{"id":161855,"date":"2026-03-09T15:03:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T15:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=161855"},"modified":"2026-03-09T15:03:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T15:03:37","slug":"cubs-all-star-hitter-gets-concerning-update-as-roster-cuts-loom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=161855","title":{"rendered":"Cubs All-Star Hitter Gets Concerning Update as Roster Cuts Loom"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2223478401-e1773060598268.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2223478401-e1773060598268.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2223478401-e1773060598268.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2223478401-e1773060598268.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Cubs All-Star Hitter Gets Concerning Update as Roster Cuts Loom\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>Michael Conforto gets concerning update on Cubs tenure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Chicago Cubs will have to make some tough roster decisions.<\/p>\n<p>Chicago signed former All-Star hitter Michael Conforto in late February on a minor league contract with an invite to spring training. Conforto is a solid hitter, but he has struggled as of late. He\u2019s looking to win the fourth outfield spot with the Cubs.<\/p>\n<p>With Opening Day just weeks away, Cubs insider Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic believes Conforto is on the outside looking in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe bench battle appears to be primarily three players fighting for two spots: Michael Conforto, Dylan Carlson and Chas McCormick. \u2026 Numbers-wise, on offense, Carlson has put together the best spring so far,\u201d Conforto wrote. \u201cBut that\u2019s a dangerous game of both spring training numbers, which are largely meaningless, and small sample sizes. How they look means more than the pure results right now.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs the bat speed still there? Are they healthy? How is their defense? The latter may end up being a differentiator between McCormick and Carlson: Who can play better outfield defense, in particular, in center field? Talent evaluators are split on this, though most seem to lean toward McCormick. The recent advanced data doesn\u2019t love either, although Outs Above Average gives the clear edge to McCormick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Conforto was an All-Star in 2017, and he spent last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, Conforto struggled as he hit .199 with 12 home runs and 36 RBIs.<\/p>\n<p>To begin spring training with the Cubs, Conforto is hitting .273 with 1 RBI in 11 at-bats.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Cubs Manager Admits Roster Decisions Will be Tough<\/h2>\n<p>Chicago is once again one of the top teams in the NL, and the Cubs have some tough roster decisions to make.<\/p>\n<p>Cubs manager Craig Counsell admits that the team has a surplus of good MLB players, which is a good problem to have.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve got good candidates,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cI guess that\u2019s the best part, probably. Conforto came in late just to add to that. I feel like we\u2019re pretty comfortable. We added a good player. I feel really good about the choices there. There\u2019s not going to be room for all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It does appear that Conforto, Carlson, and McCormick are likely battling for one or two spots on the bench, so the rest of spring training will be important for all three players.<\/p>\n<p>Conforto, however, does have a unique connection to Counsell, as he was the first player the Cubs manager ever scouted, when he did some amateur scouting for the Brewers.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Counsell Explains Conforto Signing<\/h2>\n<p>The Cubs already had to make some tough roster decisions, and the team then inked Conforto to a minor league deal.<\/p>\n<p>The signing was an intriguing one, and Counsell said the team wanted to bring in more competition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt this point, we\u2019re looking to bring in candidates to just strengthen the roster,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cThis is a sign that we\u2019re going to continue to do that. \u2026 Michael had a down year last year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut he\u2019s been a good player in this league for quite a while. Sometimes when you sign guys, it\u2019s like, \u2018Where is the opportunity here?\u2019 And then we show up in five days and there\u2019s a big opportunity, right? That\u2019s how you look at this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chicago opens its 2026 MLB season on March 26 against the Washington Nationals.<\/p>\n<p>Cole Shelton Cole Shelton covers the NHL, MLB and Cleveland Browns for Heavy.com. He has covered pro and college sports since 2016, including bylines at BJ Penn, USA Today, SB Nation, Rotowire, Canadian Baseball Network and more. More about Cole Shelton<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Michael Conforto gets concerning update on Cubs tenure. The Chicago Cubs will have to make some tough roster decisions. Chicago signed former All-Star hitter Michael Conforto&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":161856,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-161855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cubs All-Star Hitter Gets Concerning Update as Roster Cuts Loom - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=161855\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cubs All-Star Hitter Gets Concerning Update as Roster Cuts Loom - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty Michael Conforto gets concerning update on Cubs tenure. 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