Cubs’ Blend of Veterans, Youngsters a Recipe for Success in 2015
The Chicago Cubs have had a busy offseason, where they started by hiring Joe Maddon as manager. He and President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein then proceeded to create a locker room with a healthy mix of both veterans and youngsters. This blend of wisdom and youthful vigor should bring about success for the Cubs in 2015.
The club added a frontline starter in Jon Lester, brought Jason Hammel back, traded for catcher Miguel Montero, added a solid bench bat in Chris Denorfia and just recently traded for center fielder Dexter Fowler.
All of these players have established themselves as quality big leaguers and they are the perfect complement to the Cubs’ influx of young talent coming up from the minors. Talented youngsters like super-utility man Arismendy Alcantara, starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks, shortstop/second baseman Javier Baez, and right fielder Jorge Soler all reached the majors last season. They helped supplement an already solid core that included All-Stars Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo.
The Cubs went into this offseason with a plan, and they have done everything they thought they needed to do, such as adding a few starting pitchers and a leadoff man. However, the Fowler deal in particular really stands out. He only has one year remaining on his contract before he becomes a free agent. This affirms that the Cubs feel like they can compete with their current roster in 2015 by putting together a winning record.
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The Cubs now have a starting rotation led by their ace Lester and the electric Jake Arrieta. They have a batting order with a ridiculous amount of offensive potential as it stands, and that will grow even higher when phenom Kris Bryant gets the call at some point early in 2015 to man third base.
It is true that the Cubs are relying on some unproven players in Bryant, Baez and Soler to be key producers for them next season, but they have capable players backing the youngsters up in case one or more of them do fizzle. Fowler and Denorfia are evidence of this.
The Cubs’ abundance of top prospects also gives the organization the leeway to trade some of them for an established major league player if they are close to a playoff race at the trade deadline. If so, expect them to use some of their young talent to land a proven contributor for the club.
The Cubs are a team that has so much premium young talent, they should be one of the most interesting and exciting teams in the league to follow. While Rizzo’s prediction that the Cubs would win the NL Central may or may not come to fruition, the Cubs will almost certainly be a competitive team in 2015.