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Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong: Swipes two bags in big win
Rotowire
Crow-Armstrong went 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored and two stolen bases in Saturday's 10-2 win over the Nationals.
After swiping a career-high 35 bags on 43 attempts last season, Crow-Armstrong was successful on his first two tries in 2026. The 24-year-old center fielder is off to a hot start at the plate, going 4-for-9 in two games with a 1:3 BB:K, but he's still looking for his first extra-base hit of the year.
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Cubs' Cade Horton: Quality start to open season
Rotowire
Horton (1-0) picked up the win Saturday, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk over 6.1 innings in a 10-2 rout of the Nationals. He struck out four.
The only real mistake Horton made in the quality start came on a 95.2 mph fastball he grooved over the plate in the fourth inning, which James Wood deposited in the left-field bleachers at Wrigley Field. Horton is coming off a rookie campaign in which he delivered a 2.67 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 97:33 K:BB over his first 118 big-league innings, and big things are expected from the 24-year-old right-hander in 2026. His next start lines up to come on the road next weekend in Cleveland.
Neely cleared waivers Saturday and was sent outright to Triple-A Iowa, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.
Neely lost his place on the 40-man roster Wednesday after making four appearances in the Cactus League, striking out seven batters across four scoreless innings. He posted a 6.23 ERA and 1.56 WHIP over 30.1 frames at Iowa last year, however, and he'll likely need to show consistent improvement before the Cubs consider bringing him back to the big leagues.
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Cubs' Michael Conforto: Sitting again Saturday
Rotowire
Conforto isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Nationals.
Conforto entered the season as the favorite to start in right field while Seiya Suzuki works his way back from a knee injury, but the Cubs have instead given Matt Shaw the starting nod in both of their first two contests. Conforto should still make occasional starts in the field, though perhaps not as often as initially thought.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: Sitting down Saturday
Rotowire
Kelly isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Washington.
After going 1-for-3 with a walk in Thursday's loss, Kelly will retreat to the dugout Saturday while Miguel Amaya makes his first start of the season behind the plate, batting ninth.
Brown allowed two runs on three hits across 3.1 innings in Thursday's 10-4 loss to the Nationals. He walked one and struck out three.
The righty reliever was forced into early action after Chicago starter Matthew Boyd covered only 3.2 innings in a rough outing. Brown served up a two-run home run to Jacob Young to account for the runs against him. After making 23 regular-season starts for the Cubs across the last two seasons, it looks like Brown will handle a long-relief role out of the bullpen in 2026. He should be a decent source of strikeouts, though his overall fantasy value will be capped as a reliever.
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Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong: Drives in two Opening Day
Rotowire
Crow-Armstrong went 2-for-5 with two RBI in Thursday's 10-4 loss to the Nationals.
The Cubs put Crow-Armstrong in the cleanup spot Opening Day, and he responded with a team-best two RBI. After a breakout 2025 campaign, the young outfielder inked a six-year, $115 million contract extension earlier this week. Crow-Armstrong did fade some down the stretch last year, however, which is something he will aim to avoid in 2026. He made some minor mechanical tweaks in the offseason in an effort to make his swing more compact and find a bit more consistency at the plate across the long season.
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Cubs' Michael Busch: Tallies three hits in opener
Rotowire
Busch went 3-for-4 with a walk, two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored in Thursday's 10-4 loss to the Nationals.
Like he did much of last season, Busch hit leadoff Opening Day, and the Chicago first baseman picked up right where he left off after an impressive 2025 campaign. Busch batted first with Washington starting righty Cade Cavalli, and the Cubs have said the left-handed bat won't be deployed strictly in a platoon, so he should have plenty of opportunities against southpaws moving forward.
Boyd (0-1) took the loss Thursday against the Nationals, allowing six runs on six hits and a walk across 3.2 innings. He struck out seven.
After getting the Opening Day nod, Boyd got off to a strong start, holding Washington to one run on one hit through his first three innings. However, things unraveled for the left-hander in the fourth -- the first five batters in the inning reached safely against Boyd, who was tagged for another five runs in the frame en route to a 10-4 Cubs defeat. Boyd, who was 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA across 31 regular-season starts (179.2 innings) in 2025, will look to bounce back his next time out, tentatively scheduled to come next week at home against the Angels.
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Cubs' Nico Hoerner: Inks six-year extension
Rotowire
Hoerner and the Cubs agreed to terms on a six-year, $141 million contract extension Thursday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.
Hoerner's extension further solidifies the Cubs' commitment to their current core after the club signed Pete Crow-Armstrong to a six-year deal Monday. Since becoming a regular starter for the Cubs in 2022, Hoerner has established himself as one of the premier second basemen in baseball while slashing .284/.339/.389 and averaging roughly 58 RBI, 83 runs scored and 31 stolen bases per season.
Conforto is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.
The veteran outfielder was expected to open the season as Chicago's primary right fielder versus right-handed pitching with Seiya Suzuki (knee) on the injured list, but Matt Shaw will instead receive the Opening Day nod. Conforto could still get semi-regular opportunities, but between Shaw and Dylan Carlson, there's strong competition for playing time.
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Cubs' Matt Shaw: Starting Opening Day in RF
Rotowire
Shaw is starting in right field and batting ninth in Thursday's season opener against the Nationals.
Michael Conforto was expected to step in as the Cubs' primary right fielder versus right-handed pitching with Seiya Suzuki (knee) on the injured list, but Shaw will instead get the call Opening Day against Washington righty Cade Cavalli. Shaw almost exclusively played third base as rookie last season, but he prepared to fill a super-utility role during the offseason and will immediately get a look at one of his new positions Thursday. The 24-year-old struggled to a .689 OPS in 126 regular-season games last year in his first taste of the majors but is coming off a strong spring training, during which he batted .320/.417/.500 in 60 plate appearances.
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