Oh I know, it’s practice. I do have some concerns over a few guys, but generally speaking the Chicago Cubs should be fine heading into the 2026 season and they should remain the clear favorite to win the NL Central and be one of the top teams in the National League this year. That being said, there are some bad spring training trends that we all obviously hope stay in Arizona because some of these are rough.
Jameson Taillon
The veteran pitcher made his fifth spring training start for the Cubs on Friday night in split-squad action against the Athletics and in four innings Jameson Taillon gave up three earned runs. The right-handed starter gave up a pair of home runs, bringing his total to 10 home runs allowed in 13.1 innings in spring training.
On a positive note Taillon did strike out six batters after only being able to strike out seven total batters in his previous 9.1 innings. His fastball velocity was a couple ticks higher compared to his previous start, so hopefully Taillon is trending in the right direction, but if you’re worried about the results, then Friday night’s performance wasn’t all too convincing.
Taillon admitted earlier in the week that he and the coaching staff are searching for answers to get back on track after a horrid spring training.
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Matthew Boyd
Out of the two veteran pitchers Matthew Boyd’s struggles aren’t as extreme as Taillon’s. Boyd was away from Cubs camp as the left-handed starting pitcher joined Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. He pitched in an exhibition game before making an appearance in pool play against Mexico. Boyd returned to spring training to resume his normal ramp up for the regular season and was promptly named the Opening Day starter.
Boyd was an All-Star in 2025, when he was finally healthy and threw 179.2 innings. It was the first time the lefty tossed more than 100 innings in a season since 2019. There was decline in the final six weeks of the season, but Boyd was still solid in the postseason.
Because of his departure earlier in March, Boyd has only pitched in three spring training games with the Cubs. On Friday night against the Cincinnati Reds, another split-squad game for the Cubs, Boyd was hit around as he allowed eight earned runs on nine hits, including three home runs.
In his first two spring training appearances Boyd gave up one run in 4.2 innings combined with seven strikeouts and no walks.
One bad game in spring training isn’t necessarily enough to ring any alarms for me personally, but I somewhat get the angst considering Boyd has not been able to stay healthy throughout his career and maybe the fear creeps in thinking that 2025 was a mirage for the lefty.
