SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- The Cubs field management staff will be meeting after today's game to make roster decisions:
"We'll get everything 95-percent finished," Sveum said on Tuesday.
The Cubs need to pick their backup catcher between Steve Clevenger and Welington Castillo, settle on the bench, and complete the bullpen. However, the decision on the final relievers may not be announced until Thursday. Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood are set, and James Russell appears to be the only left-hander in the mix. The rest are still to be determined.
Here, as near as I can tell, are those 95-percent complete roster decisions:
Starting pitchers: Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster, Paul Maholm, Chris Volstad, Jeff Samardzija
Relief pitchers: Carlos Marmol, Kerry Wood, James Russell, Rafael Dolis, Casey Coleman, Randy Wells, TBA
Catchers: Geovany Soto, Steve Clevenger
Infielders: Bryan LaHair, Darwin Barney, Starlin Castro, Ian Stewart, Blake DeWitt, Jeff Baker
Outfielders: David DeJesus, Marlon Byrd, Alfonso Soriano, Reed Johnson, Joe Mather
Now. As I've written before, I'd rather see Samardzija in the bullpen and Wells in the rotation. Both would be stronger. It was announced this morning that Wells, who was going to throw in relief today, will instead start on Sunday... so maybe that decision isn't yet set in stone.
I think Clevenger has made the team ahead of W. Castillo, and I really have no idea who the last bullpen choice will be. Scott Maine? Maybe, if the Cubs want a second lefty, but he hasn't been impressive. Neither has Rule 5 pick Lendy Castillo. That's apparently why management is picking up waived/released guys like Frankie De La Cruz and Shawn Camp, and why Sveum says it's only going to be "95 percent" done after today.
All of this assumes that no trades are made in the next week -- and I still think a deal or two might happen.
Cubs lineup:
Campana CF, DeWitt 2B, Castro SS, Soriano LF, Stewart 3B, Soto C, LaHair 1B, Mather RF, Samardzija P
Indians lineup:
Kipnis 2B, Cabrera SS, Choo RF, Hafner DH, Santana C, Kotchman 1B, Canzler LF, Hannahan 3B, Cunningham CF
Jeff Samardzija gets the start for the Cubs. Rafael Dolis, James Russell and Carlos Marmol are on the relief list today. The Indians are going with Josh Tomlin. Other Indians pitchers scheduled today: Nick Hagadone, Frank Herrmann, Dan Wheeler and Rafael Perez.
Today's game is on cubs.com with Len Kasper and Mick Gillispie. Here is the MLB.com Mediacenter for today.
Note that for spring training gameday links, you probably will not get pitch-by-pitch as during the regular season; these are unofficial links. Each play will be posted, but might not be updated until after each half-inning.
There will be one overflow thread, which will post at 4:30 pm CT. The "Recent Stories in Game Threads" box on the sidebar is where you'll find it.
Please visit our SB Nation Indians site Let's Go Tribe.
Discuss amongst yourselves.