Chicago

Cubs

Bregman’s first spring homer in a Cubs’ uniform came off Kay in the first inning. The 31-year-old has been solid in the Cactus League, as those two extra-base hits along with a walk has him slashing .455/.571/.909. Bregman will hope that hot hitting continues into next week, as he’s set to join Team USA for the World Baseball Classic.

Miller is going to likely miss all of the 2026 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The right-hander is now off the 40-man roster, and the Cubs claimed Ben Cowles with the extra room.

Cowles returns to the Cubs after the Blue Jays claimed him off waivers just two weeks ago. He’ll provide some organizational depth in 2026; likely in Triple-A Iowa.

Imanaga gave up all three runs on solo homers. The 32-year-old didn’t issue a walk while picking up a strikeout. Imanaga will not be participating in the WBC in 2026, so he’ll remain a part of the Cubs’ spring training rotation before pitching at or near the top of the rotation when the real games start.

Counsell told reporters that Busch has “earned the right” to get a chance to face southpaws. While it’s possible the 28-year-old won’t handle them well, it does give him a chance to add more counting stats, which is always nice. Busch hit 34 homers with an .866 OPS in 2025, and similiar — if not better — production is feasible for the former first-round pick this summer.

Steele noted that he’s finished with his follow-up visits to Dr. Keith Meister who performed the operation and that he has been cleared to start throwing curveballs in his bullpen sessions. The 30-year-old southpaw wants to return by June so that he’s hitting his stride in October. He has found himself going just inside the top 400 picks in recent NFBC drafts, with the expectation that fantasy managers will get nothing from him for the first two months of the season.

Colin Rea, Ben Brown and Assad are competing to make the Cubs as middle relievers but also to be first into the rotation should anything happen, and all three pitched today. Rea opened up with three scoreless frames, Brown followed by striking out three in two scoreless innings and Assad then kept the Dodgers scoreless through the eighth. Of the group, Rea is a lock to have a roster spot and Brown is most likely to open up in Triple-A. Assad is probably better than 50/50 to have a spot, but it’d certainly help his chances if someone got hurt.

Alcántara was a DH today. He’s a little behind after surgery in October to repair a sports hernia, but he should be fine for the start of the regular season. Since he was saddled with a fourth option year over the winter, he’s likely to return to Triple-A Iowa, where he hit .266/.349/.470 with 17 homers last year.

The homer came off Logan Allen in the first. It was his first spring home run since 2023, as he went without one in 75 at-bats the last two years.

Cabrera had a 25.07 ERA in four starts last spring before opening the season on the IL with a blister, so things are already off to a better start here. His velocities today were on par with his 2025 numbers, and he allowed just one hard-hit ball to the three batters who made contact.