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Kelly went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI in Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Padres.
Kelly connected in the fifth inning for his first home run of the exhibition slate. The veteran catcher got off to a scorching hot start in 2025 before eventually cooling off, but he still finished with a respectable .761 OPS and 17 home runs across 111 regular-season games. Heading into 2026, Kelly should be Chicago's top backstop again with Miguel Amaya serving in a complementary role. Amaya dealt with a myriad of injuries last year and could push for a larger chunk of playing time this season if he stays healthy, which would allow Kelly to stay fresher but might reduce his fantasy ceiling.
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Cubs' Shota Imanaga: Velocity up in spring debut
Rotowire
Imanaga allowed three hits across two scoreless innings in Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Padres. He struck out one.
Making his spring debut, Imanaga looked sharp as he logged 33 pitches. Most notably, his fastball velocity was 93 mph on average in the contest, which is up from last season's 90.8 mph average, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports. This supports reports coming out of camp about increased velocity for Imanaga. It remains to be seen if this is just a blip for the southpaw in a short start or something he can actually sustain throughout the year. If Imanaga can regularly throw harder, he might be able to improve upon last season's 7.3 K/9, which was down from the 9.0 K/9 he recorded during his 2024 rookie campaign.
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Cubs' Jonathon Long: Swings bat Tuesday
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Cubs manager Craig Counsell said that Long (elbow) took some swings Tuesday and feels better, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Long suffered a sprained left (non-throwing) elbow on a collision at first base over the weekend, but he's on the mend. The 24-year-old had planned to leave Tuesday for Japan to join Team Chinese Taipei for the World Baseball Classic, but he will delay his departure until Friday. It would appear the Cubs plan to give the go-ahead for Long to play in the WBC.
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Cubs' Ben Brown: Strikes out three in spring debut
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Brown allowed two hits across two scoreless innings in Monday's Cactus League game against the Royals. He struck out three.
Making his spring debut, Brown looked sharp across his 30 pitches, 20 of which he tossed for strikes. The lanky righty spent time as both a starter and reliever last season, and he mostly struggled with a 5.92 ERA and 1.44 WHIP across 106.1 innings. However, Brown also struck out 121 batters and flashed a fastball that sat right around 96 mph, so there is plenty of upside in his arm. With the Cubs seemingly having a full rotation to begin the year, Brown figures to slot into the bullpen if he makes the team out of camp, though he could be an option to make some starts down the road if a need arises. As a reliever, the 26-year-old could see his stuff play up a bit.
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Cubs' Jefferson Rojas: Connects on first spring home run
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Rojas went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Monday's Cactus League game against the Royals.
Rojas received an invite to major-league spring training at just 20 years of age, and he didn't look overmatched Monday as he connected for his first Cactus League home run. The young shortstop is not on Chicago's 40-man roster and has yet to play above the Double-A level, so he's almost certainly ticketed for a return to the minors, but he could turn some heads with a strong spring. Rojas is worth keeping a close eye on in dynasty formats this season, particularly if he keeps developing his power stroke.
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Cubs' Michael Conforto: Latches on with Cubs
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Conforto agreed to a one-year contract with the Cubs on Monday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
Per Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com, Conforto will be joining the Cubs on a minor-league deal, which means he won't have any assurances of being part of the Opening Day roster. However, if Conforto is able to impress during spring training and breaks camp with the big club, he could play right field against some right-handed pitchers while Seiya Suzuki slides to designated hitter. Conforto, who turns 33 in March, is coming off the worst season of his career in 2025, when he slashed .199/.305/.333 with 12 home runs in 486 plate appearances with the Dodgers.
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Cubs' Moises Ballesteros: Officially with team
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Ballesteros reported to spring camp Sunday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Ballesteros has officially joined the Cubs for spring camp after dealing with visa issues entering the United States. Just 22 years old, Ballesteros could compete for the Cubs' DH job after slashing .298/.394/.474 with two homers, 11 RBI and 12 runs across 66 plate appearances for the team in 2025.
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Cubs' Jonathon Long: Diagnosed with elbow sprain
Rotowire
Long exited Saturday's Cactus League game against Texas with a sprained left elbow, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
The 24-year-old prospect suffered the injury while attempting to catch a wide throw to first base that put his arm in the path of Mark Canha, leading to a collision. Long will likely miss some time while he recovers, though it's still unknown whether his injury will impact his availability for the start of the regular season.
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Cubs' Jonathon Long: Injures wrist Saturday
Rotowire
Long was removed from Saturday's Cactus League game against the Rangers with an apparent left wrist injury, Matthew Postins of SI.com reports.
Mark Canha ran into Long's arm while the latter was attempting to catch a wide throw to first base in the fourth inning. The severity of Long's injury isn't immediately clear, but the Cubs should provide more information on his status in the near future.
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Cubs' Porter Hodge: Struggles with command Friday
Rotowire
Hodge allowed two runs on a hit and four walks while retiring just a single batter via strikeout in Friday's Cactus League game against the White Sox.
