{"id":601007,"date":"2026-02-19T12:23:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T12:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/601007\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T12:23:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T12:23:14","slug":"kevin-alcantara-puts-injury-behind-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/601007\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin Alc\u00e1ntara puts injury behind him"},"content":{"rendered":"

MESA, Ariz. \u2014 Amid a whirlwind 36 hours within the Major League Baseball Players Association, new interim executive director Bruce Meyer<\/a> and MLBPA personnel kicked off their annual spring training visits that brought them to the Chicago Cubs\u2019 complex Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Hours later, the MLBPA player board \u2014 comprised of 72 major- and minor-league players \u2014 unanimously appointed Meyer to his interim role and made Matt Nussbaum interim deputy executive director. Meyer replaces longtime union head Tony Clark, who abruptly resigned<\/a> Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of us on the staff are focused on what\u2019s best for the union,\u201d Meyer said. \u201cAt this point, we\u2019ve all dedicated our careers to the union, to these players. \u2026 Whatever the players determine that\u2019s in the best interest of the union, we are supportive internally. We are all rowing together and working as a team, and ultimately the players will make those decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The MLBPA met with Cubs players<\/a> for more than an hour. Afterward, Meyer kept the topics of conversations with Cubs players private but acknowledged the issues baseball faces as the expiration of the league\u2019s collective bargaining agreement looms in December.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lockout is all but guaranteed at the end of the agreement,\u201d Meyer said. \u201cThe league has pretty much said that their strategy and bargaining has always been to put as much pressure on the players as they can to try and create divisions and cracks among our membership. It\u2019s never worked. I don\u2019t think it ever will work.\u201d<\/p>\n

An implementation of a salary cap is expected to be sought by the league in the next CBA.<\/p>\n

\"MLBMLB players association senior director Bruce Meyer answers a question at a news conference on March 11, 2022, in New York. (Richard Drew\/AP)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something they\u2019ve always wanted,\u201d Meyer said. \u201cIt\u2019s not new. It appears they\u2019re going to make a concerted push forward. Our union historically has been against it because we believe it\u2019s quite simply not good for players. That position is not going to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see what they say, what they\u2019ve said in the media. You\u2019ve seen really an uptick over the last year of owners coming out and talking about salary caps or the commissioner\u2019s office, they don\u2019t always use the words, but it\u2019s very clear what they\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kevin Alc\u00e1ntara eager to seize opportunity, put injury behind him
\n\"KevinKevin Alc\u00e1ntara walks to a practice field before warming up during the first day of the Chicago Cubs full-squad workout at spring training at Sloan Park on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Mesa, Ariz. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Offseason surgery for a sports hernia has Kevin Alc\u00e1ntara<\/a> fully healthy as he battles for a spot on the opening day roster as a backup outfielder.<\/p>\n

Alc\u00e1ntara revealed on Wednesday that he had sustained the hernia injury last February and opted to play through the discomfort. Now pain-free, Alc\u00e1ntara acknowledged it was a tough injury to play through, but he wanted to remain available to the team. He put up strong numbers at Triple-A Iowa last year despite not being totally himself, producing a .266 average, 349 on-base percentage, .818 OPS with 26 doubles, 17 home runs and 69 RBIs in 102 games.<\/p>\n

After appearing in just 10 games for the Cubs in 2025, Alc\u00e1ntara understands he might not get a lot of chances again this season. He experienced the playoffs by being on both of the Cubs\u2019 postseason rosters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to be focused for whatever opportunity I have to do my job,\u201d Alc\u00e1ntara said. \u201cI was only thinking win. If I\u2019m going to have my opportunity to help the team, I\u2019ll help the team. That\u2019s the only thing I think in this moment. I want to take advice from the old guys, what I need to do for me to have the opportunity over there, I take it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starting pitchers announced for first two Cactus League games
\n\"CubsChicago Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon participates in a discussion during the Cubs Convention at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk on Jan. 17, 2026. (John J. Kim\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

The Cubs\u2019 two starting pitchers playing in the World Baseball Classic<\/a> are kicking off the team\u2019s Cactus League schedule.<\/p>\n

Right-hander Jameson Taillon is scheduled to start Friday\u2019s exhibition opener against the White Sox at Sloan Park, while left-hander Matthew Boyd goes Saturday versus the Texas Rangers in another home spring game. Taillon (Canada) and Boyd (USA) are among the eight players on the Cubs\u2019 40-man roster who depart next week for the WBC.<\/p>\n

Manager Craig Counsell wasn\u2019t sure yet how many starting position players might be in the lineup this weekend, though Seiya Suzuki<\/a> is expected to play in center field in the Cactus League before leaving for Tokyo on Monday to help prepare him to play that position with Japan.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re more likely to see them than other people, other more veteran players that aren\u2019t in the WBC, but kind of just individualizing that a little bit at the beginning,\u201d Counsell said Wednesday of the team\u2019s lineups. \u201cSome guys won\u2019t start for a couple days because I don\u2019t think they need to, but the WBC guys all definitely have more urgency to get started.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MESA, Ariz. \u2014 Amid a whirlwind 36 hours within the Major League Baseball Players Association, new interim executive…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":601008,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5124],"tags":[257830,242651,960,1271,1816,5386,1818,5439,258853,5436,1822,202274,8753,170848,44821],"class_list":["post-601007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago","tag-bruce-meyer","tag-cactus-league","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-craig-counsell","tag-il","tag-illinois","tag-jameson-taillon","tag-kevin-alcantara","tag-matthew-boyd","tag-mlb-baseball","tag-players-union","tag-seiya-suzuki","tag-spring-training","tag-tony-clark"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116097280231393062","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=601007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/601008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=601007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=601007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=601007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}