MESA, Ariz. — Six days before the Chicago Cubs’ first full-squad workout, their main practice field was already buzzing Tuesday with infield work.
Dansby Swanson went through his typical glove work in the grass with big-league coach Jonathan Mota before playing catch with Nick Madrigal. Patrick Wisdom and Miles Mastrobuoni took grounders at third base. Nico Hoerner backhanded a ball up the middle off bench coach Ryan Flaherty’s fungo. To Hoerner’s left, Michael Busch made a smooth pick play at first base, snagging Hoerner’s one-hopper out of the dirt.
Those are the types of plays the Cubs hope become routine as Busch becomes more comfortable at first base, where he got one-on-one infield work Tuesday morning as four coaches looked on. The strong camp attendance among position players well ahead of Monday’s report date highlights the expectations heading into 2024 under new manager Craig Counsell.
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“It’s just a nice healthy sense of urgency with a nice combination of a core group of guys that knows what they need to do for themselves as well as a lot of guys who have a lot to prove,” Hoerner said. “I think that’s a good combo.”
With spring training officially kicking off Wednesday when pitchers and catchers report, the Cubs’ roster still feels incomplete with so many free agents available. That group most notably features Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman, both of whom are represented by agent Scott Boras. Although there are no guarantees that president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and the front office will add to the roster before Opening Day on March 28 in Arlington, Texas, the organization has an opportunity to further help the core they’ve built.
The most obvious question surrounding the Cubs is the same one that existed at the start of the offseason: Will they find common ground to re-sign Bellinger?
Hoerner has tried to give Bellinger his space during his free-agent process, but he reiterated a common refrain among Cubs players the last few weeks: Bellinger was everything a teammate could ask for, adding “I’d love to have him here, that’d be amazing.” As long as Bellinger and other top players remain available, the final iteration of the Cubs’ roster remains difficult to project.
“Definitely there’s a lot up in the air for us and a lot of teams in baseball right now, the amount of talent that’s still out there,” Hoerner said. “I don’t think it changes the individual work too much. But obviously, things do kind of fall in place once some bigger names get involved.
“You always want the best version of your team that you can have. Obviously, as a group of players we’re going to be confident and make the most of whatever that is, but anything that’s going to help us win is obviously going to be a good move.”
The Cubs will be counting on their pitching staff to take another collective step forward in 2024. Counsell inherits a strong defense and better pitching depth. To get back into the postseason — something the Cubs haven’t experienced in a 162-game season since 2018 — they need their top talent like Hoerner to build upon last year while less proven players seize their opportunities.
“That’s the strength we have of starting to push the higher levels in the minor leagues now,” Hoerner said. “We have a lot of opportunities to improve from within, and I think that includes a lot of us that were out there a lot last year. I feel a lot of us had solid seasons last year, but a lot of us feel that we have more that we can improve on and it’s a group that definitely has a very high standard, so I feel good about that.”
