensive history of injury. Steele is coming off elbow surgery that forced him to miss all of last season. Shota Imanaga was on the shelf with a hamstring injury for nearly 8 weeks in 2025. James Taillon, meanwhile, was on the IL twice last year.

Closer Daniel Palencia is due to resume his game-closing role in 2026. But, for as good as he looked for much of his breakthrough 2025, he looked just as bad down the stretch of the season. He posted an ugly 7.07 ERA in his final 17 regular season appearances, with an IL stint after the first week of September to boot.

There’s also the possibility of regression is some players who had career offensive years last season, such as Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, and Seiya Suzuki.

Despite being the clear favorites to take the NL Central Division, the Cubs may have to scrap and fight their way to the top. People are starting to acknowledge that now.

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The Chicago Cubs had a roller coaster offseason with pitcher Shota Imanaga following Imanaga’s roller coaster 2025 season.

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After a stellar 2024 debut that won him some Rookie of the Year consideration, the Japanese star had an uneven and generally disappointing sophomore year. Despite his overall numbers looking respectable on paper (9-8, 3.73 ERA over 25 starts and 144.2 innings), Imanaga never quite got back on track after an early-May hamstring injury, the first lower-body injury of his career. By the end of the season, he was getting hit hard. He gave up 20 of his 31 home runs in his final 12 starts and posted a 6.51 ERA in the month of September.

In the playoffs, Imanaga really struggled, posting an 8.10 ERA in two shortened outings versus the Padres and Brewers. By the end of the NLDS against Milwaukee, manager Craig Counsell had seemingly lost faith in the lefty and chose to bypass him on his last scheduled start.

The struggles left him feeling down on himself.

Imanaga on 2025 struggles: “I felt ashamed”

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“After we lost, I went to the locker room to clean up,” Imanaga recalled in his podcast, regarding his final poor outing of the postseason. “I thought fans might be harsh because I didn’t perform well in the postseason, but some said ‘Thank you for letting us enjoy this season.’ I felt ashamed I let them down and wished I could have shared the joy of winning with them.”

The rough 2025 led to the Cubs making some tough contract-related decisions regarding the 32-year-old.

Chicago declined their three-year, $57.75 million club option on him, which led to Imanaga declining his $15.25 million player option for 2026. Facing free agency, Imanaga instead accepted the Cubs qualifying offer of $22 million for the 2026 season.

The full-speed comeback

Now, back as a Cub for at least one more season, he’s reportedly fully healthy and focused on reclaiming the mojo he had in his rookie year.

Along with the health and determination, his velocity is reportedly back up and as strong as it’s ever been.

The low-key Counsell called the development “a little bit of a big deal.”

“If you go back on the game logs of Shota, that’s kind of the high end of his velocity in any game log — spring training, regular season,” Counsell told reporters. “That’s always encouraging. It’s a sign that you’re feeling really good. It’s a sign that your offseason went really well. It’s the adjustments you’ve made.”

Imanaga having extra zip on his fastball will make his offspeed pitches more off-putting and difficult to time, a factor that caught hitters off guard in his first MLB season.

Words of inspiration

The former Yokohama DeNA BayStars ace is apparently not hung up on the offseason contractual tussle he had with the Cubs and is, instead, eager to get things back on track and have a productive 2026. He’s giving Counsell a tip of the cap for inspiration in getting back in the right frame of mind.

“(Counsell said) in the first season I punched MLB, and then the second season MLB punched back,” Imanaga told Marquee Sports Network via interpreter. “But he made it simple, all you have to really do is stand back up.

“So looking bat at it, yes, I did get punched in the second year. But, just looking at it, what do I need to do to stand back up? What do I need to do to keep moving forward. So, I think it was a good mindset that he gave me.”

Imanaga is slated to be somewhere in the deep Cubs rotation, among names such as Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, and a soon-to-be-returning Justin Steele.

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The Chicago Cubs gave up a lot to get Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins. In the deal to acquire the right-handed power pitcher, Chicago had to give up their no. 1 prospect Owen Caissie, their no. 11 prospect Cristian Hernandez, and promising 19-year-old Edgardo De Leon.

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The Cubs, however, walked away from the trade with zero remorse. They had tried to get him prior to the 2025 season as well as at the 2025 trade deadline last season, but weren’t willing to pull the trigger. This time, working under the belief that the young talent was on the verge of breaking though to next level success, they did.

Last season, Cabrera had a career year (8-7, 3.53 ERA with 150 strikeouts in 137.2 innings over 26 starts) and many believe there’s still a much higher ceiling for the native of the Dominican Republic, who is under team control through the 2028 season.

Cabrera dazzles in spring debut

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On Friday, the new Cub made his Cactus League debut versus the Cleveland Guardians at Sloan Park and looked absolutely stunning.

In two scoreless, hitless innings pitched, Cabrera struck out three. His fastball averaged an incredible 97 mph for his spring debut.

Per Yahoo! Sports’ account of Cabrera’s outing:

“Cabrera’s best pitch on Friday was his changeup. He induced three whiffs on that pitch alone, which included two swinging strike outs in the second inning. He perfectly placed his changeup at the bottom of the zone to both Gabriel Arias and CJ Kayfus. Both hitters then went down swinging.

It was an impressive spring debut for the new Cubs pitcher. He threw 20 of his 31 pitches for strikes and threw five different pitches in the game (four-seam fastball, changeup, curveball, sinker, and slider). 29% of his pitchers were either whiffs or called strikes.”

“I felt good,” Cabrera told reporters after the outing via translator. “I was trying to get all my pitches in the zone. That was my goal.”

The injury issue

Cubs manager Craig Counsell has been high on Cabrera for quite some time and is focused on keeping the young arm on the right developmental path, something which goes hand in hand with keeping him healthy.

Injuries have been the one knock against Cabrera and the reason some teams reportedly shied away from trading for him. Over the course of his young pro career, the 27-year-old has had numerous health issues, including right shoulder and elbow problems that have limited his output. Last year was the first time he pitched more than 100 innings in the majors and, even then, he spent time on the IL twice, the second time with some concerning UCL/elbow issues.

The Cubs staff is focused on keeping Cabrera healthy with advanced training techniques and common sense workload management, in much the same way they helped the oft-injured Matthew Boyd stay healthy and productive throughout 2025.

“Because he’s had some injuries, he just hasn’t put together the seasons necessarily that kind of make you go, ‘Wow,’” Counsell said after Cabrera’s first outing. “I don’t think there’s a big change that we think needs to happen here. That’s not what the trade was about.

“We just think this is a talented pitcher coming into the right part of his career. The health part of this is a real thing that we have to get right to the best of our ability.”

The Matthew Boyd endorsement

“Edward’s the real deal,” Boyd told reporters. “You’re going to see it.”

“In terms of how to fine-tune your abilities,” Boyd added, “it’s like, ‘OK, here’s how we can optimize where you are in your career health-wise and help you go forward with that.’ All those little things — at least from my experience — were huge for me last year…

“You think, ‘OK, cool, they did that with me. Let’s see what they can do with a stallion.’”

And Cabrera has the ability to be that stallion in the Cubs rotation, adding swing-and-miss power to a starting crew more known for nuance and generating weak contact.

He also brings a definite swagger to the staff.

“With all due respect to everyone here, whenever I step on the mound, I think I’m the best,” Cabrera told the Marquee Sports Network earlier in the spring. “Every time I cross that white line and I get out there and start pitching, I’m the best.”

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The Chicago Cubs made a big splash this offseason when they seemingly came out of nowhere to sign three-time All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman.

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The 5-year, $175 million deal was a departure from standard Cubs operating procedure. It included deferred money, a previous no-no with team ownership. The deal also included a no-trade provision, which, as things would turn it, proved to be a big (and possibly deciding) factor for the former Gold Glover.

Wounded pride was part of Bregman decision

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But there was, apparently, more to Bregman leaving Boston than a little more money (Boston offered a $165 million deal) and the no-trade clause. Pride reportedly played a big role in the veteran’s decision.

“It made Alex a little bit mad they would not move,” former major leaguer (and former Red Sox catcher) A.J. Pierzynski said on a January episode of his “Foul Territory” podcast. “So then the Red Sox were like, ‘OK, take it or leave it.’ They will not budge.”

“Bregman was already one, mad, and two, had a higher offer and the more they tried to stretch it out, the longer and further down the road the deferrals got,” Pierzynski added. “So Bregman’s like, ‘I’m getting more money in a shorter amount of time, I’m going to the Cubs.”

Pierzynski’s account was supported by a recent report by MLB insider Bob Nightengale at USA Today.

“The Red Sox were confident they had the highest bid, and thought they’d (be) bidding against themselves,” Nightingale wrote. “So, basically, it was (a) take-it-or-leave-it offer.

“Bregman left it.”

Animosity towards Red Sox front office?

A terse “If Alex Bregman wanted to be here, ultimately he’d be here” response by Red Sox president Sam Kennedy would pretty much be the only public comment about what many perceive as a costly offseason contract bungling.

Bregman has refused to speak publicly about the precise reason he chose to leave a team and a city he insists were tremendous and will always be a cherished part of his life.

“I just really don’t want to get into it,’’ Bregman told Nightengale. “It’s not worth it.”

But Bregman’s mature approach to what could’ve been an ugly and public war of words doesn’t necessarily mean that he wouldn’t take a subtle jab at his former team.

Bregman and Devers bond in social media post

A recent collage of spring training photos on his verified Instagram account spotlights one particular pic that could be construed as a dig at the Boston front office.

In it, he shows himself happily shaking hands with former Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers, under the caption “Baseball Time.”

Devers, of course, had a very ugly and public falling out with the Boston front office last year after he was moved from third base to accommodate Bregman and asked to play a first base/DH role. The bickering was so nasty that the team traded him to the San Francisco Giants in mid-June.

Bregman showcasing two seemingly disgruntled (or, at the very least, frustrated) former Red Sox stars bonding as happy members of different organizations is probably not a coincidence.

For a guy like Bregman, who is universally regarded as one of the true good guys in the sport, this is about as close to a scathing mic-drop burn as you’re likely to get.

The 31-year-old third baseman will now move on to play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, alongside new teammates Pete Crow-Armstrong and Matthew Boyd, before heading into the 2026 season as a Cub.

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The Chicago Cubs made what they felt was an ideal low-risk acquisition this past offseason when they acquired free agent first baseman Tyler Austin, who could spell starter Michael Busch in games against tough left-handed pitching. Now, that bit of a gamble might go down as a bust.

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On Wednesday, it was announced that the 34-year-old underwent right knee surgery (right patellar tendon debridement procedure) and would be out “months,” per manager Craig Counsell.

Austin, who was coming off a successful six-year run with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Japan’s Pacific League, was signed by the Cubs to be the team’s chief backup at first base and also as a right-handed impact back off the bench. His $1.2 million 2026 contract was contingent upon staying on the major league roster and also featured some incentive bonus money for plate appearances.

A four-year MLB veteran, he’s also spent time with the New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, and Milwaukee Brewers without ever having a clear, defined role as an everyday player.

Austin, Long injuries disrupt first base plans

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His injury puts a strain on the team when it comes to suitable backup to Busch, who had a breakthrough sophomore year in 2025 with 34 home runs 90 RBIs and a .261 batting average, all while playing a near Gold Glove-level first base.

“It’s opportunity for others,” Counsell told media. “I would say he had an inside track [for an Opening Day job], and it’s an option that’s off the table right now. So, it opens up opportunity for others.”

The question, though, is who those “others” might be.

On Saturday, top first base prospect and 2025 Minor League Player of the Year Jonathon Long suffered an elbow strain fielding a thrown ball in a game and will be out for an undisclosed period of time. He’s subsequently been forced to withdraw his participation from the World Baseball Classic as a member of Team Chinese-Taipei.

While Long is expected to be back before the end of spring training, the time lost will slow down his readiness for the season. For a young prospect not really expected to make the big league squad on Opening Day, anyway, this pretty much guarantees that he’ll start the season as a member of the Triple-A Iowa Cubs.

Backup for Michael Busch?

So, what can Chicago do for backup to Busch versus the occasional tough lefty or, in an absolute worst case scenario, in case of injury?

The Cubs are working on that.

On Thursday, Cubs beat reporter Bruce Levine reported that catcher Miguel Amaya will be getting some reps at first base.

“Cubs Miguel Amaya has been taking some infield at first base in case he is needed there,” Levine posted via social media. “Amaya told me he played and practiced the position a lot in the minor leagues.”

The soon-to-be 27-year-old Amaya hasn’t played first base at any point in the majors, but he’s registered 307 innings there over 38 games throughout the minors. Ideally, he could fully fill the role Austin was signed to fill while also maintaining his spot as co-starting catcher alongside Carson Kelly.

Emergency options

Another option for Chicago is rookie Moises Ballesteros, who split time between catcher and first base in the minors, but will likely earn his major league roster spot as a bat-first prospect. Comparatively under-developed defensively at catcher and first base, he may be thrust into a major league role at both positions at some point.

Left fielder Ian Happ also has some very limited first base experience, but hasn’t played the position since 2020.

In a best case scenario, Busch will simply stay healthy while also staying in games against lefties more often. Then, having Amaya and Ballesteros cycle in behind him on occasion won’t represent too much of a downgrade.

But the Cubs are also clearly preparing themselves for the worst.

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The Chicago Cubs are working their way towards Opening Day, 2026 in the unique position of not needing any starting rotation aid (other than continued good health).

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The five designated starters (Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga) are locked into their spots, with ace Justin Steele slated to return to the rotation some time before the All-Star break. Then, behind all of them, there are rotation insurance policies in the form of Colin Rea, Javier Assad, Ben Brown, and Jordan Wicks.

Overall, the Cubs find themselves in a pretty good position when it comes to starting pitching.

And this kind of good position also takes pressure off their top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins, who will be under no added stress to make the big league squad and can be brought along at his own speed.

But this is baseball. Injuries happen. Sometimes prospects get rushed along out of necessity.

Jaxon Wiggins and the Cade Horton path

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Last season, for example, the Cubs’ previous top pitching prospect, Cade Horton, was pushed up into a major league role in May, following the injuries of Steele and Imanaga, after being deemed not yet major league-ready in spring training.

That call-up went spectacularly well as Horton found his footing and became one of the best pitchers in all of baseball from July until his season-ending rib injury in late September. When the dust settled on his 2025, the young arm posted a 2.67 ERA with an 11-4 record in 23 appearances and finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

This year, Wiggins is taking the Horton role in spring training as a not yet big league-ready pitcher with big-time potential. But, seeing how things played out with Horton last season, Wiggins is certainly being eyeballed as a 2026 major league fit.

Horton and Wiggins, little league foes

An interesting sidenote to this Horton-Wiggins tie-in is that the two 24-year-olds, who were both fast-tracked through the minors, are also childhood competitors dating back to their little league days in Oklahoma.

“Jaxon’s always been a guy that’s been so gifted athletically,” Horton told MLB.com. “Electric arm. I remember in Little League, he was the hardest thrower. It was always an elite arm…

“I know what Jaxon’s about…I know the work he puts in and how bad he wants it.”

In Horton, Wiggins has the kind of sympathetic ear that Horton lacked last spring. Horton knows, intimately, everything Wiggins is going through and might go through if he gets the big league call-up.

“It’s all about being where your feet are,” Horton said, referring to advice he may offer to Wiggins. “That really helped me last year — not getting so caught up in the future and what could happen. He’s going to be a big part of this team, and so just being where his feet are is the biggest thing, I think. That allowed me to go out there and play free and not really necessarily worry about things you can’t control.”

High hopes in 2026

Hopes are high for the hard-throwing 6-foot-6 Wiggins. In 2025, across three levels, he posted a 2.19 ERA in 78 innings with 97 total strikeouts. He’s being regarded by many as potentially the last homegrown Cubs starting pitching prospect for a good, long while.

“He made a lot of progress last year,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “To a point where, another step forward, and he’s certainly in the conversation. … He’s just got to get a little more consistent, execute at a little higher level. Be competitive with a bigger percentage of pitches. There’s not necessarily pitch development, in terms of new pitches, that needs to happen. It’s just, harness his stuff.”

Wiggins, himself, doesn’t seem to be overwhelmed by pressure as he works out with the Cubs as a non-roster invitee in Mesa.

“The only goal I have is just to do what I do — try to be the best version of myself,” Wiggins said. “And when that opportunity comes, I want to take advantage of it.”

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Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is most definitely not the only player to feel extreme stress and strain under major league pressure. He may be, however, the most open about it.

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Last season, the emerging superstar had a ton of ups and, unfortunately, a ton of downs.

At the All-Star break, he was killing it and stirring up MVP talk. He had already hit 25 home runs, had stolen 27 bases, and had driven in 71 runs– all while playing dazzlingly spectacular defense.

After making his first All-Star game (and as a starter, to boot), “PCA” fell off considerably. The rest of the way, he managed just 6 home runs, 24 RBIs, and 8 stolen bases, although his defense held steady.

The young talent showed his frustration, too. He flung helmets, kicked dirt, and just looked genuinely anguished over his extended offensive flat-line.

PCA opens up on stress and strain of big league life

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One of the things that makes the soon-to-be 24-year-old so endearing and engaging to fans is the fact that he wears his heart on his sleeve. It makes you want to cheer louder in his moments of triumph, but it also makes you feel his pain when things get bad.

“That’s the stuff that keeps me up. It’s never because I went 0 for 4 that I can’t sleep. It’s always because I’m embarrassed. Pissed and embarrassed,” Crow-Armstrong told Wayne Drehs in a recent profile piece for Chicago Magazine. “I don’t throw my stuff all around and spaz out to show people I give a shit. What it shows is that it’s something I still need to work on.”

Crow-Armstrong’s “spazzing out” may have kept him from pulling himself out of that extended second-half slump.

“What’s undeniable is that baseball is too hard to go out there every day and succeed,” Crow-Armstrong added. “That is for some reason the one thing I can’t yet rewire in myself. It’s harder than any mechanical change or anything that I’ve had to fix…

“I’m just lacking in that area. I’m a little late to get there. That’s about growing up and having the self-discipline to be a better teammate. I need to keep it present and forward-thinking instead of dwelling all the time on what I could have done better.”

A rough second half

But, in the last part of 2025, PCA did dwell. Getting inside his own head led to some mechanical issues in his swing and also some poor swing decisions as he pressed to get his groove back.

