The Cubs roster is set for Opening Day and there is at least one mild surprise, as the 30-man group was officially made on Thursday.
As a reminder, for the first two weeks rosters will be at 30, then down to 28 and then back to 26 for the final month of the regular season. The Cubs will begin the regular season with an 11-man bullpen.
Here’s the breakdown of the 30-man roster.
Catchers:
Willson Contreras
Victor Caratini
Josh Phegley
Infielders:
Anthony Rizzo
Jason Kipnis
Kris Bryant
Javier Báez
Nico Hoerner
David Bote
Outfielders:
Kyle Schwarber
Ian Happ
Jason Heyward
Albert Almora Jr.
Steven Souza Jr.
Starting Pitchers:
Kyle Hendricks
Yu Darvish
Tyler Chatwood
Jon Lester
Alec Mills
Relievers:
Craig Kimbrel
Jeremy Jeffress
Rowan Wick
Duane Underwood Jr.
Dan Winkler
Dillon Maples
James Norwood
Casey Sadler
Kyle Ryan
Brad Wieck
Rex Brothers
Dillon Maples and Rex Brothers get spots over Ryan Tepera. Maples is kinda surprising, but man does he just have nasty stuff. You just wish he can get some control whatsoever. And Brothers probably added because the other two lefties in Kyle Ryan and Brad Wieck might be a little behind ramping up.
So, the Cubs are going with three catchers and an extra arm in the bullpen. The odd man out seems to be outfielder Ian Miller.
If you go back to March during spring training, Miller was making a great case for himself to win the 26th man spot. Miller has incredible speed, can steal bases, drop bunts and he can run almost everything down in the outfield.
David Ross definitely loved the skill set Miller offered.
And you would have thought that with the expanded rosters to begin the shortened 60-game season that Miller would have been a lock, but ultimately the Cubs opted for more pitching depth.
Again, it’s a mild surprise, but at the same time you have to figure that starters aren’t going to be going as deep as they normally would in July. So, especially in the first couple weeks of the season you see why teams want as many pitchers available as possible.
You can also debate whether or not the Cubs need a third catcher with Phegley, but Ross probably wants the flexibility to have Contreras and Caratini in the lineup, and still having a catcher on the bench.
The Cubs begin the season with 17 straight games before their first off day on Aug. 10.
