Well, that’s a bummer. Starlin Castro’s absence from tonight’s lineup is not necessarily a dealbreaker with respect to him starting the season on Opening Day, as there were some hints that the Cubs might want him to play in only one of these Diamondbacks exhibition games. At the same time, there were indications that, if he was feeling fine after yesterday’s minor league action, he would be playing tonight.
That all said, Gordon Wittenmyer reports that Castro is scheduled to start at shortstop tomorrow after taking the day off today. That would put Castro on a schedule to play yesterday, rest today, play tomorrow, rest the next day, play Opening Day, rest the next day, and then play the next day.
If for some reason Castro can’t play tomorrow, and does start the year on the DL, we could be looking at something approximating a “regular” lineup tonight for the Cubs (save for the catcher spot). Of course, as we explored earlier today, hopefully there won’t really be much of a “regular” lineup, given the matchup advantages of this roster.
Interesting that, with Ryan Sweeney and Junior Lake in the lineup, Lake is back in left field.
Edwin Jackson gets the start in his final short tuneup for the regular season. This game is on CSN, by the way, and it’s also a free game on MLB.tv, if you want to check that out.
Lineup:
- Emilio Bonifacio, SS
- Junior Lake, LF
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Mike Olt, 3B
- Nate Schierholtz, RF
- Ryan Sweeney, CF
- John Baker, C
- Darwin Barney, 2B
- Edwin Jackson, P