“It’s definitely the swing decisions,” Crow-Armstrong recently told The Athletic. “I know what I do well. I know what I don’t do well. I know that I chase. I know I can get away with hitting bad balls and doing damage on bad balls, but there is no consistency there. It’s very sporadic.”

So, this offseason, the focus has been on consistency and in settling down, both mentally and emotionally.

“He is one of the most competitive players I’ve ever been around,” Cubs assistant hitting coach John Mallee told Dreyhs. “He shows his emotions. He never wants to let his teammates down. So when he fails, he’s such a team guy and wants to win so bad he takes it out on himself.”

Strength in acceptance

The fact that we know all of this about Crow-Armstrong is not a testament to any sort of mental frailty or fragility, but, rather, a testament to his willingness to say these things that many young players wouldn’t. If anything, it’s a sign of maturity.

“I just want to be the best Cub I can be,” PCA wrote in a piece last September for The Players’ Tribune, in the midst of his struggles.

“And how do I do that when I’m not being the ballplayer I need to be?

“I’m workin’ on that. I promise…

“Because I know what it means to wear this jersey. I know the responsibility that comes with it. I have for a long time…

“I’ve got to give myself some grace. Stop trying to force it. Accept how I don’t have all the answers — I think it’s OK to do that.

“And I think that when the time comes, when those big moments come, you’re going to see the real ballplayer I am. And you’re going to see the type of Cub I want to be.”

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The Chicago Cubs spent some significant time and money this offseason crafting a solid roster built for a deep postseason run, centered around impact, stability, and depth.

More News: Chicago Cubs: PCA on extension– “I want to be here for as long as they want me”

The big new names, of course, were three-time All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman and emerging powerhouse starter Edward Cabrera. The team also restocked their depleted bullpen with four free agent relievers (Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, Hunter Harvey), retained pitchers Shota Imanaga and Caleb Thielbar, and picked up first base depth piece Tyler Austin (among other moves).

The Cubs’ recent signing of former All-Star outfielder Michael Conforto, however, has revived talk that they might not be done wheeling and dealing. Specifically, the idea of trading Matt Shaw has once again popped up in Cubs baseball discourse.

What signing Conforto could mean for Matt Shaw

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Chicago signed the soon-to-be 33-year-old Conforto this past Monday to a minor league deal that could end up being a $2 million contract if the veteran outfielder makes the Opening Day roster. The contract, under even the absolute best case scenario, is a prodigious fall from his $17 million salary last season with the Dodgers, where he had a horrendous year (12 home runs, .199 batting average in 486 plate appearances) and was absolutely lambasted by Dodgers fans and media because of it.

However, underlying metrics make the case that the 10-year veteran could possibly have a rebound year. Even in a career-worst 2025, he hit the ball hard, didn’t chase bad pitches, and had a top-tier walk rate. He’s not someone who can play the outfield every day anymore, but a low-risk gamble on Conforto’s ability to contribute as a fourth outfielder and left-handed bench bat is a smart move.

The possibility of a Conforto rebound, though, might tie into the future of the Cubs’ 2023 no. 1 draft pick, Shaw.

Shaw’s Cubs future

As of right now, the plan is to use Shaw, who was moved from his third base spot by Bregman, as a super utility player. Aside from his more comfortable roles at third and second base, the 24-year-old has been taking reps in the outfield. Although the Cubs do have a few options for the much-needed fourth outfielder slot (Kevin Alcantara, Justin Dean, Dylan Carlson, Chas McCormick), being able to fit a multi-purpose Shaw into that role would be ideal from a roster management perspective.

Unless, of course, Conforto is able to come back and play like his post-prime self in 2024, when he hit 20 home runs with the Giants and had a near-league average .237 batting average.

A return to form for Conforto, along with concrete inroads to a Nico Hoerner extension, could make Shaw supremely dispensable, especially if the return in a trade would help address current Cubs roster needs.

More value as a trade piece?

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report, for example, has recently proposed a Cubs-Royals trade centered around the Cub:

“Shaw is a third baseman by trade, but he has ample pro experience at second base and has recently been prepping for a move to the outfield. And while his defense carried him as a rookie for most of 2025, he ultimately came through with a .839 OPS in the second half.”

The Royals have a good amount of young, major league-ready pitching talent that could entice the Cubs, especially with veterans Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, and Shota Imanaga possibly leaving via free agency at the end of this coming season.

And if the Cubs spend to retain free agency-bound second baseman Hoerner, there would really be no place for Shaw as an everyday player. At that point, he’d have more value as a trade piece than as a member of the 26-man roster.

All of this is working on the assumption that Conforto can force the situation or that Shaw won’t light things up and win more playing time for himself. It’s still too early to make any such calls.

But, for the Cubs, it’s certainly good to have these kinds of options.

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The Chicago Cubs got a “real” one when they got Pete Crow-Armstrong. Back in 2021, amid a mass sell-off of the team’s 2016 World Series roster, the Cubs traded away mega-popular shortstop Javier Baez (and pitcher Trevor Williams) for the 19-year-old center fielder.

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It was by no means a universally popular decision by new Cubs president Jed Hoyer.

Crow-Armstrong was an absolute darling of scouts and analysts, but he was so young and he had just come off season-ending shoulder surgery at the time. Plus, Baez was BAEZ, a Wrigley Field favorite and an explosive make-things-happen catalyst on both offense and defense.

But, ultimately, things worked out just fine for the Cubs.

PCA’s up-and-down 2025

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Last season, the sophomore “PCA” had an MVP-level first half which led to a starting center fielder slot in his very first All-Star Game. The affable and energetic emerging star handled the spotlight like a pro and his star rose even higher.

Then, everything sort of came crashing down to earth.

While his dazzling defense remained, his bat work fizzled. After coming into the All-Star break with 25 home runs and 71 RBIs, he only mustered 6 home runs and 24 RBIs the rest of the way.

The brutal fall from the pedestal was a source of immense frustration for the young star and it continues to motor his approach to the coming 2026 season, where he hopes to be more consistent in his offensive output.

All in all, though, PCA did hit 31 home runs, post 94 RBIs, and steal 35 bases while playing a Gold Glove center field.

An extension for PCA

That’s why people are talking extension when it comes to the team’s young asset, who is still under contract through the 2030 season. Although he rejected a contract extension offer early in the 2025 season, reportedly in the $70 to $90 million range, he’s been outspoken in his desire to stay in Chicago over the course of his entire career.

In an entertaining and revealing profile piece by Wayne Dreyhs for Chicago Magazine, the soon-to-be 24-year-old, who just moved into a new luxury condo in Chicago, talks about his sincere love for the city and the people of his adopted home town.

“I love Chicago more and more,” Crow-Armstrong says. “It’s just an incredible city. The people are great. They give a shit. They aren’t just baseball fans who go to the game like Dodgers fans to take pictures and whatever. They are paying attention. They care.”

“That’s one thing that is very cool about him that not a lot of younger players get,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner told Dreyhs. “He couldn’t have more of an appreciation for the history of the game and playing in Wrigley Field. He’s excited to be a part of the city of Chicago in a way a lot of guys don’t really understand.”

“I want to be here”

PCA claims his legit love of Chicago is happily coloring his willingness to agree on some sort of deal to stay there.

“I’ve made it clear I want to be here for as long as they want me,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I want what’s best for the team. I’m cool with being under team control and being here. League minimum ain’t too f**king bad.

“I play the game because I like beating other people. The money will be life-changing regardless. I would like to get a fair deal so I don’t f**k the market up. I want to look out for the other center fielders who have to go through the same process. Which is why I’m glad [Cubs management] and my agents are figuring out how to do this.”

But what would a PCA-Cubs extension look like? Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks was extended at eight years for $111 million and Jackson Merrill of the San Diego Padres took a nine-year, $135 million extension. It stands to reason, given his immense popularity as a Chicago sports staple and his marketability across the board, that Crow-Armstrong would get a fatter deal than either. Possibly, at least, in the $17- $18 million AAV range over 8-9 years, which would make the contract worth somewhere in the range of $136-$162 million and keep him in Chicago until he was 31 or 32.

The extension makes all-around good sense. If PCA does every year what he did in 2025, even with the mismatched output of the first and second halves, he’ll still be a steal at $18 million per season.

From the sound of things, the ball is pretty much in the Cubs’ hands when it comes to an extension. PCA seems fully invested in staying a Cub and succeeding as a Cub.

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The Chicago Cubs made a lot of pitching movement this past offseason. It really hasn’t been pointed out enough just how much the front office has actually focused on pitching.

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The big headline, of course, was the addition of emerging powerhouse starter Edward Cabrera, acquired in a trade with the Miami Marlins.

But the Cubs also essentially rebuilt a depleted bullpen that, at one point, looked like it might be down to just one or two holdovers from the NLDS roster bullpen. They added Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Hunter Harvey via a free agency (while also re-signing Caleb Thielbar) and spent an uncharacteristic sum of money to do so.

On the projected 26-man roster, Chicago could likely come into the 2026 season with nearly a 40% turnover from the end of last season.

The Cubs’ stockpiling of arms

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And there was even more movement right underneath the big league roster level as they went on an offseason buying spree to snatch up viable arms and reclamation projects on minor league deals.

Over the course of the winter, the Cubs signed a number of pitchers to minor league deals. The most notable were Collin Snider, Kyle Wright, Trent Thornton, Vince Velasquez, Yacksel Rios, Charlie Barnes, Ryan Rolison, Tyler Beede, Jeff Brigham, Tyler Ras, Corbin Martin, and Gabe Klobosits– all pitchers who have shown flashes of success at (or near) the major league level in their careers.

All of this is a clear effort to try and replicate (again) the success the team has had in refurbishing struggling pitchers into quality bullpen assets. Last season, the success of Brad Keller and Drew Pomeranz, who were both almost out of baseball at the time they came to Chicago, helped carry a bullpen that hit some real rough patches early on.

Collin Snider: Low-risk, high-yield?

Of all the pitchers signed to minor league contracts this past offseason, arguably the most intriguing and most likely for a breakthrough is the 30-year-old Collin Snider.

In 2024, the Seattle Mariners made just the right tweaks in the righty after coming over from the Kansas City Royals, turning him from a 5.93 ERA pitcher to a shutdown 1.94 ERA bullpen asset. Injury, however, robbed Snider of two full miles-per-hour on his fastball during a disastrous 2025 which saw him demoted to Triple-A and then allowed to drift away via free agency.

The Cubs brought him aboard as a low-risk flier, believing that some minor mechanical changes could keep his arm healthy and get his velocity back up. So far, it appears to be working. According to Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic, Snider has remarked that the first bullpen he threw, using the Cubs’ tweaks, was the “hardest he’s thrown in an offseason bullpen session.”

This season’s Brad Keller?

“The main thing was health,” Snider told Sharma. “Then, paired with health, I got into some bad mechanical habits. One thing kind of fed into the other. But health is probably the overall issue.

“It honestly was something very simple. I was throwing in like an east-west rotation instead of a little bit more north-south thought to it — my shoulder plane. I was coming on the side of the baseball instead of getting behind it a little more. I was cutting a lot of stuff. Too much, a little cut would be fine. Cutting things too much, which (put) stress on the forearm, and my velo was down.”

A product of Tread Athletics and Tyler Zombro, the Cubs’ new vice president of pitching, Snider was a beast in his stellar, healthy 2024 season. He more than doubled his strikeout rate from 2023 to 2024, halved his walk rate, and, with certain pitches, produced a 30% whiff rate.

There appears to be the firm belief that all of Snider’s 2025 struggles were due to his lower-arm issues. And, if that’s the case, this pickup will be an absolute steal for the Cubs.

He’ll have a tough road to a roster spot coming out of spring training. However, as we are constantly reminded, bullpens are volatile, unpredictable beasts where there will always be need for fresh arms over the course of a long, grueling season.

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The Chicago Cubs left spring training last year under the impression that they had their closer locked in and ready to go. The team had acquired veteran former closer Ryan Pressly from the Houston Astros that offseason after a failed bid to sign free agent closer Tanner Scott.

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Unfortunately, Pressly turned out not to be the Cubs’ late inning shutdown man and was eventually released.

Daniel Palencia, however, DID turn out to be that man, at least for a good, long while.

Palencia was called up from Triple-A Iowa in mid-April and would soon lay claim to the closer gig in an eye-catching run that made him a Wrigley Field fan favorite. As August began, the hard-throwing righty from Venezuela had posted an impressive 1.40 ERA and was working with the swagger of an accomplished veteran.

Then, things just kind of fell apart.

The late collapse of Daniel Palencia

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Over the last two months of the season, Palencia fell to pieces. He posted a 7.07 ERA in 17 appearances during that stretch, with an IL stint after the first week of September to boot. In the playoffs, after clearly having drifted outside manager Craig Counsell’s circle of trust, he was just passable, with a 3.52 ERA in six appearances.

So, it was a fairly big surprise earlier this spring training when Counsell affirmed that, as of right now, the 26-year-old Palencia is their high-leverage man in the ninth inning.

“No one sitting here a year ago thought that he’d be pitching as a closer, pitching huge innings in the middle of the game in the playoffs,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer told media. “He did an amazing job. I think his maturation was obvious to everyone. We’re super excited about him.”

That optimism is not shared by all. To be honest, it’s hard to be all that optimistic about Palencia’s 2026 when he looked so vulnerable in the last part of 2025.

A media vote of confidence

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report, however, stills views Palencia with rose-colored glasses, recently naming him the Cubs’ “Breakout Pitcher” of 2026.

Per Reuter:

“The rise from fringe roster candidate to a 22-save season might already look like a breakout, and it was in many respects, but there’s still another gear for a pitcher with the stuff to be one of baseball’s elite closers. A few bumps in the road and a late injury kept Palencia’s 2025 from being a true ascent to elite status, but an early vote of confidence from manager Craig Counsell this spring and a fastball (99.6 mph)/slider (39.4% whiff) combo few can match hint at more to come.”

Palencia will sink or swim in 2026

With Palencia, the talent is clearly there. As mentioned above, he was exceptional for most of the season and cleanly won that closer job on a team clearly headed to postseason play. But then, he seemed to buckle under the pressure late in the season.

Will his mindset be different heading into 2026? If he fails to be the closer the Cubs need, that job will fall to incoming free agents, the oft-injured Hunter Harvey or Phil Maton. Maybe Counsell would commit to a closer-by-committee plan.

Meanwhile, Palencia, himself, seems confident that the end of 2025 will not extend through 2026.

“I learned that’s a tough situation,” Palencia said. “The game is on the line. Just trying to be calm, be myself. Trust myself.

“I always knew I was that guy. I know I’m that guy for that situation.”

As is always the case, time will tell.

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The Chicago Cubs got hit with a stunner very early last season when ace Justin Steele went down with an elbow injury. After just his fourth start of 2025– a seven-inning blanking of the Texas Rangers– the veteran lefty was lost for the year (and beyond).

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Shortly after the injury, it was reported that Steele had undergone a “left ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) revision repair.” It wasn’t a full Tommy John surgery, which is a reconstruction of the UCL, but the procedure still meant he’d be out of commission for all of 2025 and a good portion of 2026 as well.

The 30-year-old is currently in Mesa with his teammates and working his way to a comeback. On Saturday, he visited the Cubs broadcast team at Sloan Park and gave an injury update brimming with positivity.

Justin Steele offers update on recovery process

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“I’m feeling very good,” Steele said. “Bullpens have been progressing well lately. I’m throwing two a week, Tuesdays (plus) Fridays and/or Saturdays. I had one yesterday (Friday), recovering well from that. The next one will be 35 pitches. Throwing four-seam, sinkers, and sliders right now. I’m gonna be introducing changeups into the bullpens next week, I believe. At that point, I’ll be at curveballs to catch play. That’s kind of the progression were going with as far as getting pitches back into the game mound.”

This isn’t the first reporting of Steele’s recovery being a bit ahead of schedule. Steele, himself, has previously talked about how good he feels.

An ahead-of-schedule Steele, though, does present an interesting dilemma for manager Craig Counsell.

A good dilemma to have

Would the Cubs consider bringing him back into the rotation earlier than the mid-season return previously targeted? With five capable and healthy (as of this moment) starters in the rotation (Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga) and two quality reserves (Colin Rea, Javier Assad), there’s really no burning need for them to hurry Steele back into the mix.

The best move would probably be to target that mid-season return and limit innings for awhile, in hopes of getting Steele at 100% for the end of the season and through the playoffs.

With the goal of making a deep postseason run, the Cubs would definitely like to see Steele back on the mound at 100%. Over the last four years, he’s been Chicago’s most reliable and effective starter, posting a 3.18 ERA over 82 starts.

The idea of the team going to a six-man rotation or possibly piggybacking starters in a single game to keep pitchers fresh and healthy has been brought up, especially in connection with Steele and how they may want to handle his return.

No rush to bring Steele back

But, again, there’s no rush, right now, to wedge him into the rotation before it’s absolutely safe to do so.

This isn’t Steele’s first time dealing with major surgery to his throwing arm. Back in 2017, when he was still a minor league prospect, he underwent full Tommy John surgery. That experience is helping him get through this latest recovery process.

Late last month, Steele talked about the depth of the Cubs’ rotation and how that affords him the opportunity to recover properly and at a healthy pace.

“That definitely eases your mind,” Steele said. “Knowing that it’s not a race to get back for Opening Day or something…So there’s definitely some comfortability knowing that I don’t have to rush.”

Currently, projections for his comeback range from late May to the All-Star break.

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The Chicago Cubs kicked off Spring Training 2026 with an ugly 8-1 curb stomping at the hands of the crosstown rival Chicago White Sox. Of course, there’s not a lot to be learned from the first game of Spring Training.

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But at least one thing was affirmed during Friday’s game at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona– Seiya Suzuki is a mixed bag.

The Japanese star smacked a solo home run to center field in the first inning, in his first at bat of the spring. Three innings later, as he played center field, he lost a deep fly ball in the sun, hit by new Sox slugger and Japanese import Munetaka Murakami, and gifted the opposing team a double.

Suzuki handled the gaffe in stride and laughed off the mistake after the game.

“It’s easy to see the ball, you get a good view of the field,” he told reporters after the game, via interpreter. “But can they do something about the sun?