It was an alarming spring training debut for Hodge, who struggled last year after a promising 2024 rookie season. The righty saw his BB/9 jump from 4.0 two years ago to 4.9 last year, and he'll need to improve in that area if he wants to stick around as a high-leverage reliever for the Cubs. Hodge has maintained good velocity in both of his professional campaigns and has a career 10.9 K/9, so the talent is there if he can refine his control.
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Cubs' Jameson Taillon: Struggles in spring debut
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Taillon allowed four runs on four hits and a walk across 1.2 innings of work in Friday's Cactus League game against the White Sox. He struck out one.
Making his spring debut, Taillon allowed a pair of home runs and only recorded five outs while tossing 34 pitches. Fantasy managers shouldn't worry too much about spring results for the veteran, as he should be able to round into form before the regular season begins and offer up fairly steady performance. Health is worth monitoring with Taillon, as he made a few trips to the injured list in 2025 and only logged 129.2 regular-season innings, his fewest in a season since 2019.
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Cubs' Moises Ballesteros: Expected to report Saturday
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Ballesteros (personal) is expected to report to spring camp Saturday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.
After working through visa issues that have delayed his entry into the United States, Ballesteros will finally be able to begin preparing for the regular season. The 22-year-old's poor defense will likely keep him from starting behind the plate with the Cubs, but after slashing .298/.394/.474 across 66 regular-season plate appearances last year, he could earn a job as Chicago's primary DH.
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Cubs' Shota Imanaga: Better velocity this spring
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Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Thursday that Imanaga has been throwing harder early this spring, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.
Counsell didn't offer specifics on Imanaga's velocity, but he believes the left-hander wasn't throwing as hard last season because a hamstring injury caused his mechanics to get out of whack. After averaging 91.7 mph and earning a plus-4 run value by Baseball Savant with his four-seamer in 2024, Imanaga averaged 90.8 mph and netted a minus-10 run value in 2025. The southpaw accepted a one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer this offseason to return to the Cubs for 2026.
Cubs' Dansby Swanson: Aims to swap power for more contact
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Swanson is willing to swap some power for more contact in 2026, Bruce Levine of Marquee Sports Network reports.
Swanson has clubbed at least 22 home runs in four of the past five seasons, but he also has a strikeout rate over 25 percent during that span and would like to cut that down. The 32-year-old's chase rate has been consistently above league average, but his in-zone contact rate has been well below average, as he ranked 129th out of 144 qualifiers in that metric in 2025. Swanson went 20-20 last season but still finished outside the top-12 in fantasy at a loaded shortstop position.
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Cubs' Justin Steele: Targeting May or June return
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Steele (elbow) has been throwing 30-pitch bullpen sessions and is targeting a return to the majors in May or June, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun Times reports.
Steele underwent UCL revision surgery on his left elbow in mid-April of last year, and the southpaw is currently building up strength before he's able to return later in 2026. He was Chicago's Opening Day starter two years ago and has a career 3.30 regular-season ERA, so there's plenty of upside in his arm. However, the Cubs will undoubtedly be cautious with his return, and there could be a good degree of rust as well. Fantasy managers should target the 30-year-old as an intriguing stash candidate in 2026, though expectations should be tempered due to the long layoff. It's also possible Steele returns to a bullpen role, at least initially, with Chicago adding Edward Cabrera in the offseason to bolster its rotation.
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Cubs' Seiya Suzuki: Could DH often against lefties
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Suzuki figures to see regular playing time in right field but will also be a top DH option, particularly against lefties, while Matt Shaw may frequently cover right field, Bruce Levine of Marquee Sports Network reports.
Shaw played third base almost exclusively as a rookie in 2025, but the addition of Alex Bregman will push the former into more of a utility role. The Cubs are expected to use Shaw some in the outfield, particularly against lefties, who he performed much better against last year. Shaw's ability to play right field will allow Suzuki to get plenty of days off from playing the field, even with the offseason departure of Kyle Tucker creating a sizeable hole in right. Suzuki made 102 of his 149 regular-season starts at DH in 2025, and he enjoyed a career year from a power standpoint, blasting 32 home runs to go along with 103 RBI and an .804 OPS. Moises Ballesteros (personal) figures to be Chicago's other primary DH option on days when Suzuki plays the field.
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Cubs' Matt Shaw: Likely to start in RF versus LHP
Rotowire
The Cubs are expected to start Shaw in right field against left-handed pitchers, Bruce Levine of Marquee Sports Network reports.
Per Levine, manager Craig Counsell said that Shaw will play a lot in the outfield, and that will likely include starting in right field versus lefties while Seiya Suzuki slides into the designated-hitter spot. Shaw played the outfield a bit in college and in summer ball but has not spent an inning there at the professional level. The 24-year-old appears poised to operate in a super-utility role for the Cubs this season.
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