Right from the start, Shelby Miller and Kyle Schwarber gave the sellout crowd at Salt River Fields a regular-season type matchup with a nine-pitch battle that Miller won as the D-backs beat the Cubs, 3-1, on Thursday night. Schwarber, who started the game in left, popped out to shortstop on the ninth pitch.
Category: Kyle Schwarber
Miguel Montero prepares for another season as Cubs backup
Miguel Montero produced one of the biggest hits of the Chicago Cubs’ championship run in the game that decided it all, and now he’s preparing again for life as a backup catcher. Montero figures to start behind the plate once or twice a week when second-year big leaguer Willson Contreras needs a break – not the veteran’s ideal role or what he envisioned when he joined the Cubs in a trade from Arizona ahead of the 2015 season.
Cubs will use restraint to ease Kyle Schwarber into limited catching role – Chicago Tribune
The current plan is for Willson Contreras to catch Jon Lester and start four or five times a week, with Miguel Montero serving as a backup. With Montero in the final year of his contract, Schwarber – who was drafted as a catcher – could move into Montero’s role in 2018 in addition to playing left.
How will the 25-man roster shape up?
The defending World Series champion Cubs don’t have any major roster decisions to make this spring, other than to figure out who will lead off and which relievers compose the bullpen. is a plus for manager Joe Maddon, who likes to move players around.