If they could move it juuust a little bit, that would be nice.”

The hot-and-cold Seiya Suzuki

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It’s hard not to like Suzuki and, as gaffes go, Friday’s was absolutely not a big deal, especially since it’s very early in the spring and he’s not all that likely to play much center field anyway. But it does, at least somewhat, highlight the fact that the 31-year-old outfielder can be up and down as a player.

Suzuki is eligible for free agency at the end of this coming season and the Cubs will have to make a decision on what they want to do with the hot-and-cold right fielder who came to the team in 2022 on a 5-year, $85 million deal.

Last season, he had a career offensive year when it came to power numbers, hitting 32 home runs and driving in 103 as mostly a DH. He went through some long, rough patches, though. But then he came around at the end of the season to light things up with 8 home runs and 15 RBIs through the last twelve games of the year (eight playoff games and the last four regular season games). He also played a pretty solid right field, replacing a hurt and limited Kyle Tucker.

“It came with some really high highs and some really low lows,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer told Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune, referring to Suzuki’s 2025. “I was really happy for him in the way it ended. He was so dangerous for us at the end of the season and so dangerous in the postseason. That was something that was really important to him. He’s a really, really good middle of the order hitter.”

Is Suzuki a goner after 2026?

The big, immediate question when it comes to Suzuki, however, is whether to spend the money needed to bring him back for the next several seasons. He’ll surely want more than the $17 AAV he made under the last contract and Chicago will find itself with some tough spending decisions heading into 2027.

Also potentially eligible for free agency at the end of 2026 are Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, and Carson Kelly (among others).

A bid to extend Hoerner should be a no-brainer, but, realistically, the Cubs will have to let some of these guys walk.

“I want to stay”

Suzuki would appear to be on the bubble in that regard. It’s not likely that the team will spend big on bringing both corner outfielders, Happ and Suzuki, back. If they choose to retain one, they might go for the more consistent and reliable (and defensively sound) Happ.

For what it’s worth, Suzuki is very vocal about loving Chicago, the organization, and wanting to stay.

“I’m not sure,” Suzuki, via interpreter, told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, regarding his future after the coming season. “It depends on my performance. If I perform well, I want to stay. I feel like I still haven’t put up the numbers that people are expecting me to. It comes down to how I perform.”

Unfortunately, it may not be as simple as that.

On the other hand, nobody on the list of likely available corner outfielders in the 2027 free agent class stands out as markedly better than either Suzuki or Happ. It’ll be interesting to see how the Cubs handle this free agent situation at the end of the year.

For now, 2026 awaits.

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The Chicago Cubs are all set to dive into the heat of spring training, pushing towards an expected deep playoff run in 2026. And all the pieces are in place right now, except one– projected DH and backup catcher Moises Ballesteros.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Power numbers way down in 2026, per projection

The 22-year-old rookie is still in South America, waiting on visa issues to resolve so he can get to Arizona and join his teammates. The native of Venezuela was unable to acquire his visa in time to enter camp with his fellow Cubs and is still battling the apparent immigration bureaucracy, apparently made more complicated by current geopolitical turmoil.

MLB insider Bruce Levine recently updated the situation, reporting that Ballesteros will now be trying to make his US entry through Colombia and the hope is that he’ll be in Mesa by this weekend.

The importance of having Ballesteros in camp

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For the Cubs, having him in camp as soon as possible is the goal, especially given the role he’ll be playing this season and the expectations attached to his development.

Last season, the Cubs’ current no. 1 prospect slashed .298/.394/.474 in only 66 regular season plate appearances spread out over three separate call-ups. Down the stretch, though, he turned a lot of heads, hitting .333 (with a .435 OBP) in September, picking up the slack for an injured and struggling Kyle Tucker.

Ballesteros, despite his short, pudgy build, is regarded by many as a hitting savant, carried to recognition as a two-time Cubs Minor League Player of the Year (2023, 2024) on the weight of his hitting ability alone.

An eye-opening MLB debut

“We kind of asked a lot of him,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters during January’s Cubs Convention. “You saw where he was hitting in the lineup at times. I think that is a sign of a lot of confidence in a young hitter. He showed us a lot…

“There’s a lot of contact, and the ball went all over the field. That was probably the two things that impressed me, is that just where the ball went. He doesn’t have to pull a ball. It’s going everywhere with all types of pitches, and then there’s just a lot of contact. That’s generally just a good formula. Hits it hard.

“Those are all three really good things to do that make you tough to defend, and he’s doing it again at a really young age.”

MLB insider and former MLB exec Jim Bowden recently named Ballesteros one of the 2026 rookies to watch because of his prodigious hitting ability.

Per Bowden:

“Ballesteros, 22, has a “hit” tool that is going to carry him, as he’s one of the most advanced hitters in this rookie class. He has above-average bat-to-ball skills and can hit all types of pitches, including high velocity, sharp breaking balls and off-speed offerings. He’ll use the entire field to hit line drives with elite exit velocity. His raw power far out-paces his in-game power to date, but the homers will come in time. His best position is designated hitter, but he can backup both first base and catcher when needed with below-average defense. The bat is going to play.”

Hopes for a resolution

The hope for this spring was to develop Ballesteros’ game behind the plate so that he could become a true backup catcher and not just an occasional emergency fill-in. The visa delay has already cost him valuable time that could’ve been spent on defense and on building a rapport with the pitchers.

Not being in camp is not a total spring training buzzkill just yet, but the time is fast approaching where it could be. For what it’s worth, the Cubs are confident that their young prospect will be with the team soon enough.

“We’re optimistic right now that he’s going to be here shortly,” Counsell told Cubs.com. “If that should happen, I think we’re in a good place. He’s going to be behind in terms of when you see him in a game, but with kind of the normal Spring Training schedule, I feel confident in the number of games we’re looking at here.”

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The Chicago Cubs had a banner offensive year in 2025. One could even argue, especially over the first half of the season, that the offense carried the team to a great extent.

More News: A look at the Chicago Cubs’ greatest under-the-radar 2026 strength

It’s definitely not outrageous to say that the team’s outstanding start to the season– led by the offense– put them in a good spot to cruise to a playoff spot despite a not-so-outstanding last part of the season.

For about the first part of 2025, the Cubs’ offense was an absolute juggernaut.

The 2025 Cubs: On offensive juggernaut

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Pete Crow-Armstrong lit up the league with MVP-level numbers over the first half of the season, hitting 25 home runs, stealing 28 bases, and driving in 71 runs. Seiya Suzuki was on fire, posting 25 dingers by the All-Star break. Even Carson Kelly looked almost “Babe Ruthian” very early into the season, when he hit 6 home runs in a span of 46 at bats in March-April.

But there was even more.

First baseman Michael Busch had a monstrous sophomore season with 34 home runs and 90 RBIs. Shortstop Dansby Swanson upped his home run total by 8 over the previous season. Second baseman Nico Hoerner’s power numbers didn’t go up, but his batting average rose 24 points to .297.

Then, of course, there was right fielder Kyle Tucker, who had come over from the Houston Astros via trade to become the linchpin of the Cubs’ lineup, at least until post-All-Star break struggles made him more of a lineup liability.

Despite a fairly lackluster second half of the season (by comparison to the first half), the Cubs offense finished sixth in home runs (223) and fifth in runs scored (793).

A projected power outage for 2026

This coming season, though, analysts haven’t been kind when it comes to how the Cubs’ offense will fare.

Thomas Nestico of TJStats recently compiled a power projection that ranks Chicago eleventh in MLB team home run total for 2026. Nestico sees them finishing with a total of 198 homers, just ahead of the Houston Astros and in a statistical tie with the Philadelphia Phillies.

If that projection proves to be correct, it means the Cubs will hit 25 fewer home runs in 2026, something which represents a significant drop in long ball proficiency.

Nestico’s projection is just a composite number based on the average from five other projection systems (Steamer, ATC, The Bat X, ZiPS, Oopsy), but the numbers tell the tale of an offense seen as in regression. It should also be noted that none of the listed projection systems have the Cubs anywhere near their 2025 home run total, with the lowest projection being 187 and the highest at 205.

In terms of run production, Nestico hasn’t produced a composite projection yet, but the few available projections in that regard also aren’t kind to the Cubs. PECOTA, for example, projects 736 runs scored in 2026, down 57 from 2025.

The logic behind the pessimism

It all kind of makes sense, though.

Tucker was a non-entity over the second half of last season, but he still projects as a more potent offensive weapon than the incoming Alex Bregman. Meanwhile, Crow-Armstrong, Suzuki, and Busch are coming off career years and will likely see some more modest numbers this coming season.

None of this is to say that Chicago will have a bad year. The power and run production numbers still put them in the top half of baseball and are consistent with the tallies of postseason-bound teams.

It does mean, however, that the Cubs might have to push a little bit harder to get to last year’s total of 92 wins.

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The Chicago Cubs added a new All-Star third basemen this offseason in Alex Bregman, a new starter in Edward Cabrera, and four new free agent bullpen arms. That’s a significant offseason haul.

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But the key figures on the 26-man roster just might be off to the side of the players making all the headlines and selling the fans on a successful 2026.

When it comes to starting pitching, one would be right to laud the depth of the Cubs’ rotation. Adding Cabrera and retaining Shota Imanaga gives the team six viable starters when ace Justin Steele comes back from his elbow surgery around mid-season.

Just below the rotation, though, is where the Cubs’ real depth may lie.

The Cubs’ embarrassment of riches

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Chicago has some serious depth when it comes to the in-between region where the rotation merges with the bullpen, aka the land of the swingmen.

Those doubting the importance of a good swingman on a pitching staff need look no further than the crucial role Colin Rea played last year in helping stabilize a rotation hobbled by injury throughout the season.

The veteran stepping up into the rotation was a boon when Steele went down to injury, when Imanaga went down, and when Jameson Taillon went down. Although Rea’s final 2026 stats don’t look overwhelmingly awesome (10-7, 4.33 ERA as a starter in 27 games, 11-7, 3.95 ERA overall), the importance of him stepping into the rotation and delivering consistently solid performances when the team was down one or two starters can’t be overlooked.

“Colin was exactly what we had hoped for and probably more,” manager Craig Counsell commented last season, during the playoffs. “Man, he’s just been the glue. He’s been a lot of glue for us, is the best way to describe it.”

The Cubs saw fit to bring Rea back on a restructured deal that keeps him in Chicago for the 2026 season with an option for 2027.

Javier Assad, healthy and ready

And, along with Rea, the Cubs have three more swingmen who could step into the rotation when/if plans go sideways and a helping hand is needed.

Javier Assad was hobbled by an oblique injury for much of 2025, not making his season debut until August 12. But, when back, he was as quietly effective as in prior seasons (3-1, 3.89 ERA in 7 starts, 4-1, 3.65 ERA overall).

Ahead of this coming season, the 28-year-old has focused on health and on staying in shape.

“I worked on the physical aspects of my body, especially with the oblique injury last year,” Assad told media via interpreter. “So I worked on a lot of the midsection of my body, made sure I strengthened that to make sure that this year I am healthy.”

On many staffs, Assad would be a very solid back-of-rotation piece. In 2024, his first season as a full-time starter, he posted a 3.73 ERA in 29 starts. His ability to seamlessly move between the rotation and the bullpen makes him a solid candidate to be another Colin Rea of the 2026 pitching staff.

Even more swingmen

Ben Brown, meanwhile, is more of a work in progress than a finished product right now. But the Cubs still see him, ultimately, as a rotation piece. His 6.30 ERA in 15 starts last season (5.92 ERA overall) was ugly, but his 3.23 ERA in 8 2024 starts offsets some of that bad look.

The 26-year-old has shown flashes of brilliance and will be coming into 2026 with two new pitches in his repertoire.

“I developed a sinker and changeup this offseason,” Brown told media. “It’s the same changeup grip, it’s a kick. For the first time, I feel really in control of it, especially since it’s a pitch I learned halfway through last year. So having a whole offseason to work on it (helps). The sinker is completely new. It’s never been used in a big-league game.”

One step below Brown in the Cubs pitching pecking order is lefty Jordan Wicks, who had some success as both a starter and a reliever before falling apart the last couple seasons.

The 26-year-old spent some time at Tread Athletic in the offseason fine-tuning mechanics and working on delivery to improve efficiency and overall conditioning. At his best, like during most of his recent run at Triple-A Iowa, Wicks can be an effective southpaw swingman and inning-eater.

Having such a group of swingmen on the roster will actually give the Cubs ten potential starters (actually twelve, if you count minor league contract pickups Kyle Wright and Trent Thornton) — a tremendous luxury during a long season where injuries WILL happen and pitching depth is a must throughout the regular season and postseason.

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The Chicago Cubs’ first big move of the offseason made big-time headlines and signaled that the team was serious about competing for a championship in 2026.

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After flirting with the idea of trading for the Miami Marlins’ emerging powerhouse starter Edward Cabrera since 2024, Cubs president Jed Hoyer finally pulled the trigger on the big deal.

Bringing the 27-year-old righty aboard, however, cost the Cubs their top prospect Owen Caissie, their no. 11 prospect Cristian Hernandez, and young talent Edgardo De Leon. It was a big price to pay, but one deemed worth the payout for three full years of a starting pitcher many think is on the verge of breaking through to next-level success.

The Caissie-Cabrera trade as a mixed bag

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It was still, however, a bit of a question mark move as Caissie was expected to help fill the vacant right field spot, along with Seiya Suzuki (who’s in the last year of his contract), left behind by Kyle Tucker.

The trade was a mixed bag for the 23-year-old Caissie. On one hand, he’ll get more of an opportunity to play every day on the rebuilding Marlins. On the other hand, he’s moving from a team expected to make a deep playoff run to a team several years away from even competing for a playoff spot.

Caissie speaks: “I was blocked” in Chicago

The power-hitting prospect recently talked about the rough road he had in Chicago and the opportunity currently present on his new team.

“I thought I was pretty blocked…maybe my strikeout rate, but that’s just who I am. I’m going to continue to get better at that,” Caissie told Marlins TV host Craig Mish. “You know, Chicago is pretty stacked. It’s pretty tough for a guy to break through and there’s a big payroll and everything like that…I did eventually break through, but I don’t know the internal stuff, so I’m not going to comment on that.

The Cubs have had a great squad the last couple years and, as a guy coming up the system, it’s really hard to break through. The team’s pretty good…When I was talking to my family, [they said] ‘You’re going to get more of an opportunity here.’ And I was, like, ‘100% true.’ And that’s what I’m really excited for. I can really showcase myself.”

The corner outfielder had a chance to show a little bit of his ability late last season with the Cubs when Tucker went down with a calf injury. Unfortunately, he could only muster one home run and a .192 batting average in 27 plate appearances before a crash against the Wrigley Field outfield ivy and a resulting concussion shut down his season.

Cubs vs. Marlins, according to Caissie

When asked about the difference between the Marlins’ way of doing things and the Cubs’ system, Caissie was as diplomatic as one would expect him to be.

“Not to say that the Cubs don’t compete, but the Marlins pride themselves on the compete aspect in practice from what I’ve seen so far,” he said. “I was here for like a week prior to this and all the days were really challenging stuff, something I was used to with the Cubs, but I’d say there’s more of it here and they really pride themselves on the little things. I’m not saying that the Cubs don’t, but it’s really just…a brand new perspective on how they go about things here and I’m pretty excited to learn more from the guys.”

There’s still debate as to how high Caissie’s ceiling will be, but the Cubs, with expectations of competing in the here and now, can’t necessarily spend that much time on player development at the major league level. All things considered, a mid-to-front-of-rotation starter is much more useful to the team right now than a prospect who may or may not develop into an every day player.

In a best case scenario, this trade might end of being a win-win for all parties involved.

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The Chicago Cubs made a good problem for themselves when they signed free agent third baseman Alex Bregman to a 5-year, $175 million contract this offseason.

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With the three-time All-Star coming aboard, they would have to move Shaw from the Cubs’ third base spot he was pegged to occupy for the foreseeable future.

Last year, Shaw, the Cubs’ no. 1 draft pick in 2023, basically got his starting gig because the front office came up short in their efforts to sign Bregman that offseason. But, despite some significant early struggles with the bat (and a brief return to the minors because of them), the rookie did well enough to earn rights to the hot corner in 2026– until Chicago made their second– and successful– bid for Bregman.

What to do with Matt Shaw

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So, the post-Bregman problem facing the Cubs was centered around what to do with the 24-year-old Shaw.

Although always considered a bat-first prospect coming up, Shaw has played all around the diamond. Throughout the minors and college, he played every position but catcher, pitcher, and first base before settling down at second and third in the Cubs’ organization.

Now, the new role for Shaw seems to be as a super utility player off the bench who can spell starters and facilitate in-game switches. Most surprisingly, the Cubs seems to be looking at him as a fourth outfielder.

Shaw and Suzuki platooning in right?

MLB insider Bruce Levine recently talked up an even bolder possible plan for the sophomore– as part of a semi/quasi platoon at right field with Seiya Suzuki.

“Craig Counsell said that Shaw is definitely going to be getting a lot of time in the outfield,” Levine said during an interview on 104.3 The Score. “And when there’s a left-hander on the mound, you could probably bet that Matt Shaw is in the outfield and Suzuki is your DH…You’re going to see Suzuki most of the time in right field, but when I pressed Counsell yesterday about at bats for a young player like Shaw, are there enough at bats to keep the progression of his player development going, he said ‘yeah, we’re going to have ten guys that get enough at bats” and I think that included [Moises] Ballesteros and Shaw.”

Although this right field platoon idea seems mostly to be coming from Levine and not directly from Counsell, it’s still an interesting idea that’s, honestly, not too far off from what Counsell generally likes to do with his roster.

Lots of questions

There are some concerns, though, about Shaw’s ability to see more than a sprinkling of innings in the outfield. He surprised many by playing a stellar defensive third base last year, but it’s simply not likely that he’ll be as stellar moving between four or five positions.

Levine, himself, questions whether he’s up to the task.

“I think he’s a baseball athlete that can do that, but honestly, it’s biting off an awful lot, especially for a guy that’s still trying to prove himself as a hitter in the major leagues,” Levine said. “I think there’s an awful lot going on. I think he’s all about challenges, and I think he’ll respond to that, but I just think there’s a lot at this point.”

