Back in Arizona, the Cubs are getting back to work ahead of domestic Opening Day

After leaving Japan not too long after Wednesday night’s 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Tokyo Series, the Cubs are back in Arizona. As entertaining as the trip to Japan was for all involved, the bottom line is that Chicago is 0-2 with a daunting first month of the schedule awaiting.

If starters Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki, along with a strong Dodgers bullpen, were a lot for Chicago’s offense, then Zac Gallen, Corbin Burnes and the Arizona Diamondbacks certainly won’t be pushovers come domestic Opening Day.

Between the two games, the Cubs combined to go 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position and slugged just three extra-base hits, all doubles, only one with a runner on base. Wednesday, they drew seven walks — compared to Tuesday’s one — but failed to cash them in.

“We put pretty good pressure on them,” manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday. “We hit six singles; they hit six extra-base hits. That’s kind of the difference tonight. They did damage with their hits. We had traffic, but we’re missing that damage hit to put some runs on the board.”

Slugging will have to improve for Chicago in 2025. Last season, the Cubs were 21st in isolated slugging (ISO) at .151. The Wrigley Field wind might not be as much of a factor, at least they hope. But the construction of the roster and development of youth should help as well.

The Cubs added Kyle Tucker, who adds much-needed pop. Meanwhile, Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ had ISOs of .199. Michael Busch was at .192, and the hope is he was just scratching the surface. There’s a chance Miguel Amaya will tap into more power, and Matt Shaw should provide pop, provided he settles in and finds a rhythm at the plate.

Perhaps it won’t be an issue, but through two games — a sample so small that it tells us nothing about what’s to come — it wasn’t there.

The players won’t overreact, of course. It’s two games in March against the best team in baseball. But recalling last year’s offensive slump will mean it’s important to shake a bad series quickly and get back to work.

Beyond the offensive woes, it was also an uneven performance from the bullpen. It walked 10 batters in 10 innings of work, something the coaching staff certainly won’t be fond of. Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy often discusses the bullpen’s strike-throwing ability when asked about what the organization values most.

It’s not odd to see pitchers needing time to settle in, and the atmosphere in Tokyo certainly could have led to some amped-up arms.

Of course, there were positives from the group. In Porter Hodge’s one inning of work, he struck out one. Though Ben Brown gave up three runs, he had an impressive three-pitch strikeout of Shohei Ohtani. Veterans such as Caleb Thielbar and Eli Morgan looked strong, too.

It’s important to remember who the Cubs were facing. Even without Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers are a frustratingly difficult lineup to manage. Only one team in baseball (the New York Yankees) chased pitches outside of the zone less often than the Dodgers last season. They were one of the better two-strike teams in baseball, they walked more than all but two teams, and they are generally a pesky offense that’s hard to put away.

“We were able to get to two strikes, just not able to put guys away,” Dansby Swanson said. “Those things come. It’s not a lack of ability. It’s going to be a really fun season. We just gotta get back to work and start again.”

There seems to be a good mix of young talent and veteran savviness in the bullpen. Whether it translates into success is yet to be seen. But this is as deep a group as the Cubs have had in a while. It’s up to Counsell to find the right mix as quickly as possible and make sure it all coalesces.

The Cubs made a pair of moves Thursday, optioning Morgan and left-handed pitcher Jordan Wicks. The moves are needed to make room for Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd on the 26-man roster, both of whom were inactive for the first two games of the season in Tokyo.

The Morgan move might come as a surprise to some as a veteran reliever with a track record of success whom the Cubs targeted early in the offseason. But this is the reality of early-season maneuvering in the bullpen. Counsell and team president Jed Hoyer value depth, especially in the bullpen. As a result, optionable pitchers are incredibly valuable, and it makes sense to use those options when trying to determine what you have in your bullpen.

It wasn’t the main focus of the acquisition, but part of the reason Morgan was an attractive trade target was because of that option.

Morgan will certainly be back, likely not staying in Triple-A Iowa too long. Assuming health, more moves will be needed to make room for Nico Hoerner and Brad Keller, with the latter requiring a 40-man move. If the Cubs plan on stretching out Brown and using Colin Rea as their fifth starter to start the year, one of those decisions becomes easy. The Cubs will need to remove someone from the 40-man roster (for Keller) and, with Hoerner returning, decide on whether to keep Vidal Bruján or Gage Workman.

The latter seems to fit well in terms of a left-handed depth piece who has pop and can play strong defense at multiple positions. But Bruján is a switch hitter who brings speed on the bases and carries a former top prospect pedigree that can be hard to give up on. Keeping Workman would be the guess here, but the Cubs still have time.

© 2025 The Athletic Media Company. All Rights Reserved. Distributed by New York Times Licensing.