Craig Counsell Comments on Shōta Imanaga, Matt Shaw, Early Injuries, More

Craig Counsell met with the media on Tuesday following the Cubs’ early workout as spring training gets underway. A few notable takeaways:

• Shōta Imanaga will start one of the games in Tokyo against the Dodgers in Tokyo, Japan. This isn’t a surprise since Imanaga is one of the top two in the rotation, but it’s pretty cool that he will be playing in his home country.
• Javier Assad has an oblique injury that has him sitting out to start spring training. He’s scheduled to have imaging done, so the Cubs will know soon about the severity of the issue.
• Counsell is planning to stretch both Jordan Wicks and Ben Brown out this spring in anticipation of them playing roles in the starting rotation. It’s not clear if the Cubs will roll with a six-man rotation to start the season or if both pitchers will fill in as long relievers. Depending on Assad’s timeline, it’s possible either Wicks or Brown will begin the season as the fifth starter.
• Matt Shaw will get the first shot at third base, which was largely expected. Counsell acknowledged that there is still competition for the starting position at third, but he expects that Shaw will continue to develop and likely be the starter for the Cubs.

Counsell discussed quite a bit more, so you may want to take the time to listen to the clip below if you want all the details.