MESA, Ariz. — Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy pulled a bait-and-switch on rookie right-hander Hayden Wesneski.
Hottovy told Wesneski they had to talk about his upcoming pitching schedule, so Wesneski didn’t see it coming when he walked into manager David Ross’ office and got the news that he had made the Opening Day roster as the Cubs’ fifth starter.
‘‘It’s crazy,’’ Wesneski said. ‘‘You just don’t know what to say. Something you hope for.’’
The Cubs still need to make important roster decisions, centered around the bullpen and bench, before Opening Day on Thursday. But with Ross officially announcing Wesneski as the fifth starter Saturday, the pitching staff has started to snap into place.
‘‘He seems to be right where he left off [last season],’’ Ross said. ‘‘Throwing the ball really well. Touched 97 [mph] the other day, so the arm strength’s there. Executing pitches. He’s had a really, really nice spring.’’
Wesneski, whom the Cubs acquired from the Yankees for reliever Scott Effross at the trade deadline last season, made his MLB debut in September. He posted an impressive 2.18 ERA in six appearances, using that performance as a springboard into the rotation battle this spring.
‘‘Last year we saw just how talented he is and what he can do just from a stuff perspective,’’ Hottovy said. ‘‘But the work ethic, what he’s done to put himself in this position to not only go out and continue the success he had, but also handle what’s expected of him from a workload perspective, from a team perspective. And he’s lived up to all the things that we hoped he would be and put on his plate.’’
Wesneski battled fellow right-handers Adrian Sampson and Javier Assad for the last rotation spot.
‘‘That’s why I love having competition in spring training,’’ Hottovy said. ‘‘It puts a different level of urgency [and] expectation on yourself. And you get to know a lot about a person from how they handle some of that stuff.’’
Wesneski thrived under that pressure, allowing a combined four earned runs in five starts this spring.
The Cubs also announced they had optioned Sampson to Triple-A Iowa, where he’ll stay stretched out as starting depth. Assad, with a strong start to Cactus League play and a dominant World Baseball Classic stint, has put himself in the running to claim a multi-inning bullpen role.
That makes the projected rotation order right-hander Marcus Stroman, left-hander Justin Steele, right-hander Jameson Taillon, left-hander Drew Smyly and Wesneski.
The bullpen is more complicated.
‘‘At the end of the day, some really good pitchers won’t make the team,’’ Ross said recently.
The Cubs, who are dealing with a 40-man roster crunch, likely will clear a spot by making the tough decision to put right-handed reliever Rowan Wick on waivers.
Ryan Borucki is the front-runner among left-handed relievers to make the team, but it’s unclear how many lefties will start the season in the bullpen.
Lefty reliever Brandon Hughes, who had meniscus surgery on his left knee in 2015, has been dealing with a flare-up in the same knee. He threw a side session Saturday with a new knee brace and is penciled in to pitch Monday.
‘‘He’s feeling better, so that’s the most important thing,’’ Hottovy said. ‘‘We want to see how mechanically that is translating because it’s easy to form bad habits when you don’t feel good.’’
Right-handed relievers Mark Leiter Jr. and Tyler Duffey have opt-outs clauses centered around Opening Day, so if the Cubs don’t put them on the roster, they likely will lose them.
On the position-player side, the Cubs’ bench decisions center on how they want to handle the opening in right field. Seiya Suzuki (strained left oblique) is progressing well, hitting home runs in batting practice Saturday, but he still will start the season on the injured list.
‘‘We have so much talent and a lot of depth here,’’ Ross said. ‘‘We would like to keep as much as we possibly can because of the long journey we’re about to start. So [Suzuki’s] progression is important to some of those decisions.’’
Non-roster invitee Mike Tauchman had a hot start to the spring, but if Suzuki’s stint on the injured list won’t be long, the Cubs could get by with a rotating cast of versatile defenders in right without having to clear a 40-man roster spot. Christopher Morel, Patrick Wisdom, Trey Mancini and Miles Mastrobuoni also have played right in recent weeks.
The Cubs will continue to make roster moves in the coming days, but their Opening Day squad likely won’t be finalized until crunch time.
