Cubs spring training 2019 report: What you need to know from first two days

The first two days of Cubs’ spring training dawned a dreary overcast — and that’s not a reference to the weather.

After Cubs pitchers and catchers reported to camp Tuesday, team president Theo Epstein, general manager Jed Hoyer and manager Joe Maddon answered reporters’ questions ranging from the lack of offseason moves to troubled shortstop Addison Russell’s second chance to Cubs patriarch Joe Ricketts’ racist emails.

Epstein elegantly answered each question, as columnist Rick Morrissey pointed out in his Wednesday column.

RELATED: Cubs’ Theo Epstein confronted Joe Ricketts’ hate head on — and it was very good

Russell was one of the early arrivals among position players, who are scheduled to report Feb. 17. He’ll be a full participant at spring training even though he’ll serve the rest of his 40-game suspension for domestic violence at the start of the season.

Epstein has repeatedly made it clear Russell won’t play if he doesn’t continue to show improvement and meet the standards set by MLB and the Cubs. And as Sun-Times’ Cubs reporter Gordon Wittenmyer wrote, we’re only in the “bottom of the second inning” of this story.

Programming note: Russell is expected to talk later this week for the first time since he was put on administrative leave Sept. 21.

Sights to see:

Yu Darvish early in camp | John Antonoff/For the Sun-Times

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David Bote and Kyle Schwarber return from shagging balls in the outfield on Field 1 at Riverview Park, the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs, in Mesa, AZ. | John Antonoff/For the Sun-Times

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Yu Darvish throws a baseball while Duane Underwood Jr. and Jen-Ho Tseng walk in the background on field 1 at Riverview Park, the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs, in Mesa, AZ. | John Antonoff/For the Sun-Times

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Willson Contreras walks around the batting cages on Field 1 at Riverview Park, the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs, in Mesa, AZ. | John Antonoff/For the Sun-Times

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Carl Edwards Jr. throwing the baseball on Field 1 at Riverview Park, the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs in Mesa, AZ. | John Antonoff/For the Sun-Times

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Ian Happ takes off his batting gloves after finishing batting practice on Field 1 at Riverview park, the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs, in Mesa, AZ. | John Antonoff/For the Sun-Times

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Addison Russell throws a ball after taking ground balls on Field 2 at the Riverview Park, the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs, in Mesa, AZ. | John Antonoff/For the Sun-Times

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Cubs President of Baseball Operations, Theo Epstein, discusses a wide range of topics at a press conference in the media room of the Under Armor Performance Center, the Spring training home of the Chicago Cubs in Mesa, AZ. | John Antonoff/For the Sun-Times

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Duane Underwood Jr. and PJ Higgins discuss the bullpen session they just took part in at Riverview Park, the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs, in Mesa, AZ. | John Antonoff/For the Sun-Times

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Victor Caratini (our left) and non-roster invitee Francisco Arcia (our right) surround Willson Contreras (bottom-middle) on Field 2 at Riverview Park, the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs, in Mesa, AZ. | John Antonoff/For the Sun-Times

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Mike Montgomery and Cole Hamels share a conversation as they leave Field 1 at Riverview Park, the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs, in Mesa, AZ. | John Antonoff/For the Sun-Times

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Addison Russell takes batting practice on Field 2 at Riverview Park, the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs, in Mesa, AZ. | John Antonoff/For the Sun-Times

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Addison Russell leaves Field 2 at Riverview Park, the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs, in Mesa, AZ. | John Antonoff/For the Sun-Times

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Bote | John Antonoff/For the Sun-Times

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Randy Rosario (center) and Ian Rice (right) discuss the bullpen session they just finished at Riverview Park, the Spring Training home of the Chicago Cubs, in Mesa, AZ. | John Antonoff/For the Sun-Times

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Coming to a TV near you

The Cubs announced Wednesday the launch of their own television network, Marquee Sports Network, in conjunction with Sinclair Broadcasting Group, which the Sun-Times first reported in December. The regional sports network will begin broadcasting in 2020.

Former big-league pitcher Ryan Dempster, who is still actively involved in the Cubs organization, expressed interest in exploring a show on the Cubs new network. He even welcomed Yadier Molina to be a guest on his show after him and Kris Bryant angered the Cardinals catcher last month by throwing shad at “boring” St. Louis.

In other news…

Wednesday marked the first day of pitchers and catchers official workouts.

Yu Darvish said he felt good after first official bullpen session of camp — good news for the Cubs, who desperately need their $126 million right-handed pitcher to have a bounce-back season in 2019.

Jon Lester fed into the narrative that the Cubs are still bitter about last season’s disappointing ending, which Wittenmyer expanded on in his most recent article.