\u201cHe\u2019s behind in at-bats than everybody else, I don\u2019t think these at-bats are affecting, impacting our decision,\u201d manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Long described his elbow sprain as a bad bone bruise, and while it will take longer for it to feel 100%, it\u2019s at the point where he can play without much discomfort. He\u2019s still trying to regain his timing and rhythm at the plate after the long layoff from his injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t lose sight of the big picture of everything so when I\u2019m locked in, it\u2019s going up there, like, I own this box,\u201d Long told the Tribune. \u201cUltimate confidence. I\u2019m going to get my pitch. I\u2019m going to put a good swing on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Long, 24, is coming off an impressive first season at Triple A, hitting .305 and posting a .404 on-base percentage, 23 doubles, 20 home runs and 91 RBIs in 140 games for Iowa. It puts him on the verge of the majors, especially as the main internal first-base depth behind Michael Busch.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really motivating, but at the same time, I can\u2019t make the decisions as much as I would like to,\u201d Long said. \u201cSo I always try to just stay within myself, in a sense, and control what I can do because I\u2019m not in charge of making the roster, so I can only put my head down and try and do my best to put myself in the best situation to eventually, hopefully make the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Swing-and-miss stuff
\n![\"Cubs](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/CTC-L-CUBS-SPRING_033866.jpg\")
Cubs starter Shota Imanaga delivers during live batting practice during spring training at Sloan Park on Feb. 19, 2026, in Mesa, Ariz. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
Left-hander Shota Imanaga was virtually untouchable Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
Imanaga recorded 25 swing-and-misses in 4 2\/3 innings against the Los Angeles Angels. It was part of an overall impressive night in which Imanaga allowed just one hit \u2014 a solo home run \u2014 walked one batter and struck out eight. Imanaga has been using the PitchCom to call his pitches and better communicate with his catcher during spring starts. He credited Carson Kelly\u2019s work behind the plate for his success Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudying the hitters, looking at their swings and deciding what sequence to go with, I think today\u2019s outing showed how great of a catcher (Carson) is,\u201d Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry.<\/p>\n
While it was only a spring game, Imanaga\u2019s 25 whiffs are encouraging from a stuff perspective. Giving up home runs will always be part of his game because of his pitch mix and where he works in the zone, but missing bats can be a good indicator of the quality of his stuff.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hitter, when you create that many swings and misses, that\u2019s a real sign,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to produce that much swing and miss.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cubs haven\u2019t seen a pitcher produce that many whiffs during a regular-season game in the Statcast era (dating to 2015) since Yu Darvish\u2019s 26 in 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, I really keep in mind that no matter if I have a good start or bad start, I\u2019ll come into the clubhouse with the same expression, same mood,\u201d Imanaga said. \u201cJust overall I\u2019m thankful for the great teammates I have, and that helps with my confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
WBC players to rejoin camp<\/p>\n
The last three Cubs at the WBC will be back in camp Friday.<\/p>\n
Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong<\/a>, third baseman Alex Bregman<\/a> and closer Daniel Palencia<\/a> traveled back to Arizona on Wednesday, a day after Venezuela\u2019s 3-2 win over the USA<\/a>. With Thursday\u2019s off day, Counsell expected to see the trio back around the team Friday, though he noted Crow-Armstrong and Bregman likely won\u2019t get back into a spring game until Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t talked to Pete and Alex yet, so we\u2019ll see what they want to do,\u201d Counsell said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear how much game action Palencia will get during the final five days of spring training after pitching three times in a four-day span, which included recording the save in Venezuela\u2019s semifinal win over Japan and their title game victory. The Cubs gave Venezuela manager Omar L\u00f3pez permission to use Palencia in the championship game only in a save situation, which is exactly how it played out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MESA, Ariz. \u2014 In the coming days, the Chicago Cubs\u2019 construction of their 26-man roster will gain clarity…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":632435,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2399],"tags":[72,5,138,24,4245,576,161,888,33153,4,1406,35,105,770,151],"class_list":["post-632434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago-cubs","tag-alex-bregman","tag-baseball","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-chicagocubs","tag-craig-counsell","tag-cubs","tag-daniel-palencia","tag-jonathon-long","tag-mlb","tag-opening-day","tag-pete-crow-armstrong","tag-seiya-suzuki","tag-shota-imanaga","tag-spring-training"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116258087002909006","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=632434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/632435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}