For the Chicago Cubs, this spring training is all about building up to something bigger and better after reaching the NLDS last season. The Cubs are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their last World Series title in 2016.
A year ago the Chicago Cubs had several pitchers breakout in their bullpen. Veterans such as Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, Caleb Thielbar, and even Chris Flexen, for a few months anyway, were essential to the club having one of the best relief corps in the league.
A year ago, Alex Bregman arrived at the Boston Red Sox spring training in Fort Myers, Florida, after signing a three-year, $120 million deal. After a solid season with the Red Sox, Bregman opted out of his contract at the end of the year to head back into free agency.
The Chicago Cubs are ready to have some young talent make some major moves throughout the 2026 season. While some are going to begin the season in the minor leagues, others are projected to be on the 26-man roster coming out of Spring Training.
Spring Training is officially underway for the Chicago Cubs and with that comes exposure to players entering the final year of their deal. Playing well needs to start immediately and impending free agent outfielder Seiya Suzuki is well aware.
The 2026 MLB season is right around the corner, and it is never too early to start thinking about how it might unfold. Seemingly, every year, we have a decent handle on who should contend and who is likely to struggle, which makes looking ahead to the trade deadline inevitable.
When the Chicago Cubs signed Alex Bregman this offseason, it was assumed that it was merely a trade-off in that they were replacing Kyle Tucker with another superstar.
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.
With the addition of Alex Bregman this winter, exactly how the Chicago Cubs will deploy Matt Shaw in 2026 remains a bit unclear. That’s not a big issue right now, considering the Cubs are barely more than a week into spring training.
The Chicago Cubs enter the 2026 spring training camp with massive expectations. After an aggressive offseason that saw the front office push their chips to the center of the table—bringing in star third baseman Alex Bregman and trading for arm talent like Edward Cabrera—the focus has largely been on the big-league stars.
The Cubs announced they’ve hired Dixon Machado to manage their Arizona Complex League affiliate. That seemingly brings an end to his playing career after 17 seasons in pro ball.
It’s common for baseball teams to spend the winter focusing on new acquisitions and then pivot to extensions during spring training. Nothing seems urgent with a couple of Cubs, as outfielders Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki both tell Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times that they have not yet heard from the club on the extension front.