By Sunday afternoon, the Cubs had made several roster decisions that brought more clarity to their bench situation.
Manager Craig Counsell announced that utility players Gage Workman and Vidal Bruján would be part of the team traveling to Tokyo. As a result, veteran non-roster invitee Nicky Lopez found himself on the outside looking in when it came to the competition for a bench spot.
“Nicky had an outstanding camp,” Counsell said. “He did everything we asked of him. The other guys competing for those spots also played really well. Ultimately, we had to make a decision, and those guys are already on the 40-man roster. Nicky’s had a great showing, and no matter what happens, things will work out for him.”
Lopez has an opt-out clause in his non-roster contract, allowing him to explore other opportunities if he’s not added to the roster by the end of camp.
The Cubs will head back to Arizona for five more spring training games before kicking off their regular season back in the U.S. It’s still possible that things could shift in the coming days, potentially creating an opening for Lopez.
Given his performance this spring, along with his defensive flexibility and track record, Lopez is expected to draw interest from other teams.
In addition to Lopez, the Cubs reassigned five other non-roster invitees to minor league camp: outfielder Travis Jankowski, lefty reliever Brandon Hughes, right-hander Cade Horton, and catchers Moises Ballesteros and Carlos Perez. They also optioned infielder Benjamin Cowles to Triple-A.
