With Opening Day a couple weeks away, the Chicago Cubs have some key roster decisions looming. The starting lineup is generally set, and will look a lot like it did last season, but with Alex Bregman replacing Kyle Tucker in either the two or three hole.

Here, we are going to look at the Cubs’ outlook at designated hitter for the 2026 season. Last season, Seiya Suzuki started 102 games at DH, with Kyle Tucker taking over in the playoffs after a hairline fracture in his hand was revealed in August. Justin Turner made some starts as a DH, as well as rookie catcher Moises Ballesteros.

Since the DH was introduced in the NL in 2020, then again permanently in 2022, the Cubs have used the spot as a way to get players off their feet or mitigate injury risk. Suzuki’s 2025 marks the only time a single player has started over 100 games at the position. With the departure of Tucker, Suzuki is currently pencilled in as the starting right fielder, and the DH will likely revert to a position of flexibility for Craig Counsell. 

As of now, FanGraphs.com projects a platoon situation for the Cubs, with Ballesteros getting the lion’s share of starts against righties, while Suzuki getting the starts against southpaws (with newly trained outfielder Matt Shaw taking care of right field). Alex Bregman, who turns 32 at the end of this month, will also get work there to allow the defensive-minded Shaw to return to the infield. The rest of the field could include the other catchers, Miguel Amaya and Carson Kelly, since Ballesteros will also get time behind the plate. Tyler Austin will be back into the mix at some point mid-season following knee surgery, and Michael Conforto was added to the room weeks ago, although on a minor-league deal.

Cubs Designated Hitters At A Glance

Starters: Moises Ballesteros/Seiya Suzuki

Backup: Alex Bregman

Depth: Miguel Amaya, Carson Kelly, Michael Conforto, Tyler Austin

Prospects: Jonathan Long, B.J. Murray

The Good:

Ballesteros is the Cubs’ number one organizational prospect, and baseball’s 55th ranked prospect according to Mlb.com. The 5-foot-8 22-year-old impressed in 20 games last season, hitting .298 with an .868 OPS, and will get the first crack out of camp. The Cubs seemed like a destination for another bat outside of Bregman, but the front office clearly does not want to block Ballesteros for another year. He has a .289 cumulative batting average across five minor-league seasons and has nothing left to prove. He’ll likely bat in the bottom third, which is a lower pressure spot that should allow him to get more comfortable in the big leagues without feeling like he needs to be a top contributor in the lineup right away. FGDC projections are a bit light in terms of games played, at 84, with a slash line of .264/.327/.400; not a bad season by any means, but he seems capable of more. 

Ballesteros has only four major-league at bats against lefties, which would be too coincidental to not be by design. This brings us to the right-handed tandem of this platoon, Seiya Suzuki. He is going to play nearly everyday (when healthy), splitting between right field and DH. Fresh off a 32-homer campaign, Suzuki is as good of a bet as anyone to repeat those numbers, as he is coming into a contract year at 31 years old. His exit velocity has remained consistent to the rest of his career, but a launch angle improvement in 2025 caused by his barrel rate jump to 16.6%, which ranked 12th in the majors, portends some good days ahead. With Suzuki as a DH in the middle of the lineup against lefties, Shaw, who smashed lefties to the tune of an .808 OPS last year, should be a productive hitter in the bottom of the lineup. 

Areas of Concern:

Ballesteros’ 50-grade power could eventually evolve into 20-plus homers, but he’s going to need to start hitting the ball in the air more. His high batting average and OPS in his major-league sample last season masked a ground ball rate of 62.2%. Even before the call-up, his ground ball rate was hovering close to 50% in 114 Triple-A games. His improved exit velocity and hard-hit rate are not going to translate to as much success if he cannot lift the ball more consistently. He is not exactly a burner out of the batter’s box either, so this could also mean double plays galore for opposing defenses. If Ballesteros can improve on his 0.8 degree launch angle that he showed in the majors, and starts hitting more balls in the air and over the wall, it would go a long way in assuring the Cubs can finish near the top of baseball in home runs again.

Last season, Suzuki, Michael Busch, and PCA topped 30 home runs for the first time in their careers. How safe is it to expect those numbers again? Especially in the case of PCA, whose power surge was as unexpected as any in baseball. Alex Bregman is more of an all-around hitter than a pure power hitter. For the team that finished sixth in baseball in home runs last season, there’s a lot of variables going into 2026. If Ballesteros continues to struggle with lifting the ball, and home run regression happens from any of the three 30-homer hitters a season ago, there could be instant regret in not bringing in a more established home run hitter at the DH spot.

As for a Ballesteros backup plan: Michael Conforto and Dylan Carlson have been tearing up spring training, and first base prospect Jonathan Long should be ready for the majors after he returns from injury. Now here’s the bad news: Although he launched 20 homers with the Giants in 2024, the 33-year-old Conforto has not been a difference making bat since he hit .322 with a 2.1 WAR in the 60-game 2020 season. Carlson has never lived up to his top prospect pedigree to this point in his career and spent the last two seasons bouncing around, playing sparingly. Though Long offers intrigue as an offensive prospect, he is viewed as a higher floor player without difference-maker upside. Tyler Austin will also be in the mix upon returning from injury, but he hasn’t played in majors since 2019, and has a total of 0.9 career WAR over four seasons. He owns a slash line of .293/.377/.568 across six NPB seasons, but still counts as a lottery ticket more than a bankable contributor. 

The Bottom Line

The in-house approach to the DH spot is all going to hinge on Ballesteros making the necessary adjustments to hold that position down. They have a top prospect in a platoon with a slugging outfielder, with Bregman filling in when he needs a day off from the field, which is a good blueprint in theory, but could test the depth of this roster should things go wrong.

The plan B would be Suzuki moving back to the full-time DH, with Shaw (or Alcantara or Carlson) taking over in right field. Bregman could also make a large portion of his starts there, but taking a 2024 Gold Glove winner, who just signed a $175 million contract, off the field seems unlikely.

We will see within the first couple months of the season whether Ballesteros holds his own or if the Cubs will need to add a power bat to their trade deadline shopping list.