Cub Tracks goes for the juggler

Welcome to today’s episode of Cub Tracks news and notes™. Here we have material from current beat writers, bloggers, and the occasional in-house habitué, moonlighting. These pieces center around #Cubs, #MiLB, and #MLB baseball.

Well, we have a few games under our belts now. The first two featured ALL THE MINOR LEAGUERS and Friday night’s game featured new Cub Marcus Stroman on the hill. The younger Cubs lost the first two split-squad games but looked pretty decent doing it, and more of the senior Cubs played Friday against the Giants. Today they’ll face off against the Padres.

There are a lot of new players on hand. Roster jenga will be in the news for a minute, I suspect. It don’t mean a thing if it’s played in the spring.

As always, * means autoplay on, or annoying ads, or both (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have provided sarcasm font in the comments.

• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Chicago Cubs are exploring a streaming option for 2023 — plus more on sponsorship patches and a sportsbook. “Chicago Cubs fans without cable or satellite TV might soon have a new avenue to watch games.”
• Marc Severson (Cubbies Crib*): Cubs fans, there will be baseball – but at what cost? “I think it is a fait accompli that the owners of the various clubs are not going to absorb the increased demand on their profit margins.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): After Cubs add Japanese star Seiya Suzuki, does Jed Hoyer have more surprises left this spring? “... the organization is at least trying to improve the roster and leveraging the vast amount of money it has.”
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Are Cubs’ moves pointing to something big on horizon? “... it’s obvious the team is going to need to do something to get the roster back under the allowable limits.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): So many signings and injuries and whathaveyou – can we reset the Cubs roster situation? “... how the heck the Cubs are gonna fit all the guys they’ve signed already!” Andy Martinez adds on.
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs’ growing pitching staff keeping Kyle Hendricks on his toes. “Since the MLB lockout ended, the Cubs have added eight pitchers, and counting.” Tim Stebbins has more.
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Marcus Stroman: ‘I’m gonna be authentic till the day I die’. “... the high-energy pitcher also is one of baseball’s most active, and at times outspoken, players on social media.”
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Justin Steele looms larger in Cubs’ rotation mix. “Justin’s definitely in that fold of a starter we’re going to need,” manager David Ross said this week.
• Michael Brakebill (Cubbies Crib*): 3 available starters to fortify the starting rotation. “... given the Adbert Alzolay injury and the concerns over the back of the rotation, having some insurance policies might not be the worst idea in the world.”
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs add closer option in Mychal Givens in latest bullpen move. “He spent last season with the Rockies and Reds, converting eight of 11 save chances while finishing with a combined 3.35 ERA.”

• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): State of the Cubs: Where roster stands in center field in 2022 and beyond. Martinez has Jason Heyward third on the depth chart. Good series, worth reading in toto.
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Seiya Suzuki to Mike Trout: ‘I love you’. “Maybe that’s why Suzuki didn’t sign with the Angels.”
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Heyward prepared to shift to center for Suzuki. “We’re going to need everybody, the whole 40-man roster,” Heyward said. Meghan Montemurro has more.

Cubs birthdays: Richie Ashburn HOF, Paul Smith, Garry Jestadt, David Ross, Tommy Nance.

Food for Thought:

Thanks for reading. Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the opinions of writers whose work is linked in this series of articles. We try to present a balanced view, and let the facts speak for themselves.