Chicago Cubs: Shane Victorino will not make Opening Day Roster

The Chicago Cubs are stacked from top to bottom. With a handful of outfielders battling for the final few spots on the 25-man roster, veteran’s such as Shane Victorino and Matt Murton may not make the cut. But does that mean they are one and done with the organization?

In late February, the Chicago Cubs announced that they had signed veteran free-agent OF Shane Victorino to a minor league deal. Victorino got an invite to spring training in hopes of making the 25 man roster as the fifth outfielder and a bench player.

It wasn’t going to be easy for Victorino to make the roster, seeing as Matt Szczur, who has bounced around between the big league club and Triple-A the last few seasons, is out of options and would need to make the roster in order to avoid the risk of losing him to another team (by placing him on waivers).

However, many (including myself) thought Victorino had the upper hand, seeing as he could add a good veteran bat to the bench. While he likely wasn’t going to provide much with his bat, he could easily slip into a mentor role for some of the young Cubs while being a switch hitting bench player.

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Victorino has been slowed by an ailing calf, which has limited him to only 10 plate appearances this spring. ESPNChicago.com’s Jesse Rogers tweeted on Thursday that Joe Maddon announced that Shane Victorino will not make the Cubs Opening Day roster. It sounds like the Cubs want to keep him around, though, and that is probably a good idea.

Victorino, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, is still mulling his options. The Cubs want him to continue rehabbing in Mesa and then report to Triple-A, once he is fully healthy. Then, the Cubs can decide from there whether they would like him to be a part of the big league club.

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Victorino is still deciding what the best course of action is, as he wants to continue playing baseball, but does not want to be a distraction either. I think it might be hard for Victorino to get a major league deal right now since he is not healthy, so he likely will stay with the Cubs until healthy and then decide where he wants to take his career after that.

Either way, he would be a good guy to stash in the minors should he decide to stick with the team and once healthy, he definitely would be able to get a big league job, whether it be with the Cubs or elsewhere.