Cubs

Sandberg’s former teammates know how much of a competitor he is, and they see that part of him gearing up now.
Tauchman wants to improve his slug, but there’s more than one way to do that.
Notes: Jameson Taillon gave context to his back injury, and the Cubs made another round of camp cuts.
There’s a lot of love for a soon-to-be rookie who’s about three and a half years younger than Justin Fields.
Suzki hit two home runs in the Cubs’ game against the Royals on Saturday.
Right-hander Jameson Taillon’s back tightness raised the question.
Rojas, 18, signed with the Cubs out of the Dominican Republic in 2022.
Alcantara was set to bat cleanup in the ‘‘Spring Breakout’’ prospect showcase Friday against the White Sox, but the game was canceled by rain.
Wicks has a 1.46 ERA in 12⅓ innings this spring, putting his name in the competition for the No. 5 spot in the rotation. Manager Craig Counsell has lauded Wicks’ professionalism and competitiveness.
Imanaga allowed three hits in 4⅓ scoreless innings but said his 70 pitches were ‘‘a couple of pitches too much.’’
Edwards is trying to regain his footing after a rocky couple of seasons. Many changes have happened since 2019, but Edwards knew he wanted to be somewhere familiar in free agency.
The right-hander threw 3.2 innings, allowing four hits, two walks and one run at Goodyear Ballpark. Hendricks said he threw 68 pitches in the game, getting his pitch count higher as Opening Day nears.
When healthy, Madrigal showed last season he’s capable of being the club’s third baseman.
Counsell said Taillon participated in light throwing on Tuesday, but with Opening Day weeks away, time isn’t on Taillon’s side to prepare as a starter.
Several Cubs pitchers honed new splitters this offseason, and the team signed established hurlers who already threw the pitch.
Last year, Amaya quickly went from emergency fill-in to regular starter sharing playing time with veteran Yan Gomes.
Taillon was scratched from his scheduled start Saturday with lower back tightness.
Taillon felt lower-back tightness in his warmup Saturday.
He’ll take the ball March 28 in the season opener against the World Series champion Rangers in Texas.
Brown was on the cusp of a major-league debut last season, but then he got hurt.
The Cubs trimmed their spring roster from 62 players to 50 on Friday.
The rookie outfielder is among the players competing for a bench spot.