(670 The Score) Despite the Cubs experiencing a series of high-profile departures this offseason, manager David Ross remains confident in his group entering his second season in charge.
What will look most different for Ross and the Cubs is their pitching staff, with Yu Darvish, Jon Lester, Jose Quintana and Tyler Chatwood gone and the likes of Zach Davies, Jake Arrieta, Alec Mills, Trevor Williams and Adbert Alzolay getting the opportunity to fill out a rotation that's headlined by ace Kyle Hendricks. Ross wasn't surprised by the roster turnover in the offseason, he said Tuesday, a day before pitchers and catchers are set to report to spring training at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona.
"Being new with going through an offseason (as a manager), you knew things would be different," Ross said. "Dealing with the ebb and flow of an offseason, I trusted Jed (Hoyer) and his vision. He did not tell me how to do my job, and I support him doing his. He was very transparent with me about the moves. I know he has a clear vision of the future and the path. I just let that take shape. As a manager, you never want to lose your ace. That is just a part of the process we were going through this winter."
Ross understands that Darvish's exit in a trade to the Padres is December leaves a big void in the Cubs' rotation, as he was the National League Cy Young runner-up last season. Ross believes the Cubs will have to fill that role by committee to some degree.
"Last year was such a strong year for Yu, it's hard to say one guy will fill that role," Ross said. "We are going to have to fill those innings, and we probably won't have a 200-inning guy. A group of guys will have to do that. I have a lot of confidence in the pitching infrastructure. (The research and development department) has been proven over time to help extract the strength and weaknesses of the pitchers. I have big confidence in our group and a number of our guys filling those innings having success for us."
The Cubs won the NL Central by going 34-26 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season before being swept by the Marlins in the wild-card round. The Cubs' pitching staff was strong with a 3.99 ERA last season, but the trouble was the struggling offense, which was 20th in MLB in runs per game.
The Cubs non-tendered outfielder Kyle Schwarber, who signed with the Nationals in free agency. The team replaced him with Joc Pederson, but it will be the collective group that must pick up the production.
"We have guys that have pretty good resumes," Ross said. "I don't put a ton of stock into what happened last year. There are certainly areas we want to improve. We will try to define those areas and try to get better. Last year being what it was, if you were going to struggle, it was probably would have come there. This year the lineup will look similar. I think we have great depth. We have done a great job lately picking up that depth. We have added guys who have been on winning teams and know how to be professional. We have good choices if guys struggle and need to figure things out due to the depth."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
