3 Cubs players who are about to enter spring training already on thin ice

Spring training is less than a month away, and for Chicago Cubs fans, the baseball itch has really started to set in. With the Bears' magical run officially over, the city is turning to the newly reinforced roster to see if Craig Counsell's team can make more noise this year.

They've built well on last year's 92-win team, from the big additions of Alex Bregman and Edward Cabrera, to nice marginal moves like adding Tyler Austin to the bench. It's a much deeper roster than we saw at the start of 2025, even without the star bat of Kyle Tucker.

Among all that depth, however, are a few promising players who are in complicated spots right now and are going to have some work to do right off the rip to prove where they belong. The Cubs always love having a few spots open on the margins, whether in the bullpen or on the bench, to accommodate the spring standouts and to rotate optionable pieces in and out. Earning one of those spots is going to be harder than ever, though, with Jed Hoyer rebuilding the relief corps and adding a truckload of minor-league players on both the positional and pitching sides.

Let's look at three players who will be entering Spring Training in precarious positions this year, whether that's relative to their overall place in the organization or how they fit onto the big league roster.

3 Cubs players with plenty to prove in spring training

Ben Brown

After a rough 2025 season in which he posted a 5.92 ERA and 4.08 FIP in 106 1/3 innings, Ben Brown is facing more uncertainty than ever entering 2026. The former high-ranking prospect acquired from the Phillies for David Robertson got a long look last year that showed he needed to make real adjustments to his game to thrive at the big league level. Despite some flashes of brilliance, he only had one month with a sub-5.00 ERA, fell into the bottom quarter of players in expected ERA, and finished with the second-worst average exit velocity allowed in all of baseball, barely ahead of Bryce Miller.

It's hard to fully give up on the idea of Brown being a starter. The Cubs have few young pitchers with the combination of velocity, stuff, and experience starting games that he does. Even Tommy Hottovy, for his part, "100%" sees Brown in that role one day, despite the upside he could bring as a back-end bullpen arm. Still, with him leaning primarily on just his fastball and curveball, the bullpen is likely his best realistic shot with this team. The addition of Cabrera now gives the Cubs a full rotation with Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Cade Horton, and Shota Imanaga. That's before factoring in Justin Steele's eventual return, Colin Rea's re-signing, and Javier Assad's presence. If the Cubs do go all-in and add Zac Gallen, too, that'd make a job even harder to find.

Injuries are always bound to happen, meaning the Cubs could keep Brown stretched out in Triple-A just in case to be a swing man. Spring Training might be one of his last chances to turn heads and make the case for him as an eventual starter, though. If he can't find better ways to mitigate hard contact and find more consistency with his pitches, the organization should start taking a hard look at him as a pure, short-burst reliever who can focus on attacking and overpowering hitters. After all, last year, only Brad Keller and Daniel Palencia had more 97 MPH+ fastballs than him.

Kevin Alcantara

Kevin Alcantara has spent the past few years at the top of Cubs prospect lists and ever so close to a more extensive run in the major leagues. After a cup of coffee in 2024 and a decent ten-game showing in 2025, however, he's in the same complicated spot where it's hard to see him making the roster. In theory, the Jaguar would make sense as a center field back-up to Pete Crow-Armstrong and a more general outfield bench piece. At the same time, there's also some wisdom in giving him more time in Triple-A to really tap into the high upside that has made him such an intriguing young player.

A lot of the buzz for Alcantara as a prospect has come from him seemingly having all the tools of a future superstar. He's young and athletic, standing 6-foot-6 with a good mix of power, defense, and elite speed, most recently slashing .266/.349/.470 with 17 home runs and a 110 wRC+ in 102 games at Triple-A in 2025. There have been warts, though, namely in his 29.8 percent strikeout rate. Compared to Moises Ballesteros, who's expected to get the lion's share of time at DH this year, he still has some left to prove with the bat.

The Cubs are certainly preparing for the possibility of leaving Alcantara in Iowa to continue hammering out those issues. They recently picked up former Astros outfielder Chas McCormick on a minor league deal as potential outfield depth, as well as Justin Dean. McCormick's career .280/.353/.493/137 wRC+ slash line against lefties also makes him a very enticing fit for the bench, assuming he has a strong showing in spring that makes the team think he can bounce back after two down seasons. There's also the chance Hoyer and company may bring in another outfield piece to more formally lock down the job, which would all but seal Alcantara's fate. It's just not a guarantee that the Jaguar breaks camp with the team — it may be a position he has to fight for.

James Triantos

It was only a short while ago that James Triantos was viewed as one of the top prospects in the Cubs system, part of a wave that included Caissie, Alcantara, and Ballesteros. In 2025, however, he hit a wall at Triple-A. Despite mashing at every single level of the minors before, his first full year at Iowa was a big step back from 2024, with a severe lack of hard contact, resulting in a .258/.315/.369 slash line and 76 wRC+ in 102 games. While he was still good defensively and demonstrated further value in the outfield, his shine definitely wore off to the point he's now only ninth in the system via MLB Pipeline and far from the Top-100 status he once held.

It's looking like the Cubs may have missed the boat on trading Triantos when they had a surplus of talent at Triple-A. The signing of Bregman means, even if Nico Hoerner leaves in free agency next year, second base should be covered for the long haul, thanks to Matt Shaw. His ability to play outfield may eventually make him a useful utility player, but again, Triantos is now sitting behind several of his Iowa teammates on the depth chart, like Pedro Ramirez and Jonathon Long, who will make that path more difficult.

2026 will be a pivotal one for the young hitter. The good news is that he's only heading into his age-23 season and still boasts excellent contact skills, only striking out 15 percent of the time in 2025. A spot is unlikely to become available for him on the major league roster this year, but he still has time to get to the show at a relatively young age if he can adjust from last season. For as hard as it is to see exactly how he fits organizationally right now, he can get himself back on solid ground, either as a future piece of the big league team or, more likely, a trade candidate, if he looks more like the Triantos that soared through the previous levels.