Maddon 'intrigued' by variety at top of lineup

CINCINNATI -- The Cubs have not had a dedicated leadoff hitter since Dexter Fowler occupied that role for the club three years ago. The past few seasons have been filled with a variety of names atop Chicago's order and mixed results along the way.

While Cubs manager Joe Maddon had success with an all-hands-on-deck approach to the No. 1 slot last year, the production at the top has decreased so far this year. That played a role in Thursday's decision to give left fielder Kyle Schwarber a turn as the lineup's table-setter, making him the fifth player to get a start as the leadoff hitter this season for the Cubs.

"He's actually one of the better candidates to do this with," Maddon said, "if he's having the at-bats he's capable of, and right now he is. I thought it might be interesting. With the righties coming up [over the next few games], I may let it ride a couple days and see what it looks like, what it feels like. There's no downside to it, as far as I can tell. I'm kind of intrigued, actually."

Schwarber went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the Cubs' 4-2 loss to the Reds.

Entering Thursday, the Cubs had produced a .225/.292/.309 slash line out of the leadoff spot, which had been filled by Ben Zobrist (currently on the restricted list), Albert Almora Jr., Daniel Descalso and Jason Heyward. The .601 OPS out of the No. 1 spot ranked 27th in the Majors, as did the 65 wRC+, which indicates that the offensive output has been 35 percent below league average.

Last season, Maddon cycled through 10 different players at the top, and they collectively produced a .302/.366/.454 slash line to go along with a 121 wRC+.

The move to Schwarber, who hit leadoff 36 times in '17 and once in '18, comes after Heyward went 0-for-5 on Wednesday as part of a three-week slump in the batter's box. Chicago had a 45 wRC+ out of the leadoff spot in May (entering Thursday), compared to a 74 mark in April.

If the rotation of leadoff men continues to fall short, Maddon was asked if he would consider moving his Nos. 2-4 hitters (Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez) up to the Nos. 1-3 slots.

"I've even thought of it to this point," Maddon said. "Yeah, there's nothing wrong with that. There's not a thing wrong with that. I would consider it, but I'm not there yet. But I have had the internal discussions with myself, yes."

Maddon believes in bullpen

The Cubs are not sure when closer Brandon Morrow might be healthy and available, given the recent setback that stalled his comeback from right elbow surgery. Pedro Strop is currently on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring issue, and his timeline is also vague. Under the circumstances, Maddon has been forced to mix and match in the later innings.

Maddon reiterated Thursday that he is fine with that approach, even if the Cubs do not find an external solution for the ninth inning.

"Of course, yes, you always want that one guy if you can get him," Maddon said. "But, if you don't, I think we've built up a nice little cache of guys. ... Just getting [Carl Edwards Jr.] right with Stropy back, I'll take that. I will absolutely take that. And then [Brad] Brach, [Steve] Cishek, with what [Brandon] Kintzler looks like right now, [Kyle] Ryan, it's nice. I'm telling you. I don't feel short-handed by any means."

When Strop was shelved on May 8, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein made it clear that the front office is exploring ways to improve the group.

"We have been in, and will continue to be in an aggressive mindset with respect to the bullpen," Epstein said. "I think the results thus far have been outstanding, but that doesn't mean we become passive or assume that that's going to continue going forward. We're going to be challenged in that area throughout the course of the year."

Worth noting

• Rizzo remained out of the lineup on Thursday, marking the fourth straight game he has sat out due to back stiffness. Rizzo has done some light hitting over the past two days and Maddon was optimistic about the first baseman's chances of returning to the lineup as early as Friday against the Nationals.

"He's smiling. He's laughing. That's kind of a good sign," Maddon said. "He wasn't doing that for a couple days. ... We're all wanting it to be [Friday], but if it's not, I would think by Saturday, for sure."

• Maddon gave infielder David Bote a day off from starting on Thursday, following an 0-for-8 showing with six strikeouts in the previous two games. The manager said Bote, who has a .479 OPS through 12 games in May, has simply been trying to do too much in the batter's box.

"I just think more than anything he just needs a little bit of a break mentally," Maddon said. "Just back off a little bit, because there's nothing wrong with him. He's a grinder that tries a little bit too hard sometimes."

• Prior to Thursday's game against the Reds, the Cubs activated backup catcher Victor Caratini from the 10-day injured list, as expected. Catcher Taylor Davis was optioned to Triple-A Iowa to clear a spot on the active roster. With Rizzo still out, Caratini started at first base.

Davis was Darvish's personal catcher for the right-hander's last four starts, in which the pitcher posted a 4.19 ERA with 30 strikeouts and 15 walks in 19 1/3 innings. That included an 11-strikeout, no-walk performance on Wednesday. Maddon said Caratini will likely catch Darvish on Monday against the Phillies.