SURPRISE, Ariz. — Craig Counsell’s lineup options have increased.

With the addition of Cody Bellinger, Jed Hoyer and the Cubs front office brass have given their new manager a shiny bat to insert into the middle of the lineup — and a way to maximize the team’s offense.

With Bellinger in the fold, it creates a multitude of positional versatility for Counsell. Bellinger’s ability to play both center field and first base at a high level allows Counsell the opportunity to mix and match depending on who they’re facing that day.

“Everyday players, multi-positional players, they do a lot for your position group,” Counsell said. “Those are valuable players and so obviously that kind of changes a lot of what you think about your position group.”

In the short-term, Bellinger’s addition means he’ll man center full-time, allowing Michael Busch to play first base as Counsell and the Cubs have alluded to. Busch debuted in a Cubs uniform on Monday at Surprise Stadium where the Cubs fell to the Royals 6-0, playing first base and going 1-for-2 with a walk and a single. He figures to play every day against righties, but Patrick Wisdom will likely serve as a platoon against lefties, where he has an .815 OPS and a 119 wRC compared to a .743 OPS and 102 wRC+ against righties.

That means top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong probably opens the season at Triple-A, allowing him to continue to have everyday at-bats and continue his development. Counsell takes a big-picture look at the Cubs, so while he knows that Crow-Armstrong could help the big-league team as a defender now, the long-term outweighs the short.

“Pete’s a player that just benefits from being on the field and playing,” Counsell said. “He’s just got to experience baseball because he’s at a point where stacking up at-bats, stacking up experiences on defense, on the bases, they’re really making him a better player where big jumps can still happen.” 

The Cubs will likely platoon Christopher Morel and Nick Madrigal at third base, with Wisdom being able to fill in at the hot corner when needed. A lot of positions — second base, shortstop and both corner outfield positions are set.

“You gotta have some guys that are your guys that are in there every single day, [that] you’re gonna count on versus left[-handed pitchers], versus right[-handed pitchers],” Counsell said.

It leaves the Cubs with few question marks on their roster — barring injury, of course — with Opening Day a little over a month away. As constructed, their starting lineup looks something like:

C – Yan Gomes
1B – Busch
2B – Nico Hoerner
3B – Morel
SS – Dansby Swanson
LF – Ian Happ
CF – Bellinger
RF – Seiya Suzuki

Counsell can use the designated hitter spot as a rotation spot to provide the best defensive lineup and give players a rest day when needed, meaning one of his bench players can man the position.

With Miguel Amaya serving as Gomes’ back-up catcher, Wisdom, Madrigal, Mike Tauchman, Miles Mastrobuoni and outfielder Alexander Canario are players on the 40-man roster who are competing for four bench spots. Non-roster invitees like outfielder David Peralta and first base/outfielder Dom Smith likely won’t be ready for Opening Day as they recover from offseason surgeries and Jorge Alfaro, another NRI, figures to be a long shot to make the roster, too.

But, at the end of the day for Counsell, it’s a good headache to have. The Cubs looked to have intriguing depth options without Bellinger — now they have even more and mitigate the risk of some of their younger players not producing or developing.

“It’s just more options, right? It’s just more floor and more options and for a team and you’re a little more protected against something going wrong, against an inevitable injury.” Counsell said. “So, they add wins, they add floor. I think they make your players better or they protect your other players.

“So, there’s a lot of benefits from guys like that. And that’s why they’re so hard to find.”

Veteran mentorship

When the Cubs reached out to Peralta, the veteran outfielder didn’t hesitate at the opportunity.

“Who doesn’t want to play for the Chicago Cubs?” Peralta said Monday.

The 36-year-old had experienced the Cubs’ fandom firsthand and that excited him about the opportunity — almost as much as the chance to be a mentor to a clubhouse full of young players.

When Peralta first debuted in 2014, Martín Prado was a veteran he turned to — now he hopes to do that to players like Crow-Armstrong, whose locker sits two away from Peralta.

“I just want to be a role model for everyone and just help them,” Peralta said.

He’s also hoping to help the team on the field, too. He underwent surgery in the offseason to repair an torn flexor tendon in his left arm and is hoping to start serving as DH in Cactus League games around “March 10 … and then we go from there.”

That timeline makes him a longshot to crack the Opening Day roster, but could serve as a depth option at Triple-A.

Next Up

The Cubs host the Reds at Sloan Park on Tuesday at 2 p.m. on Marquee Sports Network. Kyle Hendricks will make his first start of the spring for the Cubs.