Manager Dale Sveum Speaks On Cubs’ Rotation

Of all the off season questions marks that have faced the Cubs, their pitching (mainly the order of the rotation) was the biggest.

Aug 26, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher

(39) throws a pitch during the first inning of the game against the Minnesota Twins at Rangers Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Today, Dale Sveum addressed the media and covered a range of topics in the process. Most notably of all his quotes was that Scott Feldman would be the probable starter in the number 4 slot for the Cubs this season:

"Feldman is going to be one of the starters. There’s an above average chance Baker is going to probably start just a little bit late, just because you don’t want to really rush him or anything. There’s no need for anything like that. You have Garza, obviously Samardzija, Jackson and Feldman in those other spots."

It was previously assumed that Scott Baker would be finishing out the Cubs rotation with Feldman, Wood, and Christian Villanueva competing for the 5th and final spot, however Baker’s recovery is going a little slower than the Cubs had previously anticipated.

Nothing to be concerned about as it’s just a logistical problem.

Presumably, Feldman is a lock in the rotation, but this is the 2013 Chicago Cubs and inherently, nothing is for certain. Sveum continues to say:

"There’s no guarantee of any spots other than those top three but we’ll just let it all pan out and see what happens"

Huh… well Dale. Thanks for that nice little tidbit of confusion.

Either way, Christian Villanueva will likely be the the 5th man in the rotation, but only a fool would make a concrete prediction.

It’s just a hunch at this point really. A well educated hunch, but a hunch none the less.