Ben Brown and Scott Kingery snag surprise roster spots. Discover who else made the cut and why key players are sidelined for Opening Day.
The Chicago Cubs officially announced their 26-man roster for Opening Day.
Although there weren’t many surprises on the Cubs’ Opening Day roster, there were a few. The team will open the 2026 season with 13 pitchers and 13 position players on its initial roster. The full 26-man roster can be found below.
Left-Handed Pitchers
Matthew Boyd (starter)
Shota Imanaga (starter)
Hoby Milner
Caleb Thielbar
Right-Handed Pitchers
Edward Cabrera (starter)
Cade Horton (starter)
Jameson Taillon (starter)
Ben Brown
Phil Maton
Daniel Palencia
Jacob Webb
Colin Rea
Hunter Harvey
Catchers
Carson Kelly
Miguel Amaya
Moises Ballesteros
Infielders
Alex Bregman
Dansby Swanson
Nico Hoerner
Michael Busch
Matt Shaw
Scott Kingery
Outfielders
Pete Crow-Armstrong
Ian Happ
Michael Conforto
Dylan Carlson
The two surprises on the Opening Day roster are Ben Brown and Scott Kingery.
The Cubs decided to carry Brown on their initial 26-man roster over Javier Assad. Brown had a solid spring in which he had a 2.63 ERA and 19 strikeouts across 13 ⅔ innings pitched. The 26-year-old displayed a new sinker in his six Spring Training games and looked poised on the mound in most of those appearances.
Brown making the team means Assad will begin the season down in Triple-A. He will be the Iowa Cubs' top pitcher and will certainly be the first pitcher called up if someone struggles or an injury arises.
As for Kingery, he earned that final bench spot among position players. Despite a rough spring in which he hit only .204 with 21 strikeouts, the Cubs like his defensive versatility off the bench to begin the season.
Kingery played second base, shortstop, center field, and right field across 19 games with the Los Angeles Angels last year. He gives the Cubs some flexibility off the bench in case an injury pops up in game or someone needs a day off early in the year.
The 31-year-old likely won’t see much playing time, but he gives the North Siders another utility player off the bench.
Outside of finalizing the 26-man roster, the Cubs had a few roster updates to take care of before Opening Day as well. Chicago sent four players to the injured list and designated Jack Neely for assignment.
Seiya Suzki will begin the season on the 10-day IL due to a right knee sprain. Porter Hodge (elbow strain) and Jordan Wicks (forearm) will start the year on the 15-day IL, and Justin Steele was placed on the 60-day IL.
Suzuki’s IL stint shouldn’t be too long, while Steele will be out through the middle of May.