Also per Levine, though, Counsell doesn’t expect Shaw to be “superlative” defensively in his utility role, “just good.”

Lost in this still-theoretical right field shuffle with Suzuki and Shaw is the affect it will have on rookie hitting phenom Moises Ballesteros, who would then become a platoon DH, getting most of his at bats against right-handers.

But it’s still very early in spring training. Right now, ideas are just ideas. Whatever the case, though, the Cubs are in a better spot, depth-wise, than they were at this time last year.

The post The Chicago Cubs’ risky plan for right field laid out by MLB insider appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs made some significant waves this offseason. They made moves that, in other years and under different circumstances, would’ve been hard to fathom.

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After letting right fielder Kyle Tucker walk away without a struggle, for example, they signed free agent third base man Alex Bregman, who they made a play for last offseason. They spent big (5-years, $175 million) to get him, too.

They made another big splash when they traded for Miami Marlins starting pitcher Edward Cabrera, giving up their top prospect OF Owen Caissie, their no. 11 prospect INF Cristian Hernandez, and another infield prospect.

Before those two moves, they restocked their depleted bullpen with four free agent relievers, using a significant chunk of change to do so.

Big expectations for 2026

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With all these moves (plus the re-signing of Shota Imanaga and Caleb Thielbar), there are big expectations coming into this 2026 season. The Cubs are projected to win the NL Central division by every stats-based projection system. PECOTA, for instance, has them finishing in first place, almost ten games ahead of the second place Milwaukee Brewers, who won the division last year and even eliminated the Cubs from the NLDS.

Actually, the word “expectations” has been an early theme this spring training, thrown out by coaching, front office, and the players themselves.

“Everybody in this industry wants expectations,” manager Craig Counsell told The Athletic. “You work hard to get expectations. You work really hard to build a roster that has expectations, you work really hard to get on a team that has expectations. That’s what we want. We’re truly excited we have expectations. It’s not easy to get them.”

Similarly, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has talked about the high expectations coming into 2026.

“I know the expectations are high, which I think is great,” Hoyer said. “It’s what you want. The excitement in camp is palpable. The players are talking about it. The coaches are talking about it. They’re excited about our team. They’re excited about our group, both from a talent standpoint and from a camaraderie standpoint.”

From front office to coaching to players

Individual players have also used that “e” word as spring training kicks off, talking about the expectations created from stellar performances last season

“That’s the thing about the second year,” pitcher Cade Horton told media, looking back on an incredible rookie season that saw him deliver as, statistically, the best pitcher in baseball from the All-Star break to his season-ending injury in late September. “Now people have expectations. But the expectations don’t change for myself. I’m going to go out there and give my team a chance to win. That’s my expectation. Everyone else’s expectation doesn’t really have a say in how I go about my day.”

But, realistically, expectations do sometimes weigh heavily on people. When much is expected, the pressure gets amplified, especially if things don’t go all that well early on.

The pressure of outdoing the “best case” 2025 Cubs

Last season, the Cubs ran off to a tremendous early success that allowed them to stay afloat as a playoff-bound team through a less-than-stellar second half of the season. Guys like Horton, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, Daniel Palencia, and Seiya Suzuki had career years. Carson Kelly was an offensive juggernaut over the first couple months of the season, but below league-average the rest of the way. Matthew Boyd pitched his first healthy season since 2019. Brad Keller and Drew Pomeranz, now ex-Cubs, came out of nowhere to become bullpen anchors.

Everything seemed to fall in place last season.

This coming season, though, the Cubs are expected to perform better– and accomplish more– than last year’s “best case scenarios” team did. That’s real pressure. People expecting big things is a good problem to have. It means the front office did a good job of filling holes and getting pieces to their puzzle. But it also makes for some tough mental patches.

None of this is to say that the 2026 Cubs can’t or won’t outperform the 92-win 2025 Cubs. On paper, this squad is an overall better team in so many regards.

But to get to the same place they did last year, they’ll probably have to push harder and be more persistent. This season should be interesting.

The post The Chicago Cubs’ biggest 2026 battle may be internal– expectations appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs had a tremendous season last year, all things considered. They made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 and won their first playoff games since 2017.

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Although the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers would have an insane year to snatch the NL Central Division and those same Brewers would eliminate the Cubs from the NLDS after Chicago made a true grit comeback from a 0-2 start to the series, 2025 had to be seen as a great success story.

One of the most feel-good of the Cubs’ positives last season was the emergence of top pitching prospect Cade Horton and the incredible run he had in his first season in the majors.

The 24-year-old was not even supposed to be with the big league squad in 2025, but was forced up from Iowa when Shota Imanaga went on the IL with a hamstring injury.

Horton performed well enough in his first tour of big league duty, but then he REALLY took off.

The mind-boggling rise of Cade Horton

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The Cubs’ 2022 no. 1 draft pick dazzled over the second half of the season, going 8-1 and posting an incredible 1.03 ERA in twelve starts after the All-Star break. In that stretch of time, he was, arguably, the best pitcher in all of baseball, eventually earning him an 11-4 record with a 2.67 ERA on the season and a second place finish in Rookie of the Year voting.

Unfortunately for the Cubs, a fractured rib in late September would put Horton on the shelf and keep him from postseason play. His absence from the Cubs’ playoff run presents one of the great “what ifs” regarding the 2025 campaign.

But for those hoping to see Horton have anywhere near that same level of success in 2026, MLB analysts have some bad news.

Horton projected to have a humbling 2026

The various MLB projection systems are unanimous in their belief that the incoming sophomore pitcher will have a significantly more humble showing in 2026.

Fangraphs has Horton finishing with a 4.12 ERA on the season. ZiPS has him with a 3.89 ERA. Steamer has him coming in with an ERA between 4.34-4.55. Fantasy Pros, meanwhile, is the most optimistic with a 3.78 ERA projection.

Brent Maguire of MLB.com recently explained some of the pessimism regarding Horton:

“Cade Horton…just had an excellent rookie campaign, in which he ran a 2.67 ERA across 118 innings and finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting. There’s no denying that the young starter and former top prospect has a frontline starter upside, but there are obvious areas he needs to improve. Most ERA indicators, like FIP (3.58), expected FIP (4.27) and expected ERA (3.88), pegged him for much higher ERAs, largely stemming from a 33rd percentile strikeout rate.”

Projection systems smack the Cubs hard

The projection systems haven’t been kind to the Cubs as a whole, though. ZiPs, for example, described the deep Cubs rotation as “deep in meh and unexcitement.”

Dan Szymborski, the developer of the computer-based ZiPS projection system, explained his system’s projection of mediocrity:

“ZiPS sees the Cubs as having a very deep rotation that’s also very deep in unexcitement. There’s certainly some upside here, especially in Edward Cabrera, but ZiPS largely views the team as having a whole lot of broadly average starting pitching options. The good news here is that if Justin Steele has any setbacks, ZiPS likes the team’s replacement options. Even with especially bad luck in the injury department, the computer thinks Javier Assad will be adequate — it has him with an ERA considerably lower than his FIP, though some of that is thanks to the stellar Cubs defense — and that Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks would both be far more acceptable as starters if called into duty than they’ve shown so far. Heck, if Colin Rea or even Connor Noland were forced into starting some games, that wouldn’t be an apocalyptic scenario for the Cubs.”

Horton, however, has shown the ability to be absolutely electric. His command, his pitch execution, and his daring as a rookie were elite-tier for much of the 2025 season. Realistically, even if he takes a full step backwards in 2026, he’ll still be a front-of-rotation starter– in a packed rotation where team success doesn’t necessarily depend on a single pitcher’s success.

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The Chicago Cubs had been eyeballing Edward Cabrera for quite some time. They had reportedly explored acquiring him following the 2024 season and then, again, at the trade deadline last season.

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The team loved his stuff, his raw potential, and the fact that he seemed to be putting everything together for next level success. They also loved the fact that the young arm was under firm team control, not eligible for free agency until after the 2028 season.

This offseason, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer finally pulled the trigger on a deal to bring Cabrera to Chicago. It was a big, bold move that cost the Cubs their no. 1 prospect OF Owen Caissie, their no. 11 prospect SS/2B Cristian Hernandez, and INF Edgardo De Leon.

Cabrera is “ready to take off”

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It was a heavy price to pay for a farm system already tapped and moving in the wrong direction, from top-tier to lower-third. But a 27-year-old with an upside like Cabrera’s who could give the team three full years at a budget price is not something you really want to pass up, especially if your plan is to challenge for a championship in the here and now.

“What we see in Edward [Cabrera] is just a pitcher who’s ready to take off,” manager Craig Counsell said during Cubs Convention. “We have to try to figure out how to get him to the next place. And that’s what’s fun about coaching — we’re going to help him get to that place.”

Last season, the native of the Dominican Republic had a career year, posting a 3.53 ERA over 137.2 innings and 26 starts. Many analysts feel that 2025 was the year he turned the corner in his development and began to become the pitcher many felt he would become. He struck out more, walked a lower percentage, and, overall, just seemed more commanding as an in-your-face power pitcher.

Bringing swagger to the Cubs’ rotation

Coming into spring training with the Cubs this season, Cabrera brings a swagger that stands out among the team’s reserved, low-key rotation.

“With all due respect to everyone here, whenever I step on the mound, I think I’m the best,” Cabrera recently told the Marquee Sports Network through an interpreter. “Every time I cross that white line and I get out there and start pitching, I’m the best.”

“It gets me excited to contribute here,” Cabrera continued. “Just to help them out because I always knew before getting here that this was a very competitive team…a team that is always in the race.”

For all his self-confidence, though, Cabrera does not come without risk.

Edward Cabrera, the risks

The hard-throwing righty has a significant history of injury. Last season was the first time that he pitched more than 100 innings in the majors and, even then, he spent time on the IL twice, the second time with some concerning UCL/elbow issues.

“I’ve talked to people around the league who were kind of surprised he cleared medicals,” Marquee Sports Network’s Lance Brozdowski said on the North Side Territory podcast, at the time of the trade. “Talking with teams who communicated with the Marlins about Cabrera; this was a hang-up for other teams.”

Some feel that, given his power-pitching style and the apparent strain on his elbow, Cabrera is due for a physical breakdown that may require Tommy John surgery at some point.

The Cubs were willing to take that risk, confident that perhaps some mechanical tweaks and careful watching of innings will keep Cabrera healthy and productive. Chicago DOES have the rotation depth to limit his innings and give the occasional extra day of rest to ease the wear and tear.

But, risks aside, Cabrera brings legit power to a rotation more known for nuance and provoking manageable light contact. He also clearly brings a heaping dose of ace-level confidence.

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The Chicago Cubs made some uncharacteristically bold moves this offseason. One of them was signing the oft-injured 31-year-old free agent reliever Hunter Harvey.

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The former Oriole, National, and Royal was brought aboard on a one-year, $6 million deal, at a time in the offseason, before the signing of Alex Bregman and the trade for Edward Cabrera, when the Cubs’ willingness to spend was in question. It was a head-scratching move to many from a Cubs front office and ownership bogged down with the reputation of being ultra-conservative and exceedingly frugal.

The hard-throwing righty is a roll of the dice for Chicago. When healthy, he has elite-tier stuff that profiles well for a back-end of bullpen and/or closer role. The problem is that he’s never actually been healthy for all that long.

A long history of injury

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Since being drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Orioles in 2013, Harvey has lost time to injury in every single season of his professional career. Over the course of 13 seasons of minor league and major league ball, he’s only managed an average of less than 35 innings per year. At the big league level, he’s averaged just about 26 innings per season.

Last season, a series of injuries led to him pitching only 10.2 innings for the Royals.

All told, he’s had several elbow issues (including Tommy John surgery in 2016), shoulder issues, leg injuries, an oblique strain, and a sports hernia. Harvey’s physical journey has been so precarious that his own father once described him as a “black cat” when it came to his inability to avoid injury.

How the Cubs won over Hunter Harvey

But, still, the Cubs weren’t the only team pursuing Harvey this offseason. There was a demand for his services from several teams, all pushing theories on how they might keep him healthy and living up to his full potential. Chicago, according to Harvey, made the most compelling case.

“A lot of teams said they had things they thought they could mess with to get there,” Harvey told The Athletic. “But I just felt like the way it was talked about here pulled me a little bit more.”

“Some different stretching stuff that we added to my routine that we thought could help certain areas that weren’t moving as good,” Harvey added. “There were a few things mechanically that we thought we could clean up a bit. Help me get more health out of it. Small things they thought we could try and see if it helps.”

Last season, injury robbed him of nearly two miles per hour on his fastball (down to 96.1 mph from 98). The hope is that improved health and modified technique will get him back to full strength.

“One hundred percent,” Harvey said. “That was one of the things we talked about. Going into last year, I had the back stuff to end the season. I didn’t get to have a normal offseason. Everything was pushed back two months from what I normally do. That was part of my mechanics getting out of whack, the velo (being down), just everything. But this (offseason) was back to normal. We’ve been working on some stuff, trying to see if we can get those couple ticks back up.”

How Harvey fits into the Cubs plan

If healthy, Harvey could move right into the co-closer role that, many argue, the Cubs have needed since the second half of last season when closer Daniel Palencia began to show signs of collapse.

Having back-end bullpen insurance would be a big deal if/when the team lives up to expectations and makes a deep playoff run. At the very least, the goal would appear to be keeping him safe enough over the course of the season to allow for a healthy, potentially dominant postseason.

If everything goes according to plan, Harvey could be a major piece to the Cubs’ puzzle and well worth the $6 million gamble. But that’s a big “if.”

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The Chicago Cubs are expecting big things from newcomer Edward Cabrera, who many in the organization feel is right on the verge of moving from high-promise, high-upside young gun to powerhouse ace.

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The Cubs had to send their no. 1 prospect Owen Caissie to the Miami Marlins to get their hands on the 27-year-old righty, along with a pair of infield prospect, but, as of right now, there’s not even the slightest bit of buyer’s remorse.

Cabrera will come to the team in the most ideal of situations, too, with the least amount of stress possible in a rotation expected to carry the team to a deep playoff run.

There’s no pressure on the young talent to immediately step in and become a superstar or even to become an elite-tier starter right now. He’ll be able to slide right into the middle of a deep Cubs rotation while contributing and further developing at his own pace. Alongside fellow starters Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga, and the soon-to-be-returning Justin Steele, Cabrera will find a significantly dimmer spotlight shining on him.

Killing off rumors of a Cubs-Zac Gallen union

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There’ve been rumors, too, that the deep Cubs rotation could be even deeper come opening day. Buzz regarding Chicago’s continued interest in the still-unsigned Zac Gallen has been all over the place, priming Cubs fans for the possibility that Jed Hoyer and the front office may have one more big move in store before spring training fully kicks into gear.

The idea of a Cubs-Gallen union is no doubt an attractive one. After all, why WOULDN’T Chicago want a workhorse starter with ace-level chops in the rotation, even if that rotation becomes overstuffed with quality starters?

Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic, however, has just dumped some cold water on the flaming-hot Gallen rumors.

Per Sharma:

“Even as his free agency drags on, the Cubs are unlikely to land starting pitcher Zac Gallen. The longer he lingers on the market, the more concerned the Cubs front office will be that Gallen can even be an effective starter this season without a normal spring training to ramp up. A one-year deal, or an opt-out after one year, makes little sense when it means losing a draft pick. Gallen should have other suitors who would be a more logical fit.”

Logic trumps ambition

And, yeah, it makes total sense why they’d bow out of any Gallen talk at this point. Actually, it never quite made sense in the first place why the Cubs would still even be taking to Gallen, given that they retained Imanaga this offseason and traded for Cabrera.

Possibly, if the righty’s price dropped to an insane degree, the Cubs would take a grab at the 30-year-old on a short-term deal. But, realistically, that wasn’t likely to happen. It’s still pretty much a sure thing that he’ll get a decent deal somewhere, with more years attached than the Cubs would’ve felt comfortable offering.

It’s true that you can never have too much starting pitching, but the Cubs, as of right now, are about as solid in that regard as anyone else in baseball.

Cubs don’t need Gallen, anyway

Boyd, Horton, Cabrera, Taillon, Imanaga make for a solid front five and Steele should be back in the mix by mid-season. Beyond the likely A-team, there are swing men Colin Rea and Javier Assad along with Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks, and top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins. The team has also brought in some low-risk non-roster arms, most recently once-upon-a-time 21-game winner Kyle Wright.

Barring some deep, dark bad luck, the Cubs should be alright when it comes to starting pitching.

If Gallen would’ve fallen into their laps, fine. You don’t turn away a pitcher like Zac Gallen if you can get him on a sweetheart deal. But they don’t NEED Gallen. And, apparently, the rumors of pursuing him are no longer worth the distractions they could create.

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The Chicago Cubs seem comfortable and secure in the fact that they’re all set for the 2026 campaign. Although they lost a couple of key components from last year’s squad– right fielder Kyle Tucker and surprise bullpen asset Brad Keller– there’s reason to believe that they’ll will be fielding an all-around better team this coming season.

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The biggest pickups this offseason were, of course, free agent third baseman Alex Bregman and emerging powerhouse pitcher Edward Cabrera, who came via trade from the Miami Marlins. They also, however, signed four free agent relievers (Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Hunter Harvey) to fully restock a depleted bullpen.

Then, there’s the fact that ace Justin Steele should be back in the rotation before mid-season, recovered from elbow surgery that cut short his 2025 after just four starts. Oh yeah, and Chicago will get a full year of rookie phenom Cade Horton, who was, arguably, the best pitcher in baseball from July 1 to the late-September rib injury that shut down his year.

Given all of that (and more), there’s a lot of optimism in Chicago about where they stand and how well they’ll do this coming season.

PECOTA is bullish on the Cubs

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And the expert analysts seem to agree with that optimism.

Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA (Player Empirical Comparison and Optimization Test Algorithm) recently released their projections for 2026 and place the Cubs firmly atop the NL Central Division.

As of February 13, the respected projection system has the Cubs winning 89.7 games this coming season, a full nine games ahead of last season’s NL Central champs, the Milwaukee Brewers, and nearly ten games ahead of the third place Pittsburgh Pirates.

The reasons for that seem to be pretty obvious. Chicago’s additions make them a better team than they were last season while Milwaukee’s subtractions (Freddy Peralta, Caleb Durbin) would appear to make them a weaker team this coming season.

