Chicago Cubs: Willson Contreras growing, Mark Zagunis and more

The Chicago Cubs Willson Contreras is acutely aware he had a down year. And instead of sulking? He’s learning from it. And the door for Mark Zagunis is open to make this roster.

The 2018 season started with a bang for the Chicago Cubs Willson Contreras. He came out of the gate with a flurry, making the NL All-Star team. But second-half Contreras was nothing close to that, and he believes he knows why. He isn’t drowning in his sorrows from his second-half but learning from them to be a better teammate and player. A motivated Contreras behind the plate? That’s something no baserunner or pitcher wants to see.

Mark Zagunis has had a remarkable spring, and an injury to Daniel Descalso might open the door for him to make the Opening Day roster. This is his fifth Spring Training with the Cubs, so the numbers aren’t a huge surprise. But as he’s always been considered more of a depth piece, that piece might be what they need now. Even if Descalso is ready to go on Opening Day, Zagunis will undoubtedly still get his shot sometime this season.

Last season, the Cubs battled through injuries, down seasons and more, yet still went on to win 95 games. That was only good for second in the division (Cubs lost the one-game tiebreaker) and made a quick exit in a Wild Card loss to the Colorado Rockies. There are more questions than answers entering this season, thanks to a slow winter and the Cubs banking on many of these players to be healthy. But will it be enough for the Cubs to stay competitive in the Central?

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These and other stories you might have missed:

‘Contreras learning from the failures of 2018’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Is the door open for Zagunis to make the team?‘ – Cubbies Crib

‘The Cubs have more questions than answers’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Tigers shelve Fulmer to work on mechanics’ – ESPN

‘Tokyo Dome will be ‘shaking’ for Ichiro’ – MLB.com

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