Willson Contreras, Nico Hoerner, and Nick Madrigal are the only current Cubs position players more or less guaranteed to have a significant role for the team next season (absent a trade or whatever), but all three are currently out with injuries. And when that happens after you trade Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Javy Baez, Jake Marisnick, and Joc Pederson, with Jason Heyward also injured, well, you’re left with a lineup that looks a little something like this.
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
1. Matt Duffy, 3B
2. Frank Schwindel, 1B
3. David Bote, 2B
4. Patrick Wisdom, LF
5. Robinson Chirinos, C
6. Ian Happ, RF
7. Johneshwy Fargas, CF
8. Sergio Alcantara, SS
9. Adbert Alzolay, P
The left-hander Jesús Luzardo is on the mound for the Marlins tonight, and he’s just 17 starts into his big league career (8 this season). The lefty has pretty strong, traditional splits, with righties hitting a healthy .270/.339/.484 against him, while fellow lefties are down at .237/.302/.386.
Normally, against a lefty, you might expect Willson Contreras to lead off. Today, however, the honor falls to Matt Duffy. He’ll be followed by a Frank Schwindel, David Bote, Patrick Wisdom, and the Cubs new starting catcher, Robinson Chirinos. Chirinos has handled lefties very well throughout his career, but most of the heavy lifting came between 2015 and 2019.
Happ, Fargas, and Alcantara round out the order, and, as usual, we’ll have your full Pre-Gamin’ post closer to game time (6:10 CT).