Pete Crow-Armstrong is the only Cubs player on the 2026 MLB All-Star Game roster, but he won’t be the only familiar name for Chicago fans when the National and American League teams meet Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Crow-Armstrong is set for his second straight Midsummer Classic, and Cubs fans will be watching for the moment he comes off the bench. Ben Brown had a chance to work his way into the picture before landing on the injured list, though that trail doesn’t need to be chased too far.
The bigger Cubs connection comes through four former Chicago players who will be part of the game.
Cody Bellinger is back in the All-Star mix for the first time since 2019 after a strong run with the Yankees. He spent 2023 and 2024 with the Cubs, and his first year in Chicago was the one that made the deal look like a win.
Bellinger posted 4.8 bWAR, hit 26 homers, added 29 doubles and drove in 97 runs, all while earning NL Comeback Player of the Year honors. His return to free agency didn’t go smoothly, though, and he eventually came back to Chicago on a three-year, $80 million contract.
The next season went the other way, as he finished with 2.2 bWAR and a 111 OPS+, and the Cubs later sent him to the Yankees in a salary dump move that angered a frustrated fanbase. Now, in the first season of his new deal in New York, Bellinger is an All-Star again after a 5.0 bWAR year in 2025 and 3.6 bWAR already in 2026, giving an injury-hit Yankees lineup a major lift.
Kyle Schwarber is having the kind of season that keeps his name in the middle of every power conversation. He came painfully close in the Home Run Derby on Monday night before falling in the finals, just as he did in 2018 against Bryce Harper.
The Phillies slugger is on track for a 60-plus homer season, and his numbers tell the story: 89 hits, 32 of them home runs. That pace has him on course to clear 400 career homers by the end of 2026.
For Cubs fans, it’s another reminder of what they let walk after the 2020 season in order to save money, despite the role he played in the 2016 World Series comeback.
Willson Contreras has also found his way back into the All-Star spotlight, earning his fourth selection after a strong season with the Red Sox. Cubs fans remember him as one of the emotional centers of the team on the North Side, even if his reputation took a hit after he talked smack following his move to the rival Cardinals.
That stint never really clicked, and last winter Boston acquired him under new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. Contreras has since thrived, and if he stays healthy and productive, 2026 could end up as the best season of his career.
He has only topped 4.0 bWAR once, back in 2021 with Chicago, but he’s already at 3.5 bWAR this year. He has also been at the center of plenty of scuffles and incidents, which seems to come with the package.
Then there’s Aroldis Chapman, another former Cub who remains very much in the conversation as the trade deadline approaches. Chicago has been linked to the left-hander as a possible late-inning answer, though Boston’s strong finish to the first half - nine wins in 10 games and a move to within a half-game of a wild-card spot - doesn’t help the Cubs’ chances of landing him.
Chapman is now back with Contreras in Boston, 10 years after they were teammates on the 2016 World Series champion Cubs, and he’s still overpowering hitters at age 38. He heads into the break with a 2.20 ERA and 19 saves, and the nine-time All-Star is striking out more than 11 batters per nine innings with no signs of slowing down.
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For a club that lives under a bright microscope, even an offhand message can feel bigger than it should, especially when it touches on the way the roster has been handled. The episode also added another layer to the scrutiny around the Cubs decision-making, with the message seemingly tied to recent trade frustration and the kind of second-guessing that tends to follow any move that does not immediately pay off. [Read more 🡒]
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Hendriks has been sharp in a small minor league sample, but the bigger question is whether that is enough to outweigh what he has been through in recent seasons. The Cubs are also expected to chase a closer in the coming days, and if they land one, the rest of the relief mix could get pushed around in a hurry, leaving Hendriks and the rest of the internal options in a very different spot than they are in now. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Suddenly Linked To The Ace Every Contender Wants
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Atlanta is one of the clubs being floated alongside the Dodgers, Phillies and Yankees, which tells you how quickly the conversation can turn into a bidding war when an ace becomes available. For a team like the Cubs, that kind of competition is part of the backdrop now, and it only raises the stakes as the deadline approaches and every contender starts weighing how aggressive it wants to be. [Read more 🡒]