Now that Major League Spring Training has been going on (officially) for a full week now, I figured now would be a good time to go through some of the roster and team thoughts that I have based on the chatter going on around camp. The Opening Day roster still has plenty of question marks surrounding it, but things will become more and more clear as we progress toward late March.

Nico vs. The Vets
It is starting to appear more likely that Nico Hoerner will begin the year in Triple-A Iowa. In most instances, this would be terrific news for a guy that hasn’t seen that level as a professional and is entering only his second full season as a professional. Unfortunately, that isn’t the entire situation and I feel like Nico, who is currently better than any veteran option, will be sent down to “develop more” while the pack of Daniel Descalso, Jason Kipnis, and Hernán Pérez are left to battle for the Chicago roster spot while David Bote acts as a starter for the time being.

Starter Chatwood
It sounds like the 5th starter spot that is up for grabs this year is going to be Tyler Chatwood’s to lose. The righty was brought in prior to 2018 to be the team’s #5 starter, but lost that role after a horrid first season on the North Side. Chatty looked much better out of the bullpen in 2019 and now seems as good of a time as any for the conversion back to starting. Just because the spot is his to lose, that doesn’t mean guys like Alec Mills, Adbert Alzolay, and Collin Rea aren’t nipping on his heels.

Manager David Changing It Up
We have seen a completely different set-up when it comes to Spring Training with a new manager at the helm. What was once a laid back, fun-loving, entertainment trip to Arizona under Joe Maddon, is now a much more hard-core training session under David Ross. Live bullpens with actual umpires behind the plate are commonplace. Simulating real-life baseball games can only generate positive results when the regular season rolls around and I’m excited to see how the players continue to take to the new set up.

We are only four days away from real (fake) baseball games, people. There will be plenty more to cover once we get to see our guys in action.