What the Chicago Cubs rotation could look like after adding Shota Imanaga

5. Jordan Wicks/Javier Assad/Someone else

The fifth spot will be a bit of a mystery until Spring Training, where I anticipate another competition to fill the role. There are many candidates to consider, with Jordan Wicks and Javier Assad at the top of the list. I tend to lean towards Wicks because Assad excelled as both a starter and a long-relief option last year while Wicks has only worked as a starter in his professional career. Having Wicks in there also would give the Cubs three left-handed starters, which will give opposing teams many scouting headaches.

In the odd world where neither of these guys is named the fifth starter, Hayden Wesneski, Ben Brown and I suppose Caleb Kilian could also be in the mix. But the sheer number of candidates just showcases the benefits of the Cubs pitching development efforts. You can never have too many arms and the competition for a rotation spot is a good problem for manager Craig Counsell to have.

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