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Chicago Cubs Lineup (3/7/25): Bruján Leads Off, Lopez at 2B, Rea Starting

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I’m going to abbreviate this one because heavy rain across the greater Phoenix area is making it look like Cactus League games are in dire jeopardy of being banged. In the event that they do play this transplanted crosstown rivalry, Colin Rea will be on the bump for the Cubs. He’s pitched very well in two starts so far, though four walks to five strikeouts in 4.2 innings doesn’t make for a great ratio.


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Vidal Bruján leads off at short, with Nicky Lopez at second and Justin Turner at third. Miguel Amaya is the catcher and Gage Workman is in left as he works on broadening his versatility in an effort to remain on the roster rather than being returned to the Tigers. Kevin Alcántara is in center, Travis Jankowski is in right, James Triantos is the DH, and Jonny Long is the first baseman.

Scheduled to start for the White Sox is 24-year-old Shane Smith, who has made two appearances thus far with four earned runs allowed over 3.2 innings. Those runs all came in his spring debut against the Rangers when Smith walked the first two batters he faced and then allowed a single and another walk before being lifted with only two outs recorded. His replacement then did the following: HBP, walk, single, single, homer, walk, groundout.

Smith came back to pitch the 2nd inning and sat the Rangers down 1-2-3, then tossed a pair of perfect innings with three strikeouts against the Mariners. He sits around 94 mph with the fastball and leans heavily on his cutter/curve combo to generate big K numbers, so he’ll be fine as long as he can limit the walks. That hasn’t been a big issue for him in the minors, but the Brewers didn’t feel like he was worth of protection from the Rule 5 Draft.

Based on how bad the Sox are and how good Smith has looked when he’s right, it’s pretty safe to say he’ll be on their roster one way or the other come Opening Day. The question is in what capacity, as Smith worked mainly as a reliever for his first two years in the minors. Last season saw him start in 16 of his 32 appearances and it figures the Sox will use him in the rotation.

First pitch is set for 2:05pm CT, but the only TV coverage is through Chicago SportsNet on the Sox side because the game is at Camelback Ranch in Glendale. You can listen on 670 The Score or ESPN 1000.


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