The Cubs are zeroing in on the end of Spring Training 2010, but there remain some unanswered questions.  Today, I want to take a look and what we know and what we’re still trying to figure out.

Starting Position Players

The big news at the beginning of Spring Training was whether or not the Cubs would give in to the temptation of starting the year with Starlin Castro in the starting lineup.  As of now, it appears Castro’s debut is going to have to wait.  Yesterday, Castro was sent to minor league camp to reduce the team’s big league roster to 40.  That doresn’t mean he can’t be recalled, but it would be unlikely for the Cubs to send him to minor league camp at this juncture, just to have him break camp with the big team.

That means that Ryan Theriot will be starting the year at shortstop.  That’s not a surprise, but it’s something that needed to be worked out through Spring Training for us to know for sure.

Who’s on second?  That’s a question Cubs fans have been asking since the end of last season.  I’m not sure we know yet.  I expected Jeff Baker to win the job in Spring Training, but if he has, it hasn’t been obvious.  And for what it’s worth, Mike Fontenot is still listed at the top of the depth chart at second base.

Those were the only real question marks concerning the position players heading into Spring Training.  So it appears the Cubs starting lineup will look like this:

• Catcher: Geovany Soto
• First Base: Derrick Lee
• Second Base: Mike Fontenot
• Shortstop: Ryan Theriot
• Third Base: Aramis Ramirez
• Left Field: Alfonso Soriano
• Center Field: Marlon Byrd
• Right Field: Kosuke Fukudome

Bench Players

The Cubs bench is a little harder to pin down.  At the moment, it looks like Fontenot will move over to cover shortstop if needed, meaning that Baker will come into the game at second base.  Unfortunately, that leaves Andres Blanco as the odd man out.  Blanco is out of minor league options, so don’t be surprised if he ends up playing elsewhere this year.

Backing up the infield corners will be either Chad Tracy or Kevin Millar.  Millar is probably the more versatile player (having played a considerable amount in the outfield as well), but Tracy is probably the better pinch hitter off the bench.  Tracy also has the advantage of batting left-handed.  The Cubs have acted like they would like to carry both players on the bench.  Would that work?

In the outfield, Xavier Nady will be one bench player (he can also play first base).*  Who will be the other?  The battle is between Sam Fuld and Tyler Colvin.  I think it’s fair to say that Colvin has had the superior Spring Training, but that may not matter.  Fuld is the better defender and the better pinch running option.  Plus, because it would appear that Colvin has a higher ceiling that Fuld, the Cubs will likely want to get Colvin plenty of at-bats and playing time.  Look for Colvin to start the year in AAA and Fuld to ride the pine for the big team.

*Arizona Phil at The Cub Reporter suggests that Xavier Nady could start the year on the DL, allowing Kevin Millar to make the team.  Because Nady has about $2 million in incentives that he likely won’t be able to reach if he goes on the DL, he could ask to be traded.  The fallout should be interesting.

The team also needs a back up catcher and that man is Koyie Hill.  No surprise there.

Here’s what the bench should look like:

• Jeff Baker
• Chad Tracy
• Kevin Millar/Xavier Nady
• Sam Fuld
• Koyie Hill

Starting Pitchers

We know the top three spots in the starting rotation will be taken by Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, and Randy Wells.  Ted Lilly will start the season on the DL and will not be available until May (or June).  The final two spots will come down to a battle for one spot between Tom Gorzelanny and Sean Marshall (left handers), and Carlos Silva and Jeff Samardjzia (right handers) for the other.

At the moment, it appears that Marshall and Silva have the early lead.  That means that Gorzelanny will make his way to the bullpen and Samardzjia will either join him in the bullpen or start the season in AAA.  I think it makes more sense to send him to AAA, given the Cubs insistence that Samardzjia’s future is as a starting pitcher (an insistence I disagree with). 

For what it’s worth, ESPN Chicago’s Bruce Levine disagrees with me.  He believes that Tom Gorzellany and Carlos Silva have the inside track for the final two spots in the starting rotation.  In my mind, Marshall has had a better Spring Training than Gorzellany and arguably has been the more tested pitcher in the past.  Remember, one year ago, Gorzellany could not even crack the Pirates starting rotation.  Regardless, Levine is going with the former Pirate to be the Cubs number four (or five) starter.

I don’t know the answer to this question, but it’s one I’ve been asking all month long: Why can’t both Marshall and Gorzellany be in the starting rotation?  Or more specifically, why don’t the Cubs want two lefties in their starting rotation?  Despite his Spring Training control problems, Gorzelanny appears to be a better pitcher than Silva or Samardzjia, so why force one of the two right handers into the starting rotation?

For now, the starting rotation looks like this:

• Carlos Zambrano
• Ryan Dempster
• Randy Wells
• Sean Marshall
• Carlos Silva

Bullpen

That brings us to the bullpen.  At the start of Spring Training, the bullpen is where the majority of the question marks were for the Cubs.  At this point, we still don’t have all of the answers, but we’re getting closer.

First, we know that Carlos Marmol and John Grabow will start the year in the bullpen.  Gorzellany will join them, assuming Marshall makes the starting rotation.  That leaves four more spots.

We know that Lou Piniella has commited another bullpen spot to Justin Berg.  He’s looked good this spring and has earned the spot.

That leaves three spots.  In my mind, the front runners for those spots are Esmailan Caridad, John Gaub, and Mike Parisi.  James Russell, Marcos Mateo. Mitch Atkins, Dave Patton, and Jeff Gray are also in the mix, but are longer shots.

My projected bullpen looks like this:

• Tom Gorzellany
• John Grabow
• Justin Berg
• John Gaub
• Esmailin Caridad
• Mike Parisi
• Carlos Marmol

Keep in mind that this is my best guess on how things are going to shake out and it could all be thrown out the window if the Cubs pick up a player released by another team at the end of Spring Training.  That’s how they ended up with Reed Johnson, remember?

It wouldn’t surprise me if the Cubs picked up another bullpen arm.  At the moment, it looks like Caridad will be the set up man before moving to Marmol to close out the game.  Is Caridad ready for that assignment?  The more important question is, are Piniella and Jim Hendry comfortable with Caridad taking on that assignment?  We’ll know the answer to these questions and many more in just a couple of weeks.