Javier Assad Makes Team and One More Bullpen Surprise
All eyes have been on Hayden Wesneski in spring training, but Javier Assad absolutely shoving in the World Baseball Classic and then forcing the Cubs to get him in the Opening Day bullpen because he’s been that damn good has also been a great story this spring.
Cubs manager David Ross officially announced on Monday that Assad will be in the Cubs bullpen to begin the regular season. Assad entered spring training as one of three pitchers competing for the fifth starter role and although Wesneski left no doubt that he should be in the rotation, Assad was too good not to make the team either.
In 2022, Assad made his MLB debut in August. He ended the season making eight starts and one relief appearance, as he capped off a great season with a 3.11 ERA in 37.2 innings with the Cubs.
During the World Baseball Classic, Assad pitched against the United States in pool play and then Puerto Rico in the tournament’s quarterfinal round. He was spectacular, throwing a total of 5.2 scoreless innings, striking out six, walking one and allowing only two hits.
You’ll probably see Assad as a multi-inning reliever out of the bullpen, similar to how the Cubs have used a few other young pitchers in the past like Keegan Thompson and Adbert Alzolay.
Surprise Lock in Bullpen
The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma wrote about the Cubs Opening Day roster and according to his sources there’s going to be one surprise name in the bullpen. According to Sharma, right-hander Michael Rucker is a lock to be in the bullpen at the start of the season.
Along with Assad and Rucker, Sharma listed Michael Fulmer, Julian Merryweather, Brad Boxberger, Adbert Alzolay as locks on the Opening Day bullpen. Keegan Thompson is likely to start the year with the Cubs as well, as his velocity is slowly getting back to where the Cubs want it to be.
That leaves room for one more pitcher in the eight-man bullpen that is between Rowan Wick, Brandon Hughes, Tyler Duffey, Ryan Borucki and Mark Leiter Jr. Although you can probably cross off Hughes because it’s becoming more likely that he will be on the injured list to begin the season after dealing with a knee issue for the past month.
The Cubs are opting not to use Hughes in one of the final games against the White Sox this week in spring training and will have him throw a bullpen session instead today. This gives the Cubs the ability to backdate his injury stint three days.
There is a chance that the Cubs begin the season without a left-handed pitcher in the bullpen. Right now it seems like the only lefty in consideration for the final bullpen spot is Borucki. Leiter may have an edge in this situation, as he was dominant against left-handed hitters in 2022.
Other Roster Moves
The Cubs have officially trimmed their spring training roster by two, reassigning left-handed pitcher Roenis Elías and left-handed hitting outfielder Mike Tauchman to minor league camp.
The Cubs spring training roster is now down to 37.
You can also read about a surprising bench move that’s likely coming to the Cubs roster on Opening Day in the link below.