The failings of stats-based projection systems

It should be noted, though, that while PECOTA accurately projected the Cubs to finish with 91 wins prior to last season (they ended up winning 92), they had the Brewers finishing in second place, 11 games behind.

Stats-based projection systems never quite seem to account for the magic present in a team that works as a team and compels itself to be greater as a whole than the sum of its parts. The Brewers had that magic last season, riding a remarkable winning streak to finish five games ahead of the Cubs when the dust settled. It wouldn’t be wise to count them out again this coming season.

The PECOTA people aren’t the only ones picking the Cubs to take the NL Central. Actually, so far, pretty much all of those making projections for 2026 are going with Chicago. Fangraphs, for example, has the Cubs winning the division with 86 victories, three games ahead of the second place Pirates and 3.8 games ahead of the third place Brewers.

Reason for concern

Despite the consensus belief that the Cubs will take the NL Central, there’s legit reason to have doubt regarding the team’s ability to outperform last season’s squad.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, Seiya Suzuki, Carson Kelly, and Nico Hoerner all had career offensive years in 2025, but all of them, with the exception of Hoerner, faded to varying degrees down the stretch. There’s no guarantee than any of these players will do as well in 2026.

The starting rotation, although rightfully lauded for his its depth, is also full of pitchers with significant (and recent) history of injury.

Closer Daniel Palencia, meanwhile, fell apart in the last two months of the season after an eye-catching run from Triple-A to high-leverage shutdown specialist. He’s being put right back into the closer spot after that ugly ending to last season.

But, regardless, there IS reason to look at 2026 with hope. The numbers clearly support that positivity. Soon enough, we’ll know whether what statistically SHOULD be, WILL be.

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The Chicago Cubs are all set when it comes to their position player situation. But, actually, that’s not entirely the case when it comes to catcher.

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Sure, veteran Carson Kelly has to be seen as the main guy behind the plate ahead of opening day. He earned that spot with a scorching offensive surge over the first part of 2025 and stable, high-quality catching work throughout the season.

But the 31-year-old, despite a good showing last season, can’t be the ONLY option for the Cubs. Chicago, heading into 2026, needs the co-starter setup with which they began the 2025 campaign (and with which they excelled as one of the better catching crews in all of baseball).

But, for that plan to play out over the course of an entire season, they need their young catcher Miguel Amaya to actually stay healthy.

Miguel Amaya’s frustrating 2025

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Amaya had a frustrating 2025 after a breakthrough 2024 with the Cubs. Two months into the season, after establishing himself as a “for real” major league asset in the team’s co-starter arrangement with Kelly, he went down for nearly two-and-a-half months with an oblique strain. Then, in his first game back with the big league squad on August 13, he sprained his ankle running to first base and would remain on the shelf for the rest of the season.

When healthy and present, he accounted well for himself with a .281 batting average, working on a pace to hit 16-17 home runs and drive in about 100. Unfortunately, he only managed to play in 28 games due to injury.

This year, as catchers and pitchers report to spring training, the soon-to-be 27-year-old insists that he’s fully healthy and ready to go. He feels so good, as a matter of fact, that he plans on playing for his native Panama at the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

Amaya speaks on health and readiness for 2026

“I let the body heal,” Amaya told media, regarding his present tense health. “And after that, when I started back on track with doing everything, I said, ‘Damn, I feel great.’ My body was 100 percent, good to go. I can say in early December I was feeling good to go.”

Underneath Amaya’s optimism, though, is a harsh reality. The Cubs-grown catching asset has a long and troubling history of injury.

All throughout his run as the top catching prospect in the Cubs organization, he’s been slowed down by one injury after another. Aside from the strains and sprains that have hobbled him, he also lost most of the 2022 season in the Cubs’ farm system after undergoing Tommy John surgery in late 2021.

There’s ample evidence to suggest that Amaya may never be that “every day” guy behind the plate.

Then again, however, the Cubs DO need Amaya for as much as he can contribute. Even a semi-healthy 2026, where he can split the games evenly with Kelly, will be a huge plus for the team.

An important piece of the Cubs puzzle

That’s why Jordan Bastian of MLB.com is regarding Amaya as an intriguing player worthy of keeping an eye on this spring.

Per Bastian:

“Amaya had a breakout showing in the second half of ‘24 and was off to a strong start in ‘25 before injuries (left oblique and left ankle) limited him to 28 games last year. At the time the catcher was shelved on May 24, Chicago’s catchers ranked third in the Majors in both OPS (.792) and weighted runs created plus (121).

Once again, the 26-year-old Amaya is set to begin this season in a timeshare behind the plate with veteran Carson Kelly. If healthy, Amaya has a chance to again assert himself as the potential No. 1 option. Behind Kelly and Amaya, Ballesteros (Pipeline’s top Cubs prospect and No. 55 on the Top 100) occupies the third-string role and is expected to get more catching chances as he continues to develop defensively.”

With not much behind him and a Kelly coming off a career offensive year ahead of him, Amaya needs to stay present and productive. There’s just not much of a catching plan B at this point.

For what it’s worth, Amaya is optimistic about the coming year and the Cubs’ catching arrangement.

“It’s going to be a great year here with the Cubs,” Amaya told reporters on Tuesday. “We’ve got a good squad. For me, the season begins yesterday. My mentality is, ‘I want to win every single game this year.’

“No matter who is playing — if it’s Carson or if it’s myself — we’re going to do damage. We’re going to help our team. We’re going to take care of our pitchers. That’s what we were doing in the beginning of the season. Let’s get back on track.”

As is always the case, time will tell.

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The Chicago Cubs have their team set for the coming season– a season where they are not only expected to win the NL Central Division, but also expected to make a deep playoff run.

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Barring some unforeseen injury or spectacular last-minute free agent signing (Zac Gallen), this is the team going to battle in 2026.

And the Cubs are especially happy with the major piece added to their squad this offseason– Alex Bregman.

The three-time All-Star third baseman was signed to an uncharacteristically bold (for the Cubs) 5-year, $175 million deal and positioned as a cornerstone of a Cubs team aimed at cinching in a culture of winning.

What Alex Bregman brings to the Cubs

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Aside from a plus-bat and Gold Glove-level defense, the 31-year-old Bregman brings a ton of intangibles revolving around his well-deserved reputation as a likable, approachable clubhouse leader. In a lot of ways, he brings to the Cubs what the colder and more reserved right fielder Kyle Tucker could not last season.

While Tucker’s bat is a tick above Bregman’s, Chicago needs more of what Bregman brings to the table, especially with so many veterans (Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Carson Kelly, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga) potentially heading off into free agency at the end of the 2026 season. That’s why it’s hard to find anyone lamenting the Bregman-for-Tucker free agent swap.

But Bregman’s influence could prove to be especially important when it comes to one specific piece of the Cubs’ future plans.

Bregman and PCA

Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong plays the game like a man running through a burning building. All fire, explosion, and adrenaline, “PCA” is beyond entertaining to watch.

His all-out style, though, makes him a volatile, unpredictable offensive asset. Over the course of his short MLB career, it always seems to be feast or famine with the young mega-talent. Last season, for example, he had a first-half that screamed MVP (25 HR, 71 RBI, 27 SB, .265 BA) and a second half that had people wondering what happened (6 HR, 24 RBI, 8 SB, .216 BA).

The soon-to-be 24-year-old needs stability and some boring, ol’ predictability added to his game. He also needs a heaping helping of plate discipline. In other words, he needs someone like Alex Bregman in his life.

“I can tell you’re going to chase less,” Bregman recently told Crow-Armstrong, after looking over the young star’s mechanics and re-calibrated mindset.

“He’s so good already,” Bregman later told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. “And he has so much potential. I think he’s going to have the best year of his career this year, for sure.”

PCA, much to his credit, has never shied away from taking advice and guidance from veteran teammates. Just days after it was announced that the Cubs had signed Bregman, he was already talking about his eagerness to pick the brain of the two-time World Series champ.

PCA as an eager student

Now, side by side with Bregman in spring training, he’s already speaking glowingly of the veteran’s influence.

“He’s excited to see my OBP go up and my swing rate go down,” Crow-Armstrong told media on Wednesday. “It’s everything that everybody else probably wants to see. But the way he talks about it is really cool…It’s a nerdy approach to hitting, but it’s never overcomplicated.”

“I can already kind of see it’s going to be really easy to apply my conviction and competitiveness into a real thought-out approach,” he added. “The guy has had .400 OBP years. He is probably someone you should listen to in terms of that. I just appreciate it when he can come in, and he’s not just picking apart my swing.”

While noting that the two don’t really have a similar playing style, PCA is still aware of how much of a learning opportunity is present when Bregman’s around.

“He just wants to see a little less from me, I think,” Crow-Armstrong said, referring to tighter mechanics and a more discerning eye when it comes to balls he swings at.

This Bregman-PCA pairing is a bromance that needs to be encouraged by the Cubs. No matter what Bregman does at the plate or on the field, he’ll be earning his money just by making those around him– especially Crow-Armstrong– better.

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The Chicago Cubs pulled from their farm system once again this offseason in pursuit of help in the here and now. In the trade to bring over young, team-controlled pitcher Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins, they offered up their no. 1 prospect Owen Cassie, as well as two well-regarded infield prospects.

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Last offseason, the Cubs sent off their 2024 no. 1 draft pick Cam Smith in the deal that brought Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros.

The loss of high-end young prospects, along with the graduation of recent top-tier Triple-A talent, has left the Cubs’ farm system pretty thin and in a tough spot.

So, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the experts and analysts have been dumping on the state of the Cubs organization and their overall standing.

Cubs’ farm system gets grim assessment

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In Baseball America’s recent ranking of MLB farm systems, the Cubs ranked 22nd among the 30 teams. The scary part is that this ranking is actually a more optimistic one than that of ESPN, which has the Cubs organization at no. 25.

There are obvious and logical reasons for this, of course. As mentioned, the Cubs have traded away two high-profile prospects in recent years, as well as a few Top 30 prospects. They’ve also seen guys like Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, Cade Horton, Daniel Palencia, Miguel Amaya, and Matt Shaw graduate to full-time big league status.

And things are bound to get even worse for the system as current no. 1 prospect Moises Ballesteros is projected to break spring training with the big league squad.

But not everything is doom and gloom when it comes to Chicago’s young talent reserve. There’s still some intriguing talent in the minors.

MLB.com writer Joe Trezza recently looked over the Cubs system and spotlighted the best and brightest prospects in several categories, ranging from overall hitting to various components of pitching.

Hitting, running, fielding, arm

Rated the overall best hitter in the organization is the 22-year-old Ballesteros, who is the Cubs’ top prospect as well as the MLB.com no. 55 prospect in baseball.

The short, pudgy Venezuela native does not look the part of a hitting savant, but he’s excelled with the bat at every level of baseball he’s played, including in his 2025 cups of coffee in the majors, where he hit .298 and sported a .394 OBP in 66 plate appearances.

In the area of power, the 23-year-old Kevin Alcantara is rated the best in the Cubs’ system, despite his general reputation as a more toolsy, athletic three-position outfielder rather than a straight-up power hitter.

Last year in Iowa, Alcantara hit 17 home runs in 379 at bats against a .266 batting average. Although he’s lost some regard among the analysts and has been dropped from most Top 100 prospects lists, there are still many who regard him as a potential top-tier major league talent. According to this listing of prospects, he’s also rated the best overall fielder in the organization.

Middle infielder Jefferson Rojas and first baseman Jonathon Long stand to inherit the top offensive players designation when/if Ballesteros and Alcantara graduate to the major league squad.

When it comes to speed, the Cubs’ no. 19 prospect Brett Bateman gets top honors. The hard-charging outfielder and top-tier contact hitter rates a 70 in the “run” category and has stolen 49 bases in 63 tries over the last couple of seasons. He’s currently at the Double-A level.

A-ball catcher and 2025 Arizona Fall League Breakout Player of the Year Owen Ayers gets the top ranking in the “arm” category. A good offensive prospect, the 24-year-old, according to Trezza, “regularly recorded sub-1.85-second pop times in the AFL.”

Cubs’ minor league pitching

When it comes to pitching, the Cubs get bashed for an apparent dearth of high-end mound prospects, but there’s still some eye-catching talent in the organization.

Top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins (Cubs’ overall no. 2 prospect and no. 58 according to MLB.com) is given props for having the best fastball and slider in the organization. It’s speculated that the 24-year-old could even make his way to the big leagues at some point this coming season.

Brandon Birdsell (No. 8 Cubs prospect), who’s currently recovering from elbow surgery, is rated as having the best control in the Cubs’ system. The 22-year-old Dominick Reid (No. 16 Cubs prospect) is recognized as having the best changeup. The 26-year-old Grant Kipp (No. 17 Cubs prospect) is rated as having the best curveball.

While it can’t be denied that the Cubs farm system has thinned out, it’s not exactly dried out. The fortunate thing is that the major league squad boasts lots of 20-something talent that should be steady at the big league level for awhile as the organization beneath restocks and rebuilds.

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The Chicago Cubs picked up some solid starting rotation insurance when they traded for emerging powerhouse pitcher Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins. Before that, though, they assured another degree of insurance in the form of a returning Shota Imanaga.

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The lefty went through a bit of a professional roller coaster over the course of about two weeks in November, starting when the Cubs declined their three-year, $57.75 million club option on the Japanese starter. Imanaga countered by declining his $15.25 million player option for 2026.

Ultimately, the 2024 Rookie of the Year candidate agreed to the Cubs’ $22 million qualifying offer, ensuring that he’d remain a Cub for at least one more season.

A tough end to a rough season

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But the end of 2025 wasn’t the only roller coaster for Imanaga. Actually, all of last season was an up and down challenge.

Although his overall numbers were respectable (9-8, 3.73 ERA over 25 starts and 144.2 innings), the sophomore MLB pitcher was never quite himself after an early-May hamstring injury, the first lower-body injury of his career. By late-season, he was getting hit hard, giving up 20 of his 31 home runs allowed in his final 12 starts and posting a 6.51 ERA in the month of September.

Imanaga’s playoff run was especially disappointing, as he posed an 8.10 ERA in two abbreviated outings versus the Padres and Brewers. By the end of the NLDS against Milwaukee, manager Craig Counsell had clearly lost faith in the southpaw and opted to not employ him in his scheduled start.

Imanaga opens up about his 2025 struggles

Imanaga has been very open about his struggle of a season last year and the injury that hampered him throughout.

“I was nervous and put pressure on myself,” he said on his Monday podcast, as translated by Cubby Mike on Twitter/X. “I worried about my body not moving well. Even my rehab pitching didn’t go as I wanted, so I wondered if I was ready for the MLB…My first pitch after the injury was a grounder to first base, the same as when I got hurt. The coaches in the dugout said they were very nervous. Something everyone hoped wouldn’t happen, happened on the first pitch, Running to first base, I felt every part of my foot and ran carefully.

…Memories of my injury came back. I told myself I didn’t have to run at full strength to get the out. After that, I felt relieved. I had overcome my challenge…”

The former Yokohama DeNA BayStars standout also talked about the stress and strain of a postseason where, going in, he didn’t feel quite up to par.

“Against the Padres, anxiety took over,” Imanaga reflected. “I gave up a home run, and I regretted repeating the same mistake. It was my first postseason, and the atmosphere at my home field pushed me a lot…From the first inning to the ninth, when the closer pitches, fans give a standing ovation around two strikes. It happens from the very first inning. I had heard that the postseason atmosphere is different and seen it on TV, but I understood it fully there.”

He also broke down his ultimately disastrous showing against the Brewers.

“In the first inning, the Cubs scored a 3-run homer by Seiya Suzuki,” he noted. “I should have focused on pitching my game, but I felt I had to protect the three runs at all costs, so I went into defense mode from the start. I should have focused more on building the game.”

“I felt ashamed”

Known for his cerebral and philosophical approach to pitching, Imanaga also lamented his inability to execute and the shame it brought him in the face of the Cubs’ fans loyal support.

“After we lost, I went to the locker room to clean up. I thought fans might be harsh because I didn’t perform well in the postseason, but some said ‘Thank you for letting us enjoy this season.’ I felt ashamed I let them down and wished I could have shared the joy of winning with them.”

The plan for this year, though, is to stay healthy and fix some of the mechanical and mental errors brought on by pitching hurt.

“He knew his stuff wasn’t quite where he wanted,” Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy told MLB.com. “And one big thing for us, too, was we saw some underlying things in play there that we were trying to get ahead of – biometrically and from just underlying numbers…We wanted to continue to work on getting his velo and stuff back. And that probably cost him some execution, but we were chasing the right things.”

For what it’s worth, Imanaga is absolutely gung ho about tackling– and overcoming– the challenges ahead of him.

“He’s already been texting us [with ideas],” Hottovy said, back in November, just days after the pitcher accepted the Cubs’ qualifying offer.

The post Chicago Cubs’ Shota Imanaga on 2025 struggles: “I felt ashamed I let the fans down” appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs made an uncharacteristically aggressive and bold move this offseason by signing free agent third baseman Alex Bregman to a lucrative 5-year, $175 million contract. It was an especially bold move considering the Cubs already had a viable third baseman.

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Matt Shaw was given the third base gig last season after Chicago whiffed on their first effort to sign Bregman. And despite some struggles at the plate, especially early on in the season, the rookie former no. 1 draft pick did well enough to earn top consideration for that starting spot as the team headed into 2026.

With Bregman in town, however, the Cubs made the move to pull the 24-year-old Shaw from the hot corner and plug him into the role of super utility, with possible playing time at third, second, and at the corner outfield spots. He would also serve as insurance for the possible departure of second baseman Nico Hoerner, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2026 season.

That was the plan– unless the Cubs chose to trade him (or Hoerner) during the offseason.

Rumors were rampant that Chicago was talking to various teams about Shaw and Hoerner and that they were open to hearing offers. The infield-needy Boston Red Sox, who lost Bregman to the Cubs, were especially tied to the Shaw/Hoerner talk.

The Red Sox and Brewers make a deal

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Well, the Red Sox DID make that big trade for a young infielder after all, it just wasn’t with the Cubs.

On Monday morning, it was reported that Boston had made a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers to acquire third baseman Caleb Durbin, utility infielder Andruw Monasterio, third baseman Anthony Seigler, and a Comp B pick. In return, the Red Sox sent pitcher Kyle Harrison, middle infielder David Hamilton, and pitching prospect Shane Drohan to Milwaukee.

