The time-honored thought of a rookie forcing his manner onto a group’s opening-day roster with a scorching spring coaching appears to have gone the way in which of the whole recreation, the sacrifice bunt and the brushback pitch.
It looks like a lifetime in the past that Chicago Cubs supervisor Dusty Baker started the spring of 2003 by inviting followers to dream of the proverbial phenom rising to win a job.
“Everybody goes to spring training looking for an Albert Pujols,” Baker stated of the St. Louis Cardinals slugger who had been a no-name solely two years earlier. “You have to leave some room for some spontaneous surprise.”
The recreation has modified drastically since then. There is little spontaneity within the fashionable baseball mindset and few surprises relating to opening day rosters.
This Cubs spring camp, which begins Feb. 15 in Mesa, Ariz., figures to be no totally different.
Cubs followers can recite the litany of supposed spring phenoms who would by no means make it massive, from Gary Scott to Kevin Orie to Felix Pie. They can also level to the final time a Cubs rookie really lived as much as the spring hype, when third baseman Kris Bryant hit eight house runs in his first 25 Cactus League at-bats in 2015.
When supervisor Joe Maddon labored Bryant out within the outfield in late March, Cubs followers hoped he had crushed the chances and would make the group.
“I’m still here and still standing,” Bryant advised reporters.
But Bryant was despatched to Triple-A Iowa per week later regardless of main the majors with 9 homers and a .425 common. Mike Olt was handed the third-base job, and by conserving Bryant off the 25-man roster for a minimum of 12 days, the Cubs retained his rights by 2021 as an alternative of 2020.
In a couple of weeks, the Cubs will carry first baseman Matt Mervis and outfielder Brennen Davis to camp with a theoretical shot at changing into a spontaneous shock.
But Davis is coming off an injury-marred season after coping with a stress response in his again, and Mervis just isn’t on the 40-man roster. Both face uphill battles to make it to Wrigley Field on opening day, however isn’t that what makes spring coaching nice?
The signing of left-handed hitting Eric Hosmer to a one-year deal was seen because the transfer that formally blocked Mervis, who additionally hits from the left facet, from beginning the season at first. Hosmer was an inexpensive possibility on the major-league minimal $720,000 after the Boston Red Sox launched him, and if he doesn’t rebound offensively it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Cubs go in one other route by midseason.
When requested how a lot Hosmer will play, Cubs President Jed Hoyer stated on the group conference that the veteran would get loads of at-bats.
“It’s yet to be seen, but certainly we expect (Hosmer) to play every day against right-handed pitching for sure,” Hoyer stated. “We’ll see how he does. He has a superb fame as a clubhouse man. He’s had a very spectacular profession.
“I feel getting him at a time when he’s popping out of a state of affairs the place clearly (the San Diego Padres) had been attempting to commerce him for fairly some time on that (eight-year, $144 million) contract, it is a recent begin for him.
“I know he’s excited about it and I think he can really do a lot of good things for us.”
Mervis seemingly may’ve been in competitors for the designated-hitter function, even with Hosmer on board. But Hoyer then went out and signed veteran Trey Mancini to a two-year, $14 million deal, giving him one other first-base/designated-hitter possibility from the fitting facet.
Mervis, in the meantime, was chosen to play for Team Israel within the World Baseball Classic, that means he’ll be away in the course of camp whereas the WBC group trains and begins play in Miami.
“I’m not going to put any extra pressure on myself trying to make the team by having a great game and spring training because those guys are smarter than that,” Mervis stated on the Cubs Convention. “They’re not going to see me hit a home run or whatever and say, yeah, he’s ready to go. Obviously they’re going to do a little bit more work than that and evaluate things however they need to.”
Mervis hit 36 house runs with 119 RBIs and a .984 OPS in three stops final yr, making the rise from Class A South Bend to Iowa. He turns 25 in April, however with just one stable season behind him, it is smart the Cubs would need to see extra out of Mervis earlier than handing him a major-league job.
Davis has a greater alternative than Mervis to make it to opening day but additionally must be thought of a protracted shot at greatest. The Cubs beginning outfield is ready with Ian Happ, Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki, and Christopher Morel will likely be accessible off the bench when he’s not enjoying third.
Davis and 20-year-old Kevin Alcántara, who performed at Class A Myrtle Beach, had been added to the 40-man in November. The again downside compelled Davis to go away the Arizona Fall League after solely 5 recreation final yr, however Hoyer stated they hope it’s “behind him.”
“Hopefully the winter will allow him to really get strong again,” Hoyer stated. “I think that was hard for him (in 2022). When he came back later on in the season, he wasn’t strong enough. We’ve talked about that. It was good to see pitching, but I don’t think he was strong enough to compete at his normal level.”
After two years of denying the Cubs had been in rebuild mode, Hoyer proved it by giving spots to veterans attempting to kick-start their careers once more over children from the system.
Davis, Mervis and the opposite high prospects can have their day.
But when that day will come is anybody’s guess.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com