It’s hard to believe, but today we stand only six days away from the Cubs’ first 2026 regular season game, which will be next Thursday at Wrigley Field against the Washington Nationals.
Here’s a first look at the weather forecast:
Thursday
A chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 58.
Honestly? That wouldn’t be too bad, as long as the “chance” turns into “nope.”
Here’s who I think will be standing on the third-base line to be introduced to the Wrigley crowd next Thursday.
Catchers (2)
Miguel Amaya, Carson
Kelly
Nothing to really discuss here. These two are a solid catching tandem.
Infielders (5)
Michael Busch, Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson, Alex Bregman, Matt Shaw
I’m listing Shaw as an infielder even though he could very well be in right field on Opening Day if Seiya Suzuki’s injury forces him to the injured list, something that hasn’t yet been determined.
Outfielders (5)
Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki, Dylan Carlson, Michael Conforto
With the possibility that Suzuki’s not available, Carlson and Conforto could both make the Opening Day roster. Incidentally, PCA and Bregman are expected back in camp today, but likely won’t play in a game until tomorrow or Sunday.
Designated hitter (1)
Moisés Ballesteros
I’m listing Ballesteros here because that’s what he will be most of the time — the team’s DH. Interesting article here by Patrick Mooney in The Athletic about Ballesteros:
“I’ve suggested to the hitting coaches that they stay away from him,” Counsell said. “I did have a meeting with the hitting coaches at one point this spring. I called them all together, and they got a little nervous. I said, ‘You guys should stay away from Ballesteros.’
“Joking, you know, but they got the message.”
Ballesteros might never become more than an emergency/occasional catcher in MLB, but the man can hit. In Spring Training so far he’s batting .355/.394/.613 (11-for-33) in 11 games with two doubles, two home runs and eight RBI.
Starting pitchers (5)
Matthew Boyd, Edward Cabrera, Cade Horton, Shōta Imanaga, Jameson Taillon
We already know that Boyd will start the Opening Day game. Beyond that Craig Counsell hasn’t announced his rotation, so the rest are listed in alphabetical order.
For the record, I am not concerned about Taillon, who’s had a terrible spring. Nor am I concerned about Imanaga, who had an outstanding outing on Tuesday. I had written that he had 23 whiffs in that outing; the correct number is 25, which is the most by any Cub in any game, spring or not, since Yu Darvish had 26 in 2020.
Relief pitchers (8)
Daniel Palencia, Hunter Harvey, Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Caleb Thielbar, Jacob Webb, Colin Rea, Gavin Hollowell
It’s possible the Cubs keep Ben Brown in the pen to start the season, although he might also be sent to Triple-A Iowa to be stretched out to start. The same is true of Javier Assad, I think. Hollowell has had a good spring (24 batters faced, 11 strikeouts), but he is optionable, so it’s possible someone else might take that spot. One thing Jed Hoyer has been really good at is identifying scrap-heap relievers who have come to Chicago and succeeded.
Of the eight relievers listed above, only two (Rea and Thielbar) were on last year’s Opening Day roster and four (Harvey, Maton, Milner, Webb) were not in the Cubs organization at all in 2025.