Durbin finished third in last year’s NL Rookie of the Year voting, behind the Braves’ Drake Baldwin and the Cubs’ Cade Horton. He ended his debut season slashing .256/.334/.387 with 11 home runs and 53 RBIs.

The Brewers, meanwhile, picked up a high-upside pitcher in the 24-year-old Harrison, who was the chief component in Boston’s Rafael Devers trade last season. It’s worth noting that Durbin is the second high-profile rookie traded away by Milwaukee this offseason, following their December deal with the Kansas City Royals for outfielder Isaac Collins, who finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting last year.

What this means for the Cubs (and Matt Shaw, Nico Hoerner)

What all this means for the Cubs is that both Shaw and Hoerner are staying put in Chicago, at least for the time being.

For Shaw, specifically, it means that he’ll be following the team’s plan A for him and working from the bench as a fill-in and emergency sub this coming season. Last year, the Cubs were sorely lacking in the area of bench depth and the hope is that a more hitting-mature Shaw, who played every position but pitcher, catcher, and first base in the Cubs organization, will take some of the strain from the team’s starting position players.

Shaw embracing his new role

“Of course, you’re kind of looking at it like, ‘Oh, man, where am I going to play?’” Shaw told media back in January, referring to the moment he heard that Chicago had signed Bregman. “And you get a little anxious about those things, because the team knows me good enough at this point to know I just want to be prepared when the season comes around.

“So, of course, I immediately have questions like, ‘Am I going to go here? Am I going to go there?’ And they’ve been transparent with me, just kind of helping me to understand the role of moving to different positions, giving guys an off-day here and there. I’m pretty excited about it.”

All things considered, Shaw (and Hoerner) staying in Chicago has to be viewed as a positive, although the stockpiling of quality young talent by the Brewers this offseason (as well as by the St. Louis Cardinals) is concerning for the Cubs’ future standing in the NL Central Division.

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The Chicago Cubs added depth and power to their starting rotation when they finally pulled the trigger on the trade to acquire emerging power pitcher Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins.

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The Cubs front office had been interested in Cabrera since 2024, kicking around the idea of trading for him prior to the 2025 season and at the 2025 trade deadline. The organization had THAT much belief in the young talent.

The 27-year-old will be slated somewhere in the middle of a Cubs rotation that currently features Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga, and returning ace Justin Steele (who is expected to come back from elbow surgery sometime around mid-season).

That’s a whole lot of depth. And when you factor in the presence of capable swingmen Colin Rea and Javier Assad, it would seem that Chicago no longer has a need to pursue starting pitching this offseason.

Zac Gallen still a Cubs target?

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But, reportedly, they’re still looking, though, with the biggest and most headline-grabbing target being free agent Zac Gallen.

“That’s easy, Zac Gallen,” MLB insider Bruce Levine said in a recent interview on 670 The Score, referring to who the Cubs’ ace will be until Steele returns to the rotation. “Look, talking to the people that usually want this stuff out there, not necessarily always happening, for the last 7-8 weeks. Gallen and the Cubs have always been connected since early December. The idea that he is still out there without a contract, and a quality starting pitcher who will probably have to take a three-year deal of some sort with some type of ability to get out of it after the first or second year, this might fall right into the Cubs lap.”

Other recent reports have made the Gallen-Cubs pairing seem like the long shot it would logically appear to be, given the Cubs’ starting rotation depth and the team’s remaining budget. There IS, however, a Gallen-Cubs tie that could make the union significantly more likely– Carson Kelly.

The Carson Kelly factor

The Cubs veteran catcher was a teammate of Gallen’s with the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2019 to 2023 and, in that time, he became the righty’s preferred catcher.

Michael Cerami of Bleacher Nation pointed out the connection in a Sunday morning piece:

“…Do you know which big league catcher has caught more Zac Gallen starts than any other catcher in baseball? The Cubs’ own Carson Kelly.

Kelly has caught 55 Zac Gallen starts in his career. And in those 55 starts, Gallen has a 2.81 ERA, while opposing batters are hitting just .202/.271/.337 (better than he has with any other catcher with whom he’s worked, min. 7 games).”

So, why would this really matter and how could it push Gallen in the Cubs’ direction?

Gallen is coming off a poor 2025 where he posted a horrendous 4.83 ERA over 33 starts. The fact that he put up such bad numbers in a contract year is most certainly the reason he remains an unsigned free agent days away from the start of spring training. So, it wouldn’t be the worst idea for him to take a short-term deal and then re-enter the free agent market after a bounce back year.

That’s where the Cubs, and Kelly, come in.

The perfect scenario for a bounce-back?

The Cubs have earned a reputation as a team that facilitates such bounce-backs, especially when it comes to pitchers. Add to that Gallen’s success working with Kelly, and Chicago looks like the ideal place for a Gallen reset before returning to the open market for a bigger, longer, and more lucrative deal.

As for the Cubs, their budget, and an overcrowded starting rotation?

If someone like Zac Gallen, a workhorse with a long history of MLB success behind him, falls into your lap, you find a way to fit him in. Grabbing him for even two years would be a big deal, especially with Boyd, Taillon, and Imanaga possibly leaving via free agency after next season.

In a perfect Cubs world Gallen and Kelly would be reunited in 2026.

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Terrance Gore, former member of the Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, and New York Mets, has passed away unexpectedly at the young age of 34.

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Gore’s career trajectory was among the most unique in MLB history.

Drafted out of Gulf Coast State College in 2011 by the Royals, Gore made a quick tun through the Kansas City farm system, powered almost entirely by his prodigious speed. The hyper-focus on his running essentially forced him into a role-playing position for the rest of his major league career.

But few in recent memory played their roles better than Gore.

The odd, quirky MLB run of Terrance Gore

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The native of Macon, Georgia played for the Royals from 2014-17 and in 2019, the Cubs in 2018, the Dodgers in 2020, the Braves in 2021, and the Mets in 2022.

Gore’s career tally showcases the truly odd nature of his MLB run as an elite pinch runner.

For example, he had 43 career regular season stolen bases, but only 16 career hits and 7 bases on balls. In the postseason, he had 5 stolen bases on zero hits and walks. Over the course of his short career, the speed-only bench piece collected a staggering 3 World Series rings, despite only actually playing in one World Series as a pinch runner (with the Royals in 2014).

Overall, he retired a .216 hitter over 112 big league games.

The Chicago Cubs connection

The Royals traded the speedy outfielder to the Cubs in August of 2018 for cash considerations as Chicago was looking to fortify their postseason roster.

With the Cubs, Gore actually got his first big league hit– despite him already being in his fifth big league season.

That year with the North Siders, he had just that one hit in 5 plate appearances, but he registered 6 stolen bases. In the Cubs’ Wild Card Series loss against the Colorado Rockies, Gore had 2 plate appearances, zero hits, and one stolen base.

Gore’s move out of the spotlight

Gore’s major league run would eventually end as age caught up to him and his elite-level foot speed became slightly less elite. His last year was with the Mets in 2022, where he played his usual role of late-season addition/postseason pinch runner.

Since 2024, he had worked at a hitting facility he co-owns in Panama City, Florida and had become a popular and well-respected member of the Northwest Florida sports community. He is survived by his wife and three children. Per social media post by Gore’s wife, Britney, Gore died following “what was supposed to have been a simple procedure.”

Royals minor league affiliate, the Omaha Storm Chasers, acknowledged Gore’s passing and paid tribute to their former team member Saturday morning on social media:

“We join the Gore family and the world of baseball in mourning the passing of Terrance Gore.

Known for his great speed but even more so for his kindness and joyful smile, Terrance will be remembered as a tremendous teammate and a dedicated family man.”

We join the Gore family and the world of baseball in mourning the passing of Terrance Gore.

Known for his great speed but even more so for his kindness and joyful smile, Terrance will be remembered as a tremendous teammate and a dedicated family man. pic.twitter.com/xEvMjHdITF

— Omaha Storm Chasers (@OMAStormChasers) February 7, 2026

The post Former Chicago Cubs outfielder, 3-time World Series champ dies at 34 appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs made some major waves this offseason with a pair of high-profile acquisitions and a number of smaller pickups.

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The biggest addition, of course, was free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, who was brought aboard on a 5-year, $175 million contract. Then, there was the trade for emerging powerhouse starter Edward Cabrera, who cost the Cubs their top prospect Owen Caissie and two other young players. The team also restocked a depleted bullpen with four free agent relievers and a slew of minor league contract depth pieces.

What they didn’t address this offseason, however, was the gigantic question mark in the closer position.

Daniel Palencia’s up and down 2025

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Last season, Daniel Palencia moved up from Triple-A in April to claim the big league gig from veteran Ryan Pressly in a dominant, eye-catching run that instantly made him a Wrigley Field fan favorite. Coming into August the hard-throwing righty was sporting an impressive 1.40 ERA.

But, then, things just fell apart.

Over the last two months of the season, Palencia crumbled. He posted a 7.07 ERA in 17 appearances in August and September, with an IL stint tossed in after the first week of September. In the playoffs, he was passable, with a 3.52 ERA in six appearances. It had become clear, though, that manager Craig Counsell had lost faith in the young pitcher’s reliability in high-leverage save situations.

Cubs failed to get closer insurance

Headed into the offseason, the thought was that Jed Hoyer and the Cubs front office would move to sign an established closer to pair with the 25-year-old Palencia. But, despite some reported minimal passes at Devin Williams and Ryan Helsley, they didn’t seem all that interested in adding that additional show-closer.

The lack of effort in that regard was more than a bit puzzling for those who noticed Palencia falling apart in real-time at the end of his first serious major league run in 2025.

The likelihood of a full-on Palencia collapse

Michael Cerami of Bleacher Nation recently pointed out the possible similarities between Palencia’s trajectory and those of recent former Cubs closers Adbert Alzolay and Porter Hodge, who went stellar to dismal from one season to the next.

Per Cerami:

“Palencia, similarly, became one of the Cubs’ highest-impact relievers and closer in 2025 (2.91 ERA, 22 saves, 3.81 K/BB) and heads into the 2026 season as the obvious choice for closer. And while I do believe Palencia’s ceiling is higher than either of those guys, I can’t honestly tell you I had dramatically less confidence in Alzolay or Hodge heading into their follow-up season.

Moreover, we all know relievers are volatile. And Palencia, with his lack of experience, short track record, increasingly fast fastball, and only recently improved control, may be the poster child for “you never know what you’re going to get.”

Incoming free agent Hunter Harvey has “closer stuff,” but he also has a substantial history of injury. Since being drafted in the first round in 2013 by the Baltimore Orioles, Harvey has been injured in every single season of his professional career. Last year with the Kansas City Royals, an assortment of injuries led to him posting only 10.2 innings.

Phil Maton also could profile into a closer role, but he only has 10 saves over the course of 9 big league seasons.

For now, it looks like Palencia is, realistically, the only candidate for the Cubs’ closer gig. That should walk the line between concerning and frightening. Not picking up closer insurance this offseason just might end up being the team’s biggest regret.

The post What may be the Chicago Cubs’ biggest regret this offseason appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs got aggressive this offseason. Aside from outbidding competition for the services of free agent third baseman Alex Bregman, the team also went deep in fortifying their starting rotation and restocking a depleted bullpen.

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They pulled the trigger on the much-talked about trade for Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins. They signed four veteran relievers for their new-look bullpen. They spent a considerable chunk of money in keeping Shota Imanaga and Caleb Thielbar for at least one more season. They also went about signing a slew of depth arms to minor league contracts in hopes of finding at least one or two quality reclamation projects.

But it’s being reported that the Cubs aren’t necessarily done with their hunt for pitching depth.

Cubs still looking for pitching

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Over the last month or so, stories have circulated regarding the team maintaining talks with free agent starter Zac Gallen. Although recent updates paint a Gallen deal as increasingly unlikely, Chicago is clearly still exploring ways to make its pitching staff as bulletproof as humanly possible heading into a 2026 season where a deep postseason run is expected.

The question, though, is how much Cubs president Jed Hoyer and the front office are willing to spend on someone who is major league-capable, likely to be productive, but also a fit for a Cubs budget guaranteed to exceed the first luxury tax threshold next season.

They may need look no further than someone they carried on their 2025 roster.

An Aaron Civale return?

Aaron Civale has been up and down over the course of his 7-year MLB career. In 2025, he was mostly down. In a year where he was traded from the Brewers to the White Sox and then claimed off waivers by the Cubs, he finished with on overall ERA of 4.85 over 23 appearances and 102 innings.

After coming to the Cubs on August 31, though, Civale seemed to become a different pitcher.

The right-hander had a 2.08 ERA with the North Siders, albeit in a small 13-inning sample size. He also, however, delivered 4.1 scoreless innings in a single-game appearance against the Brewers in the NLDS.

So far this offseason, Civale has been lost among the bigger free agents and is still overlooked within the crop of still-available free agent pitchers such as Zac Gallen, Chris Bassitt, Lucas Giolito, Zack Littell, and Nick Martinez.

Did he find a “winning formula” with the Cubs?

The 30-year-old’s history of inconsistent performance is definitely a reason for the lukewarm interest. But Travis Sawchik of MLB.com ranks Civale as a “bargain” free agent who has perhaps come across a winning mound formula that “could deliver huge value.”

Per Sawchik:

“Among all pitchers to toss at least 40 innings in the second half last season, Civale ranked 22nd in strikeout-minus-walk percentage (20.5%), an elite rate in a useful metric that accounts for what pitchers largely control. His 3.39 second-half SIERA (Skill-Interactive ERA), which also accounts for batted-ball quality, is also the best among all remaining free-agent starters.

Civale did make five multi-inning relief appearances in the second half, and he performed well during those, so one can argue his numbers were inflated by his role. But his performance improvement also coincided with a pitch-mix change as he ramped up usage of his curveball. It gave him an unusual combination, making him the only pitcher in the second half to have a cutter-curveball combination account for at least 50% of offerings. Perhaps he’s found a formula that can allow him to help a rotation, or as an impact swingman.”

Contract projections have Civale going for one year at his 2025 salary of $8 million. However, the realities of the market and of his place in that market may drive down his price significantly.

Unless the Cubs are willing to firebomb expectations by making one last huge acquisition this offseason, picking up Civale as a viable swingman could be the ideal final touch to a pitching staff ready to roll into 2026.

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The Chicago Cubs have a lot going for them as they head into the 2026 season. Jed Hoyer and the front office have filled in holes and fortified the roster to build upon the successes of a spirited 2025 campaign that saw them make it to Game Five of the NLDS.

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Topping the additions were the pickups of third baseman Alex Bregman and emerging powerhouse pitcher Edward Cabrera. They also restocked a depleted bullpen with four veteran free agent relievers and several next-tier depth pieces.

All in all, the Cubs seem to be in a good place when it comes to living up to the projections that have them winning the NL Central Division and making a deep playoff run.

But this IS baseball and anything that could go sideways MIGHT go sideways. And the Cubs do have some significant concerns for the 2026 campaign. Here’s a look at three areas of concern that should have the Cubs and their fans legit worried.

Injury

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Yes, injury is always a concern for any major league team. In the Cubs’ case, though, there’s reason to move from concern to worry.

For one, most of their starting rotation has significant history of injury.

Matthew Boyd was fortunate to not have run into any injury issues in 2025, but, prior to that, he had suffered through physical setback after physical setback since 2019. Some may say he’s due for an injury of some sort.

Rookie phenom Cade Horton and newcomer Edward Cabrera also have a history of injury throughout their young careers. Last season, Horton was shut down in September with a rib fracture while Cabrera had two stints on the IL with arm issues. Ace Justin Steele, meanwhile, is coming off elbow surgery and is slated for a mid-season return.

Even Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, and swingman Javier Assad spent significant time on the IL last season.

When it comes to position players, Chicago was extremely fortunate in that none of the starters, except for Kyle Tucker, were put on the shelf due to injury. It’s almost a guarantee that they won’t be that fortunate this coming season.

Regression

The Cubs’ offense was overwhelming throughout the first half of last season. To a great extent, it was this first-half drive that motored them comfortably to their postseason berth.

Chief among the driving forces behind their offensive surge were the now departed Kyle Tucker and guys like Pete Crow-Armstrong, Carson Kelly, Michael Busch, and Seiya Suzuki– all players who had career years in 2025.

In 2026, there’s significant chance of regression from all of the above and also a reason to believe that starters Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner may deliver results just a bit below what they were able to achieve last season.

In the area of pitching, Daniel Palencia had an eye-catching season as he came from Triple-A to win the closer gig on the big league squad. His late-season fade, though, gives some cause for concern about his long-term viability in that role. This was, after all, his first sustained run at the major league level and also his first run at being a full-time closer. A gambling man might wager that the 25-year-old is due for a heftier ERA than his 2.91 last season (which was still under 1.90 heading into late August) and a tougher time keeping his gig as the Cubs’ full-time closer.

Catching

This is a very specific one, but it highlights, arguably, the biggest potential weak point on the roster.

Carson Kelly, offensively, had a career year in 2025, despite the modest .249 batting average, 17 home run, 50 RBI season totals. However, he had an outstanding first half of the season, hitting 12 of his 17 home runs and driving in 33 of his 50 RBIs before the All-Star break.

What he brings defensively and in terms of pitcher handling is a plus to the Cubs and worth him keeping his starting gig, regardless of his offensive production. But the picture behind him is not all that secure.

Miguel Amaya was good last season, in the little time he was actually healthy. Long, prolonged injury over multiple IL stints limited the 26-year-old to just 28 games and 103 plate appearances. And this, unfortunately, was not an unusual turn of events in the young catcher’s young career. Amaya has been injury-prone throughout his professional run.

Behind Kelly and Amaya, there’s Moises Ballesteros. Listed as, technically, the third catcher on the team, the rookie will be there entirely for his hitting prowess and not for a defense that can be generously described as a work in progress. Former Cub Christian Bethancourt was brought back to the team on a minor league contract, but if he gets the call-up, that means there’s big trouble with the catching situation in Chicago.

There’s plenty to be optimistic about as the Cubs head into the 2026 season, but it’s just statement of reality that the team is also counting on a lot of good fortune.

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The Chicago Cubs had a very productive offseason and made a lot of meaningful moves. It was so productive that they are now heavily favored to win the NL Central Division.

