MESA, Ariz. — They still are groggy and definitely sleep-deprived after their trip to Tokyo, but the Chicago Cubs are back playing spring training games, with most of their regulars back in the starting lineup Saturday against the Colorado Rockies.
“I thought I was back on pace and over the jet lag,’ Cubs veteran reliever Ryan Brasier said, “but then I woke up this morning at 4 and couldn’t get back to sleep. So, I guess we’re kind of in limbo now.’
Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson was under the weather, and still feeling the effects of the trip, but instead of waiting a day or two, decided it would be better to get his body going again, and was in the starting lineup.
“I’m just going to take some pills and keep it moving,’ Swanson said. “It’s better to go ahead and get back into it rather than sit around and wait a couple of days.’
Cubs starter Justin Steele, who got rocked in his 2025 debut, giving up five hits, five earned runs and three homers in the Cubs’ 6-3 loss to the Dodgers, was thrilled to get the news that he will have the opportunity to immediately erase the memories of that Tokyo start by being named their domestic opening-day starter Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
While the Cubs lost both games to the Dodgers and returned back to Arizona completely exhausted Wednesday night, they wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again if asked.
“Absolutely, great experience,’ Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “I think we’d all sign up for it again. We’d have full participation in an unanimous vote.’
Cubs DH Seiya Suzuki and starter Shōta Imanaga had a welcome party for their teammates and staff at the Kanda Myojin Shrine featuring a 400-pound tuna that players cut open, capped by a performance by samurai warriors.
“Great dinners,’ Cubs outfielder Ian Happ said. “They did a great job at the stadium, trying to have enough options on guys getting what they wanted. The food there is fantastic.’
Perhaps the strangest aspect, the Cubs acknowledged, being the home team for the two-game series with perhaps 80% of the crowd at the Tokyo Dome cheering for Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers. They certainly were aware of Ohtani’s popularity before they left for the trip, but still, were blown away how huge he is in Japan.
“He’s everywhere over there,’ Steele said, “in the gas stations, in the mall and stuff. You can see him everywhere. It’s a big deal. It’s crazy.’
Said Swanson: “I kind of assumed that he would be everywhere, and he is everywhere. He’s like our Michael Jordan, I guess, in a way. Just the craze and the popularity around him. Just the desire to want to get a glimpse of him. Just the whole thing. It’s pretty cool.’
When a guy is making $100 million a year simply from Japanese endorsements, you get the idea.
“It’s pretty incredible how much he’s on the advertisements,’ Happ said. “But baseball is so big over there, I think even for us, people outside the hotel were there to get autographs and the fans, how appreciative they were. There were a couple of exhibition games where there were a couple of signs for me, which was pretty amazing.’’
Imanaga hardly compares to Ohtani’s popularity, but still, being back home, pitching four hitless innings in the season-debut against the Dodgers, took its toll physically, and definitely emotionally. The Cubs are going to provide him additional rest, and won’t start him until their third-game of the series Saturday against the Diamondbacks, which puts him in line for the home opener April 4 at Wrigley Field.
“Frankly, he’s a little under the weather,’ Counsell said. “That trip was a lot for everybody, but for him in particular. So we’re just going to give him a little extra time to recover fully.’
It was no different for Suzuki, and the Cubs can’t imagine the emotional toll on the Dodgers’ three Japanese players in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Rōki Sasaki and Ohtani.
“I know the trip certainly was more for them than it was for everybody else,’ Counsell said. “You can understand there’s just an added emotional component for them. I’m glad Shōta acknowledged that, frankly. I mean it was just a lot.’’
Brasier, who played for Hiroshima in Japan in 2017 when he was teammates with Suzuki, says it was emotional seeing the passion the fans showed for Suzuki and Imanaga in their homecoming.
“It was so cool getting to be around them in their environment,’ Brasier said. “They love their baseball. I mean, we were told there were 23 million people in Japan that watched our games. That’s just crazy.’’
Now, after two exhibition games and two regular-season games in Tokyo, the Cubs are looking forward to normalcy. They’ll play three more Cactus League games at Sloan Park against the Athletics and Atlanta, move to a Phoenix hotel Tuesday night and open the season March 27. Then it’s off to Sacramento for the unveiling of the Athletics’ new home for the next three seasons. They’ll finally return home to Chicago for their home-opener April 4 against the San Diego Padres.
Considering they already had four opening-day style player introductions in Japan, they should lead the major leagues with seven ceremonies by the 10th game of the season.
“We’re the team of openers this year,’ Happ said.
But at least there will be no confusion who’s the home team and road team with the Cubs probably having more fans cheering for them in Phoenix and Sacramento than they did in Tokyo as the home team.
“I definitely wouldn’t call them home games, that’s for sure,’’ said Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw, who made his major-league debut in Japan. “Everything was different. It was like an entertainment event with smoke and drums and everyone coming out on the field, which was cool. But it’ll be nice to get back into baseball routines, focusing on, you know, the game.’
Once the Cubs clear their heads, and get over jet lag, they’ll just have to remind themselves that they are back to playing exhibition games before games count again.
“I think it’s definitely an interesting challenge,’ Happ said, “going from playing real games that matter and then coming back and playing some spring training games. But I think for all of us, we’re just getting acclimated, getting those at-bats, and feeling like we’re staying in a place that’s ready to go for Thursday.’
Normalcy has never felt so good.
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