Brett Anderson Has Locked-Down A Rotation Spot, Mike Montgomery To The Bullpen

The Cubs have only one real position battle this season, with eight out of the Cubs nine regular starters returning to the team in 2017. In the rotation, the Cubs lost Jason Hammel but acquired Mike Montgomery at mid-season last July and signed Brett Anderson this offseason, with the two battling it out for the final spot in that rotation. All offseason Montgomery was crowned the proverbial fifth starter by the media, with everyone assuming the Cubs were planning on using a six-man, but with the signing of Anderson it seemed like it was a foregone conclusion that Joe Maddon planned on using six arms in 2017. However, this Spring Training has been telling as Anderson started to silence doubters about his extensive injury history, impressing everyone with his stuff, while Montgomery struggled some. As Spring went on, both pitchers ERA's inflated but that was not the main deciding factor here, as Maddon states in this interview a few weeks ago that "health" was going to be key in deciding.

Video: Joe Maddon on the progress of pitchers Mike Montgomery and Brett Anderson https://t.co/18YyzPzEEQ via @ChiTribSkrbina pic.twitter.com/1IZLJKIWh9

— ChicagoSports (@ChicagoSports) March 10, 2017

Maddon mentioning health lead to this train of thought for me, either Montgomery is not 100% or Joe really likes Anderson in his rotation for 2017, and today that became a little bit clearer. The Cubs made some of their final moves of the spring, making a multitude of roster moves, but Maddon also finalized his rotation for the season, leaving Mike Montgomery's name off that list.

So #Cubs rotation will be Lester, Arrieta, Lackey, Anderson and Hendricks

— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) March 23, 2017

Maddon also mentioned he liked Montgomery in the bullpen to start the season, which logistically makes sense with Montgomery excelling during his time in the Cubs bullpen last year. While it may come as a shock to some, I got the sense nobody in the Cubs organization was that surprised as I was hearing that Anderson had the job locked up as early as late Sunday night.

Confirming what everyone else is reporting, a source has told me Anderson is considered the leader for the #Cubs 5th rotation spot

— Sean Sears (@sean_sears6) March 20, 2017

Of course, this doesn't rule out Montgomery making an appearance in the rotation during the season, but the plan  for the Cubs will be to roll with Anderson, baring health, and utilize Montgomery as a lefty-reliever/swing role. Logistically this makes the most sense for the Cubs with their lack of left-handed relievers in their bullpen, and this early in the season most pitchers need to start their routines and find their rhythm for the season. Having six guys in the rotation makes that much more difficult, and players like Jon Lester have openly opposed that idea, however I wouldn't be surprised if the Cubs do limit their pitchers inning-wise. Maybe institute a pitch count for guys like Lester, Arrieta and Lackey to keep them fresh throughout the season. Regardless, the Cubs are only 10 days away from the regular season and I couldn't be more excited to see some meaningful baseball.