Mike Quade told Randy Wells before his start Friday that he had earned the fourth spot in the rotation, but the Cubs manager will have another sleepless night as he finalizes the pitching for the 25-man roster.
Wells, who threw 91 pitches over 5 2/3 innings against the Mariners in the Cubs’ 6-3 come-from-behind win, posted a 2.10 ERA in six spring games. The right-hander, who was 8-14 last season, was a little directionally challenged when talking earlier this spring about breaking camp and going “northwest” with the big league club.
“We gave him a map today, so he knows Chicago is northeast of here,” Quade said. “He’s had a marvelous spring. I’ve been wrapped up in so many decisions that today I had to go to him to say, ‘Hey, by the way, make sure you know how to get to Chicago.’ We’ll put him on the charter to make sure. Look for him to keep getting better.”
Wells’ next day to pitch is Wednesday, when the Cubs face their Minor Leaguers in an intrasquad game at HoHoKam Park.
The other roster decisions will be finalized Saturday, Quade said. The Cubs will go with three left-handers in the bullpen in Sean Marshall, John Grabow and James Russell. The rest of the ‘pen will include closer Carlos Marmol, Kerry Wood and Jeff Samardzija.
Andrew Cashner has made the team, Quade said, but his role is still to be determined, and that will leave one opening in either the rotation or the bullpen. The other pitchers still in camp and being considered include Carlos Silva, Casey Coleman and Marcos Mateo. Braden Looper also was an option, but the Cubs told the veteran right-hander he would not make the club and he opted to retire.
Silva, who began last season 8-0 and finished 10-6, had his best outing on Wednesday, when he gave up one run on three hits over six innings in the Cubs’ 3-1 win over the Athletics. The one thing the right-hander also has over the other candidates is experience.
“We think so much of the two kids who are in the mix, too,” Quade said. “That’s what makes it so difficult on you. They’re kids, but Casey did a heck of a job for me last year and Mateo finished up good and had a great winter. Silva is a veteran presence. There’s the sleepless night for you as far as I’m concerned. We’ll see.”
Wells was happy to finally get confirmation that he could pack for Chicago.
“I felt like I did enough, but to hear it from the horse’s mouth was pretty satisfying,” Wells said. “I had my mind set on making the team and pitching well. They put up a competition and I pitched pretty well, and it was pretty gratifying to be part of Q’s squad.
“I think we’ve got something special here. We’ve got great team morale, great team chemistry. We’re hitting the ball, and I think things will come together when things count.”
His goal this spring? To show that last season was not a fluke and that he’s a better pitcher than that. Wells did just that. On Friday, he struck out eight but didn’t know he had that many K’s.
“When you’re making pitches and not trying to strike guys out, you seem to get some pretty good strikeout totals,” he said. “I was happy with that, and if I keep the walks down and have quality innings, I should be all right.”