When the Cubs signed Colin Rea to bolster their starting pitching depth, there appeared to be an outside chance for the veteran right-hander to crack the Opening Day rotation. Coming off the best year of his career in Milwaukee,

There is also another factor that could lead this Chicago Cubs veteran starting pitcher to make the rotation on opening day.

MESA, Ariz. — When Craig Counsell thinks about his time managing right-hander Colin Rea, a moment stands out that has nothing to do with his successful return to the majors after spending 2022 in Japan.

The Chicago Cubs made a lot of moves this offseason and filled a lot of holes. On paper, at least, they are a significantly better team than last year.

Colin Rea, who played for Counsell while managing the Milwaukee Brewers, joined the Cubs on a one-year, $5 million contract this offseason. Rea has some experience as a bullpen arm, but for most of his career—76 of 94 appearances—he has been used as a starter.

With Javier Assad (oblique) set to miss the beginning of the regular season, Rea may be the next player up to fill the Cubs ' final rotation spot, Cole Bradley of MLB.com reports.

For the first time in more than nine months, Chicago Cubs pitching prospect Cade Horton faced batters. During live batting practice on the backfields of the Cubs’ complex Sunday morning, Horton had just two goals against the four hitters he faced: attack them and “get my groove back on.

The Chicago Cubs entered spring training with one glaring hole on their roster: Third base. Alex Bregman felt like a perfect fit in Chicago, but the team lost a bidding war to the Boston Red Sox. The Cubs do have Matt Shaw, their top prospect, but how much trust should they have in a guy without any MLB experience?

The Cubs were recently ranked as the thirteenth best team according to MLB.com. Can the Chicago Cubs return as contenders this season?

They acquired Matthew Boyd, Colin Rea, Brad Keller, and more to make sure they had more than enough depth at the position. The main focus of the Chicago Cubs throughout the offseason was to load ...

With Assad out of the running for the fifth-starter spot, left-hander Jordan Wicks and right-handers Colin Rea and Ben Brown are the remaining contenders. Rea, who pitched three scoreless innings and limited the Guardians to one hit Saturday, is expected to make the Opening Day roster, but he has experience in multiple roles.

On his own, Chicago Cubs pitcher Colin Rea had a good day on Saturday. Rea made his second start for the Cubs in spring training, this time against the Cleveland Guardians. After giving up a one ...