The subtext to the beginning of this particular Cubs season — and the normal sorting out in April — reads like a voice-over to an infomercial running on a cable network in the middle of the night: Are you already tired of David Ross’ lineups and bullpen decisions? Still waiting for Jed Hoyer to finally do something? Introducing the 2023 Iowa Cubs.
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The Opening Day roster is never set in stone. One week into the season is too soon to overreact and make drastic changes, but the Cubs will make moves soon enough. Seiya Suzuki appears to be in range of that best-case projection for his strained left oblique — activated by mid-April — and there is no underplaying his importance as a middle-of-the-order hitter and an experienced defender in right field. Brandon Hughes has been ramping up in Arizona after dealing with left knee inflammation, and his eventual return will give Ross an actual left-handed reliever to use in late-game situations. Kyle Hendricks could be on the horizon at some point in May as he follows the deliberate plan to keep his right shoulder healthy and extend his career.
Of course, someone else will get hurt. What looked great on paper during the winter won’t necessarily look so good on the field. Certain players will also outperform expectations. Especially in a market like Chicago, momentum can quickly go in either direction.
The Cubs did not sign a $300 million player or a No. 1 starter attached to a qualifying offer this past offseason. Part of the logic was spreading the money around and preparing for all those different possibilities. That strategy also tied into other initiatives across baseball operations, which strengthened their Triple-A affiliate and created insurance policies against another “multi-system failure.”
Christopher Morel should be crushing International League pitching after his electrifying rookie season. Instead of handing Matt Mervis a job after he hit 36 home runs in the minors last year, the Cubs signed three first basemen to major-league deals. Adrian Sampson and Rowan Wick — two pitchers who agreed to one-year deals last November — also started this season in Des Moines. Even after injuries delayed his Wrigley Field ETA, Brennen Davis is still viewed as a consensus top-100 prospect within the baseball industry.
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“This game never ceases to surprise you,” Hoyer said. “Different things will happen that you haven’t thought about. That’s why depth is so incredibly valuable. That’s why versatility is so valuable. Because things are going to happen and our ability to adjust to those unforeseen things is so critical.”
Christopher Morel (Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo)Exactly seven years ago — April 7, 2016 — Kyle Schwarber collided with Dexter Fowler and crumpled onto the warning track at Chase Field. In Hoyer’s mind, that prime example shows how the best teams have the ability to improvise when things go wrong. Javier Báez emerged as a star during that World Series run. Kris Bryant’s versatility shifting between the infield and the outfield helped him win an MVP award. Ben Zobrist, the premier super-utility player of his generation, became the World Series MVP.
“When Schwarber blew out his knee in Game 3,” Hoyer said, “that thrust Javy into a more valuable role. He ended up being the reason we had one of the best defensive teams of all time.”
The Cubs obviously don’t have the star-level talent or the uber-prospects to match that 103-win team. But Hoyer did mention Báez and Bryant while discussing Morel’s future, explaining how their athleticism and versatility once created “a ton of value” for the Cubs. It was a nice reference point for Morel, 23, who had been mostly overlooked during the offseason and throughout spring training. Players with Morel’s profile — 99th percentile arm strength and 88th percentile in sprint speed and max exit velocity, per Baseball Savant, plus great energy — are hard to find.
“We want to bring him up to play a lot,” Hoyer said. “Now he might not play one position all the time, but we don’t see him as a bench player. We see him as a guy that can move all over and do a lot of things. It didn’t appear that those at-bats would be there for him early in the season. The coaching staff was really — I don’t want to say insistent — but they felt strongly that he’s a really good player and we really want him playing a lot. Having him as a bench option isn’t the right thing for his career, and probably not the right thing for the length of the season.”
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Morel had minimal Triple-A experience when he made his major-league debut last May. He finished with 16 home runs, a .741 OPS and 137 strikeouts in 425 plate appearances. In Iowa’s first three games this season, Morel hit leadoff and moved between right field, third base and center field.
“What’s best for us — and for him long-term — is just consistent at-bats,” Ross said. “I thought we might be doing him a disservice by bringing him off the bench and he’s got some areas he has to improve. He really put himself on the map last year. But that’s a representation of the depth that we have — sending guys down that are very talented. He’ll get off to a great start down in Triple A and be somebody that we’ll be able to call on real soon if something were to come up.”
Again, the Cubs will need time to evaluate all the mix-and-match pieces to their major-league lineup. It’s hard to hit against Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff when it’s 40 degrees and windy at Wrigley Field. Ross also noticed some hitters were “amped up with adrenaline” and “more jumpy” last weekend than they were in spring training. That description also applies to the relievers who are trying to enter the manager’s circle of trust. Whenever the Cubs feel like they need to shake it up, that Triple-A bullpen features an intriguing mix of experience, stuff and potential.
“We’ve got guys that we can plug and play in different scenarios that are really going to help us out this year,” Ross said. “That feels like a really, really powerful thing.”
(Top photo of Christopher Morel: Ben Ludeman / Texas Rangers / Getty Images)
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