Former Valparaiso High School and Notre Dame star Jeff Samardzija will start the 2011 season on the major league roster for the Chicago Cubs, manager Mike Quade told Carrie Muskat of MLB.com this weekend.
Samardzija, vying for the fifth starting rotation spot, will instead join the bullpen after it was later announced that Randy Wells and Andrew Casher will fill the fourth and fifth spots in the Cubs’ starting rotation.
The Cubs’ regular season will start on Friday, April 1st as the “Northsiders” will host the Pittsburgh Pirates at 1:20pm CST.