Cubs' Michael Busch: Not expected to be platooned

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Cubs manager Craig Counsell suggested Saturday that Busch won't be deployed in a platoon to open the season and has earned the right to play regularly versus left-handed pitchers, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports.

Busch is coming off a breakthrough 2025 campaign in which he slashed .261/.343/.523 with 34 home runs, but the left-handed-hitting first baseman was largely shielded from same-handed pitching and did the overwhelming share of his damage versus righties, whom he faced for 497 of his 592 plate appearances. The Cubs signed the right-handed-hitting Tyler Austin this winter with the intention of having him fill the short side of a platoon, but with Austin now set to miss multiple months after recently undergoing a knee procedure, Counsell appears content to give Busch a full run of at-bats at first base. While the added exposure to lefties could lead to a drop in his batting average, Busch could increase his output in the counting categories due to the higher overall volume of plate appearances.