With Opening Day fast approaching, the Chicago Cubs have good injury news and bad injury news. Starting with the good, Matt Shaw, who is dealing with a minor oblique injury, is set to resume playing in Spring Training games with no restrictions. With his injury fading in the rearview mirror, he should be ready for the season opener in Tokyo. Now for the bad news.
Nico Hoerner, who went down with a flexor tendon injury last year, is still recovering from surgery and won’t make it to Tokyo. However, it seems he might be ready for Opening Day stateside. So, perhaps it isn’t truly bad news; it just isn’t fabulous news. This minor setback might also imply Hoerner will need some additional time to re-acclimate to the game since he is missing out on Spring Training.
On March 18, all eyes will turn to Tokyo as MLB fans are eager to get their first glimpse of regular season baseball, especially since the Cubs are set to square off against the Dodgers and Roki Sasaki who is set to make his MLB debut in his native Japan. With only one significant hole in the Cubs’ lineup, let’s take a glance at the offense the Dodgers might be up against for the first two games of the season.
Cubs projected 2025 Opening Day lineup in Tokyo
- SS Dansby Swanson
- RF Kyle Tucker
- DH Seiya Suzuki
- LF Ian Happ
- 1B Michael Busch
- 2B Justin Turner
- CF Pete Crow-Armstrong
- C Miguel Amaya
- 3B Matt Shaw
In Hoerner’s place, there are three options: Justin Turner, Jon Berti and Vidal Brujan. Turner has experience at third, second and first base. But given his defensive decline, he is better suited as a DH or a first baseman. He is yet to field third or second during a Spring Training game this season. Nonetheless, having him at second won’t hurt too much for only two games.
Turner is likely the next man up, however, Brujan is out of minor league options. Should he not make the Opening Day roster, he will need to be DFA’d. In 2021, Brujan was MLB Pipeline’s No. 50 prospect. Since debuting that season, he has underwhelmed at the plate posting a .189 batting average with two home runs in 497 Major-League at-bats. While he has shown significant signs of improvement last season before falling on the IL, it might take an excellent showing this spring to keep him on the team.