The Cubs will carry 12 pitchers when they break camp, and manager Mike Quade is hoping to find players versatile enough to be stretched out and sub in long relief, if needed.
One candidate could be Jeff Samardzija, who is out of options. He’s been used both in relief and as a starter.
“My sense is we have plenty of those guys in this competition who would be flexible enough to either be in the rotation or be that long guy,” Quade said.
Youngsters like Trey McNutt, Chris Carpenter and Jay Jackson will get a good look this spring, but Quade said it’s more to see if they can be used down the road.
“Let them jump up and have a Tyler Colvin spring, and take me from that viewpoint to ‘my goodness’,” Quade said of the youngsters. “With younger pitchers, I think you first look at: How do they handle themselves poise-wise, in front of the manager? Here’s their first Spring Training, in Trey’s case for sure.
“There’s a lot of the mental side of it,” Quade said. “Then you watch command. You factor in that they’re pitching in Arizona, and if there was ever a tougher place to compete for a pitcher, I don’t know where it’s at, except maybe Colorado Springs or Denver.”
Quade wants to see how the young pitchers handle the workload, among other things.
“I like to see a kid come in and handle himself well in camp with work ethic and respect for the game — all the things I think are important,” he said. “Now you take him to the mound, see how he handles himself on the mound, deals with adversity, watch his command, see what his complimentary pitches look like, just a little bit of everything.”