NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Cubs won’t be naming “a” designated hitter any time soon, if ever. Very few teams these days have a dedicated guy in that spot, and Craig Counsell was suggesting very early in the offseason that his preference is to use the spot to rest guys and to maximize match-ups.
Through the first few weeks of Spring Training, that perspective has not changed.
‘While Bellinger is primed to return as the everyday option in center field, flanked by two-time Gold Glover Ian Happ in left and Seiya Suzuki in right, one spot in the batting order remains undecided — DH.
“It’s the spot I’ve thought the least about. That probably means that it’s going to be a bunch of guys,” Counsell said. “Right now I’m viewing it as very open and uncommitted.”
With the Bellinger signing now a done deal, could the Cubs still add another piece? Not likely, added Counsell.
“You’re at the time of the year where you start in your head looking at rosters for sure, and that’s with the guys here, absolutely,” he said.’
I wouldn’t necessarily read into that as Counsell stating, full stop, that the Cubs won’t add a bat like Matt Chapman or JD Martinez that would alter the plan. I think he knows that *if a tremendous deal presents itself* the front office might jump, and then the Cubs might wind up using a more dedicated DH. He’s just talking about how things stand internally, and the default assumption at this point that no other players are coming.
If you DO want to read a lot into it, though, here’s the angle I’d suggest: the early returns on Christopher Morel at third base must be at least checking the bare minimum box.
I’m not saying Counsell would’ve revealed otherwise this far out from the start of the season, but I’m saying it’s a threshold passed: Counsell isn’t ready yet to start talking about how the Cubs need to find DH at bats for Morel, as he could have there. In other words, what’s the best way for the Cubs to have the DH spot wide open to rotate guys around? If Christopher Morel is making 75+ percent of his starts at third base.
Fingers crossed it stays that way in the weeks ahead.
As for who the guys would be rotating through the DH spot, well, that really depends on the final roster composition. Guys like Morel, Patrick Wisdom, Matt Mervis, Nick Madrigal, Alexander Canario, Garrett Cooper, Dom Smith, David Peralta, and Mike Tauchman are all plausible when the rubber meets the road. Since it’s way too early to say for sure who will be on the opening bench, you just can’t say for certain yet.