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Newcomers Alex Bregman and Edward Cabrera are all but guaranteed to make the team overall better, but this is major league baseball and, of course, anything can happen over a long and grueling 162-game season.

NL Central contenders

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The Milwaukee Brewers, who won the NL Central last year and eliminated the Cubs in the NLDS, will be in contention once again, even without Freddy Peralta, just because, well, they always are.

Elsewhere in the division, the St. Louis Cardinals may have written themselves off for this season with their fire sale of established talent, but the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates have shown uncharacteristic aggression this offseason and have both become dark horse contenders to compete.

The Reds made recent headlines with the signing of free agent slugger Eugenio Suarez, but the Pirates are not far behind when it comes to trying to make script-flipping offseason moves.

Pirates’ “aggressive” pursuit of Framber Valdez

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic is reporting that the Pirates are “aggressive suitors” for the services of free agent starting pitcher Framber Valdez.

Per Rosenthal:

“Thwarted in numerous attempts to find additional offense, the Pirates have emerged as one of the most aggressive clubs to pursue Valdez, according to people briefed on the matter.

The signing of Valdez, 32, would enhance the Pirates’ biggest strength — their starting rotation, led by National League Cy Young award winner Paul Skenes. Bill Murphy, Pittsburgh’s new pitching coach, worked with Valdez for the vast majority of the pitcher’s professional career, as both a minor- and major-league coach with the Houston Astros.”

The reported grab at Valdez falls in line with Pittsburgh’s offseason push to become postseason-capable. They’ve worked on improving their MLB-worst offense and are counting on the emergence of shortstop Konnor Griffin, who is the consensus top prospect in all of baseball and the most highly regarded young asset in years. They’ve come up short in their eye-catching pursuits of Kyle Schwarber and Eugenio Suarez and are currently reportedly exploring DH Marcell Ozuna. The effort to become a contender there, they just haven’t been able to win over any of the big free agent names.

Adding Valdez would be a major step in that upward direction, regardless of what they do on offense. The lefty veteran has been an elite-tier starter for the last five years and, even in a bit of a down 2025, still managed to go 13-11 with a 3.66 ERA over 31 starts and 192 innings.

What Valdez means to the Pirates and to the NL Central

What the Pirates have going for them in their pursuit is that there is some skepticism regarding Valdez’s character. A September incident where Valdez allegedly crossed up and intentionally hit catcher Cesar Salazar in the chest with a 93 mph pitch has soured many on the pitcher and has apparently limited the suitors for him, although it’s believed that the Braves, Padres, and Blue Jays could still be bidders.

If the Pirates get Valdez, he’d be slated behind Cy Young winner Paul Skenes and ahead of Mitch Killer in, arguably, the best rotation front 3 in the league, with young arms Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler behind them.

That’s a big “if.”

As things currently sit, though, the Pirates are already seen as greatly improved over last season’s 71-win squad. Fangraphs is projecting them to finish 2026 with 82 wins, less than one full game below the Brewers in the division standings and four games below the Cubs.

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The Chicago Cubs finished their 2025 season with the clear understanding that they needed starting pitching. Despite a spirited effort in the NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers, they fell in five games. And a big part of that fall had to do with a hobbled and inconsistent rotation.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Could desperate Red Sox make a trade offer the Cubs can’t refuse?

Coming into that series, the Cubs were down to two reliable starters– Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon (and Boyd, himself, kicked off the series with a rocky start). Shota Imanaga had fallen out of manager Craig Counsell’s circle of trust. Rookie phenom Cade Horton never even made it to the playoffs as a rib fracture late in the regular season put him on the shelf.

So, in advance of 2026, the Cubs declared a focus on fortifying their starting five, plus restocking a depleted bullpen. They did both.

They signed four veteran free agent relievers for the bullpen rebuild. Then, they pulled the trigger on the much-talked about trade with the Miami Marlins for emerging star Edward Cabrera.

Adding the 27-year-old Cabrera to the rotation is a big deal. Another big deal is the mid-season return of ace Justin Steele, who had elbow surgery last April.

But are Cabrera and a half-season of Steele enough to ensure the kind of starting pitching depth needed for a deep playoff run?

Maybe not.

Zac Gallen rumors won’t die

More News: Chicago Cubs get “A” grade for offseason moves amid glaring questions

Rumors keep flying about ongoing talks with free agent Zac Gallen and every indication is that there could be fire where the smoke is. Recently, MLB insider Bruce Levine doubled down on the fact that a Cubs-Gallen deal is not so far-fetched.

The 30-year-old Gallen is coming off a down year with the Arizona Diamondbacks, posting an ugly 4.83 ERA after early season struggles. But the righty is an established workhorse, with an average of 31.5 starts and 183.5 innings logged over the last four seasons.

On paper, he looks to be exactly what a Cubs rotation full of durability questions needs.

But what would it take for the Cubs to get Gallen and what kind of roster maneuvers would his acquisition require?

Spotrac is estimating Gallen to go for a 4-year, $74.8 million contract. MLB Trade Rumors nearly mirrors that estimation with a 4-year, $80 million projection.

There’s some indication, though, that Gallen might go for a shorter-term deal in hopes that a rebound 2026 season could lead to a more lucrative re-entry into the free agent market.

That’s probably where the Cubs come in.

How much would Gallen cost the Cubs?

If the market doesn’t suddenly shift with regards to Gallen, the Cubs could conceivably get him on a two or three-year contract, with a player opt-out at the end of each contract year, somewhere in the $20 million-per-season range.

The Cubs would suffer a draft penalty for signing Gallen, who turned down Arizona’s $22 million qualifying offer. But that is less of a concern than how and where to fit Gallen into the rotation.

The addition of Gallen would give the Cubs six starting pitchers prior to opening day, competing for five slots, with Steele on deck to return and quality swing men Colin Rea and Javier Assad waiting in the wings.

An incoming Gallen = A big trade ahead?

A surplus of starting pitching is a good problem to have, of course, but it’s a bit of a problem nonetheless. There have to be innings for their pitchers to build a working rhythm. If injuries don’t come into play, the Cubs would have at least seven starters vying for innings.

Could the acquisition of Gallen be the precursor to another significant trade for Chicago this offseason?

Imanaga is working on a $22 million qualifying offer for 2026 and has seemingly, to an extent, fallen out of favor with coaching and the front office. Taillon is due $18 million for this last year of his contract. Both Imanaga and Taillon will likely be leaving Chicago after 2026 and could conceivably be moved ahead of the finish of their contract. Assad, as the team’s second swing man, could also be moved, perhaps packaged with another player for a more significant haul. Gallen would probably be seen as an upgrade over Imanaga, Taillon, or Assad.

Gallen, meanwhile, seems just fine with staying with the Diamondbacks, apparently amenable to a contract keeping him in a city where he has strong roots.

“It’s been humbling,” Gallen recently told reporters at the WM Phoenix Open, referring to the outpouring of ‘stay here’ talk from locals. “That’s kind of been the constant thing the last couple of weeks. People have been like, ‘Hey, we’d really love for you to come back.’ I think people understand what Phoenix means to me…My wife is from here, I’m calling this home base now, so for us to be here would be awesome.”

In December, Gallen’s rotation-mate Merrill Kelly signed a 2-year, $40 million contract to stay in Arizona.

With or without Gallen, though, the Cubs are hoping to come into 2026 with significantly more depth and security in their starting rotation.

The post Chicago Cubs and Zac Gallen: The cost and the necessary next move appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs have a problem as they head into the 2026 season, but it’s definitely a good problem to have. They need to find every day playing time for five quality infielders when there’s only space for four.

More News: Chicago Cubs get “A” grade for offseason moves amid glaring questions

The signing of free agent third baseman Alex Bregman pushed the still-developing Matt Shaw from his hot corner spot and forced some shuffling of plans. As of right now, the Cubs will be using the 24-year-old Shaw in a super utility role, as a backup at second base, third base, and corner outfield.

But those plans could change.

A desperate Boston Red Sox trade partner

More News: Chicago Cubs miss out on golden opportunity with free agent slugger

The Boston Red Sox, since unexpectedly losing Bregman to the Cubs, appears to be a team burning to save face. Despite signing free agent pitcher Ranger Suarez to a 5-year contract days after the Cubs-Bregman deal was announced, they have looked to be flailing in attempts to fortify their roster, especially with a thinned-out infield that has holes at both third base and second base.

Third baseman Eugenio Suarez and second baseman Brendan Donovan, both reported targets of the Red Sox, have come off the market in recent days. Suarez signed a one-year, $15 million deal with the Cincinnati Reds and Donovan was traded from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Seattle Mariners. Meanwhile, free agent Luis Arraez, a former second baseman converted to a first baseman, was signed to a one-year, $12 million deal by the San Francisco Giants and given the team’s full-time second base gig. Even supposed talks with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Houston Astros for second baseman Ketel Marte and third baseman Isaac Paredes, respectively, have reportedly hit a dead end.

Amid talks of converting outfielders to infielders, Boston is still looking for every day infield help. They’ve run out of quality free agent targets. And they appear to be down to one last possible trade partner– the Cubs.

By all accounts, Chicago has been willing to listen to offers for second baseman Nico Hoerner and Shaw, but is not all that motivated to trade either. Hoerner will become a free agent at the end of the 2026 season, but he’s become a team leader and figures to play an important role in the 2026 squad’s postseason push. Shaw, meanwhile, showed enough promise in his rookie 2025 campaign that the team sees him as not only insurance against a starter’s injury in the coming season, but also as insurance at second base in case they can’t re-sign Hoerner.

Matt Shaw would be the most likely target

Of the two tradeable assets, though, Shaw is probably much more likely to be dealt.

Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan:

“I’d be surprised to see Nico Hoerner move at this point. Dealing Matt Shaw is complicated because the Cubs believe there’s more than he showed last season, but teams are valuing him closer to the guy he was than the guy he might be. As of right now, both stay put, but we can’t discount that other moves made by other teams compel potential trade partners to re-engage and up their offers.”

But what if Boston really, really wants the Massachusetts native Shaw?

What the Red Sox have to offer

They have some very attractive young pitching in their organization. Especially, lefties Payton Tolle and Connelly Early, ranked no. 17 and no. 52, respectively, in Baseball America’s list of top 100 prospects. Both 23-year-olds are said to be major league-ready right now.

The Red Sox would surely prefer not to trade either, but desperate times could make for desperate measures. And with two team-controlled years of offseason trade acquisition Sonny Gray and five years of Ranger Suarez ahead of them, the starting rotation might not be of immediate pressing concern.

The Cubs might be moved from their trade indifference if such a top pitching prospect were dangled in front of them. Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, and Shota Imanaga could all possibly be leaving via free agency at the end of next season, so the need for arms will be there. And if the arms can be affordable and team-controlled for the next 5-6 years, all the better.

Realistically, the big haul would probably come for Shaw rather than for just one year of Hoerner. But, again, Chicago does seem to have a concrete plan for the future of their former no. 1 draft pick.

However, the Red Sox may be motivated to sacrifice a lot for what they need in the here and now. A recent Sports Illustrated trade proposal has Shaw going for Early and RHP prospect Juan Valera (no. 11 in the organization). If that deal is put out there, it’s hard to see the Cubs turning it down.

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The Chicago Cubs finished the 2025 season as, in a lot of ways, overachievers who eventually ran into a reality that knocked them from their playoff run.

More News: Chicago Cubs miss out on golden opportunity with free agent slugger

Despite adding right fielder Kyle Tucker, the team’s offense wasn’t expected to be as good as it was. Several players had career years, powering them to an especially strong first-half of season. The pitching staff also overachieved, delivering solid performance from a rotation that lost ace Justin Steele just four starts into the season and from a bullpen that seemed cobbled together from bits and pieces of other teams’ castoffs.

Eventually, though, the Cubs’ magic wore off and reality set in.

The offense flatlined for long stretch during the second half of the season and through the playoffs. The bullpen settled into mid-tier level. The starting rotation, meanwhile, carried on through injury until the wheels fell off the cart in the second round of the playoffs and the team was basically left with just two reliable starters in the NLDS.

A busy offseason

More News: Chicago Cubs’ overlooked bullpen x-factor could be key asset

This offseason, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and the Cubs front office worked on fortifying the roster and addressing the issues that kept the team from greater success in 2025.

Third baseman Alex Bregman was signed, replacing the outgoing Kyle Tucker in the lineup. They pulled the trigger on a trade to acquire emerging powerhouse starter Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins. They restocked a depleted bullpen with four veteran free agent pickups (Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Hunter Harvey). They also re-signed starter Shota Imanaga and reliever Caleb Thielbar on one-year deals.

Cubs get an “A” on offseason report card

The Cubs’ efforts were enough to earn them a stellar grade of “A” in a recent piece by former MLB exec Jim Bowden at The Athletic, giving them the same report card grade as the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays. Only the Dodgers got a higher grade, with an A+ after another offseason spending big money for big acquisitions.

Per Bowden:

“The Cubs have had arguably their best offseason since president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer took over in November 2020. They bolstered their starting rotation by acquiring Edward Cabrera, who has three years of team control remaining. They rebuilt the bullpen, adding five new relievers. But they made their biggest splash with the Alex Bregman signing. In addition to what he brings to the field, Bregman gives the Cubs an instant upgrade in team leadership and clubhouse culture. They lost Kyle Tucker in free agency but still have one of the best defensive outfields with Gold Glovers Ian Happ and Pete Crow-Armstrong.”

Bowden, who is picking the Cubs to finish first in the NL Central Division, listed the team’s biggest question as Justin Steele and whether he can make a healthy, productive return by mid-season.

But when/if/how Steele returns is not even close to being the only question on this Cubs squad, which seems pretty much set for the start of the season.

Glaring questions remain

Pitching is still the biggest all-around concern for this team.

Starter Matthew Boyd, who managed to stay healthy last season, has a long history of injury, as do Cade Horton and the newcomer Cabrera, who weren’t able to stay healthy. Jameson Taillon and Imanaga had long IL stints last season. And, of course, Steele is coming off elbow surgery.

In the bullpen, meanwhile, Daniel Palencia seemed to lose his luster as the team’s closer late in the season in his first extended run as a closer at the MLB level. He also suffered a late-season shoulder injury that landed him on the IL.

Then there’s the reality that a lot of the position players on the 2025 team had career offensive years, like Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, Nico Hoerner, and Carson Kelly. There’s bound to be some regression in at least some of them.

Yes, it’s true that all teams have question marks and that health and/or consistent play is not a guarantee for anyone. Any team, any player can be a victim of circumstance. The best a front office can do is line up all its ducks in a row and hope they don’t get run over by fate.

Have the Cubs done enough to protect themselves from the inherent uncertainty of baseball fates? On paper, the answer seems to be “yes.” On paper.

The post Chicago Cubs get “A” grade for offseason moves amid glaring questions appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs are headed into the 2026 season with an upgraded roster and expectations of a deeper postseason run than last season, which ended in Game 5 of the NLDS against the division rival Milwaukee Brewers.

More News: Chicago Cubs: The Alex Bregman for Kyle Tucker swap

Despite losing Kyle Tucker to free agency, the team added third baseman Alex Bregman via free agency, emerging powerhouse pitcher Edward Cabrera via trade with the Miami Marlins, and four free agent relievers to restock a depleted bullpen.

After a very eventful offseason, most believe that the Cubs are pretty much set for the upcoming campaign. Each of the position player slots is filled, the bullpen is packed, and the starting rotation is overflowing with possible starters.

Cubs still looking to improve team

More News: Chicago Cubs’ last move: Outfielder or pitcher?

This doesn’t mean, however, that Chicago is done trying to find ways to fortify their roster even further.

They’re reportedly still having talks with free agent starter Zac Gallen. There are reports of their willingness to entertain offers for infielders Nico Hoerner and Matt Shaw. They’re also reportedly still looking over free agent outfielders.

But the Cubs just missed out on a golden opportunity to really deliver an instant charge to the team and its championship chances in 2026 by overlooking Eugenio Suarez.

Cubs missed out on Eugenio Suarez (and his team-friendly contract)

The free agent slugger, instead, was just signed to a fairly team-friendly contract by the NL Central Cincinnati Reds.

Per MLB insider Jeff Passan

“Slugger Eugenio Suárez and the Cincinnati Reds are in agreement on a one-year, $15 million contract that includes a mutual option for the 2027 season, sources tell ESPN. The best bat left on the market goes to Cincinnati, where he’s expected to get most of his at-bats at DH.”

The 34-year-old’s willingness to sign a one-year deal for $15 million– and also to forego his third baseman spot for a DH role– should have the Cubs kicking themselves for not trying a bit harder to explore a play for the veteran home run hitter.

Last year, with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners, he finished fifth in MLB in home runs (49) and fourth in RBIs (118). The Cubs were reportedly interested in acquiring him from the Diamondbacks at the trade deadline, but a deal never materialized.

Against the Cubs, specifically, he was a terror. In just 7 games and 24 at bats versus Cubs pitching, he hit 5 home runs and drove in 11 runs. Overall, the Venezuela native has just been a Cubs killer with 36 home runs in 478 career at bats against the North Siders.

Not a great fit, but a powerful one

While it’s true that Chicago has greater need for a quality left-handed bat in their right-hand dominant lineup, it’s also true that you don’t turn down a potential 40-home run guy who could practically fall into your lap just because he’s a righty.

Suarez somewhere in the middle of the Cubs’ 2026 lineup as the team’s DH would’ve been killer. And spending the $15 million to get him (with a $16 million mutual option for 2027) would still leave the team a little room for in-season acquisitions before hitting the second luxury tax threshold.

Top prospect Moises Ballesteros, who is currently projected to be the opening day designated hitter, looks to be the real deal when it comes to hitting ability. Bringing Suarez aboard would’ve probably meant keeping him in Triple-A. But Ballesteros just turned 22. He would’ve been okay spending one more season in Iowa, where he could probably work on the defensive limitations that currently make him a DH-only player in the majors.

But the Cubs DIDN’T make a grab at Suarez. Now, they’ll have to deal with him on an improved division rival team.

The post Chicago Cubs miss out on golden opportunity with free agent slugger appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs had a big bullpen issue facing them after the 2025 season came to a close. They were facing the possibility of a mass exodus that could, conceivably, leave them with just two relievers on staff (Daniel Palencia, Ben Brown) from the NLDS roster.

