Updates below.
The fourth round of Cubs cuts from big league camp (announced this morning) were a bit of a surprise. Not only was Nico Hoerner cut from the team (for now), Shelby Miller and Pedro Strop also got the boot despite solid spring performances, opening up the question … what are the Cubs going to do with Adbert Alzolay?
Well, we already have an answer, and it comes straight from the source:
Ross makes it official: "Adbert's on the team."
His role is yet to be determined. Said he thinks Shelby Miller will impact the Cubs at some point this season.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) March 27, 2021
Once we learned that the Cubs did actually have that fourth year option on Alzolay, it seemed awfully likely that he would be sent out of camp for purely logistical reasons. But according to Cubs Manager David Ross, he’s on the team. And I’m pretty excited about that, particularly without any Triple-A action for over a month.
Even still, this opens up a new question: What is his role? (UPDATE: See below, he’s in the rotation).
Clearly, that remains undefined, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him *begin* in the bullpen as a swing man/multi-inning reliever, with Hendricks-Arrieta-Davies-Williams-Mills opening up the season in the rotation. From there, starts *will* eventually become available (they just will), but at least this way, he can stay sharp, continue to work against big league hitters, and still contribute to a NL Central championship right out of the gate.
Long-term, the Cubs will absolutely want to see what Alzolay has to offer as a starter, because his youth, upside, and long-term control will be very much needed when this rotation full of short-term guns-for-hire needs to be rebuilt over the offseason. Again.
UPDATE: Okay, hell yes. I am *very* happy to see that Alzolay is actually making the rotation. And it seems that will be at the expense of Alec Mills:
Ross says Trevor Williams and Adbert Alzolay will start the 4th and 5th games of the season.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) March 27, 2021
So this means the Cubs rotation is set: Hendricks-Arrieta-Davies-Williams-Alzolay, with Shelby Miller off the big league roster for the time being and Alec Mills presumably in the bullpen (he is otherwise out of Minor League options).