Austin Romine could be ready to join the Cubs soon

The Cubs and Tigers alternate site squads managed to play not quite one inning of baseball Saturday afternoon in South Bend before rain washed out the rest of the day’s action.

It was, however, enough for Austin Romine to get one at-bat against Tigers righthander Spencer Turnbull:

Romine appears to run to first base on this hit without any hesitation. It was a knee injury that kept Romine out for most of Spring Training. Before Saturday he last played in a competitive game March 6, more than a month ago.

The Cubs obviously need bats and though Romine certainly isn’t the entire answer to the team’s offensive woes, he’s certainly a better hitter than Tony Wolters, no disrespect meant to Wolters but he’s really not much of a major-league hitter.

Based on this at-bat, I’d think it won’t be too long before Romine returns to the big leagues to back up Willson Contreras. At that point I’d assume Wolters will be designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster. Wolters will likely clear waivers and head to the alternate site in South Bend.

As always, we await developments.