Chicago Cubs Lineup (2/26/19): Cast of Regulars Backs Yu Darvish in Spring Debut

Tuesday’s game at Sloan Park will be the first time this spring Joe Maddon has rolled with a lineup we could see in the regular season. Well, other than the DH, which pearl-clutching purists won’t have to witness in the National League for another few years.

Jason Heyward leads off in right, Kris Bryant is at third, Anthony Rizzo is at the other corner, and Javy Báez gets to bat without manning a position. Kyle Schwarber will display his new/old squatty stance as the left fielder, Daniel Descalso is at second, and Albert Almora Jr. is in center.

Addison Russell gets his second start at short this spring and Victor Caratini is behind the plate to work with Yu Darvish. The big righty put on a lot of muscle mass this winter as he worked back from elbow surgery and it seems to be serving him well so far. Darvish is sitting 93-94 mph on the fastball, which is ahead of schedule for this time of year even under normal circumstances.

Darvish doesn’t figure to throw more than two innings, but it’ll be good for him to get back out there in some form of competition. Same goes for the guys slated to follow him, none of whom figure to break camp with the big club. And though the position-player replacements are likewise longshots, those guys can sometimes produce fireworks late in games.

First pitch is set for 1:05pm local time, which is 2:05pm CT, and can be heard via MLB.com