A follow-on for yesterday’s discussion of the Chicago Cubs’ anticipated 26-man roster to open the season. There, we talked about a couple of the beat projections, and how the questions ultimately emerge on the non-catcher, non-Tauchman part of the bench (3 spots), and the middle relief part of the bullpen (3 spots).
There are a few more projections out there that I thought worth sharing, because they can offer some insight into the sense the beat writers have picked up around camp.
Maddie Lee at the Sun-Times offers her projections here, and the bench question is answered with Miles Mastrobuoni, Dom Smith, and Alexander Canario.
Mastrobuoni is pretty much like Mike Tauchman, in that he is going to be on all of the projections, including my own. With Nick Madrigal likely to open the season on the IL, and the same possible of Patrick Wisdom, the Cubs have to have someone else on the roster who can play third base besides just Christopher Morel. Mastrobuoni can play there, of course, as well as pretty much anywhere else. He hits lefty, he runs the bases well, and his offense showed up in the second half last year. The only thing working against him is the fact that he’s got minor league options remaining, but he’s likely too valuable not to carry out of the gate.
As for the other two spots, Lee goes with Smith as the NRI taking a 40-man spot, and Canario sticking as the extra right-handed bat. I read this as Lee’s guess *IF* Wisdom starts on the IL and the injury doesn’t look super long-term. If instead it’s a long-term issue, then you might see Garrett Cooper instead. I agree across the board, though if the Cubs had another 40-man move available besides Caleb Kilian to the 60-day, then I would say just add Cooper no matter what, and option Canario to Iowa to start every day.
In the bullpen, Lee goes with Javier Assad, Jose Cuas, and Carl Edwards Jr. (with Drew Smyly and Jordan Wicks in the rotation for now). Again, that’s how I would have it, too. The fact that Edwards needs a 40-man spot, like Smith would, does complicate things a bit (especially if you wanted to even think about also adding Cooper). The Cubs will have to open a second 40-man spot somehow, but I do think I’d like to see the Cubs keeping Edwards at this point. He cannot be optioned like Hayden Wesneski, Luke Little, and Daniel Palencia, all of whom would assuredly be back soon enough. Note, Cuas also can be optioned, but it just feels like Craig Counsell and the Cubs want him in there right away.
Over at the Tribune, Meghan Montemurro’s projections go Mastrobuoni, Wisdom, and Cooper for those three bench spots. Acknowledging the possibility of a Wisdom IL stint, Montemurro points to Smith and Canario as possibly taking that spot (she has Cooper making the team regardless), and that decision would probably come down to the 40-man roster aspect.
Montemurro’s three bullpen selections are the same as Lee, and the same I would have: Assad, Cuas, Edwards. Again, Smyly and Wicks are in the opening rotation.
At Marquee, Andy Martinez is with Lee on the at-issue bench trio, going with Mastrobuoni, Smith, and Canario. Again, this in the plausible event that both Madrigal and Wisdom open the season on the IL. For me, I’d probably rather have Cooper than Canario, since I’d like to have a righty bat that could play at first base to spell Michael Busch against tough lefties, but if Wisdom’s absence projects to be short, then maybe you just go with Canario so that you don’t have to open up another 40-man spot. Either way, I do hope the Cubs keep Smith, because I’d like to have that extra lefty bat available to DH when the Cubs really want to overload a lineup with lefties.
In the bullpen, Martinez tweaks the trio we’ve otherwise seen by keeping Little, and not selecting Edwards. The rationales seem to be that Little gives the Cubs a lefty in the bullpen (which they otherwise would not have, though Mark Leiter Jr. functions more like a great lefty when his splitter is working), and Edwards requires that extra 40-man spot. A perfectly reasonable decision, and one that the Cubs could ultimately make. I don’t love the idea of having literally no lefties in the bullpen, though I also don’t love the idea of losing Edwards entirely when I think he can still be a good relief contributor.