The Cubs’ preparation for the upcoming Tokyo Series began before the players were required to show up for Spring Training. Pitchers began ramping up earlier than usual, understanding that their season would begin in mid-March.

Staging Opening Day in Japan speeds up some personnel decisions that can typically wait until the end of March.

The Chicago Cubs Opening Day roster is becoming clearer by the day, as the team is making decisions sooner than all other teams, aside from their opponent in Toyko, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Recently the big league roster was trimmed down to 42 players,