MESA, Ariz. -- Cubs manager Joe Maddon has an an idea for how to handle the leadoff spot this season.

"Get Rickey Henderson back," Maddon quipped on Wednesday. "That'd be awesome."

Without the services of the 60-year-old Hall of Famer, Maddon will instead consider an assortment of names for setting the table this season. The manager said the No. 1 slot will likely be handled similarly to last year, meaning there could be a different leadoff man based on matchups or if Maddon feels a new look at the top might spark the offense out of a slump.

Maddon noted that -- even without a full-time leadoff man last year -- the Cubs were near the top of the Majors in production out of that lineup slot. He's not wrong. Overall, Chicago's collective leadoff men turned in a .302/.366/.454 slash line with a 121 wRC+, meaning the Cubs were 21 percent above league average in that category.

The Cubs' .819 OPS out of the leadoff spot ranked fourth in the Majors, and the team produced a .307/.371/.479 slash at the top in the second half even as the lineup labored as a whole.

"If you look at our line for batting first, we were really good last year," Maddon said. "Our leadoff numbers were actually very good throughout the league. It's always wonderful to pen one name in there -- absolutely. I'll never deny it. When Dexter [Fowler] was around, that was outstanding. You just put it there and you just work from there. But when you don't have that, then you have to try to mix and match it."

Albert Almora Jr. (.797 OPS and 117 wRC+ in 213 plate appearances), Ben Zobrist (.810 OPS and 121 wRC+ in 140 PAs) and Anthony Rizzo (.979 OPS and 161 wRC+ in 138 PAs) garnered the most time atop the order in 2018. Maddon said he liked what Zobrist did as a leadoff man against righties (.284/.387/.451) and thought Almora handled himself well against lefties (.300/.333/.371).

"We have all these different candidates," Maddon said. "And it's going to look at way again. People tend to be confused, because they see different names and they think it's not effective. But, it was rather effective last year."

Worth noting

• Kris Bryant put on a powerful display in batting practice on Wednesday morning, continuing to show off his retooled swing after last season's left shoulder woes. Maddon said the third baseman's swing mechanics are back to what they were prior to the injury issues and the team has been encouraged by the early spring returns.

"It looked normal. It looked very familiar," Maddon said. "He's not restrictive with his left shoulder. It's exciting. He's so talented and, again, he is very young. These guys still have not reached the pole of their full development. So, I'm excited about watching him, because he's really shown up with a great mind-set."

• The Cubs have held meetings after their morning workout on both Tuesday and Wednesday. The first was to discuss the analytics department's role and the other gathering was about the mental skills department. Maddon said the meetings were to introduce new staffers and to explain their roles.

"I really want to make sure that players never view the analytical side of the game as being adversarial," Maddon said. "The analytical component is just a different tool in your tool box to be able to utilize this. I want them to view these guys similarly to their hitting coach, their pitching coach, their defensive coach."

• Zobrist remains away from the team to tend to an undisclosed personal matter. Maddon said the veteran utility man has been in contact with president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, but no other details were immediately available.

• Closer Brandon Morrow (right elbow) built up to 105 feet in his throwing program on Wednesday with no issues and has been cleared to resume a daily throwing routine, starting Thursday.

• Right-hander Jen-Ho Tseng will start for the Cubs in the Cactus League opener against the Brewers at 2:05 p.m. CT on Saturday at Sloan Park. Said Maddon: "I congratulated him on being the Opening Day pitcher the other day in our meeting."