The Arizona Diamondbacks will host the Chicago Cubs for their opening game of the season on Thursday March 27. It’s the first of a four game series between the two National League playoff hopefuls.
The Cubs opened their season with a two game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Tokyo Japan, dropping both contests by scores of 4-1 and 6-3.
On December 7 the Cubs traded Cody Bellinger to the New York Yankees for right-hander Cody Poteet. Six days later they landed one of the best players in baseball, when healthy, Kyle Tucker. The Astros received Isaac Paredes in the deal.
The Cubs made another trade with the Astros in late January, snagging Ryan Pressly to be their closer in exchange for minor leaguer Juan Bello.
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Chicago also signed left-hander Mathew Boyd and former Diamondback Carson Kelly to free agent contracts. Just as spring training was starting they signed DH/First Baseman Justin Turner.
The Diamondbacks biggest move of the offseason was to sign star right-hander Corbin Burnes to a six year, $210 million dollar contract, but he will not pitch in this series. They also traded for first baseman Josh Naylor, replacing Christian Walker who left via free agency.
Thursday, March 27, 7:10 P.M. MST
Left-hander Justin Steele will start for the Cubs. Last year he made 24 starts, and posted a 3.07 ERA along with a 3.23 FIP in 134 innings. His record was 5-5 and he produced 1.9 WAR.
Steele pitched the second game in Tokyo on March 19 and allowed five runs on five hits, including two homers in four innings of work, taking the loss
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Zac Gallen will take the mound for the Diamondbacks, having been tabbed by manager Torey Lovullo for the opening day start. Gallen went 14-6 with a 3.65 ERA in 2024. He made 28 starts and threw 148 innings as he fought hamstring issues several times last year.
Friday, March 28, 6:40 P.M. MST
Right-hander Jameson Taillon is now entering his third year with the Cubs. He was very good last year, going 12-8 with a 3.27 ERA, albeit with a somewhat higher FIP of 3.92. He made 28 starts and pitched 165 innings, frequently going deeper in games.
Merrill Kelly is fully recovered fromt the shoulder issues that plagued him last year when he was limited to just 13 starts and 74 innings. He went 5-1 with a 4.03 ERA. Kelly struck out 16 batters in 15 spring innings while only walking five, but allowed some hard contact too, including three homers in succession to the Giants in his last spring tuneup.
Saturday, March 29, 5:10 P.M. MST
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Japanese left-hander Shota Imanaga pitched well on home soil in the Tokyo opener, tossing four hitless, scoreless innings against the Dodgers. He did walk four batters, and struck out two. As a 30 year-old rookie, the effervescent lefty was fabulous in 2024, going 15-3 with a 2.93 ERA in 29 starts, 173 innings.
Righty Brandon Pfaadt led the D-backs in innings pitched last year with 181.2 innings. While his ERA was an elevated 4.71, he pitched better than that, as evidenced by 3.61 FIP and 4.4 strikeout to walk ration. A solid spring led to him winning a rotation spot over Ryne Nelson.
Sunday, March 30, 1:10 P.M. MST
The Cubs have yet to name a starter for Sunday afternoon’s matchup. Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will start for the D-backs. He too lost significant time last year due to a shoulder injury, and was not great when he came back. Making 10 starts, he posted a 5.05 ERA with a 4.57 FIP in 50 innings.
Rodriguez looked very sharp in spring, striking out 12 and walking just two in 10 Cactus League innings. He seems poised to reprieve his bend but don’t break style. Signed to a four year, $80 million dollar contract prior to the 2024 season, Rodriguez was coming off a career best 3.30 ERA in 153 innings in 2023 while going 13-9 with 3.2 WAR.
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In addition to Pressly closing, Porter Hodge had a sensational rookie debut in 2024, posting a 1.88 ERA in 43 innings. Ryan Brasier, formerly of the Dodgers, is a Cub now as well.
The D-backs will play the matchups between Justin Martinez and lefty A.J. Puk for ninth inning save chances. Kevin Ginkel will open the season on the IL with shoulder inflammation. Ryan Thompson and lefty Joe Mantiply will freqent the late inings as well. As of this writing it looks like Shelby Miller and Bryce Jarvis have both made the bulllpen, although that is unoffical. Ryne Nelson will be the long man. New addition Jalen Beeks has signed to be the third lefty in the pen.
In addition to Tucker the potentially potent Cubs offense is led by Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ, and Dansby Swanson. First baseman Michael Busch smacked 21 homers in his first full major league season in 2024. Last year the Cubs finished seventh in the NL with 4.54 runs per game.
The D-backs led all of MLB with 5.47 runs per game last year. Despite losing Walker and Joc Pederson, they are still projected to have one of the top offenses in the league. Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte will take turns batting leadoff and second, creating a dynamic duo atop the order.
