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The Cubs have had a few injuries pop up in the past couple weeks down in spring training, mostly to relievers, but infielder Daniel Descalso still doesn’t have a timetable to return. Right now 27-year-old Cristhian Adames is positioned to take the last bench spot on Opening Day.
Earlier in the week Descalso’s unknown status for the start of the regular season was first reported. The 32-year-old was signed in the offseason to not only replace Tommy La Stella on the bench, but to also bring some leadership to the clubhouse. Descalso can be a solid bat for the Cubs and provide better defense than La Stella, but a sore shoulder may end up keeping him sidelined when the Cubs begin the year playing the Rangers.
Descalso said this morning that he's still shut down. Hoping to test left shoulder with some range of motion activities in a couple days, with goal of resuming baseball stuff in near future. Still no timetable for return, though.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) March 15, 2019
The latest update on Descalso is somewhat encouraging from Joe Maddon, however, there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready on March 28. If Descalso can’t give it a go, then Adames might just end up on the Opening Day roster.
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Maddon said he had a very encouraging chat during today's workout with Daniel Descalso (left shoulder). Expected to resume swinging soon — early next week most likely. Also not ruled out for Opening Day, but Cristhian Adames looks like fallback for final bench spot.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) March 16, 2019
Adames was a non-roster invitee this spring training, signed in the offseason to a minor-league deal. So far in 16 Cactus League games, Adames has done everything possible to earn a spot. Descalso’s injury might just guarantee it.
In 35 at-bats, Adames has slashed .429/.462/.829, with three home runs, three doubles, a triple and 11 RBIs.
Via the Chicago Tribune.
“He’s done everything right,” Maddon said. “He’s a great option (in the event of an injury). We’ve been discussing him a lot. He’s shown well.”
Yet, as great of a spring training as Adames is having, it’s just spring training. He played part of four seasons with the Rockies from 2014-17, slashing .206/.283/.278, in 306 at-bats. Last year in Triple-A, Adames hit .269, with a .324 OBP in 122 games.
Despite this spring training version of Adames most likely being a mirage, if he makes the Opening Day roster with the Cubs it won’t be because of his bat. He can play both middle infield positions and actually give the team a true backup for Javier Baez at shortstop.
Descalso hasn’t played in a game since March 9. If he suffers any setback during the next 10 days, expect Adames to be the guy who gets that last spot on the Cubs bench for the first few weeks of the season.
By the way, I certainly wasn’t expecting to possibly see Adames anywhere near the Cubs 25-man roster this year, let alone to begin the season.
This was my final thought back in February after the Cubs signed pitcher Christian Bergman and Christhian Adames.
“If you see either of these former Rockies appear in a meaningful situation or game for the Cubs in 2019, then a lot of things went horribly wrong.”
Yikes! Obviously not great that Descalso is dealing with a shoulder injury, but it’s not the end of the world either for the Cubs.
