The Yankees have wrapped up their 2026 spring training slate in Florida, as they prepare to begin the new season on Wednesday. However on their way out to San Francisco for Opening Day, they’ve made a little pit stop at the Cubs’ spring complex.
Today and tomorrow, the Yankees are in Arizona to wrap up their preseason play with a pair of games against the Cubs. Although it’s not unusual that team leave their normal environment in the finale days before the regular season starts, this is the first time that I can remember the Yankees playing exhibition games in Arizona. The Yankees actually trained in Phoenix in 1951 in a one-year swap of spring sites with the New York Giants, but aside from that, such spring visits have been rare.
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As you might expect from the final days before they have to start playing for real, the Yankees’ lineup resembles one that we could see in a regular season game. Opposing a lefty pitcher, Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario are both in the lineup, but other than that, it’s basically the first choice player at every other position.
They’ll be backing up Carlos Lagrange on the mound. Lagrange probably won’t be in a MLB lineup in the next couple weeks, but this is a nice reward for him after he’s been very impressive this spring. He won the James P. Dawson Award as the best Yankees rookie in camp.
Said lefty that the Yankees’ lineup will face is Shota Imanaga. After a very impressive rookie campaign in 2024, Imanaga took a step back last season, and has been so-so in spring training so far. Like the Yankees, the Cubs’ lineup is pretty strong, including new addition Alex Bregman.
We won’t get much in the way of video from this game, as it’s a radio-only day, but thankfully, that’s something we won’t have to deal with when the regular season starts.
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How to watch
Location: Sloan Park — Mesa, AZ
First pitch: 3:05 pm ET
TV broadcast: N/A
Radio broadcast: WFAN 101.9 FM/660 AM or WSCR 104.3 FM/670 AM (Cubs)
Online stream: none (audio available via MLB.tv)
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