More News: Chicago Cubs: The Alex Bregman for Kyle Tucker swap

And, ultimately, the depletion of the bullpen DID come to fruition. But as arms were leaving, the Cubs front office was busy adding new arms.

All in all, Chicago brought in four free agent bullpen pieces (Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Hunter Harvey) while re-signing 2025 holdover Caleb Thielbar.

New bullpen, usual concerns

More News: Chicago Cubs’ last move: Outfielder or pitcher?

Heading into 2026, the Cubs have a significantly different looking bullpen with some strong role players and established swingmen who could handle long relief as well as rotation duties. The bullpen outlook is more assuring than it was last year at this time when the ‘pen looked to be cobbled together on the fly.

But, of course, this is baseball. Things can go sideways fast and the bullpen is especially subject to wild shifts of fortune.

The Cubs will most likely need some of the bullpen holdovers and second-tier arms to contribute, as well as the newcomers, over the course of a long season with a hopeful deep postseason run.

Of all the possible potential x-factors on the fringe of the roster, perhaps none are as intriguing as Porter Hodge.

Porter Hodge’s polar opposite seasons

The soon-to-be 25-year-old had two wildly different years in his first two seasons as a major leaguer. In 2024, he came from the minors to dazzle with a 1.88 ERA and 9 saves in 39 appearances. In 2025, following early debate over whether he should be the Cubs’ closer, he completely tanked, posting a 6.27 ERA in 36 appearances. Injuries also hobbled him as he dealt with a left oblique strain in May and then a right shoulder impingement in July. His velocity subsequently dipped and he got hit hard– too hard to be kept on the major league roster.

Hodge will be going into 2026 with no defined role in the bullpen and with most not even projecting him to be on the opening day Cubs roster.

But it could prove to be a huge deal if he can get back to anywhere near 2024 form.

Hopes of a much appreciated comeback

A fully healed, productive Hodge could give the Cubs the co-closer fans and analysts have been campaigning for since the middle of last season. He’d be much-appreciated insurance for a Daniel Palencia who is still less than five full months into the role of closer. Maton and Harvey were acquired to possibly be that insurance, but one can never have too much backup.

“A Porter Hodge season, bouncing back,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell recently told media, “that’s going to be important.”

“No doubt,” Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins echoed. “He’s kind of the guy people aren’t talking about a ton, but he was doing what Daniel Palencia was doing two years ago. The stuff is in there…

“It’s, ‘How can he be consistent with that stuff?’ When he’s landing his fastball, when he’s commanding it, he’s a really, really solid reliever who can get outs in the back half of games. That’s something he’s focused on this offseason.

“It’ll be really fun to see him come into camp and hopefully earn a spot on the club.”

As things stand right now, Hodge’s 2025 has made him an afterthought in 2026, a depth piece in a bullpen picture stockpiled for depth. But he’s already proven his ability to be a killer at the major league level and a full comeback isn’t too much of fantasy scenario.

The post Chicago Cubs’ overlooked bullpen x-factor could be key asset appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs swapped out some top-tier talent this offseason. Replacing the outgoing Kyle Tucker, Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, and Justin Turner are Alex Bregman, Edward Cabrera, Tyler Austin and a four-pack of relievers (Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Hunter Harvey, and Jacob Webb).

More News: Chicago Cubs’ last move: Outfielder or pitcher?

Right now, it’s hard to argue that the Chicago, at least on paper, haven’t improved themselves significantly over a pretty good 2025 squad that made it all the way to game 5 of the NLDS.

The biggest swap from 2025 to 2026, though, is going from Tucker to Bregman.

It’s pretty obvious in hindsight that the Cubs were not all that interested in bringing Tucker back to the team. First, there was the obvious hurdle of money and the massive contract the right fielder wanted, which was initially estimated at as much as $500 million over 10 years. Then, there was an apparent souring on Tucker as the output of the four-time All-Star flat-lined after July 1 amid injury issues and some personality quirks that many interpreted as a lack of fire and/or an unwillingness to play a leadership role on the team.

The Cubs moved on from Kyle Tucker

More News: Chicago Cubs: Is this young pitcher an x-factor or just dead weight?

In the end, Tucker got his massive contract, just over a shorter period of time, as the Dodgers scooped him up on a ridiculously inflated 4-year, $240 million contract.

Before that, though, the Cubs had declared their disinterest in a returning Tucker by signing third baseman Alex Bregman to a 5-year, $175 million deal.

In Bregman, the Cubs seem to be getting all of the intangibles that Tucker lacked, along with a bat that is at least somewhat comparable. By all accounts, the three-time All-Star is just as valued for his leadership skills and clubhouse presence as he is for his on-field work.

Bregman also brings elite-tier defense at third base while Tucker, in right, proved not to be anywhere as solid defensively as hyped prior to the Cubs trading for him.

Better off with Bregman?

So, are the Cubs better off with Bregman than Tucker? Was the swap a positive for Chicago?

David Adler of MLB.com sees the two stars as “different but equal” in a recent piece on 2026 player projections. His projections for both:

Tucker: 27 HR, 18 SB, 82 RBIs, 139 wRC+, 3.9 WAR
Bregman: 23 HR, 77 RBIs, 121 wRC+, 3.8 WAR

Per Adler:

“Tucker was the marquee signing of the offseason, joining an already star-studded Dodgers team. Bregman was brought in by the Cubs to help replace Tucker, and he’s a star hitter himself. So what do the projections say about the two former Astros teammates? That Tucker and Bregman will be essentially the same level of impact player for their new teams.

Despite being very different types of players, Tucker and Bregman are back to back in Steamer’s WAR projections. Tucker’s skill is pure hitting — he’s projected to be a top-10 bat in the Majors by his 139 wRC+. But Bregman is also a good bat, with a 121 wRC+ projection, and his solid defense at third base makes up the gap.”

Intangibles, however, seem to make Bregman a significantly more valuable asset to the Cubs.

Bregman’s important role

With so much possible turnover heading into 2027 (Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner, Seiya Suzuki, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Carson Kelly, and Shota Imanaga, among others, have contracts expiring at the end of 2026), Chicago needs a guy like Bregman. They need a cornerstone presence and strong leadership for what looks to be a vastly different-looking 2027 and beyond.

Tucker just wasn’t that guy.

There’s no denying that Tucker was a linchpin in the Cubs lineup and a big reason the offense excelled over the first half of last season. He’s not an out-front leader, though. He’s much more of a happy background player who just happens to have elite-level ability.

In Bregman, the Cubs got a “best of both worlds” player who will benefit the team, even beyond what he can provide with his hands and feet.

So, yeah, it could be said that “Cubs win” with the Bregman for Tucker swap.

The post Chicago Cubs: The Alex Bregman for Kyle Tucker swap appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs were very fortunate last year when it came to their position players. With the exception of right fielder Kyle Tucker, who sputtered and fell apart over the second half of the season, the team’s position players remained healthy and present for the entire year.

More News: Chicago Cubs: Is this young pitcher an x-factor or just dead weight?

And this WAS a fortunate thing, indeed, since the Cubs’ 2025 bench was thin and lacking in production.

Chicago’s pitching staff was not as lucky.

Ace Justin Steele went down for the season with an elbow injury after just four starts. Shota Imanaga went down for eight weeks with hamstring issues shortly after that. Jameson Taillon had two stints on the IL. Rookie revelation Cade Horton went from being the best pitcher in baseball over the second half of the season to down for the count with fractured ribs over the last part of the regular season and through the playoffs. Closer Daniel Palencia also saw significant down time at the end of the regular season with a shoulder injury.

2026 Cubs are focused on depth

More News: Who the Chicago Cubs might extend and who they definitely will not

This coming season, the Cubs clearly see the possibility of them not being so lucky with their position players and being even more unlucky with their pitchers. It just stands to reason that someone among the position players is due for an injury and that a starting rotation full of durability question marks may suffer some degree of breakdown.

So, headed into a 2026 where expectations are high, the Cubs’ focus seems to be on depth.

Jed Hoyer and the front office have restocked a depleted bullpen, added emerging powerhouse starter Edward Cabrera via trade, signed third baseman Alex Bregman, and have added a virtual legion of backup possibilities via minor league deals and waver pickups.

With their budget close to being tapped out, the Cubs probably have room to make at least one more big or “biggish” acquisition. The question is, where do they make it.

They’d most definitely like more pitching depth, but there’s also a need to add a true, MLB-level fourth outfielder. Here’s a look at the case for each.

You can never have too much pitching

The Cubs still being linked to free agent starter Zac Gallen is surprising, but not all that much.

Starters Horton, Cabrera, and Boyd all have significant history of injury. Steele is coming off elbow surgery and may not be back until about mid-season. Imanaga and Taillon, meanwhile, also lost good chunks of last year due to injury.

The team is fortunate that they have quality swingmen Colin Rea and Javier Assad on the roster, as well as potentially serviceable options in Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks. But nobody will be walking into 2026 as a guarantee to be healthy and productive throughout the year.

Gallen has averaged 31.5 starts over the last four seasons and posted 192 innings last season, despite having a down year. A dependable workhorse in the middle of the rotation would be extreme insurance against the inherent uncertainty among the starting five.

The Cubs don’t have to go big in Gallen, however. There are some more modest free agent acquisitions, either starters or swingmen, still out there that may actually come at a budget price as spring training approaches. Pitchers like Nick Martinez, Chris Bassitt, Zack Littell, Patrick Corbin, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Lucas Giolito are among the best of the rest when it comes to available starters. All would look good in a Cubs uniform as high-end depth pieces.

The need for a fourth outfielder

Last season, center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and left fielder Ian Happ played nearly every inning of every game– and their late season fizzle seemed to show some drain in their game because of it.

This year, with right fielder Kyle Tucker out of the picture and top prospect Owen Caissie traded away in the Cabrera deal, the outfield looks thinner than ever, even with Seiya Suzuki moving back to right from DH.

The Cubs need a quality fourth outfielder who can spell all three starters and maintain a decent level of productivity while doing so. The 23-year-old Kevin Alcantara and Dodgers castoff Justin Dean have been the favorites to land that fourth outfielder gig, with recent minor league contract signees Dylan Carson and Chas McCormick also competing for the spot. Former starting third baseman Matt Shaw may also get some outfield playing time in his new role as super utility player. But none of them are sure things.

The Cubs have been linked to free agent outfielder Miguel Andujar and have been encouraged to kick the tires on Andrew McCutchen and Austin Hays. Even former Cub Mike Tauchman could be an upgrade over fourth outfielder options already on hand. Best of all for a budget-watching Cubs team, though, is that none of the above options would break the bank. Andujar is projected at $6-$8 million a season. McCutchen and Hays at about $5 million, and Tauchman at likely under $3 million.

Chicago’s next significant move is likely their last of the offseason. Time (and market) will tell if that last move is towards pitching or an outfield bench asset.

The post Chicago Cubs’ last move: Outfielder or pitcher? appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs seem determined not to repeat the mistakes made last season when they simply didn’t have enough pitching depth to carry them through the postseason.

More News: Who the Chicago Cubs might extend and who they definitely will not

This offseason, aside from bringing back Shota Imanaga and Caleb Thielbar for at least one more season, they also went about re-arming a depleted bullpen with four free agent signings and stockpiling a load of pitchers via minor league deals. Their biggest move, though, came in trading for the Miami Marlins’ emerging power pitcher Edward Cabrera, who will be penciled in somewhere between the no. 2 and no. 4 slots in the starting rotation.

Amid all the pitching moves this offseason, some of the holdovers from 2025 have been overlooked.

Ben Brown is one of those overlooked holdovers.

Ben Brown’s rough (but also promising) 2025

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Admittedly, after a rough 2025, it’s easy to overlook the 6-foot-6 righty. A 5.92 ERA over 25 appearances, along with the second-worst average exit velocity allowed in all of baseball, are not points of pride. Things like that will definitely get you put on the back burner of a team with serious postseason aspirations.

But the 26-year-old could actually be a low-key X factor on this 2026 Cubs squad.

Brown, who came over from the Philadelphia Phillies organization in a 2022 trade deadline deal for reliever David Robertson, has shown moments of brilliance throughout his short 2-season major league career. In 2025, for instance, he led MLB in knuckle curve strikeouts with 83.

The raw tools are there for excellence, but the consistency has not been.

Where do you pitch him?

In 2026, another problem promises to complicate Brown’s ability to contribute to the big league Cubs– the question of where to actually use him.

With the starting rotation filled (and soon to be overflowing with the return of Justin Steele) and swing man gigs going to the more established Colin Rea and Javier Assad, Brown seems stuck to third-tier bullpen duty on the Cubs’ pitching staff, if he breaks spring training with the team at all.

Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy sees the possibilities in Brown, but shares that uncertainty concerning how to use him.

“For me, I 100% see him as a starter,” Hottovy told media earlier in the offseason. “He’s got the upside to be a really good power pitcher in the back end of the bullpen, but you don’t want to just crown that. You want that to kind of happen. Sometimes it happens because it’s what the team needs. Sometimes it happens because the player shows you that’s his best role.”

Realities and expectations

As of right now, there appears to be more closer potential than front-of-rotation potential. A relatively limited pitch arsenal (with the fastball and knuckle curve accounting for 95.5% of his pitches in 2025) would seem to put a cap on how far he could go as a starter. His 96+ mph fastball and his ability to induce whiffs with the knuckle curve, though, could be maximized as tools in shorter one or two-inning appearances.

Brown, himself, acknowledges his versatility as a plus for his ability to contribute to a team that is focusing on depth and maneuverability.

“I think that’s something I need to embrace even more,” Brown recently told Marquee Sports Network. “Doesn’t matter what role I’m in or where I’m at. I got to go out there and pitch and compete and focusing and honing in on that will be huge.”

But what else could he say, right?

With the rotation set and the bullpen restocked, Brown’s role will have to be as a “wherever, whenever he can” pitcher and as insurance against injury.

It’s in him to surprise, though. And if he does manage to put it all together this season, he could be an unexpected key to 2026 success.

The post Chicago Cubs: Is this young pitcher an x-factor or just dead weight? appeared first on ChiCitySports.

The Chicago Cubs, in a lot of ways, are facing somewhat of a “win now” situation in 2026. Looking up and down the roster, one realizes just how much of the team’s core talent could be leaving after the coming season.

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Literally, half the 26-man roster could be departing Chicago after the 2026 campaign:

Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
Nico Hoerner
Matthew Boyd
Jameson Taillon
Shota Imanaga
Carson Kelly
Colin Rea
Caleb Thielbar
Hoby Milner
Jacon Webb
Hunter Harvey
Tyler Austin

Now, to paint a clearer picture, it should be noted that the Cubs hold club options on Rea and Webb for 2027 and that a mutual option is on the books for Boyd, Kelly, Thielbar, and Harvey (although, seriously, could Boyd be expected to take his one-year $15 million option for 2027 if he has another great season in 2026?).

Still, there’s no arguing that there will be major turnover in 2027 and that big decisions will have to be made, especially regarding the most senior veterans on the above list– Happ, Suzuki, Hoerner, Taillon, and Imanaga.

Will the Cubs opt to extend any of the above? Who will they let drift away into free agency, with everyone knowing full well that, realistically, the team won’t get into a bidding war for any of them once they’re on the open market?

Here’s a look at who the Cubs could likely extend and who will be saying goodbye to Chicago after next year.

Extending Nico Hoerner should be a no-brainer

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Nico Hoerner is the best Cubs second baseman since Ryne Sandberg. Period.

Aside from becoming one of baseball’s most consistent contact hitters over the last few seasons and establishing himself as a two-time Gold Glove winner, he’s also become a valuable team leader with the Cubs. Last season, as the offense slumped en masse, he practically carried the team through the latter part of the season and through the playoffs.

CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa estimates that a Hoerner extension might be had for about $120 million over 6 years. That’s a reasonable price for what the soon-to-be 29-year-old brings to the table, given his ability and his importance to the team. He’s already shown himself willing to sign a contract extension, going for a 3-year, $35 million deal prior to the 2024 season, so he could be open to another offer, with a fair and reasonable raise attached.

The Cubs front office should be tarred and feathered if they don’t try to make this happen.

Ian Happ might “steady” his way into a new deal

Left fielder Ian Happ is not the flashiest of talents or the most obvious of stars, but the Cubs’ decision on extending him may come down to the fact that they don’t want to head into 2027 needing replacements for both corner outfielders. If the choice comes down to extending the steady and consistent 4-time Gold Glove Happ or the more mercurial but higher offensive upside Seiya Suzuki, the Cubs’ preferred option may be Happ.

MLB writer Eric Cross recently pointed out just how steadily capable Happ has been, noting that the switch-hitter is the only major leaguer over the last three years to deliver “30+ Doubles, 20+ Home Runs, 75+ RBI, 85+ Runs Scored, and 80+ Walks.”

In 2024, Happ signed a 3-year, $61 million extension and, at 31 years of age, a similar deal would be reasonable for both parties, although Happ may push for more years.

So long to Chicago, welcome back for one last year?

Regardless of how well he performs in 2026, catcher Carson Kelly might be a necessary keep for 2027 (if he doesn’t choose to take his services elsewhere via his option). With the frequently-injured Miguel Amaya behind him and nobody close to major league-ready in the minors, the Cubs may need to keep Kelly around.

Relievers Rea, Thielbar, Webb, and Harvey could be back if they perform well in 2026, just because dependable bullpen arms are always a valuable commodity.

Boyd, as mentioned earlier, will likely opt to enter free agency and move on from his guaranteed $15 million in search of more money and more years if his 2026 season is anywhere as good as his 2025 run. If he fizzles in 2026, the Cubs may decline their part of the mutual option. Either way, Boyd may be pitching elsewhere in 2027.

Jameson Taillon and Shota Imanaga, meanwhile, are almost guaranteed goners as their price doesn’t match their expected performance. Given the Cubs’ starting pitching depth, the team could stand to lose both and use that combined $40 million saved to pursue a front-of-rotation replacement.

Suzuki will also likely be gone as he’ll definitely be looking for more than his current $19 million salary and the Cubs may be wary of keeping him onboard for another 5 years at well over $100 million.

So, yes, there will be some big chances coming for 2027. The hope, however, is that at least a couple recognizable names can be brought back.

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