With a relatively healthy and full roster and (apparently) no room in the budget for any late-winter additions, the Cubs didn’t have many big-time storylines here at the start of Spring Training.
The late arrival of Ben Zobrist and the late-scratching of Jason Heyward, both of which were for “personal reasons,” then, had the conspiracy theorists running wild. After all, we needed something to latch onto (did I just out myself as a conspiracy theorist?). Well, for better or worse, those storylines can be put to rest, because both guys have returned to the Cubs lineup this afternoon:
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Albert Almora Jr., CF
- Ben Zobrist, DH
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1BV
- Javier Baez, SS
- Kyle Schwarber, LF
- Jason Heyward, RF
- Daniel Descalso, 2B
- Taylor Davis, C
Indeed, against the Athletics later this afternoon, the Cubs are rolling with all regulars (minus Willson Contreras), and that includes both Heyward and Zobrist.
I’m glad to have both guys back – this is actually Zobrist’s Spring debut – and I hope they both have killer years. We’ll have a full Pre-Gamin’ post closer to game time (2:05 CT).