Chicago Cubs Boss Reveals Plan For Sixth Starting Pitcher

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell is talking about the challenges of building his starting rotation this season.

The Chicago Cubs will use a sixth starting pitcher this year. Just don’t call it a six-man rotation.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell recently told reporters, including those at The Athletic, that he will employ a sixth starter this season. But it won’t necessarily be a consistent part of what he does with the rotation.

Why so cagey? Well, Counsell admitted that he’s only a couple of weeks into spring training and the Cubs have played just two spring training games through Saturday. He wasn’t in the dugout for Saturday’s game after returning to Wisconsin for a celebration of life for his late mother, Jan, who died two weeks ago.

But the indication is that part of the reason the Cubs may use a sixth starter is Shota Imanaga, their new free-agent acquisition.

Imanaga played in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan for years. Teams in the NPB use six-man rotations. In the Majors teams tend to use five-man rotations.

The New York Mets employed a similar strategy to soften Kodai Senga’s transition into the Majors last season. He is likely to miss the start of the season due to a posterior capsule strain in his right shoulder.

With Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon and Kyle Hendricks, the Cubs would appear to have four solid starters including Imanaga. They have other options, too. There is veteran Drew Smyly, who swung between the rotation and the bullpen last season. Javier Assed moved from the bullpen to the rotation and thrived at times.

Jordan Wicks made his MLB debut last season and looked sharp, while the Cubs also have Hayden Wesneski back.

That’s eight potential starters. And that doesn’t include one of their top prospects, Cade Horton, who is accelerating quickly.

Counsell acknowledged that finding the right mix of starting pitchers will be a challenge throughout spring training.

“This is an early statement that you guys (in the media) will jump on,” Counsell said. “But one of my challenges in April is going to be starting pitching. Just understanding them as they kind of progress through a game and seeing the signs that I haven’t seen a lot, right? That’s certainly a challenge for me.”

That challenge may require the Cubs to use a sixth starter now and again.