The Consolation Roster

For reasons that generally come back to the Dodgers being a really good team with lots of money, the Cubs lost out on a couple of would-be realistic targets that chose LA as their preferred destination. I suppose not coincidentally, the folks at MLBTR started pondering a salary cap (as are many folks in various discussions), not to mention rules and regulations to prevent the Dodgers from deferring payroll until the Vulcans land on Earth in a few decades. I think we should kick those discussions down the road, because whatever they decide will likely be implemented over a few years (potentially even after a work stoppage, sigh), but in the meantime, the Cubs still must field a team that will compete not only for the division, but for a pennant and a World Series championship before Kyle Tucker inevitably hits free agency and Tom Ricketts cries poor again.*

(* Sorry, too much sarcasm.)

Anyway, last time we talked about this, I suggested that the Cubs could use a couple more relievers, an extra starting pitcher, and some veteran bench guys to cover the infield positions and back up center field. I wanted to do sort of a roster reset given the current makeup of the Cubs 40-man roster, but thinking more in terms of which 26 players will be going to Tokyo in mid-March based on what we know now and the free agents still available.

I wanted to set this up as a standard load-out with the 13 maximum pitchers (assuming five starters and eight relievers), two catchers, one designated hitter (Seiya Suzuki, naturally), and ten remaining position players.

Starting Rotation (5)

1. Justin Steele
2. Shota Imanaga
3. Jameson Taillon
4. Placeholder
5. Placeholder

The reason I have placeholders in the #4 and #5 spots is because I’m honestly not sure what the plan is. We know there are guys who can theoretically start, but not actually sure how far they can go and how well they can hold down their five or so innings. There’s nothing disastrous about having guys like Javier Assad, Jordan Wicks, a new addition in either Colin Rea or Matthew Boyd, depth guys like a Caleb Kilian or Keegan Thompson, or an experiment like Nate Pearson. I think the Cubs are better off getting an actual starter to bump all of those guys to #5 or even into a swingman role or into the bullpen, and the best available starting pitchers now include Jack Flaherty (health and inconsistency may be stalling his market) and Nick Pivetta (who declined a qualifying offer so would cost the Cubs money and draft picks, which is no fun). There is still the trade route, but depending on who you talk to, it may be more of a deadline thing than something we see before spring. If Flaherty is waiting, my guess is the Cubs might be able to snag him on a reasonable deal, slot him in at #3, shift Taillon down to #4, and then #5 becomes a bit more manageable and they might even be able to work in a six-man or hybrid rotation to steal some rest days for everyone.

Bullpen (8)

• Long relief/swingman
• Long relief/swingman
• RHP middle relief – Eli Morgan
• LHP middle relief
• RHP setup – Julian Merryweather
• RHP setup – Tyson Miller
• LHP setup – Caleb Thielbar
• Closer – Porter Hodge (?)

As we all know by now, the Cubs lost out on the Tanner Scott sweepstakes, and since Porter Hodge looked okay in the role last season, I just kind of stuck him there, but my guess is they would rather not put that pressure on him. The long relief/swingman spots would be filled by the guys who didn’t wind up in the rotation, plus Ben Brown if he is on track, and LHP middle relief kind of depends on whether Luke Little is healthy and whether the Cubs trade for or sign some extra help. When looking again at available free agents, I see fun names like Carlos Estevez, Kyle Finnegan, Tommy Kahnle, and Kirby Yates, as well as former friend David Robertson from the right side. On the left side, we have another former friend in Andrew Chafin, plus options that include Tim Hill and World Series good luck charm Will Smith (no, the other one, and I actually don’t know how good he is anymore). My guess is that by the end of spring training, we say goodbye to any combination of Keegan Thompson, Caleb Kilian, Ethan Roberts, or some other fringe guys you probably forgot were still on the team.

Catchers (2)

• Miguel Amaya
• Carson Kelly

This is probably a time share until one of them establishes that they’re clearly better. The other one is obviously on the bench.

Infielders (Starting 4)

• First base – Michael Busch
• Second base – Placeholder
• Shortstop – Dansby Swanson
• Third base – Placeholder

Top prospect Matt Shaw has been given all but a guarantee that he will make the team out of camp and likely starts at third base, but he is not on the roster yet and won’t be until they make it official. Nico Hoerner may or may not be ready to throw by the time camp starts for the position guys, and Dansby Swanson also had some kind of hernia surgery but I think he would have to be dead to have him skip Opening Day. If Nico is ready, he’s the obvious starter at second and Shaw goes to third. If Nico needs more time, there is a possibility Shaw starts at second or third depending on who the Cubs are able to add, if they don’t trust the internal options.

Outfielders (Starting 3)

• Left field – Ian Happ
• Center field – Pete Crow-Armstrong
• Right field – Kyle Tucker

This is pretty obvious. No notes needed.

Designated Hitter (1)

• Seiya Suzuki

Pretty standard too, although Seiya would be the fourth outfielder in case someone needs a day off. Someone else would have to back up center field though, and I doubt you want Seiya, Ian Happ, or even Kyle Tucker doing it.

Bench (3, not including the catcher not playing that day)

• Backup CF
• Backup IF
• Useful bat

In the absence of any additions, the internal option that the Cubs probably do not mind just waiting on the bench is Alexander Canario to back up CF. Any injuries to the outfield probably also brings back Kevin Alcantara. As for the infield, the Cubs did get Gage Workman from Detroit in the Rule 5 Draft, but carrying him on the roster all season seems less than ideal. They also picked up Vidal Brujan in a trade with the Marlins, but again, not ideal. So while there are internal options, you would hope the Cubs can do more than scrape the free agency barrel to get better veteran presence, and I believe even Jed Hoyer has indicated they will not be relying on rookies for the bench, and will in fact be looking to add more.

Depending on how you feel about handedness, there are plenty of options you can find still available. One of the more versatile candidates that could use a bounce back opportunity is Brandon Drury, who I wanted for the Cubs before he signed with the Angels and showed me what an idiot I was because he really sucked in Los Angeles of Anaheim. Another is switch-hitting Jorge Polanco, who went to the hitter’s deathbed of Seattle and also sucked but you hope getting him out of there would ignite some offense. Whenever he returns from injury and if he’s willing to sign on the Cubs’ terms, defensive elite Ha-Seong Kim is also a free agent, so that would be fun. Center fielder backup options could include Harrison Bader (sigh) and Michael A Taylor (meh), who aren’t pure nothing but won’t light up your life either.

The Cubs have money available per Tom Ricketts’ big mouth, and the impetus to add per Jed Hoyer, so let’s see what they do now. The team is projected to do well, but with all those question marks I noted above, they really could do more to reduce the uncertainty in my view.