So, barring some surprise last minute trade, this is your Cubs team. Dead middle of the MLB with 15th overall payroll, about $100 million below the luxury tax threshold. Not a great look when your owners are bidding on Chelsea.
C - Contreras and Gomes is in theory an elite catching tandem if they actually stick around all year.
1B - Schwindel had an MVP level last two months of the season last year. Does he turn into a pumpkin, or can he be at least an above average offensive 1B? If he turns into a pumpkin, there’s not much behind him. Rivas?
2B/SS - Madrigal and Hoerner can put the ball in play and bat .300+. They might combine to hit 4 HRs this year and health and defense are a concern. Simmons starts the year on the DL. He can still play defense, but can’t hit a lick.
3B - Wisdom has got a great arm and can unload on fastballs. Can he make enough consistent contact? If not, we might be seeing Villar here, which would not be ideal.
LF - Which Happ shows up? He’s been unbelievably inconsistent over his big league career. In the aggregate, he’s been a pretty nice offensive player, but those dry spells are rough.
CF - It looks like they’re going with Heyward? I expect a pretty short leash. Ortega or Hermosilla will be given opportunities to take the job, and all of the above are just keeping the seat warm for Brennan Davis. I think the only way Heyward ends the season a Cub is on the IL. More likely, he’ll be released the first time they have a roster crunch.
RF - Suzuki. If he’s not top 3 in RoY balloting, it will be a disappointment.
DH - I think they’ll be using Gardner here, with Contreras on some off days. Could be a nice combo.
SP - Hendricks, Stroman, Miley and Smyly should be an ok starting four, assuming Miley isn’t on the DL too long. Could actually be pretty strong if Hendricks has a bounce back year and Stroman and Miley have typical years. Lot of moving parts at the back end that will be rotated in and out - Mills, Brault, Steele, Thompson and eventually Alzolay, Marquez, Killian and others could be seeing starts.
RP - On a team full of question marks, this is the biggest. There are enough bodies here with enough talent to put together a good bullpen. But, who’s healthy? Who performs? Can the team toss together all these guys and establish roles quick enough?
Overall, there are way too many uncertainties to predict a playoff team. So many things would have to go right with a lot of AAAA players needing to establish themselves as legitimate Big Leaguers. I think, the most likely scenario is that the team hovers just below .500 until the trade deadline and then collapses after a sell-off.
I expect a mediocre offense that hits for a higher average than we’ve seen over the last few years, but with little power. The defense will probably be poor, with Ross making frequent late inning changes to try to protect leads. I don’t like the starting pitching. A lot of pitch-to-contact guys with a lot of defensive question marks behind them. I think Ross will eventually figure out a solid bullpen after a lot of trial and error. I think we’ll see a minor improvement over last year’s team in terms of record.
