Chicago Cubs Finalize Roster, Including a Few Surprises

The second opening day for the Chicago Cubs is just one day away, and that means the 26-man roster needs to be finalized as the real season gets underway. The Cubs and the Dodgers are both in unique situations, as their rosters had to be set last week before the two teams squared off in Tokyo, Japan. However, a few additional changes have been made now that the teams are back in the US.

The Cubs only need to travel 16 miles to begin their season, opening up in Phoenix against the Diamondbacks on Thursday night. The roster has a few interesting additions, along with a couple of surprise moves by the Cubs to open space on the 40-man roster.

Starting Pitchers: 

Shōta Imanaga, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd, Ben Brown

Brown earned a chance at the rotation with a fantastic spring and enormous potential thanks to his elite fastball and deathball combo. He added a solid relief appearance in Tokyo just over a week ago. The first four starters were penciled in at the beginning of Spring Training, with Brown showing that he deserved a shot shortly after.

Bullpen: 

Colin Rea, Eli Morgan, Caleb Thielbar, Brad Keller, Julian Merryweather, Nate Pearson, Porter Hodge, Ryan Pressly

The bullpen comes with several changes, most notably Brad Keller being added into the mix. Keller was signed as a non-roster invitee near the end of the offseason, hoping to prove that he still had the skills to pitch in the big leagues. While he didn’t pitch in Tokyo for the Cubs, the spring results were fantastic. Not only did Keller see his velocity go up significantly, but he also struck out 13 batters in 11.2 innings.

Eli Morgan was optioned to Triple-A Iowa last week and has been added to the 26-man roster after Ryan Brasier was put on the injured list Wednesday. Morgan is one of the best and most underrated pieces in the Cubs’ bullpen, looking to duplicate a strong season in Cleveland now that he’s moved to the North Side.

Other than Keller and Morgan, nothing bullpen-wise is surprising or noteworthy. After not getting the fifth starter role, Rea will begin as a long reliever and be available if rotation injuries occur.

Starting 9:

Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker, Matt Shaw, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner, Michael Busch, Miguel Amaya, Seiya Suzuki

With Hoerner finally healthy, he’s expected to slot into the second base position instead of Jon Berti. Everyone but Amaya should be locked into a significant amount of playing time, with Carson Kelly also getting time at the catcher position.

Bench:

Justin Turner, Carson Kelly, Jon Berti, Gage Workman

Workman entered this spring under immense pressure, needing to perform if he had any hopes of making the Cubs’ major league roster to start the season. He did just that, with a .364 average in 44 at-bats. He drilled four home runs in Cactus League action, attracting attention for an explosive bat on top of his fantastic defense. While he won’t earn every day starts, he’ll get some playing time as the Cubs hope to ease Matt Shaw into the third base role this season.