When Chicago Cubs manager David Ross called Adbert Alzolay into his office, the rookie right-hander knew the conversation could go either way.
Alzolay quickly learned his fate as Ross congratulated him on making the Cubs’ opening-day roster.
“I was so happy I couldn’t say anything,” Alzolay said Sunday. “The only thing that I said back to him was that I was so happy for getting this opportunity.”
His good news came after learning days earlier that an arbiter had ruled in the league’s favor, resulting in Alzolay having a fourth minor-league option that can be used this year. Alzolay said he felt down about it at first because he initially heard the news from his wife, who became worried. Alzolay, though, had a more immediate focus.
“I was, like, I’m about to have a good game (Thursday),” he recalled telling his wife. “I need to be prepared and then if I put those things on my mind I’m just going to put more pressure on me that I don’t need to have right now. … If I put extra pressure on my mind, things aren’t going to go the way I want them to go.”
Alzolay impressed facing a stacked Los Angeles Dodgers lineup in his final outing Thursday, which featured five strikeouts: he got Mookie Betts looking, Cody Bellinger swinging and struck out the side in the third inning. His performance over those 3 2/3 innings gave the Cubs something to think about. Ross announced Saturday that Alozlay will start the Cubs’ fifth game of the season, April 6 against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field.
Alzolay believes he can be the type of starting pitcher who can consistently pitch into the sixth and seventh innings. He is still building up arm strength but thinks he’s getting close to where he can go deeper into a game without losing his velocity or the shape of his pitches. Even if the Cubs monitor and limit how many innings he pitches at the start of the season, Alzolay gives the rotation a much-needed different look. His fastball averaged 95 mph last year while his slider, a pitch he has continued to develop since focusing on it at the alternate site last year, has proved effective during the spring.
“He’s got a four-pitch mix that we really like and we feel like he’s trending in the right direction with everything,” Ross said. “All the work he put in last year and what he’s done this spring and bouncing back from a couple tough outings, and it hadn’t been really fazing him.
“I just like the stuff. It’s something that we don’t really have in our rotation and it’s nice for a guy that you see put in a lot of hard work and get rewarded and have a chance to really help us.”
The Cubs could have skipped the fifth-starter spot in the rotation at least once through because of the four days off they have within the first three weeks of the season. Instead, they’re sticking with a five-man rotation and pitching them every fifth game rather than the traditional every fifth day, giving each starter an extra day of rest between their next start and getting Alzolay a start. It puts Alzolay between right-handers Trevor Williams and Kyle Hendricks, a nice transition to the command and deception Hendricks brings when he’s on the mound.
Ross was noncommittal as to whether the Cubs will continue that approach beyond the first turn through the rotation. But it could be a natural way to manage the staff’s workload early in the season as pitchers continue to ramp up and prepare for a significant increase in innings pitched from last year.
“I think we are going to navigate things on a daily basis and see how I see how it all plays out,” Ross said. “We’ll see how the off days work, how guys are throwing and there’s going to be a lot of adjustments and tweaks that we’re going to have to do through the season. But I’m excited with the group we’ve got heading to Chicago.”
There is also Alec Mills, who Ross said is going to be “extremely important for sure.” The right-hander will fill a swing role on the staff, which can be a tough spot for a pitcher. There’s a balancing act between using him for an inning while also keeping Mills stretched out enough to give the Cubs length. Ross plans to have a workload mapped out for Mills that will enable him to pitch multiple innings as a versatile pitcher on their staff.
The Cubs will need more than five or six pitchers to get through playing 102 more regular-season games than in 2020. That means Mills and right-hander Shelby Miller, who was reassigned to minor-league camp Saturday, become more important. The Cubs rotation has been built around pitchers who are known more for their command and pitch movement than velocity. Going against some major-league starting pitching trends might create external doubt as to how good this rotation can be, but the group is confident in what they’re bringing.
“I love to see what makes each guy tick and what helps them stay in line or prepare for their next start,” Jake Arrieta said Sunday. “I like what I’ve seen from everybody. Everybody works extremely hard and cares a whole hell of a lot about their role and helping this team get to where we want to go.”
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