The Cubs apparently still have a swagger during the first weeks of spring training. The champions return basically their World Series championship club for 2017.
But there is clearly an unspoken word: caution.
In the first 5 spring training games, none of last year's starters has pitched an inning.
It is clear that the arms that threw deep into the stress of the post-season are not being put into a normal spring training routine. One could assume arm rest is still more important than working loose to gain mechanics and control.
It makes sense with Jon Lester and John Lackey pitching with age. Kyle Hendricks threw a personal best in number of innings pitched. Jake Arrieta seemed to wear down at the end of the season after putting together a mythical 1.5 year dominant pitching stretch.
The Cubs can afford to be cautious with its starting rotation because it is the weakest link in a possible repeat.
The front office has collected a bunch of AAA starters to work most of camp, hoping that one or two may show enough promise to challenge Mike Montgomery for the 5th starter or be an emergency 6th or 7th starter if Lester or Lackey fails during the season.
Theo Epstein indicated before camp that the Cubs are going to be cautious spenders and trade partners. It is a clue that the Cubs are at their baseball operations budget ceiling. Tom Ricketts abhors getting caught paying luxury taxes to MLB (which happened at the end of last season). It will be very hard for the Cubs to replace one of their 5 current starters if any one goes down with a significant injury.
The only way to compensate for that would be to trade one or two young position players for young, controllable (inexpensive) starting pitchers. Most teams guard their pitching prospects more than their own family members. Besides, the front office loves their young players too much to let them go.
