Opening Day is just about a week away and the Chicago Cubs are putting the finishing touches to their roster. Manager Joe Maddon hasn’t had many questions to figure out during spring training and that includes the construction of the Cubs’ lineup.
However, Wednesday’s starters against the Texas Rangers might just be a preview of what fans see in the regular season for the Cubs. Well, at least when Addison Russell has the day off, as he does today against Texas.
At this point, it looks like Ian Happ is going to get the first chance of batting leadoff. When Russell gets the day off during the regular season, Javier Baez will be at shortstop and that’ll leave second base open for Ben Zobrist.
So, here’s today’s lineup, which is pretty much what it could be in the regular season even if you switch out Russell for Zobrist.
We're back in action today against the #Rangers! https://t.co/lZzpuyLisS #EverybodyIn pic.twitter.com/iO5K7UJgOu
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 21, 2018
Although there will be a few changes throughout the season, that’s pretty much what the lineup will be for the most part. Yes, you can hate Jason Heyward all you want, but as long as the rest of the offense is producing and he keeps his gold glove play up in right field, he’ll be in the lineup.
The 2-5 spots in the lineup probably won’t change at all with Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Willson Contreras and Kyle Schwarber. But as we know, guys like Albert Almora Jr. and Ben Zobrist are going to need at bats, so expect some changes when Schwarber sits out against tough lefties. Or who knows, maybe Schwarber has put it all together and becomes the monster hitter that Theo Epstein thinks he can become.
Again, I think when Baez and Russell are both in the lineup, they’ll be in the slots that second base (6th) and shortstop (8th) are at in today’s lineup against the Rangers.
With all that being said, Maddon has used hundreds of lineup combinations every season with the Cubs, so although this might look like a good template for the regular season, you have to expect him to mix and match once again in 2018. It helps that Maddon is equipped with a versatile roster, which allows him to exploit as many matchups as possible.
