Cubs Spring Training News Reports

According to multiple reports, the Cubs brass met following Wednesday's game against the Indians to figure out the final three to four spots on the Opening Day Roster. Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, Randy Bush, Dale Sveum and the coaching staff were expected to decide the Opening Day rotation as well as if Welington Castillo or Steve Clevenger will begin the season as the back-up to Geovany Soto.

The decisions on the final two to three spots in the pen could take a few more days. Depending on the report, the Cubs have as many as three spots still available with Shawn Camp, Lendy Castillo, Casey Coleman, Frankie De La Cruz, Manny Corpas, Rodrigo Lopez, Scott Maine and Randy Wells still in the mix.

The Cubs are expected to announce several spring roster cuts Thursday morning ... and if Blake DeWitt and Joe Mather take two spots on the Cubs' bench, at least one move will have to be made on the 40-man roster to create a spot. The Cubs' big league roster currently sits at 39 players.

According to multiple reports, Dale Sveum and his coaching staff will meet following Wednesday's exhibition game against the Cleveland Indians to discuss the Opening Day roster. Sveum said Tuesday that 95 percent of the decisions will be made Wednesday night with announcements expected Thursday.

The Cubs' skipper reiterated Tuesday that the guys need to know where they are beginning the season. Plus, Sveum would like to have the last five days after the announcements to use the players in the roles they are going to be in when the season begins.

The back-up catcher's position and the spots in the pen behind Carlos Marmol, Kerry Wood, James Russell, Shawn Camp and Rafael Dolis appear to be still up in the air ... and the announcement on the two or three openings in the pen might not be made Thursday

And, of course, a few more decisions might have to be made if the Cubs are able to trade Marlon Byrd ...

Every spring MLB Network Radio (XM Radio) spends a day in a big league camp. Casey Stern and Jim Bowden have been in Arizona off and on since Spring Training began and finished their tour of the Cactus League with three hours Saturday in Cubs camp.

Casey Stern and Jim Bowden talked with several of the players, including Matt Garza, as well as Jed Hoyer and Dale Sveum ... and created a little controversy in the process.

Jed Hoyer addressed several topics with the mainstream media including Bryan LaHair, Anthony Rizzo, the roster, Jeff Samardzija and the Jorge Soler rumors in a sort of a State-of-the-Cubs address.

Hoyer said the Cubs are not done tinkering with the roster and they will be active in trade conversations as Spring Training comes to an end. Hoyer clarified his comment about possible trades by saying they would not be doing their job if they were not talking to other teams.

The Cubs are expected to announce another round of spring roster cuts prior to Thursday's exhibition game in Surprise. The Cubs currently have 48 players in camp, 33 on the 40-man roster and 15 non-roster invitees.

According to reports, the team would like to finish the spring on a positive note and while win-loss records do not matter, they would like to improve on their 8-12-1 record with 14 games remaining on the Cactus League schedule.

Here is the update ...

The Cubs take a break from their Cactus League schedule Wednesday and while they might not be playing an exhibition game, it is far from a day off for the team.

The Cubs announced another spring roster cut prior to Tuesday's split squad games. Lefty Chris Rusin, who received a non-roster invitation to camp, was assigned to minor league camp which reduced the Cubs spring roster to 48 players, 33 on the 40-man roster and 15 non-roster invitees. The Cubs are expected to announce the sixth round of roster spring roster cuts Thursday.

The Cubs could have named their Opening Day starter Tuesday without saying a word. When camp began, it was reported that if Matt Garza started in a 'B' game or a minor league game on the Cubs' only off day in the Cactus League, then he would be in line to start the first game of the season. The Cubs announced Tuesday that Matt Garza will start the exhibition game against the Rangers on Thursday and Paul Maholm would make a start Wednesday in a minor league game. Unless the Cubs alter Garza's schedule, which is not expected, Ryan Dempster will start his second straight Opening Day.

Here's the update ...

Spring Training is nearing the halfway point; the Cubs open the 2012 season three weeks from Thursday against the Nationals at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs made a couple of Spring Training roster moves Tuesday when they assigned Esmailin Caridad and Casey Weathers to minor league camp. The front office also created a spot on the 40-man roster after Casey Weathers was outrighted Sunday to Triple-A Iowa.

Could the spot the Cubs opened up on the 40-man roster be filled by Blake DeWitt?

