Cubs pitchers and catchers report tomorrow, DeWitt to Iowa, and Wrigley's right field bleacher renovations have begun

Tomorrow is the official reporting date for Cubs pitchers and catchers to spring training.  However, Carrie Muskat tweeted that early arrivals to camp are Kerry Wood, Travis Wood, Marlon Byrd, Darwin Barney, Geovany Soto, David DeJesus, Randy Wells, and Matt Garza.  She also posted the following photo on twitter:

Kerry Wood throwing at Fitch Park today (photo from @CarrieMuskat on twitter)

Cubs new third baseman Ian Stewart tweeted this morning, "Beautiful Scottsdale...oh how I missed you."  Kerry Wood also tweeted this morning, "2 more days til #Cubs #springtraining starts!!! Who's ready?"  Now I (as are all Cubs fans) am getting extra excited for the Theo era to begin!  The first workout for pitchers and catchers will be Sunday afternoon, with physicals taking place Sunday morning.

Cubs.com has an article about the team's 2012 pitching depth, which they didn't have last season.  Matt Garza and Ryan Dempster seem to be the only 2 starting pitchers from last season that will have a "guaranteed spot" in this year's starting rotation.  Other pitchers competing for the remaining 3 spots in the starting rotation are:  Paul Maholm, Chris Volstad, Travis Wood, Randy Wells, Rodrigo Lopez, Casey Coleman, Jeff Samardzija, Andy Sonnanstine, Jay Jackson, and Trey McNutt. 

Randy Wells, who was limited to 23 starts because of a forearm strain injury after his first start said, "It was competitive last year in Spring Training, although not quite to this extent," he said. "At the same time, it was fun to go in there and earn your keep. Things didn't work out for me like I wanted them to last year. I felt good in Spring Training and felt good in camp. I got hurt and had to overcome adversity there. I think I pitched good enough in the second half to at least put my name in the mix for competition." Wells was 4-0 in August with a 3.32 ERA in six starts.  We'll see what new pitching coach Chris Bosio thinks as we start spring training.

Here's a link to Carrie Muskat's article on Cubs.com: http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120217&content_id=26727412&vkey=news_chc&c_id=chc

In other Cubs news, Blake DeWitt, who was designated for assignment on 2/6/12, has cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Iowa Cubs on 2/16/12.

Back in Chicago, renovation of the right field bleachers has started at Wrigley Field.  The Cubs are planning to build a patio in the right field corner and install a 75-foot-wide and 7-foot-high LED sign, which will display game statistics and advertising.

An aerial view of the construction work on Wrigley Field's right field bleachers. This photo was taken Thursday. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Tribune photo)