3/5 No starts for Samardzija

Jeff Samardzija is in contention for a spot in the Cubs bullpen, and not one of the vacancies in the rotation. The right-hander has bounced back and forth between starting and relieving in his young career but will not get a start this spring, manager Mike Quade said Saturday.

“I think the competition for those spots at the back end [of the rotation] is plenty big enough,” Quade said. “Looking at the bullpen and looking at the people we removed from the bullpen to look at stretching out, that, to me, would be counter productive [to have Samardzija start]. Never say never, but that right now is not in our plans.”

The Cubs wanted Samardzija to start in the Minor Leagues to work on developing his pitches.

“As development continues, you find out what a guy is,” Quade said. “So Samardzija has had plenty of innings where he’s been stretched out, starting in Triple-A. … Right now, [Samardzija] is of the mindset that he’s a bullpen guy which is good and I’d like to keep him in that mindset.”

The Cubs will continue to consider Andrew Cashner for the rotation. He makes his first start on Saturday. Samardzija is out of options, which means the Cubs need to find a place for him that works.

– Carrie Muskat