Good morning, Bleacher Nation. One more day of the best four days of college basketball is about to unfold, and in this “new era” and this 2026 NCAA Tournament, it’s unfortunately looking like “Cinderella” may well be on the endangered species list, if not extinct. Sad, if proven true, but March is still delivering madness. Soon, though, we’ll have regular-season baseball as part of the March sports offerings, and it can’t get here soon enough.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell spoke to the media Saturday and announced Seiya Suzuki’s ligament strain in his right knee will keep him from being available on Opening Day. After Counsell’s remarks on the topic earlier this week, it was hard to imagine anything but this scenario becoming reality. We’ve unfortunately seen the Cubs’ training staff have players on the field in recent seasons when, in hindsight, it would’ve been better to have them on the IL, so ever since Suzuki’s diagnosis was announced, anything other than a 10-day IL stint has seemed unnecessarily aggressive. Yes, Michael Conforto, Dylan Carlson, and Matt Shaw are unlikely to fill Suzuki’s shoes long term, but if there was ever a time to play it safe, wouldn’t it be right now at the beginning of the season?Craig Counsell announced today that Seiya Suzuki will not be ready for Opening Day, and they have until Wednesday to make an IL decision. pic.twitter.com/tniMKqFCrN
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) March 21, 2026 Spring Breakout Games continued Saturday, and the Cubs prospects had their turn, defeating the Padres prospects, 7-5, at Sloan Park. Catchers Owen Ayers and Ariel Armas, as well as outfielders Kade Snell and Carter Trice hit home runs for the Cubs. If you recall, the 24-year-old Ayers was the Arizona Fall League’s ‘Breakout Player of the Year’, but his impressive 2025 season came at an advanced age at Low-A, putting him under the microscope headed into 2026 to see if he can solidify prospect status while being challenged in the upper levels of the minors.Owen Ayers goes deep for the Cubs in the Spring Breakout game! pic.twitter.com/LYFdF9GHy9
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) March 22, 2026 Will Sanders started the Spring Breakout Game for the Cubs, and the soon-to-be 24-year-old prospect flashed a 95mph fastball and sharp, north-south slider in the mid-80s in his three innings of work, finishing with a line of: 3IP, 2H, 1ER, 3K. I was at Principal Park in Des Moines for a Sanders start with the I-Cubs last summer on May 30, and his fastball velocity was a little below last night’s 95, and he struggled to command his off-speed offerings. He ended up getting the win in that game, finishing with a line of: 5IP, 6H, 4ER, 2BB, 6K. It wasn’t his best outing, but I left intrigued by the 6-foot-6 hurler, and am optimistic about what he can do for himself at Triple-A in 2026. In regular spring training action Saturday night, the Cubs defeated the Mariners, 7-1. Colin Rea was on the bump for his fifth start of the spring and continued to look solid, finishing with a line of 4IP, 4H, 0ER, 2BB, 4K, leaving his spring ERA at 3.10. Rea is ticketed for a long relief spot in the bullpen, but offers a quality option whenever it may be necessary to slot into a spot in the rotation. Offensively, three of the Cubs’ seven runs were driven in by waiver wire darling Ben Cowles. Notable to the potential major league roster was Dylan Carlson, who hit his first home run of the spring. The round-tripper from the switch-hitting Carlson came from the right side of the plate off Mariners reliever Gabe Speier. Carlson currently has the fourth most at-bats of any Cub in spring training and is hitting .341/.460/.463. And while Michael Conforto was told Saturday that he’d be making the big league roster, it sure is looking like Carlson will also be on the 26-man for Opening Day amid the Seiya Suzuki injury.CHC – Dylan Carlson Solo HR (1)? Spring Training ?? 404 ft | ? 104.3 mph | ? 29°⚾️ 95.3 mph four-seam fastball (SEA – LHP Gabe Speier)?️ Out in 30/30 MLB parksCHC (2) @ SEA (1)? 6th#BeHereForIt pic.twitter.com/S58otKqD58
— MLB Home Runs (@MLBHRs_) March 22, 2026 More roster cuts took place Saturday as spring training nears its end. BJ Murray and Jefferson Rojas have both performed well this spring but were never candidates to make the big league club. Meanwhile, reclamation reliever Jeff Brigham has performed okay, but not at a Brad Keller sort of level to include him in a conversation for the one bullpen spot that might be up for grabs. After these three moves, the Cubs’ spring training roster is down to 41 players.Today’s roster move presented by @NuveenInv: pic.twitter.com/IHq3gZt5n7
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 21, 2026 A web gem from Kevin Alcantara in last night’s win over the Mariners, stealing a would-be hit from Julio Rodriguez and provoking smiles all-around by flashing Rodriguez’s “No Fly Zone” celebration afterward.Kevin Alcántara gave Julio Rodríguez the "No Fly Zone" sign after robbing J-Rod of a hit ? pic.twitter.com/1Fz4qwPE8q
— MLB (@MLB) March 22, 2026 Ted Lilly was the Cubs’ bench coach for last night’s Spring Breakout Game. Good to see Ted, a guy who proved to be a great free agent signing and all around good dude.MAKE IT PERMANENT!!! pic.twitter.com/Ft2pgbMJKU
— OBVIOUS SHIRTS® (@obvious_shirts) March 22, 2026 We discussed Miguel Amaya’s two-homer game in yesterday’s bullets, and Brendan’s slow-mo below of his swing reminds me of how the adjustments Amaya made to his stride mid-2024 haven’t had an extended opportunity to demonstrate their worthiness as a result of injuries. Among the things to be concerned and optimistic about heading into 2026, I’m quite optimistic about what Amaya can provide this season.A slowed-down look at Miguel Amaya's home run from the last game.He has one of the simplest swings in MLB. He just picks his toe up a little bit and lets his power take over. pic.twitter.com/95GTJwwefB
— Brendan Miller (@brendan_cubs) March 21, 2026 Quality social media:pic.twitter.com/Na21qioXTA
— Brett Taylor (@Brett_A_Taylor) March 21, 2026 Old friend Mike Tauchman making some of us not feel so bad about trotting out to our position this summer in slow-pitch softball when this happens… All jokes aside, here’s to a speedy recovery of the Palatine Pounder.Mike Tauchman attempted to run out to right field to assume his position but came up limpingHe has exited the game pic.twitter.com/gAZrdqFjvQ
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 21, 2026MORE CUBS FROM BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN Newsletter
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