Supporting roles: Conforto arrival, Austin injury, change outlook on Cubs roster spots

The Cubs began spring training without many questions regarding roster spots. Maybe one bullpen job was up for grabs.

That changed with a couple of developments this week. They signed veteran outfielder Michael Conforto to a minor-league deal, while Tyler Austin had knee surgery and will be out “months,” according to manager Craig Counsell.

Those two items raise some questions, and the answers don't necessarily fit.

The Cubs signed Austin, who spent the past five years playing in Japan, to essentially take over the Justin Turner role — right-handed first baseman and designated hitter.

Conforto is now one of three nonroster veteran outfielders in camp, joining Dylan Carlson and Chas McCormick. None of them have played first base in the majors.

Counsell shared the plan for first base. The left-handed hitting Michael Busch sat against lefty pitchers quite often last year. Now after finishing 12th in MLB in OPS last season, Busch has earned the right to play every day.

If there's an injury, the most likely replacement would be prospect Jonathan Long, who has yet to make his major-league debut. But the Cubs feel confident he's at a point where he could be promoted and fill in for Busch if needed. By the way, Long withdrew from the World Baseball Classic, where he was planning to play for Taipei, due to a left elbow sprain.

If something happens during a game and the Cubs need an emergency first baseman, both Miguel Amaya and Moises Ballesteros have played the position in the minors. And Ian Happ had five starts at first early in his career.

So first base appears to be covered. What about the extra right-handed hitter? Conforto bats lefty. Carlson's a switch-hitter, while McCormick and Cubs waiver pickup Justin Dean bat righty.

It doesn't seem like the Cubs are ready to stray from their plan of Ballesteros serving as the primary DH, especially against right-handed pitchers. Matt Shaw is probably the DH against left-handers now.

Ballesteros does have minor-league options, so it's not out of the question the Cubs put Conforto in the DH spot and start the season with Ballesteros in the minors. The Venezuela native arrived late to spring training due to via issues. As of Saturday, neither Ballesteros nor Conforto has appeared in a spring training game.

Since it became obvious Kyle Tucker was not returning, Cubs management has been touting Ballesteros' .999 OPS last September as evidence he's ready for the majors. Most likely, nothing has changed, but there is another option now.

Conforto, who turns 33 on Sunday, was an all-star with the Mets in 2017. Two years later, he produced 33 home runs and 92 RBI. He was a college teammate of Matthew Boyd at Oregon State and played against the Cubs in the 2015 NLCS.

Popular as a Met, Conforto hit free agency and missed the entire 2022 season due to offseason surgery on his right shoulder. He spent two years in San Francisco and hit 20 home runs in 2024, then joined the Dodgers last season and was left off the postseason roster after hitting .199.

So the Cubs see Conforto as a low-risk, high-reward type of player. The question is, will he be willing to start the season with Triple-A Iowa to show what's left in the tank, or does he need major-league at-bats? We'll know in a few weeks.

Carlson is off to a good start this spring (5-for-11) but has hit .210 over the last three seasons. Dean, 29, has just 2 major-league at-bats but piled up 239 stolen bases in the minors and has played center field. For a situational bench player, Dean could make sense. And with Austin sidelined, the Cubs could keep two of the spare outfielders, plus Ballesteros.

For the bullpen spot, spring training performance will likely be meaningful. Porter Hodge (7 earned runs in 2 innings) and Luke Little (21.60 ERA) are not off to good starts and both have minor-league options available.

Counsell praised Ryan Rolison, a left-hander claimed off waivers from the White Sox in January.

“I think he's taken to some of the things we thought were some easier adjustments for him, where he can be better but are not difficult to implement,” Counsell said in Arizona. “I think that's got everybody excited.”

So maybe Rolison has the early lead, but a couple other pitchers are worth noting. Gavin Hollowell has 8 strikeouts in 3 innings pitched.

Then there's a surprising velocity jump from Ethan Roberts. According to Statcast, his sinker averaged 95.3 mph during his spring appearance Friday, and 94.9 mph in his previous outing.

That’s a jump from his earlier stints in the big leagues, Roberts' sinker averaged 92.9 mph last year and 91.6 in 2024. Rolison, Hollowell and Roberts have options left, according to fangraphs.com, so they could be sent to Iowa without having to pass through waivers.