Here's the update ...

Now that Gerardo Concepcion is signed, sealed and delivered, could Jorge Soler be next in line for a contract from the Cubs?

Jorge Soler is still on the Cubs' radar and the now 20-year old outfielder (February 25) is still an important piece to the Cubs' puzzle, that is once he can negotiate and sign with a team. According to a report from WEEI (Boston), the Red Sox are also interested but like most of the baseball industry, the Sox expect that the Cubs are likely to win the bidding war for Jorge Soler.

Jorge Soler has not established residency in the Dominican Republic, which is the first step in the process of him becoming eligible to sign a contract. There is still speculation that once he is eligible, Soler could be in for a rather large payday in the $27 million range.

Kevin Goldstein discussed the Gerardo Concepcion signing, Jorge Soler, and the Cubs' system on WGN Radio following Monday's exhibition game with the Reds. Goldstein thinks the Cubs are the "overwhelming favorite" to sign Jorge Soler.

Here's the update ...

Greetings from Arizona ... The CCO is in Mesa for the eighth straight spring to cover the first four games of the Cubs Cactus League schedule. Check back for updates from the park on both the site and Twitter.

The Cubs finished their intrasquad games with a five-inning tie game Saturday afternoon. Brett Jackson hit another home run as he tries to open as many eyes as possible this spring. Jay Jackson pitched three perfect innings but the game ended in a 3-3 tie after five innings. Non-roster invite Joe Mather hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning off Trey McNutt. Chris Rusin gave up one run (Jackson's home run) on two hits with a pair of walks. The southpaw also struck out three in three innings of work.

Theo Epstein spent time on ESPN 1000 before heading to the park for Saturday afternoon's scrimmage. Epstein discussed a variety of topics during his twenty minute interview on Talkin' Baseball.

Here's the update ...

The Cubs first intrasquad game took place Friday afternoon at HoHoKam Park ... and Rick Sutcliffe's Blue Team beat Dale Sveum's White Team 10-4.

Matt Szczur stole the show. The speedy outfielder drove in six of his team's ten runs with the big blast of the day. Szczur hit a grand slam off Travis Wood a couple of innings after showing off his speed. Szczur tagged and scored from second base on a wind-blown sac fly to right off the bat of Reed Johnson. David DeJesusreportedly caught the ball against the wall and Pat Listach waived Szczur around third. Szczur added a two-run double off Andy Sonnanstine later in the game.

Brett Jackson led off the scrimmage with a home run off Travis Wood, added a RBI double, scored two runs and walked twice Friday afternoon.

The White Team and Blue Team square off one more time before the exhibition season gets underway Sunday. Jay Jackson will face Chris Rusin in Saturday's contest that begins at 1:00pm MT (2:00pm CST).

The 'Sweet 16' of the Cubs' bunting tournament was set Friday. Dale Sveum advanced when he beat Ryan Dempster. Paul Maholm gets the next shot at the Cubs' new manager.

Alfonso Soriano hit leadoff for Dale Sveum's squad in Friday's intrasquad game. Could Soriano hit at the top of the Cubs' lineup for the first time since 2009 during the season?

Here's the update ...

Thursday is the Cubs final day of the spring at Fitch Park. After Thursday's workout, the big league team moves down the street to HoHoKam Park and the minor league players take over Fitch Park.

The Cubs announced the pitching match-ups for the Intrasquad games on Friday and Saturday. Both five to six inning contests begin at 1:00pm MT (local time) and are open to the public. Randy Wells and Travis Wood will square off on Friday with Jay Jackson and Chris Rusin starting Saturday's game ... Rodrigo Lopez starts the Cubs' first Cactus League game Sunday against the Oakland A's at HoHoKam Park.

The bunting tournament continued Wednesday. Steve Clevenger, Casey Coleman, Chris Rusin and Welington Castillo joined Adrian Cardenas, Blake Lalli, Jeff Beliveau and Trey McNutt in the 'Sweet 16'. There are still eight second round matchups, including Dale Sveum versus Ryan Dempster.

Jed Hoyer spent time on MLB Network Radio (XM Radio) Wednesday afternoon. The Cubs' GM covered a variety of topics during the in depth interview ... including the PTBNL swap with the Red Sox.

On the first day of March, here is the update ...