Early in spring training, it became something of a running joke to ask Cubs manager David Ross who would be the team’s starting pitcher on Opening Day. Everyone knew he wouldn’t name an Opening Day starter in mid-February. Regardless, one pitcher had long been expected to be the one Ross named when he made it official: Marcus Stroman. As it…
With only two weeks left until Opening Day, it’s time to provide an updated prediction for how the Cubs’ 26-man roster will look to start the year. There aren’t many changes from CHGO’s initial prediction last week, though the changes that were made do feel fairly significant. The biggest one features the young starting pitcher pictured above: Hayden Wesneski. Back…
At the beginning of spring training a month ago, it may have been easy for outsiders to overlook Javier Assad when it came to the Cubs’ fifth-starter competition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KMAKoonRY0&t=199s Marcus Stroman, Jameson Taillon, Justin Steele and Drew Smyly are in line to take four of the five rotation spots. Kyle Hendricks is only now throwing bullpens in his recovery from…
Exactly three weeks from today, the Cubs host the Brewers for an Opening Day matchup at 1:20 p.m. at Wrigley Field. Like every year at the end of March, the weather probably won’t be anything special. But as for which 26 players make the trip to Chicago at the end of spring training for that Opening Day contest? That’ll of…
Trey Mancini went through his share of struggles at the plate in 2022, especially after he was dealt from the Orioles to the Astros at the trade deadline. Still, his time in Houston ended with Mancini becoming a World Series champion for the first time. He’ll bring that knowledge to the Cubs this season after signing a two-year deal with…
Over the last couple of years, as Jameson Taillon got further away from his second Tommy John surgery, he’d had a thought in the back of his mind. He wanted to figure out a way to improve his slider. It wasn’t as consistent as he would’ve liked it to be. He thought there was plenty of room for it to…
Six years after he played for Team Japan in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, Seiya Suzuki was committed to representing his country once again next month. “It was actually one of my objectives to play at the WBC,” Suzuki said via interpreter Toy Matsushita last week at Cubs spring training in Mesa, Ariz. “This year, there’s a lot of good…
MESA, Ariz. — Nobody should take a single swing this early in spring training for more than what it is. There’s still a long way to go before the season begins, and a long fly ball off the bat during workouts doesn’t mean someone has rediscovered their form at the plate. But man, it had to feel good for Cody…
MESA, Ariz. — Drew Smyly expressed multiple times during the 2022 season his desire to return to the Cubs in 2023, but with his contract only holding a mutual option for the year, it was going to take a new deal to make it happen. Smyly had to be patient after he declined the option. The Cubs had reciprocated the…
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