Chicago Cubs Lineup (2/26/25): Lopez Leads Off, Turner at 1B, Imanaga Starting
The Cubs are now 6-0 in Cactus League action and the prevailing thought is that they’ll run the table across both their spring and regular-season slates. That’s right, many are predicting MLB’s first 162-0 record. All kidding aside, it’s perfectly fine to celebrate the Cubs’ spring wins while also keeping them in perspective. There’s also less than zero need to piss in the Cheerios of those who just want to be giddy about baseball at the only time we’re able to be without need for qualification.
We had plenty of time to criticize team leadership for how they navigated the offseason, not to mention those prior, and we’ve got several more months to gnash our teeth over results that actually matter. So maybe we just ride the wave of optimism for a while here. But wait, aren’t you the one who keeps whining about Alexander Canario? Point taken, let’s move on.
With Shōta Imanaga on the bump today, the Cubs have gotten almost all their potential rotation arms into the mix. The exception is Javier Assad, who was stalled early in camp with an oblique strain. That shouldn’t be too big a deal because the ideal configuration of the pitching staff should see Assad in the bullpen. Even though this outing won’t tell us much, it’s good to see the primary arms getting out there quickly.
It’s also good to see some new guys mixed in the familiar faces, especially when they’re trying to prove they deserve the last roster spot or two. Nicky Lopez has been getting a few reps at short and here’s there leading off this afternoon. Michael Busch is the DH, Justin Turner handles first base, and Miguel Amaya is the catcher. Gage Workman is at third, which could be a precursor of the season-opening series in Japan with Matt Shaw unlikely to be ready.
Vidal Bruján is in center, which could be another sign of what the Cubs are looking to do for an extra outfielder. Travis Jankowski gets the start in left, Kevin Alcantara is in right, and Ben Cowles takes second base.
I learned my lesson yesterday after doing a bigger scouting report on would-be starter A.J. Puk only to find the Diamondbacks went with Joe Mantiply instead. Not that it’s a big deal when you’re talking about a bullpen game being opened by a reliever, and besides, it was good to stretch myself out a little in preparation for the season. Along those same lines, the Giants are turning to former Cardinals closer Jordan Hicks to start this contest.
Once one of the hardest throwers in the league with a fastball that averaged over 100 mph in each of his first five seasons, San Francisco signed him last year with the intent of moving him to the rotation. That kinda-sorta worked as Hicks made 20 starts out of 29 total appearances and tossed 109.2 innings, 32 more than the high-water mark he set as a rookie in 2018. A shift back to the bullpen late last year helped curb his inning and pitch counts.
It was evident as the season went along that Hicks was losing zip on his heater, going from 95-97 mph through the first half of May to the 93 mph range and even down to 91 at times through July. Upon being shifted back into a relief role, he ticked back up to 96+ and finished the season averaging around 95 overall. That’s still a far cry from his previous numbers and it showed in his career-low 20% strikeout rate.
Far be it for me to tell another team what to do, but I don’t see the value in taking a guy whose value is rooted in elite velocity and putting him in position to dial that down. Hicks has found most of his success firing that running turbo sinker with more ride than many of his peers, but, either due to the decreased velo or aiming for more seam-shifted wake, the pitch had far more depth than usual for either him or other MLB sinkers. As a result, his fastball run value was very poor.
Between diminished hard stuff, a sweeper that frequently backed up on him, and a splitter that tended to hang, the results were very pedestrian. Hicks’ saving grace is that he still got a lot of grounders, but a guy with his stuff who is prone to control issues really needs to be able to miss bats. Though I can’t admit to caring much about what the Giants do, I’d like to see whether and how they tweak his offerings this season in an effort to improve his outcomes.
First pitch from Scottsdale Stadium is at 2:05pm CT on…nothing. Well, you can get the Giants’ radio feed via MLB Audio, but that’s some weak-ass sauce. Remember when Marquee launched and it was so cool because all the Cubs’ spring games would be televised? Just like streaming services going back to a weekly release cadence for new shows, both Cubs TV and radio seem to be traveling back in time to where coverage was a luxury and not a given.
