Chicago Cubs Lineup (2/20/26): Long Leads Off, Bregman at 3B, Taillon Starting

Chicago Cubs baseball is on the air! The Cactus League slate opens this afternoon with a game against the White Sox from Sloan Park in Mesa, and we’ve got you covered with our first preview of the year. It’ll be a short one since these early games are little more than controlled scrimmages, but you can rest assured that the insight will improve along with the quality of play.

Breakout prospect Jonathon Long gets the start at first base, followed by Alex Bregman at third and Seiya Suzuki in center. Miguel Amaya is behind the plate, former Cardinal Dylan Carlson is in right, and Chas McCormick is in left. Pedro Ramirez is at second, B.J. Murray is the DH, and Scott Kingery is at short. If you’re wondering why three regulars are in there among the non-roster players, it’s because they’ve got to be ready for the World Baseball Classic.

Bregman will represent Team USA, Suzuki is with Samurai Japan, and Amaya is catching for Panama, which is why they’re all bunched together near the top. They should all get two plate appearances before heading for the showers. Suzuki playing center might seem a little strange, but he’s got to hop a flight back to Japan on Monday. Pete Crow-Armstrong, who is also participating in the WBC, can cede his position for a day with no impact to his preparation.

A far more interesting wrinkle in the outfield is seeing McCormick and Carlson battling for a possible bench spot. Kevin Alcántara is in the mix as well, but the Cubs bringing in those two veterans on minor league deals tells us there are no guarantees. While El Jaguar oozes potential and should be able to do at least as well as either elder statesman, we’ve seen the team back-burner young guys in the past. I don’t particularly like how that impacts both Alcantara and the team, but it’s not my call.

That said, I think Carlson and/or McCormick will have to perform well enough to leave no doubt if they want to break camp with the big club.

On the pitching side, we’ll see Jameson Taillon getting the ball to start. It will be a brief outing for the big righty, who has had his share of issues staying healthy over the last couple of seasons. All we can really look for this afternoon is an uneventful appearance that sets him up for more in the future. But feel free to overreact wildly if he gets shelled right out of the gate.

On the bump for the Sox is 25-year-old righty Jonathan Cannon, who has worked mainly as a starter on the South Side over parts of the last two seasons. His last name is a little misleading, as he’s got a league-average 94 mph fastball. Cannon has one of the more balanced repertoires you’ll ever see, throwing each of his five pitches at 15-24% frequency. The cutter, sinker, and change are his favorites, though only the first of those generated positive value last season.

Cannon was among the worst pitchers in the league last year when it came to run value and most other individual metrics, boasting a Statcast slider page that is as blue as the Mesa sky on a clear day. His strikeout rate was way too low, he walked too many batters, and he gave up tons of hard contact. That came from leaving too many pitches over the heart of the plate, and it doesn’t help that his 6.2-foot extension made his velo play down.

We probably won’t see enough of him to get a good feel for whether and what he may have changed, but he’ll need to implement some tweaks if he wants to hang around. Here’s to hoping the Cubs are able to punish a mistake or three this afternoon.

First pitch is at 2:05pm CT on Marquee and 104.3 The Score.

We are soooo back.

Watch today’s game live on Marquee Sports Network. pic.twitter.com/dKB9CmufVJ

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) February 20, 2026