MESA, Ariz. — The sun came out Friday afternoon at Chicago Cubs camp, even putting a smile on Jed Hoyer’s face one day after a grim news conference over his failure to sign Alex Bregman.
The long-running Bregman saga was history, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood on the first day of workouts for position players.
Chairman Tom Ricketts gave his annual state of the Cubs speech to the team, reminding them of the importance of being a Cub before leaving camp and avoiding any tough questions about the offer to Bregman that missed badly.
Seiya Suzuki said the speech was “the same as last year,” which means it was also the same as the last 10 years. Players change and managers come and go, but the Cubs’ song remains the same.
Maybe this year will be different, thanks to the addition of superstar Kyle Tucker and the decision by the rest of the National League Central teams either to downgrade or keep the status quo.
The Cubs are favored again, harkening back to the days when Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant were the stars and Joe Maddon held court with the media like a late-night talk-show host.
Those days are distant memories now. Outside of Tucker, the biggest stars seen Friday were on top of Pete Crow-Armstrong’s buzzed head. PCA had blue stars dyed into his close-cropped hairdo, making him stand out among the crowd, as he likes to do.
In short order, Crow-Armstrong has made himself into a fan favorite and the team mascot at the same time. Asked about PCA’s star-spangled hairdo, Nico Hoerner noted: “Who knows, it could be different tomorrow.”
“I think he looks great,” Hoerner continued. “He plays the game with confidence and swagger. It would be easy to criticize if it didn’t feel genuine. But it’s who he is, it’s how he lives his life. All that energy and excitement you see is the same energy he pours into us as teammates and into winning games.
“If it was an energy that was selfish or just about what social media (says) or something stupid, then that would be another thing. But Pete is here for the group and for all of us. He plays the game fun and hard and he plays to win. That’s everything you can ask for from a teammate, and that’s all that really matters.”
Hoerner and Dansby Swanson both said they felt healthy and ready to go after injuries impeded them last year and led to offseason surgery. The only injury reported Friday was rookie Matt Shaw’s left oblique strain, which manager Craig Counsell downplayed as a “little oblique issue” that was “day-by-day.”
Counsell, who was introspective after a mediocre 83-79 record in his first year of a record five-year, $40 million deal, admitted a hiccup with his communication skills after Suzuki brought it up earlier in a group interview.
Suzuki, beginning his fourth season and first as the primary DH, said there was a communication breakdown that they discussed after the season.
“I can’t share too much of what the conversation was between Counsell and I,” Suzuki said through his interpreter. “But I feel like last year we could have had better communication, so going into this year we’re improving upon that and (will) make it better during the season.”
Counsell confirmed the conversation and said the onus was on him to fix things.
“The language barrier makes you lazy, unfortunately,” he said. “That’s on me. I’ve got to get a little better at that, and will. It’s something I promised Seiya and will work hard to do.”
Starting off a new season by admitting you erred last year is a good first step.
Suzuki has never been an outspoken player, but he was seemingly miffed last season about being made the DH when Cody Bellinger moved to right so Crow-Armstrong could play full time in center.
“It was my first experience coming here where the manager has changed,” Suzuki said of the switch from David Ross to Counsell. “I’m trying to learn how he thinks … what his thoughts are about baseball and other things. Getting a deeper understanding (of) him.”
Suzuki changed interpreters midseason in 2024, but both he and Counsell said that was irrelevant to the communication issue. The Cubs have never explained the reason for the firing of Toy Matsushita.
“It’s a secret,” Suzuki said, laughing.
Suzuki, who has two years and $36 million remaining on his contract, didn’t seem fazed over the Cubs asking him to waive his full no-trade clause over the offseason. His agent, Joel Wolfe, said in December: “Seiya was a great defender in Japan, so it’s not a compliment to him being a DH.”
The Cubs wound up keeping Suzuki as a DH.
“My job as a player is to do my best and give it my all,” Suzuki said. “It doesn’t matter where.”
Now it’s up to Suzuki to make the adjustment and deal with it. He made 59 of his 131 starts at DH in 2024, hitting .298 with an .846 OPS. Suzuki conceded his defense must improve to show he can return to the outfield on a regular basis. A little introspection works wonders.
The Cubs need Suzuki to be in the right frame of mind if they hope to put together the kind of season everyone grew accustomed to back in the mid-to-late 2010s. Other than the pandemic-shortened season of 2020, they haven’t made the postseason since 2018, and bring a renewed sense of urgency to 2025.
“This is the first day of team 150 for the Chicago Cubs,” Counsell said. “Fact-check me on that. It’s Day 1.”
A Tribune fact-check confirmed this was indeed the 150th Cubs season since 1876.
And that’s how it all began.
