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<\/p>\nMESA, Ariz. \u2014 As the Chicago Cubs prepare to leave spring training and put the finishing touches on their Opening Day roster, Jed Hoyer\u2019s front office continues to look for external additions.<\/p>\n
Given the sheer number of players being placed on waivers or holding opt-out clauses in their contracts, the Cubs are monitoring the market for possible upgrades. One internal debate is whether the club needs to acquire an extra infielder. The bullpen also remains a constant area of focus.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s just a lot of movement around the league,\u201d Hoyer said Sunday. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to figure that out. We still have some balls in the air.\u201d<\/p>\n
After winning 92 games and a postseason round last year, the Cubs kept a stable nucleus of players together and maintained continuity on Craig Counsell\u2019s coaching staff. When pitchers and catchers reported to Arizona in February, the roster had only a few openings available, and the Cubs have largely avoided major injuries for the past six weeks.<\/p>\n
Yet the Cubs went into Sunday\u2019s final Cactus League game with 38 players still on their spring roster, a sign of their deliberate, opportunistic approach and the disjointed nature of this training camp. With final cuts looming, the Cubs still have two more exhibitions against the New York Yankees at Sloan Park.<\/p>\n
The World Baseball Classic pulled players such as Alex Bregman, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Daniel Palencia out of Mesa for stretches. The extreme heat blanketing the Phoenix area forced clubs to stage more Cactus League night games, further disrupting routines.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just want guys to get their work in and be healthy,\u201d Hoyer said. \u201cThere\u2019s been a good vibe in camp. It\u2019s been unusual this year with the WBC. You talk to people around the game, it feels different. It feels less cohesive. We\u2019re not the only team dealing with that. But it\u2019s nice to have the full complement of guys back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seiya Suzuki\u2019s travel plans are still \u201cup in the air,\u201d Counsell said when asked if the Japanese outfielder would join the major-league team for Tuesday\u2019s flight to Chicago or hang back in Arizona to get treatment, ramp up again and regain his timing.<\/p>\n
Suzuki, who sprained the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the WBC, has already been ruled out for Opening Day, making a short-term stint on the injured list a likely outcome.<\/p>\n
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\n Seiya Suzuki of Team Japan reacts after getting tagged out during the second inning against Team Venezuela (Al Bello \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u201cThings are moving in the right direction,\u201d Hoyer said, \u201cbut it\u2019s a long season, and we don\u2019t want to do anything for a couple days early that would hurt us later on.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Suzuki sidelined, Matt Shaw could become a more prominent option in right field, limiting the scope of his super-utility role and emphasizing the need for a versatile infielder off the bench.<\/p>\n
The Cubs are not planning to open the season with a six-man rotation, though the club could revisit that idea at some point. The early part of their schedule includes days off before and after Game 1, plus four Thursdays in April without games on the calendar. In order, Chicago\u2019s rotation is lined up with Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Shota Imanaga, Edward Cabrera and Jameson Taillon.<\/p>\n
Colin Rea, a valuable swingman last season, has a $6.5 million salary and a guaranteed spot on the pitching staff. The Cubs have not yet declared their intentions with Ben Brown and Javier Assad, two pitchers with minor-league options and undefined roles in terms of beginning this season in the Triple-A rotation or Wrigley Field bullpen.<\/p>\n
For years now, the organization has weighed whether Brown\u2019s swing-and-miss stuff should make him a high-leverage reliever, or if it makes more sense to leave open the possibility that the 6-foot-6, 230-pound right-hander might realize his full potential in the rotation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got five healthy starters,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cYou got to make some choices.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Jonathon Long, the organization\u2019s 2025 minor-league player of the year, will be viewed in Iowa as a backup to first baseman Michael Busch. In sending Long to minor-league camp, Counsell said, \u201cThe message for Johnny was that we want you to play. He is a day away from being in the big leagues.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Corbin Martin and Collin Snider, two buy-low relievers the Cubs targeted this offseason, were assigned to minor-league camp. Martin\u2019s deal includes an upward mobility clause, which can require the Cubs to offer him to every other club. If another team is willing to bring him to the majors, the Cubs would have to either add him to their roster or trade him there. (This mechanism is how the Cubs acquired lefty reliever Drew Pomeranz from the Seattle Mariners\u2019 Triple-A affiliate last year.) Snider\u2019s contractual opt-out window is after the start of the season, not the end of spring training.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Chas McCormick, an outfielder who\u2019s dealing with a right shoulder issue, has been informed that he won\u2019t make the team, though the Cubs are hopeful that he will stay in the organization on a minor-league deal with their Triple-A club.<\/p>\n
Ethan Conrad, Chicago\u2019s first-round pick last year, will not start the minor-league season on time due to a back injury. Cubs director of player development Jason Kanzler estimated that Conrad will be sidelined for the next month, a setback for a player who has not yet appeared in an official game as a Cubs prospect.<\/p>\n