Cubs vs Braves

Horton required a full Tommy John repair on his right UCL, which means he's unlikely to be ready to pitch again for the Cubs until the second half of 2027. The 24-year-old has authored a 2.66 ERA in his first 25 appearances (24 starts) at the major-league level.

Thielbar had to come out of Thursday's game against the Phillies early after suffering an injury on the mound, and he'll now be forced to sit out at least another 15 days. The 39-year-old had been serving as Chicago's closer with Daniel Palencia (oblique) on the injured list, but that responsibility could be passed on to Ben Brown for the time being. Vince Velasquez was selected from Triple-A Iowa to fill the open spot in the Cubs' bullpen.

Palencia is working his way back from a strain in his left (non-throwing) lat and has experienced enough improvement that he could skip a rehab assignment and return to action this weekend. The hard-throwing closer notched one save and tossed five scoreless innings before getting injured. Palencia's return would be a big boost to a bullpen that's also without Caleb Thielbar (hamstring) and Hunter Harvey (triceps).

It's unclear what injury Roberts is dealing with, but it will cost him at least the next couple weeks of action. The right-hander has made three scoreless appearances out of the Cubs' bullpen this season.

Harvey has been 15-day injured list since April 12 due to triceps inflammation, but hadn't pitched for a week prior to the designation. With the right-hander restarting is throwing program Friday, it probably pushes his return past the end of April.

Hodge will miss the remainder of the 2026 season after undergoing UCL reconstruction surgery Tuesday, so the Cubs will stash him away on the 60-day IL and give his 40-man roster spot to Nicky Lopez.

Martin was placed on the 15-day injured list over the weekend due to left elbow inflammation, but it's since been reported that he'll need more than the minimum to return to full strength. The Cubs are weathering quite the injury storm in the bullpen, as Daniel Palencia (lat), Caleb Thielbar (hamstring) and Hunter Harvey (triceps) are also on the shelf.

Bregman started the first 29 games of the season for the Cubs, so this will be his first night out of the starting lineup. Matt Shaw is making the start at third base and batting ninth for Chicago. Bregman is 0-for-10 at the plate over the last three contests after hitting safely in 14 of the previous 16 games.

Swanson was lifted prior to the bottom of the second inning in Tuesday's 8-3 win after experiencing a left glute cramp. The Cubs haven't indicated that Swanson is dealing with anything more significant than the cramp, so he's presumably just getting some extra rest Wednesday as a matter of precaution. Chicago is off Thursday, so Swanson will get two full days to recover before likely returning to the lineup Friday versus the Diamondbacks.

After signing a minor-league deal with Minnesota in February, Merryweather had been attending big-league camp as a non-roster invitee and was expected to compete for a spot in the Twins' Opening Day bullpen. He never made headway in the job battle, however, as he strained his left hamstring during his first Grapefruit League appearance Feb. 24 and has yet to pitch since. Merryweather has since resumed running and has been playing catch, but he could be headed for a stint on Triple-A St. Paul's injured list to begin the season.

Dodd was summoned from Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday and gave up an earned run in his appearance against Washington, but he seems to have come away from his outing with a back issue. He'll spend at least a couple of weeks on the injured list as a result, and Carlos Carrasco will come up from Triple-A to round out Atlanta's bullpen.

The transaction clears a 40-man roster spot for waiver claim Osvaldo Bido. Wentz will miss the entire 2026 campaign following ACL surgery earlier this month.

Per Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal, Iglesias completed a major step in his recovery from right shoulder inflammation by throwing off a mound Tuesday. Iglesias' shoulder is feeling a good a day later, and if he continues to respond well to his subsequent throwing sessions, Weiss believes that the right-hander will be able to bypass a rehab assignment before returning from the IL. Given the brevity of his absence, Iglesias should be able to reclaim closing duties upon his return, though Robert Suarez has converted both of his save chances without much drama since Iglesias hit the shelf.

The team hasn't issued a timeline for Schwellenbach's return, but manager Walt Weiss said that he's hopeful that the 25-year-old right-hander will be able to pitch at some point in 2026. At the very least, Schwellenbach will miss the first two months of the season, after Atlanta placed him on its 60-day injured list last week. Atlanta's rotation is already being tested in the early stages of the season; Hurston Waldrep (elbow) is slated to undergo a similar procedure as Schwellenbach on Monday, and AJ Smith-Shawver (elbow) is unlikely to be available until late in the second half after undergoing Tommy John surgery last June.

Strider's left oblique checked out fine following his third and final minor-league rehab start last Sunday with Triple-A Gwinnett, setting the stage for the right-hander to make his 2026 debut with the big club. The 27-year-old gets a less-than-ideal landing spot for his first start with Atlanta in hitter-friendly Colorado, but he should be in line for relatively standard workload. He upped his pitch count to 82 and covered five innings in his final rehab outing.

Though he was in the lineup for Wednesday's 4-3 win while lefty Tarik Skubal started for Detroit, Harris will move to the bench for Thursday's series finale while the Tigers send another southpaw (Framber Valdez) to the hill. Eli White will step in for Harris in center field and will bat ninth.

Lee has been an effective high-leverage relief option for Atlanta early in the season with a 1.38 ERA, 0.62 WHIP and 13:2 K:BB over 13 innings, but he will step away from the team for a few days in order to be with his growing family. He should be back with the club for Friday's series opener in Colorado. Didier Fuentes was called up Tuesday in a corresponding move.