Chicago Cubs: Projecting the Cubs’ Opening Day roster

Chicago Cubs: Will these three guys be on the Opening Day roster? You bet.

The infield is a done deal at this point.  There’s no mystery regarding who will be on the roster.  There’s also no mystery surrounding who will start at first base, shortstop, and third base on Opening Day.  Second base is going to be the position that bears watching as we go through the first few weeks of the season.

There probably isn’t much of a controversy surrounding who’s manning second base on Opening Day, at least to start the game.  Ben Zobrist will be there to start Game 1.  But, we know from previous years, Joe Maddon likes to keep Zobrist fresh and will move him around based on defensive metrics and gut feelings.  So, while Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Javier Baez will play 150+ games if healthy in 2019, second base is a much murkier proposition in terms of going forward.

Watching David Bote come through in big-time clutch spots last season as well as taking a long look at his slick fielding makes a lot of Cubs’ fans think he should be playing a lot of infield in 2019.  In Addison Russell‘s absence, an infield with David Bote is, without a doubt, the best defensive lineup that Maddon can deploy.

While Bote may not start a ton with the veterans Zobrist and Descalso around, look for Maddon to use Bote a ton as a late-inning defensive substitute.  Also, while Bote is a huge upgrade defensively on the infield to Descalso or Zobrist, he’s not just a good glove.  The guy can hit the ball hard, as evidenced by his 95.3 MPH average exit velocity in 2018, good for third in all of MLB.  Bote has also been tearing the cover off the ball early this spring, to the tune of a .462 average, albeit in small sample size.

However, if we’re talking purely Opening Day roster construction, Rizzo, Baez, Bryant, and Zobrist will probably be the starters.  In addition, Maddon will include newcomer Daniel Descalso and 2018 folk hero David Bote, along with usual outfielder Ian Happ possibly playing the keystone a bit in a utility role.