After Willson Contreras legged out a triple in the sixth inning on Wednesday, Cubs manager David Ross lifted the catcher in favor of a pinch-runner. Ross then checked to see if that decision upset Contreras.

"I was wondering if he wanted to stay in and go for the cycle or something," Ross said with a smile on Thursday morning. "I didn't know. He didn't look real happy, but he was fine."

That was just Contreras' competitiveness showing, following a three-hit, five-RBI performance that left him a double shy of a Cactus League cycle. Rather than worry about any meaningless spring milestones, Ross must keep a close eye on his players' workloads with a long season in mind.

Along those same lines, Contreras will be one of the players Ross has to keep a close eye on during the upcoming campaign. The All-Star catcher wants to be in the lineup as often as possible, explaining why he was Chicago's most-used designated hitter in 2020.

Most of the discussion about the jump to 162 games this year from 60 in 2020 has, understandably, centered around how to handle innings for pitchers. Catchers, too, could feel the physical strain later this summer. Contreras, specifically, is used to logging 800-1,000 innings. He caught 324 1/3 frames last year.

"Willson is an extremely hard worker," Ross said. "He's probably in some of the best shape of anybody on our team. He's in the top of that list. And he's strong. He's durable. We've got to protect his legs. ... Saying that, he's going to catch a ton of games for us. I mean, that's just a fact.

"As long as he's healthy and feeling like he's going to go, he's going to be the guy I pencil into that lineup. That's just on me and the training staff and the strength and conditioning staff. We all work together in trying to make sure guys are healthy and fresh as they can be."

Arrieta sharp vs. Tribe
In the Cubs' 4-3 win over Cleveland on Thursday, right-hander Jake Arrieta was strong over four innings. The veteran starter piled up five strikeouts, issued no walks and allowed just one run on four hits.

Arrieta, who has spent this spring focusing on mechanical adjustments, saw his curveball look particularly sharp against the Tribe.

"The curveball is a really important weapon for me," Arrieta told reporters in Arizona. "And making some delivery adjustments, especially with my direction to the plate, has helped that pitch be a lot more effective. And today, it was good, it was really good."

Game highlights
• Playing in his second Cactus League game, center fielder Jake Marisnick launched a three-run homer off veteran Tribe lefty Oliver Pérez. Marisnick (Chicago's fourth outfielder) was sidelined earlier this spring due to a mild right calf issue.

• Infielder David Bote went 2-for-2 with a home run, giving him a .320/.414/.640 slash line in Cactus League play. Bote and Nico Hoerner are the leading candidates for the Opening Day second-base job.

• Right-hander Keegan Thompson -- ranked No. 15 on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Cubs prospects list -- had an impressive escape. After allowing consecutive singles to begin the sixth, then throwing a wild pitch to allow the runners to advance to second and third, Thompson struck out Tyler Freeman, Austin Hedges and Tyler Krieger to strand the runners.

Worth noting
• Ross was encouraged by Wednesday's outing from closer Craig Kimbrel, who opened his inning of work with a three-pitch (all fastballs in 95-96 mph range) strikeout of Manny Machado. The manager saw more rise in Kimbrel's heater, following work on his delivery in recent days.

"Getting back to some keys and slowing down," Ross said. "We've talked a lot about just being a guy that I've seen in the past, and the guy I saw face Manny Machado was the guy that I know. I mean, one, two, three. Fastballs. Here they come. Right at you. That's the Craig I know."

• One decision the Cubs have to make about their Opening Day roster is whether to go with a four- or five-man bench. Ross noted that having four team off-days in the first 19 days of April could help Chicago if it elects to go with a larger bench.

"There's a lot of stuff that's going to factor in roster construction," Ross said. "We are back in the National League [with no DH], where we're going to have to make those pinch-hit moves. And I don't want to be short-handed on that end as well."

• Right-handers Ryan Jensen (No. 9 on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Cubs prospects list) and Ryan Meisinger have been added to Chicago's 75-player Spring Training pool. Both are heading directly to Minor League camp.

Quotable
"After that game, you want to bubble wrap him and ship him up to Wrigley and say, 'We'll see you in a couple weeks.'" -- Ross, on Contreras' big game Wednesday night

Up next
Right-hander Zach Davies (no runs allowed in two Cactus League starts) is scheduled to start for the Cubs in a 3:05 p.m. CT tilt with the A's on Friday in Mesa, Ariz. Oakland will counter with righty Frankie Montas. Expect some of Chicago's regulars to be in the starting lineup after a day off Thursday.