As the Chicago Cubs gathered in center field at the Tokyo Dome for their team photo, 30 players lined up in the third row.

One player — right-handed pitcher Colin Rea — was absent, though.

[MORE: A behind-the-scenes look at the Cubs’ journey to Tokyo]

Rea did not travel with the team to Japan, but he is expected to be in the 26-man MLB Tokyo Series roster that faces the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday for Opening Day. Rea stayed back in Arizona to pitch on normal rest in a minor-league game at the Cubs’ complex in Mesa, Ariz.

“He’s going to be active,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters Friday morning in Tokyo. “He just got on a plane and is headed here.

“He wanted to really get another regular start in.”

[READ: Analyzing Cubs’ 31-man MLB Tokyo Series roster: Who’s in, who’s out?]

Lefties Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele will start the two regular-season contests against the Dodgers. Julian Merryweather will open Friday night’s exhibition against the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball in what’s expected to be a bullpen game for the Cubs. Jameson Taillon is slated to start the other exhibition game Sunday against the Yomiuri Giants.

That means Rea, who is expected to be Chicago’s No. 5 starter, wasn’t necessarily guaranteed to pitch during the Japan trip. Staying back for a few days allowed him to pitch on normal rest and continue his ramp-up for the season. Tuesday, the first game against Los Angeles, would make him available on four days’ rest.

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Because all of their starters aren’t fully stretched out, the Cubs want to have enough options available, if they need to dip into their relief corps early in either game against the Dodgers. Last season, for example, Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto lasted just one inning in his start against the San Diego Padres in the Seoul Series in South Korea.

Taillon is expected to throw around 70 pitches against Yomiuri, and lefty Matthew Boyd could pitch after him.