Series split. The Diamondbacks offense is likely to be better against right-hand starters than left, and the Cubs are starting two lefties this series in Steele and Imanaga. The D-backs bullpen may be in flux suddenly with the Ginkel injury. While the D-backs appear to be the superior team on paper and in all projection system, taking three of four is difficult.
Former Michigan sophomore defenseman Hunter Hady has transferred to Arizona State, according to an announcement on the team Instagram. The 6’4’’ defenseman will join the Sun Devils for his junior year.
Hady played just two games on Michigan’s blue line this season against Harvard in November and against Bentley in the NCAA regional semifinal. He recorded a secondary assist on junior forward Garrett Schifsky’s goal in the Bentley game for his only point of the year.
Hady’s contributions were more substantive in his freshman season — though his point total remained the same. He played 32 games for Michigan as the team struggled to find defensive pairings that worked throughout the year. Hady was a reliable blue line presence who could be counted on to provide solid defense and not make significant errors.
Prior to playing for the Wolverines, Hady spent three seasons with the Chicago Steel of the USHL, where he played with current Michigan teammates senior defenseman Luca Fantilli, sophomore forward Michael Hage and junior forward Jayden Perron, among others. He joins an Arizona State team that lost ground in the NCHC this season and is looking to reach a Frozen Four for the second time in its program history.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Jessica Cox, the world’s first licensed armless airplane pilot and a leading advocate for disability-led innovation, will be inducted into the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame on Friday, May 15, 2026. The induction ceremony, hosted by Rightfooted Foundation International in collaboration with the Pima Air & Space Museum, will take place at the museum from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Cox’s recognition honors both her historic achievement in flight and her ongoing work expanding access and opportunity for people without arms. Through her leadership at Rightfooted Foundation International (RFI), Cox has championed mentorship, education and practical innovations that help aspiring pilots and families reimagine what’s possible in aviation and beyond.
“Saying I’m proud of her can’t fully encompass what I feel,” said Patrick Chamberlain, Cox’s husband and RFI’s Inclusive Engineering Director. “Jessica’s induction into the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame recognizes both what she has accomplished and what she continues to do. She has helped shed light on the many pilots with disabilities in aviation and shown the world that disability does not mean inability.”
The 2026 induction class also honors two military aviators: Frank Schiel Jr., a Phoenix-born Flying Tigers veteran credited with seven enemy aircraft destroyed in World War II, and James K. Johnson, a Phoenix-born U.S. Air Force colonel and Korean War double ace credited with ten aerial victories.
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The Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame, established in 1985 and housed in the Dorothy Finley Aerospace Gallery at Pima Air & Space Museum, pays tribute to Arizonans who have made significant contributions to aviation and aerospace history.
Since the Arizona Cardinals want to trade back from the No. 3 picks, here are three deals that could work.
The Arizona Cardinals have the third pick in the 2026 NFL draft, which begins this week on Thursday. All the reports coming out are saying that they want to trade out of the pick to acquire more draft picks.
But what does a trade look like and who could be involved?
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The Kansas City Chiefs are involved in talks at some level. ESPN’s Adam Schefter expects trade talks to heat up this week.
NFL teams use a variation of a trade value chart when it comes to draft picks. Now, what a team actually is willing to give up can be influenced by potential competition with other teams, but we can’t count on that.
Here is the general trade value chart teams use.
Here are some potential deals that could be done.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs have two first-round picks, which would be appealing to the Cardinals, who reportedly want to make a move for quarterback Ty Simpson, and the 29th pick might be just the spot to get him.
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The third overall pick is worth 514 points.
The Chiefs’ picks at No. 9 (387 points) and No. 29 (202 points) together are worth 589.
To make up the difference, the Cardinals could give up No. 65 (78 points) for a total of 592 points.
One deal could be:
Cardinals receive get No. 9 and No. 29 (589 points)
Chiefs receive No. 3 and No. 65 (592 points)
Another could be:
Cardinals receive No. 9, No. 29, No. 74 and 2027 third-round pick (653 points + value of future third-round pick, which is 36-78 points)
Chiefs receive No. 3 and No. 34 (689 points)
The Cardinals keep their third-round pick and the Chiefs essentially move back five spots from No. 29.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys have the 12th and 20th picks but no pick in the second round.
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Pick No. 12 is 347 points and No. 20 is 269 for a total of 616.
This deal is close:
Cardinals receive No. 12, No. 20 (616 points)
Cowboys receive No. 3, No. 65 (592 points)
New Orleans Saints
The Saints are perhaps a dark horse to move up, although they do not have two first-round picks. They have the No. 8 pick, worth 406 points. Their second-round pick, at No. 42, is worth 142 points.
This deal could work:
Cardinals receive No. 8, No. 42 (548 points)
Saints receive No. 3, No. 104 (547 points)
Then the Cardinals could use their two second-round picks to then move back into Round 1 to get Ty Simpson.
They could trade No. 34, No. 42 and No. 65 (395 points) for No. 28, No. 38 and No. 106 (398 total points).
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
