MESA, Ariz. — Top Cubs prospect Matt Shaw is in line to make his major-league debut under the lights at the Tokyo Dome.
He was careful not to make any such declarations after being notified Tuesday that he had made the Cubs’ travel roster for the Tokyo Series, but the team wouldn’t be bringing him if it didn’t plan to put him on the active roster.
“Actually being out there, making my debut — hopefully — playing against the reigning World Series champs, I mean, how amazing would that be?’’ Shaw, 23, said. ‘‘I think that’ll be more of a surreal moment.
‘‘But still a couple of days before they’ll let us know those lineups, so I still have to earn that spot.’’
The Cubs put off their decision on the final position-player spot as long as they could. Outfielder Kevin Alcantara was also up for consideration. He will stay behind in Arizona and likely will begin the season at Triple-A Iowa, although the Cubs could make roster changes before domestic Opening Day.
‘‘The fact that he was injured made us wait longer,’’ president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said of Shaw. ‘‘He’s obviously come back, proven his health, played well.’’
Shaw entered camp as the favorite to win the third-base job, a status that was reinforced when the Cubs’ pursuit of free agent Alex Bregman fell short. But an early oblique injury complicated the team’s decision.
As Shaw packed Monday for a ‘‘10-day trip across the world,’’ as he put it, he said he didn’t know if he was going to Tokyo. He didn’t begin playing in Cactus League games until March 2 and appeared in six in all.
‘‘We said going into this [that] he’s got the upper hand, right?’’ manager Craig Counsell said. ‘‘So just be who you are, and that’s what we’ve seen. And that means we think he’s got a chance to be a very, very good player, an impact player. This is the start of it.’’
The Cubs will have to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for Shaw to debut in the Tokyo Series, but they don’t have to make any moves until just before Opening Day in Japan.
They have two exhibition games before then. Any injuries in those exhibition games, for example, would affect the roster before the two-game set against the Dodgers.
The Cubs can travel with 31 players, all of whom are eligible for the exhibition games. But only players on the 26-man active roster can appear in the Tokyo Series.
The Cubs are set to bring three non-roster invitees to Japan. Catcher Reese McGuire is expected to serve as emergency depth and might play in the exhibition games. The team is expected to add Shaw and reliever Brad Keller to the roster.
‘‘Obviously, it’s a big opportunity,’’ Keller said in a conversation with the Sun-Times. ‘‘It’s really cool. Never been to Japan. Exciting to be with the team.’’
Keller showed a jump in velocity this spring. And he said he was proud of his health after a bout with thoracic outlet syndrome affected his last two seasons.
‘‘We think this is an improving player, despite the experience and the age,’’ Counsell said, pointing to Keller’s velocity and some improvement in his slider. ‘‘We’ve got our eyes open to possibly a different role than he’s ever done. That means maybe we get a different pitcher than we’ve seen. So all those things have made him really interesting.’’
The Cubs plan to use Keller out of the bullpen. And though they theoretically could put off adding him to the roster by having him pitch only in the exhibition games, he can opt out of his deal if he isn’t on the roster by the end of camp.
The Cubs telegraphed one expected 40-man-roster move when they announced right-hander Keegan Thompson didn’t make the travel roster. Thompson is out of minor-league options.
‘‘It is hard to evaluate spring training, but that was how we ultimately made the decision,’’ Hoyer said. ‘‘I thought Keegan threw well here, but ultimately we felt like some guys were better.
‘‘Realistically, we knew coming into camp that we’d have to make some hard decisions. Some we’ve had to make, some we have to make in the future.’’
Here’s the Cubs’ expected 31-player travel roster:
Pitchers (17)
LHP Shota Imanaga
LHP Justin Steele
RHP Jameson Taillon
LHP Matt Boyd
LHP Jordan Wicks
RHP Ben Brown
RHP Colin Rea
RHP Ryan Pressly
RHP Porter Hodge
RHP Ryan Brasier
LHP Caleb Thielbar
RHP Eli Morgan
RHP Nate Pearson
RHP Julian Merryweather
RHP Tyson Miller
RHP Daniel Palencia
RHP Brad Keller (NRI)
Catchers (3)
Miguel Amaya
Carson Kelly
Reese McGuire (NRI)
Infield (7)
1B Michael Busch
2B/UTL Jon Berti
SS Dansby Swanson
3B Matt Shaw (NRI)
1B/DH Justin Turner
UTL Vidal Bruján
UTL Gage Workman
Outfield (4)
LF Ian Happ
CF Pete Crow-Armstrong
RF Kyle Tucker
DH/OF Seiya Suzuki
Big-league success eluded Crow-Armstrong in the first half of last season, during which he slashed .203/.253/.329. From July 27 on, however, he slashed .289/.336/.469.
By Kyle Williams
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
Last season, the Red Sox introduced Keller to drills that helped him tighten his delivery and use his legs more. Seeing the results of the changes pay immediate dividends helped convince him to stick with them through the offseason.
By Kyle Williams
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
Cubs notes: Matt Shaw’s defense and Shota Imanaga’s health are improving.
By Mark Gonzales
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
AloJapan.com