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

The Chicago Cubs played their final spring training game stateside on Tuesday afternoon before their official start of the season, falling 9-7 to the Milwaukee Brewers. While there will be another chance for a tune up after the Tokyo Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers before their domestic Opening Day on March 27 against the Arizona Diamondbacks,

Brown, Wicks among Cubs pitchers expected to travel to Tokyo As the Cubs assembled their 31-man travel roster for the Tokyo Series, they prioritized pitchers who can provide lengt