Still holding out hope for an addition to the roster at the last moment? No, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are *not* walking through that door, but a final bullpen addition? Or a veteran back-up catcher?
It may yet be mathematically possible, but Joe Maddon has not been given any reason to expect it.
‘That’s not been a heavy part of the discussion with me, [president] Theo [Epstein] and [general manager] Jed [Hoyer],’’ Maddon told the Sun-Times of the potential for more additions. ‘‘That doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen; I’m not saying that. But we’ve not talked about that a whole lot. I anticipate what you see showing up [for the first full-squad workout], the [Opening Day] group’s going to be derived from that group.”
Were another significant change to the roster under serious consideration, it’s likely Maddon would be apprised at this point, because it could impact the way he structures the early part of the Spring for certain players. (Though query whether Maddon would concede that even if it were true. Still, considering the whole of the circumstances, I tend to simply believe him in this case.)
As the group stands, it’s not as if there isn’t a pretty clear roster there. There is a competition for spots in the bullpen, to be sure, but the Cubs have an overflowing volume of options there, if nothing else. With health, the rotation is complete. With health, the positional guys are also full up. There really isn’t a reason *TO* expect additions from here.
Would it be nice if the Cubs could afford to be strategic and pounce on the possibly depressed price tag of someone like Martin Maldonado? Yup. It would. It sure would. But from the manager’s perspective, he can see what’s in front of him, and there’s plenty there to put together a quality 25-man roster.