Cubs Must Answer These 3 Questions During Spring Training

Cactus League games officially started Thursday with the Cubs and Dodgers opening the spring season, and there are six contests on Friday. Thus ends what has been quite a long offseason, at least mentally. With expectations for the Cubs higher than they’ve been for several years, there will be a lot to follow over the next few weeks

Here are three of the more important questions the Cubs will have to answer quickly before heading to Japan in less than a month.

Is Matt Shaw ready?

Once Alex Bregman signed with the Red Sox, all eyes turned to Shaw as the Opening-Day third baseman. He has solidified himself as the team’s top prospect, with FanGraphs ranking him No. 13 overall and MLB Pipeline putting him six spots lower. He had an impressive season in the minor league system last year, with a performance in the Premier12 tournament for Team USA that landed him on the All-World Team.

Worries about his defense exist, but Shaw told The Setup Man podcast that he feels most comfortable at third, with the improvements showing as he continues to work on his fielding. He has the ability to play shortstop and second base as well, giving Craig Counsell flexibility in the event of injuries. Shaw seems ready to go, but he has yet to play in a major league game.

How he handles the spotlight in these early games could tell us whether he’s ready for the bigger stages to come.

Will Ben Brown secure the fifth rotation spot?

Once a top prospect in Philadelphia’s system, Brown was acquired in 2022 when the Cubs traded David Robertson to the Phillies. The tall, hard-throwing righty made his debut against the Rangers in 2024, serving in a relief role when the Cubs needed an emergency replacement following Justin Steele’s early injury. After moving into the rotation, Brown saw success with his upper-90s fastball and death ball curve that graded as the best in the game before he went down with a neck/shoulder issue.

He is almost exclusively a two-pitch pitcher at this point, though he has a changeup and the expectation is he will end up throwing it more frequently if he remains in a starting role. The rotation as currently constructed doesn’t have much velocity, so Brown could provide a boost while giving the Cubs a different look.

Who rounds out the bench?

As of early Thursday morning, it appeared Alexander Canario was a good bet to make the Opening Day roster. Then he was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Justin Turner. The three obvious choices to earn bench roles are Turner, Carson Kelly, and Jon Berti. Now that Canario is gone, that fourth spot is up in the air.

Gage Workman, who appeared to be out of luck after Turner was signed, now has an outside chance after all. Former top prospect Vidal Bruján could be an option, with his outfield experience providing value to the roster. Bruján started in center field for the Cactus League opener on Thursday, which should help the front office scout his outfield defense in person before making the final decision.

They need to get that figured out because outfield depth has been reduced, with Seiya Suzuki and possibly Bruján as the only clear backups. Kevin Alcántara is in the conversation as well, but calling him up just to sit him on the bench would hurt his development. Then there’s former White Sox infielder Nicky Lopez, though he’s only played 15 MLB innings in left field and is probably at the bottom of the totem pole.

With less than three weeks to go before the Cubs leave the Arizona sunshine for the Land of the Rising Sun, these decisions will have to made much sooner than usual.

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