Imanaga tunes up for Tokyo with sim game

MESA, Ariz. ¨C The way Shota Imanaga¡¯s schedule is mapped out leading up to his planned Opening Day outing against the Dodgers next month, Friday was the Cubs lefty¡¯s day to take the mound. With Los Angeles visiting Sloan Park, Chicago opted to have Imanaga get his work in on the backfields.

Imanage faced an assortment of hitters from big league camp ¨C including newcomer Justin Turner ¨C over what amounted to roughly a two-inning simulated game. The left-hander reached 39 pitches in his ongoing ramp-up to the March 18 season opener in the Tokyo Series against the Dodgers in Japan.

¡°Getting closer to the actual game,¡± Imanaga said via interpreter Edwin Stanberry, ¡°I think subconsciously I¡¯m trying to output more power. So, just trying to control that was my goal today."

In the Cubs¡¯ Cactus League opener against the Dodgers on Thursday in Glendale, Ariz., Los Angeles gave the start to righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto. While Yamamoto is Imanaga¡¯s likely opponent for Game 1 of the two-game series in Japan, the Dodgers¡¯ righty faced a Cubs lineup featuring only one projected regular (Michael Busch).

In his two simulated innings, Imanaga struck out five batters, allowed two hits and issued one walk. Those box score numbers are hardly the focus at this point of the spring. Imanaga¡¯s priority at this stage is to build up his volume, while concentrating on fine-tuning his secondary pitches.

¡°It¡¯s, ¡®OK, what other pitches besides the fastball can I start mixing in?¡¯¡± Imanaga said. ¡°Last year, a lot of the focus was the fastball up. I think this year, changing the location of the fastball and mixing in the other pitches, I think that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been trying to work on.¡±

Workman impresses Counsell in spring debut

The Cubs snagged Gage Workman from the Tigers in December¡¯s Rule 5 Draft, giving the infielder a shot to make the Opening Day roster as a role player. In Thursday¡¯s 12-4 win over the Dodgers, Workman launched a home run, had two hits overall and made a handful of slick defensive plays at third base.

A Rule 5 draftee must remain on a team¡¯s active roster all season, or be offered back to his former team.

¡°It¡¯s easier for this player to put a lot of pressure on himself in Spring Training,¡± Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. ¡°¡®I¡¯ve got to make a good impression,¡¯ is what¡¯s going through your head, right? And he¡¯s right. And so, you can¡¯t run from that. That¡¯s the deal, man. We¡¯ve got to make a decision on you.

¡°And so, you¡¯re happy for the player. He made a great impression.¡±

Canario odd man out with Turner¡¯s arrival

Outfielder Alexander Canario ¨C one of the players acquired from the Giants in the Kris Bryant trade in 2021 ¨C faced an uphill battle in a bid to make the Cubs¡¯ roster this spring. Out of Minor League options, the 24-year-old Canario projected as a sparingly-used bat off the bench.

Under the circumstances, the Cubs made the decision to designate Canario for assignment when needing to clear a 40-man roster spot for Turner on Thursday. The Cubs have a seven-day window to either trade Canario or expose him to waivers.

¡°You¡¯re trying to just see impact down the road,¡± Counsell said. ¡°Alex is a player that the Cubs have invested a lot in, and that makes it a hard decision. And he¡¯s a talented player. We¡¯ll see what happens in the next week or so.¡±

Counsell on first ABS test run

The Cubs and Dodgers experienced the first Spring Training trial run of the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) in Thursday¡¯s win for the North Siders. All in all, Counsell felt the initial experiment in a big league game went well.

¡°The way they have it set up, it¡¯s not disruptive to the flow of the game,¡± Counsell said. ¡°And actually, I think eventually the fans will enjoy the scoreboard [review] part of it. And it makes you watch a little more closely to see if the players do it pitch to pitch.¡±

Cubs adding Allen to camp

Outfielder Greg Allen is joining the Cubs on a Minor League deal that includes an invitation to attend big league Spring Training, a source told MLB.com. Allen, 31, has spent parts of seven seasons in the Majors between stops with the Guardians, Yankees, Pirates and Padres. He came up through Cleveland¡¯s system when Cubs GM Carter Hawkins was in that team¡¯s front office.