The Rundown: Projecting Cubs’ Final Roster, Ryno Halfway Through Cancer Treatments, Busch Leaning on Athleticism

Projecting lineups and rosters is always part folly, but I’ll take a stab at it today.

• Catchers: Yan Gomes and Miguel Amaya will make the team but I expect Amaya to be the starter at some point this season.
• First Base: Michael Busch won the job and Garrett Cooper will be his primary backup, but the Cubs have several other options.
• Second Base: Nico Hoerner will be Chicago’s best player this season.
• Shortstop: Dansby Swanson, of course.
• Third Base: Craig Counsell continues to express confidence in Christopher Morel and is willing to let him work through his fielding issues. Patrick Wisdom will back him up but Nick Madrigal would have been a nice late-inning defensive replacement. He could start the season on the IL, so Miles Mastrobuoni may have to fill in.
• Outfield: It was always Seiya Suzuki in right, Cody Bellinger in center, and Ian Happ in left once Bellinger rejoined the team. Mike Tauchman is a very solid fourth outfielder.
• Designated Hitter: Counsell has a plethora of options from which to choose.
• Starting Pitchers: Justin Steele, Kyle Hendricks, and Shōta Imanaga are locks, but the injury to Jameson Taillon shakes up the back end a bit. Javier Assad, Drew Smyly, Jordan Wicks, and Hayden Wesneski are still competing for the final two spots. Wicks should earn one. I believe Counsell will go with Assad, too.
• Bullpen: Yency Almonte, Mark Leiter Jr., and Julian Merryweather are out of options, so they’re locks. Héctor Neris was the big offseason addition to the group, so he’s a lock, as is Adbert Alzolay. I’d add Jose Cuas and Carl Edwards Jr. to complete the corps.

Cubs News & Notes

• The Cubs trimmed their roster to 42 with another round of cuts that included Matt Mervis and Keegan Thompson, among others. More interesting cuts will follow as the team has nine days to reduce its roster to 26 players.
• Tauchman has a roster spot secured, but he’s still working to add a little more power to his game.
• Suzuki is thriving in his first full spring of Cactus League play.
• Busch is leaning on his athleticism to help with the nuances of playing first base.
• Jordan Montgomery may not sign until after Opening Day to avoid being saddled with a qualifying offer next winter. The Cubs could have interest if his price point drops below $20 million, though that seems unlikely.
• The Cubs are facing a scenario where they could break camp with four left-handers in the starting rotation.
• Assad could work as a starter if the team prefers to let Smyly work in a swing role.
• The Cubs announced that Steele will get the Opening Day start facing Nathan Eovaldi of the Rangers.
• Swanson was as advertised in 2023 and the organization is hoping for a repeat this season.
• Counsell brings a fresh perspective to the team, shaking things up but in a quiet and understated way.
• Ryne Sandberg is halfway through his cancer treatments and doing well thanks to support from current and for Cubs. The organization will unveil Sandberg’s statue at Wrigley Field on June 23.

Odds & Sods

Connie Mack left no stone unturned in his search for championship-caliber players.

Connie Mack and the Three Stooges in Anaheim, California during spring training – 1942 pic.twitter.com/5XQSoCMqp0

— BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) March 13, 2024

Climbing the Ladder

Imanaga is going to be better than a lot of analysts think. Asking him to average 18 K/9 like he has this spring is a tall request, but he did lead the NPB in strikeouts last year. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the big fish this winter though I’d rather have Imanaga once you add the difference in salaries.

Steele is coming off a year where he was considered a strong Cy Young candidate until very late in the season. His Opening Day assignment is a passing-the-torch moment from Hendricks, who will toe the slab in Chicago’s second game against the Rangers. Steele was 13-6 with a 3.06 ERA and 176 strikeouts last year and is almost a bona fide ace.

Cade Horton is waiting in the wings and he’s going to be a good one. A part of me thinks he’ll be a rotation mainstay by mid-May, but the Cubs won’t need him until September or even 2025 if things go well.

Central Intelligence

• Milwaukee: Top prospect Jackson Chourio will make the Opening Day roster. That came as a surprise to some but the Brewers are in a period of transition and they’re paying him a little too much money to play at Triple-A. Oh yeah, he’s good at baseball, too.
• Cincinnati: The Reds have set their rotation, but an injury to Nick Lodolo and his eventual return may require an early season adjustment by the coaching staff.
• Pittsburgh: A Roberto Clemente game-worn jersey sold at an auction for $256,000, so let me thank one of our readers in advance for the birthday present.
• St. Louis: Blake Snell recently signed with the Padres, which represents another missed opportunity by the Cardinals front office.

Extra Innings

It’s nice knowing I am not the only Daniel Palencia fan. This kid is going to thrive under Counsell. I like Alzolay but I believe Palencia is a future closer.

Daniel Palencia out there throwing smoke and getting outs! He can be a force in the @Cubs bullpen this year! #Cubs #CubsProspects #ST2K24 pic.twitter.com/JU63Ci5kql

— Rich Biesterfeld (@biest22) March 19, 2024

They Said It

• “With how right-handed we’ve been in the past, it’s amazing for us even be thinking or talking about having four lefties in the rotation. It’s just so unique, but one thing (Craig) Counsell’s talked about is we want to take the guys who are going to give us the best chance to win and we’ll figure out the ways that we can piece that together and move guys around accordingly. And when I say what gives you the best chance to win is because you could have these preconceived notions that oh, four lefties are too many. Well, who knows? Honestly. Some of the best teams in this league have a lot of left-handed hitters.” – Tommy Hottovy
• “We’ve got depth on the mound. We have depth at pretty much every other position as well. I’m just excited to see how it continues to gel. Last year, we really thought we were going to be good. And we ended up being pretty good. Just not good enough. Now having many of the same personalities, it feels a little more seamless.” – Swanson
• “[Asaad is] skilled. He’s a true pitcher and when I say that, skilled at reading swings and adjusting pitch-to-pitch and making kind of good choices within that space, which is just hard to do and generally is a sign of experience and at a young age I think he does that really well.” – Counsell

Tuesday Walk-Up Song

As much as I hate to admit it, this is a pretty catchy song, and though I’m not sure why it appears on so many sports playlists, it’ll earworm you. I am concerned that Katy Perry rarely blinks, however. Didn’t Anthony Rizzo use this as his walk-up song at one time?