Spring Training Miscellany: Early Cubs Roster Chatter, KB Knows, Rizzo Jokes, Careful with Javy, More

The Cubs unveiled their first three staring pitchers of the Spring, and David Ross got into a few substantive items today from Cubs camp, including how he’s visioning some of the infield depth and Ian Happ’s role.

  • Happ in center field is a no-brainer at this point, and we haven’t really even been talking about him anywhere else. Perez (and Hoerner) as back-up shortstop options would not necessarily mean they make the Opening Day roster, as each could head to Iowa and be a “back-up shortstop” option if there were a longer-term opening (though let’s hope it would be Nico first … and maybe even Zack Short second … ).
  • As for carrying three catchers, there’s a lot to like about it with this group – it could free up more flexibility in at bats for Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini – but it’s tough with only five on the bench. Not impossible, though. You’re looking at three of those spots taken up by Caratini, Steven Souza Jr., and Albert Almora Jr. right out of the gate. So, even if you call David Bote the starter at 2B (and assume Hoerner starts at Iowa), you’re left with just two spots for Phegley, Jason Kipnis, Daniel Descalso, Perez, and the other non-roster guys. Injuries often clear some of this stuff up, so I won’t worry too much just now. It’s doable. Tricky, but doable.
  • More Kris Bryant leadoff bits, including Bryant really not thinking it’s a big deal:
  • YOU WILL BE CAREFUL THIS SPRING, TYLER:
  • New arm Jeremy Jeffress gets a whiff from Javy Báez:
  • Javy looking smooth:
  • https://twitter.com/cachorros/status/1230584095832444928

  • That sound could shake loose the dust from the most dormant of loins:
  • Fro-bert:
  • Perfect:
  • Aaaaannnnd I’m ded:
  • https://twitter.com/BleacherNation/status/1230655378163142664

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    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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