I cannot say I'm surprised. Grimm's performance has declined steadily since 2015, when he was actually pretty good. Last year he was awful and he hasn't exactly turned any heads this spring. I always thought he was on the bubble anyway as he is out of options.
That leaves the open question of who takes his spot on the 40-man roster and who makes the team as the eighth reliever. People seem to think it will be Eddie Butler as he is out of options as well. I hope not. I actually see very little upside for Butler.
Of course, hardly any of the marginal relievers have turned any heads this spring. Randy Rosario has put up the best numbers, but he is a non-roster invitee. The Cubs seem to be high on Maples stuff, but he has been shelled more or less every time he has seen action in spring training. This will be a tough choice for the Cubs, especially as Strop has been hurt all spring and is likely to open the season on the DL.
The immediate speculation is that this opens a spot for Gimenez to be added to the 40-man roster and win the backup catcher spot. Gimenez is alright and the Cubs in general have preferred veteran backups in the past. Gimenez is pretty much an automatic out though. Caratini has a future and has actually earned a trip north even if the Cubs prefer him gaining at-bats and experience in AAA.
Personally, I wouldn't be entirely shocked should the Cubs elect to bring three catchers north, something they have done in the past. Given Strop's injury, though, they might not think this wise. Strop is a key setup guy for the Cubs, so if he isn't ready to go, they might well feel adding two inferior relievers is the preferred option.
Of course, they may well be watching the waiver wires to see who gets cut by other teams.
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