With only one week until the regular season begins in Tokyo, fans are chomping at the bit for some regular season baseball, and with how the Cubs’ Spring Training has shaped out, it might be less of a David and Goliath match-up than most fans would expect. Both teams had a seemingly busy offseason, but the strong just get stronger in the case of LA. With acquiring so many new stud pitchers by the likes of Snell, anticipated Japanese rookie Roki Sasaki, and a resigning of Kershaw for the starting rotation, and a boatload of relievers like one of the biggest splashes from last trade deadline, Tanner Scott, in addition to former World Series hero Kirby Yates, and not to mention the bats they retained and recent additions the acquired this offseason as well. Yes, as it’s well known, the Dodgers should be feared; however, at the beginning of this Spring Training, it was clear that just because they have all these key players at the ready doesn’t mean they are unstoppable. The first game of Cactus League baseball this Spring Training was between the two teams about to duke it out at the Tokyo Dome, and surprisingly the Cubs completely dominated. Yes, of course, one could argue that Spring Training doesn’t really matter, but with a rejuvenated Cubs offense and a stellar preseason all around for the club, this matchup in Tokyo is starting to look more like Godzilla vs King Kong rather than David and Goliath.

The biggest move the Cubs made was the shocking trade with the Astros in which they shipped out newly acquired third baseman Isaac Parades, pitcher Hayden Wesnecki, and prospect Cam Smith in return for one of the best outfielders and batters in this generation of baseball, Kyle Tucker. Although Tucker wasn’t the only move that enhanced this lineup. Last season, when injuries began to plague the infield, some prospects really stood up and went out there for the team; however, the lack of big league talent and the cold offense ultimately led to one of the three National League wildcard spots to slip from the Cubs’ paws. With the offseason signings of White Sox infielder Nicky Lopez and speedy utilityman John Berti, the Cubbies have the resources to cover the infield, and fill the third base position that was vacant in Parades’ absence (especially with up-and-coming third base prospect Matt Shaw also making a case to be the opening day starter in the hot corner). Additionally, the Justin Turner signing will also be clutch, as well as he’ll, assumingly, play most games from the DH spot, but definitely can still play any position in the infield, especially at first base where we’ll probably see him split the position with Michael Busch while Busch continues to work on at-bats against left handed pitching. This stacked infield in addition to the outfield made up of Tucker, Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ, and Pete Crow-Armstrong as a fast pinch runner/sub in late innings, could make this team one to talk about this year. In addition to their position players, the Cubs made a decent amount of moves to improve their bullpen to make both the front and backend of their pitching staff one to fear. With the massive gain of yet another star Astro from their 2022 World Series championship team, Ryan Pressly will now be the primary closer in the Cubs’ arm barn while Porter Hodge moves over to become the “setup.” Also added recently was former Red Sox and Dodger Ryan Braiser, who, after a rough few years in Boston after the 2018 Fall Classic, found himself again out in LA and looked sharp all of the 2024 season. These two guys, in addition to Merryweather, Tyson Miller, Eli Morgan, and Nate Pearson easily make this bullpen one of the best in all of the majors.

While there are teams with more star-studded lineups throughout the National League, it seems as though the Cubs genuinely could make a push at taking the title of Division Champs in the NL Central, their main competition being the Pirates. Out of all of Spring Training, the Cubs are still holding onto the second best record in the Cactus League, currently sitting at 11-5, one spot ahead of their soon to be competitors, the Dodgers. Both times these teams have met this Spring Training, the Cubs have had the Dodgers’ number. Game one, they beat them 12-4, then the second time around, though the score wasn’t as big of a difference, they still beat the Dodgers 7-3. While the reigning World Series champs managed to retain and add some of the top free agents of this past offseason (Teoscar Hernández, Tommy Edman, and Michael Conforto just to name a few), they have continued to gain without much subtraction needed, but with essentially a copy and pase of last year’s line-up could teams already have enough scouting on them to find easier plans of attack agaisnt this offensive and defensive powerhouse? Only time will tell, but with both teams on a plane to Japan to prepare for this epic showdown, us baseball fans won’t have to wait long to find our answer.