MESA, Ariz. — Jameson Taillon did his best to describe the feeling that has been permeating through the Cubs’ facility since players began arriving in Arizona. Excitement is often paired with high expectations in the early days of Spring Training, but the veteran pitcher senses a shift around Chicago’s complex.
“I don’t know,” Taillon said. “The work seems different than years past. I know it’s like a Spring Training cliche, but guys show up and it doesn’t seem as rah-rah exciting. It seems more like, ‘Let’s get to work’ exciting, if that makes sense. It should be an exciting year.”
The work officially began on Wednesday morning, when the Cubs held their first workout for pitchers and catchers this spring. The first official full-squad workout will follow on Monday, though the majority of the North Siders’ roster has already been moving between the diamonds, mounds and indoor training hubs for several days, or even weeks in some cases.
There is a new towering indoor pitching and hitting building beyond the complex’s agility field, offering all the latest in tech for the players to identify small advantages. There is also a new star in the fold in third baseman Alex Bregman, a new hard-throwing righty in Edward Cabrera, and a pile of other additions that put the Cubs in the “winter winners” category.
The goal, of course, is to win the season, especially after the Cubs’ 92-win campaign last year ended in a five-game defeat to the rival Brewers in the National League Division Series. The stated task ahead is to win the NL Central division and give Cubs fans more than last October’s eight-game taste of the postseason.
“It’s the same as last year — it’s to win a World Series,” Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd said. “That’s the expectation we hold ourselves to. If you’re in here and you don’t want that, you’ve got to take a look in the mirror. Everybody wants that and everyone’s working collectively, because we all have our own role to play within that giant puzzle.
“It makes it even more exciting when No. 3 comes in here and he’s got a locker now, and we get Cabrera. Those are the things that you go, ‘OK, cool. Here we go.’ We know our mission.”
That No. 3 is Bregman, who signed a five-year, $175 million deal to join the Cubs via free agency over the offseason. During his introductory press conference, the veteran said he picked that number because he hopes to add a third World Series ring to his collection.
Hearing that from Bregman after the bitter ending to last season created that blend of energy and urgency teams hope to have when Spring Training arrives.
“The excitement in camp is palpable,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “The players are talking about it and the coaches are talking about it. They’re excited about our team. They’re excited about our group both from a talent standpoint, but also just from a camaraderie standpoint.
“So many of the guys were here last year and I think they feel like we had a really good season, but there’s unfinished business. And I think in a lot of ways, that’s the best kind of Spring Training, when there’s a hunger.”
One of the issues at the end of the season was a rotation that was thinned by injuries and other issues. This winter, the Cubs added Cabrera and re-signed Shota Imanaga and Colin Rea. With Boyd, Taillon and Cade Horton also in the fold — plus the group of arms behind them — the depth looks to be in a solid place at the moment.
Chicago also overhauled its bullpen, bringing in four new relievers (Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, Hoby Milner and Jacob Webb) on Major League deals. The Cubs also re-signed lefty Caleb Thielbar, among other moves to strengthen the relief corps and the depth of options behind the big league cast.
The Cubs will keep looking at available arms, too.
“There’s obviously a lot of conversations still going on,” Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins said. “There’s still a lot of players out there. We would never shut the door on anything and we’ll plan just to try to improve wherever we can.”
The moves made to date certainly have the Cubs in a great position to make a real run at the division crown.
“We’re all excited to get started. Everybody works really hard to create a team like this,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “You work really hard to build a roster that has expectations. You work really hard to get on a team that has expectations. That’s what we want.”
