Mid Week Update From Cubs Camp

The Cubs are settling in in Mesa, Arizona. Here's the latest.

• The compensation with the Red Sox for Theo Epstein has finally been announced. Minor league reliever Chris Carpenter has been sent to Boston, along with a Player to be Named Later, which will be announced by mid-April.
• Carrie Muskat reports that Dale Sveum has already penciled in Bryan LaHair as the starting first baseman.
• John Gaub (back spasms) is the only injured Cub. He is expected to bat and throw tomorrow.
• The 2012 Cubs bunt tournament starts tomorrow. According to Muskat, there are 64 entries, including manager Dale Sveum and strength and conditioning coach Tim Buss. Bussy took Chris Carpenter's spot when he was sent to Boston. Sveum will meet Kerry Wood in the first round.
• Here's Paul Sullivan's pic of the entire bracket.
  
• Sveum is hoping to have two left handers in the bullpen. He described Kerry Wood as the ideal setup man.
• The first full squad workout is scheduled for Friday. Tom Ricketts is also expected to speak to the team on Friday.
• Alfonso Soriano and Starlin Castro are the only position players on the 40-man roster who have not yet appeared in camp.
• James Russell is expected to play a much more important role this season with John Grabow and Sean Marshall gone.
• Be sure to check out the latest pictures on Sheridan's Blog.
• Doug Padilla thinks that Jason Jaramillo has a good chance of beating out Welington Castillo for the backup catcher's job.
  
• Bruce Levine predicts that Travis Wood and Paul Maholm will join Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza in the rotation, with Chris Volstad, Randy Wells and Jeff Samardzija battling for the final spot.

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted on Everything Cubs as always!

Opening Day Roster Predictions: 12-26-11

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! The Cubs have been very active as of late. Today, they added several new players. RHP Andy Sonnanstine has signed a non-guaranteed, split contract for 2012. The deal signed by Manny Corpas last week is also believed to be non-guaranteed. In addition, the Cubs are believed to be close to signing switch hitting catcher Jason Jaramillo to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training. Jaramillo will compete with Welington Castillo for the backup catcher's job.

At the start of the offseason, I made my Opening Day Roster predictions- click here to check them out! With the Cubs flurry of moves over the last two months, here are my updated predictions. If the season started tomorrow, this is what I think the roster would look like! I will continue to post updates throughout the rest of the winter as the Cubs continue to make moves. New to roster from my last prediction= italics, change in role= *

Starting Rotation
1. Matt Garza
2. Ryan Dempster
3. Randy Wells
4. Travis Wood
5. Carlos Zambrano
Also in the mix: Andrew Cashner, Casey Coleman, Jeff Samardzija and Chris Carpenter

Bullpen
Closer- Carlos Marmol
LH Setup Man- James Russell*
RH Setup Man- Jeff Samardzija
LH Middle Relief- Scott Maine
RH Middle Relief- Chris Carpenter
Long Relief- Manny Corpes
Long Relief- Andy Sonnanstine
Also in the mix- Coleman, Marcos Mateo, John Gaub, Casey Weathers and Jeff Beliveau

Starting Lineup
C- Geovany Soto
1B- Bryan LaHair
2B- Darwin Barney
SS- Starlin Castro
3B- Ian Stewart
LF- Alfonso Soriano
CF- Marlon Byrd
RF- David DeJesus

Bench
Welington Castillo
Jeff Baker
Blake DeWitt
Dave Sappelt
Reed Johnson
Also in the mix: Jason Jaramillo, Matt Szczur, Tony Campana, Brett Jackson, Lou Montanez, Jeff Bianchi, Josh Vitters and Junior Lake

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted!