The Chicago Cubs have had a respectable spring training so far and are slowly getting themselves ready to start the regular season.
The Cubs have dwindled their roster down to 54 players after sending four players to Triple-A Iowa, with more cuts set to come in the next few weeks.
Entering camp, the Cubs had a few of their players banged up, with the most notable names being Matt Shaw and Javier Assad.
According to manager Craig Counsell, Assad will likely start the season on the injured list. Assad’s absence will free up a spot in the rotation for other players on the active roster to seize the opportunity.
The open spot in the Chicago Cubs rotation
With Assad starting the season on the injured list, it frees up an opportunity for others to fill the void. Players like Colin Rea, Ben Brown, and Jordan Wicks all have chances to take the fifth spot in the rotation, with a potential for a sixth spot to open up with the Cubs possibly implementing a six-man rotation.
Rea and Brown would be considered the front-runners for the job, with Rea having a slight edge over Brown with him being the veteran. The 34-year-old Rea signed a one-year deal with the Cubs in the offseason. Rea brings six years of big-league experience and 76 career starts.
Rea has the inside edge
Rea has the inside edge to take the fifth spot after coming off the best season of his career last season. The Indiana State University product spent the past three seasons in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, with a brief stopover in Japan for the 2022 season.
In his three seasons with the Brewers, Rea put up decent numbers. Pitching to an 18-12 with a 4.46 ERA with 250 strikeouts in 298.1 innings, Rea had the best season of his career thus far last year. In 167.2 innings, the 6-5 right-hander, in 27 starts, had a 12-6 record with a 4.29 ERA.
Rea has six pitches in his arsenal, which could help him be an effective starter. Rea throws three different types of fastballs, a four-seamer (19%), a sinker (31%), and a cutter (19%), with a sweeper (17%), a splitter (9%), and a curveball (4%) in reserve. Rea’s 35-degree arm angle makes him more effective at getting sink, ride, and cut on his pitches.
So far this spring, Rea has proven to be the leading candidate, pitching to a 2-1 record with a 1.93 ERA in 4.2 innings. If he keeps this up, he certainly will in the job.
Brown
Brown could overtake Rea to win the fifth spot, but if there is, in fact, a sixth spot, Brown would be the guy to capture it. The 25-year-old hasn’t had the best spring, having a 6.23 ERA in two appearances.
Browns’ season got cut short last year after having a neck injury, and he looks to bounce back and become a may-stay in the rotation. In 15 games for the Cubbies, eight being starts, Brown had a record of 1-3 with a 3.58 ERA in 55.1 innings pitched. In that short span, Brown displayed his ability to have elite strikeout stuff by striking out 64 batters, which is good enough for a 10.4 strikeout per nine.
Brown enters camp looking to up the use of his changeup, which could help him be a more effective starter. Having an above-average fastball and a nasty knuckle curve, adding a changeup could take Browns game to the next level.
Wicks
The Cubs have three lefties in their rotation, with Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, and Matt Boyd currently occupying spots in the rotation. The 25-year-old left-hander didn’t have the best season in 2024, pitching to a 5.48 ERA in 45.0 innings.
The Cubs need another left-handed option out of the bullpen, with Caleb Thielbar being the lead option. Wicks could occupy that role and be a valuable weapon for the Cubs this season. Wicks has been good this spring, having a 3.86 ERA in two outings.
Options to choose from
The Cubs, thankfully, enter the season with a good amount of starting pitching depth.
You can never have enough starting pitching in baseball, and the Cubs certainly have that in spades.
With the season fast approaching, hopefully, the Cubs can stay healthy and put on a show in Japan for when they travel there to play in the Tokyo Series.
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