Cubs spring training preview: Outfield originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
While the 2023 season will be one of transition on the Chicago Cubs’ infield (which you can read about here), the outfield will take center stage as the season moves along, with big questions that will need to be answered and prospects who could potentially make the leap into the regular lineup by year’s end.
The starters are mostly set even before the team arrives in Mesa for spring training, with Ian Happ, Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki all likely penciled into the Opening Day lineup.
Even with that certainty in place, there are still some intriguing storylines and questions to ponder as spring training moves along, and they’ll persist into the regular season too.
Left Field –
After a breakout 2021 season that saw him hit 25 home runs and drive in 66 RBI’s for the Cubs, Happ seemed ticketed for big things in 2022, and while he did collect a career-high 72 RBI’s and raised his batting average by 45 points to .271, there are still questions surrounding the Cubs’ left fielder.
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For starters, will the team sign him to a contract extension? He is entering the final season of his deal with the Cubs, and while there have been rumblings that the team could talk extension with him, it’s been a while since the team has signed a homegrown player to a long-term contract, with only David Bote fitting that bill.
In addition to that uncertainty, there are some questions to be answered by Happ in terms of how hard he was hitting the ball. While a drop from 25 home runs to 17 isn’t a massive decline, his barrel percentage plummeted to 6.5% in the 2022 season, by far the lowest of his career.
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Granted, he did cut back on his strikeouts and did hit for better average, but on a team that needs power-hitting options, Happ has to get that barrel rate up in 2023.
Center Field –
It isn’t often that a team can be questioned for signing a former National League MVP and Gold Glove winner, but when that player has had three successive seasons like Cody Bellinger has, then the questions will freely flow.
Bellinger is looking to resurrect his career after a calamitous stretch with the Dodgers. Although he hit 19 home runs last season and stole 14 bases, he posted a paltry .265 on-base percentage and struck out 150 times in just 504 at-bats.
His dramatic drop in power after winning the MVP award in 2019 has been dissected every which way, but the fact remains that Bellinger is looking at Chicago as a potential springboard toward a renaissance in his career, and he’s hoping that the Cubs’ coaching staff can help him find the right formula to success at the plate.
No matter what happens with that, he is still a very talented defensive outfielder, something the Cubs clearly valued in their offseason moves and evaluations.
The real interesting question is who will play center field when Bellinger is on the bench or starting at first base. The odds-on favorite would have to be Christopher Morel at this point, given that he had 16 home runs and a .308 on-base percentage last year.
Morel may end up getting pressed into duty at third base, given the Cubs’ lack of certainty at that position, so one would expect to see Bellinger in center the vast majority of the time.
The real game-changer for the Cubs would be if Brennen Davis could finally get and stay healthy in the coming year. The team has a tremendous pipeline of talent at the center field position, Davis included, and if they can get him into the fold by season’s end it will be a huge boost to their lineup.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kevin Alcantara and Alexander Canario will all have to wait their turns, but those are some huge names waiting in the wings.
Right Field –
Seeing how Seiya Suzuki ends up performing in his second major league season is going to be one of the biggest storylines to follow in the coming season, and the team is hopeful that he will take advantage of an early opportunity to step up against big-time competition.
Suzuki is one of two Cubs roster regulars to be heading to the World Baseball Classic, where he will represent the Japanese team this spring.
Not being in camp with the team is always a tricky needle to thread for players, but in Suzuki’s case, the quadrennial event could be of massive benefit, as he will get into pressure-packed games right away while his teammates soak up the Arizona sunshine.
Suzuki had a decent year at plate, with a .262 average and 14 home runs in his first MLB season, but the Cubs will need a lot more production out of him in the coming season if they’re going to make noise in the National League Central.
Determining Suzuki’s backup will be an interesting dance, but the Cubs could conceivably have Trey Mancini fill in at the position, as he’s played plenty of games in right during his big-league career. Most of his outfield appearances have been in left, so the Cubs could also try moving Happ over to right if they want to roll the dice.
