Surely, in the past week since the Cubs convinced Dexter Fowler that an extra $20 million is worthless if it means you’ll have to have crabs in Baltimore, some dummy has opined to you that the Cubs are “too deep.”

“When is everybody going to play?”

“How is Joe going to keep everybody happy?”

Orange slices and juice boxes usually do the trick when somebody is mad that they didn’t get to play, so maybe Joe will try that.

But the thought, as absurd as it is, prompts two questions.

  1. Can a team actually be too deep?
  2. Are the Cubs really all that deep?

Lack of depth is a real thing.  The Cubs have suffered from that pretty much every year since 1909.  Even the good teams they had (as few and far between as those might be) were normally four starting pitchers, seven good hitters and an entire bullpen short of what they needed, and then when one of the few good players got hurt…well, Jim Riggleman had teams go on tears where they lost 40 of 50 games…twice during his time.

But has any team ever had too many good players?

No.  That’s absurd.  No matter how many good players you have, at some point you’ll need more, you rarely ever need less.

So how about these Cubs.  How deep are they?

Their everyday lineup if it stays healthy will be very, very good.

cf Fowler
2b Zobrist
1b Rizzo
3b Bryant
rf Heyward
lf Schwarber/Soler
c Montero
ss Russell

They will start games with either Schwarber or Soler on the bench, and with Javy Baez there.  The world’s greatest (apparently) 3 a.m. hitter, Tommy La Stella will also be on the bench, as will David Ross (oh boy), and that might be it.  If they carry 13 pitchers, that’s all you’ve got is four bench guys.

Does it really feel like getting guys at bats is going to be a problem?  Soler and Schwarber form a natural platoon in left.  Baez will be the primary backup at five different spots (all four infield positions and center…though, obviously, Heyward will get time there).  When everybody is healthy, Joe can pick and choose matchups for Javy.

Tell me when any of this seems like a problem.

But it only takes one injury to make all this depth feel like…there isn’t any.  Obviously, the Cubs have more good players than just about anybody else, but still, if you lose Rizzo or Bryant for anything more than a couple of days, you suddenly end up with a new 6-7-8 alignment that includes two guys who swing from their ass on every pitch and Addison Russell.

Now, of course there are other options.  It could very well be that Japanese Ginger Slugger Matt Murton and the Flyin’ Hawaiian Shane Victorino are stashed in Des Moines (or either or both could commit suicide to avoid that).  A Rizzo injury could mean the debut of everybody’s favorite snowman shaped first baseman Dan Vogelbach.  An injury to Bryant could mean that the Cubs find whatever independent league team Mike Olt is playing on to see if he’s still blind, and available.  (That independent league team might be the White Sox.)

They have options.  Enviable options.  We haven’t even mentioned Arismendy Alcantara, and there’s no way Jonathan Herrera won’t be a phone call away.

But if anybody starts bitching about not enough playing time.  Well…that hardly seems like a problem.

Pitching wise the Cubs have a lot of options for both the rotation and the bullpen, and half of them are the same guys.

The rotation seems set with Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester and the Mouthbreather set at 1-2-3, and everybody’s favorite Jason Hammel at the four spot and Kyle Hendricks at the five.  That’s pretty damned good.  And, it’s backed up by at least four guys who can go either way.  Travis Wood, Adam Warren, Big Trev and Bigger Clayton will be valuable relievers, and all three would be somewhat attractive starting options.

The back end of the bullpen has our man Hector Rondon, cocked hat aficionado Pedro Strop and the cleverly matched Brothers (Rex) Grimm (Justin).  That’s a full bullpen right there and we haven’t found a spot for Carl’s Jr. or Neil Ramirez.

Again, that (apparently) is why god created Iowa.

It’s like the old Mike Tyson quote, “Everybody’s got a plan until they get punched in the face.”

Everybody’s got depth until they need it.  This pitching staff looks like an embarrassment of riches.  (The Cubs have had embarrassing Rich’s before, like Rich Hill, Rich Nye…the last few Rich Harden starts…)

But a couple of sore elbows and suddenly it’s “now pitching, Dallas Beeler…”

The Cubs roster looks pretty good.  Let’s hope it stays that way.