Cubs content on giving their young guns a chance |
As big-name free agents like Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman, and JD Martinez lurk on the open market — the Cubs have arrived in Mesa, Arizona, for Spring Training and don’t seem to be in any rush to add to their current roster.
While you can’t count the Cubs out on any of these free agents until they sign on the dotted line with a different franchise, especially Bellinger, it is clear the Cubs are excited about the ability to allow some playing time to their young talent, and some avenues to the pros for their top prospects. Jed Hoyer and Craig Counsell have candidly commented about their plans for specific players. For example, highly-touted prospect Michael Busch, who the Cubs acquired via trade from the Dodgers, has been talked highly of by Hoyer — and the plan is for Busch to be the Cubs starting first basemen in 2024, despite being a third basemen in LA’s system. Christopher Morel is another name who has been the subject of rumors and sports talk radio conversations all winter long. The talent is there, especially offensively, as he hit 37 home runs in 2024 (combining his brief stint in triple and his 26 at the pro level). The issue for Morel has been his struggles to find a steady position defensively. He has the glove for second and third base, but his arm has been wild at times, leading to a surplus of throwing errors from the hot corner — and as much as he would like to play second base, the Cubs already boast one of the best in the game in Nico Hoerner. As for the outfield, Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ have the corners locked down — so Morel’s only avenue to the field is in center field. The issue is that any combination of Cody Bellinger, Mike Tauchman, and Pete Crow-Armstrong are better defensive options. That all led to Morel appearing as a designated hitter in most of his games in 2023. However, Craig Counsell has been adamant to this point that the desire is for Morel to find his way into the lineup every day. The most recent word out of camp is that Morel will get the chance to be the every-day third baseman.
So, with Morel at third and Busch at first — the Cubs at least have an answer in pencil for their corner infield question marks.
Without Bellinger, centerfield looks to allow Pete Crow-Armstrong a big chance to play — as well as Mike Tauchman, who dazzled in 2023.
That leaves the designated hitter without a big answer — leaving the window open for Nick Madrigal and Patrick Wisdom, who have likely been demoted to backups at the perspective corner positions, an avenue to the lineup.
But this lineup hole also grants an opportunity to Alexander Canario, one of the Cubs' highest power-hitting prospects (as well as for Kevin Alcantara, Owen Cassie, or Matt Shaw down the road), and potentially even for Matt Mervis to get another opportunity to earn his keep in the show.
Plus, the Cubs recently signed David Peralta and Dom Smith, who could factor into that rotation.
However, it does also give the Cubs a hole to potentially fill if they decide to sign a hitter not named Cody Bellinger in the coming weeks.
What seems apparent is the Cubs are content to give their young guns a chance — we’ll see if that pays off.
