Cubs: Chicago reveals stacked lineup for Opening Day vs Pirates

Opening Day is here, and the Chicago Cubs have officially released their first lineup of the season. 

Baseball is back, and so too are the hopes of North Siders that the Chicago Cubs can finally get over the hump.

That’s a tad dramatic, if we’re being honest. The Cubs are five years removed from winning their first World Series in over a century, so the fan base is used to waiting on success.

But the promise that was shown back in 2016 has failed to be delivered upon, as the Cubs have floundered in the years since and failed to make another deep postseason run.

Perhaps this could be the year that changes.

As the Cubs prepare to host not only the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field but a small capacity of fans, David Ross has released his first lineup card of the new season.

Chicago Cubs Opening Day 2021 lineup

Not to get bittersweet from the jump, but this could be the last Opening Day where Cubs fans get to cheer on its World Series core. Questions were asked all winter long about what the future holds for the likes of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryan, Javier Baez, and others — and there weren’t a ton of answers.

But for now the Cubs still have their fan favorites in place, and the Opening Day lineup is once again stacked with talent.

Among the biggest questions being asked about the Cubs is whether or not this lineup is talented enough to win. Any lineup that has Rizzo, Bryant, Contreras, and Baez in it is supposed to win, but Chicago has failed to fulfill its World Series prophecy that was seemingly set in place in 2016.

Now five years later, instead of celebrating the Cubs dynasty, we’re looking at this lineup and wondering how much of it will be there at the end of the season.