As the North Siders head to Petco Park, roster bubble decisions loom. Discover which relievers get the axe and why a speedy outfielder could be the secret weapon.
The postseason field is set.
The Chicago Cubs will officially take on the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card Round. This is a rematch of last year’s Wild Card Round, when the Cubs hosted the Padres at Wrigley Field. The North Siders won that series in three games.
This time around, the Cubs will head out west to take on a surging Padres team at Petco Park. The Wild Card Round begins on Tuesday, and Game 1 of this series is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. CT on September 29.
The only thing left to decide is which 26 players will make up this Cubs roster for the Wild Card Round. Here’s a prediction of which 26 players will make the roster.
Catchers (2)
- Carson Kelly
- Miguel Amaya
Infielders (6)
- Michael Busch
- Nico Hoerner
- Dansby Swanson
- Alex Bregman
- Pedro Ramirez
- Matt Shaw
Outfielders (6)
- Ian Happ
- Pete Crow-Armstrong
- Seiya Suzuki
- Tyrone Taylor
- Michael Conforto
- Justin Dean
The Cubs went with 14 position players and 12 pitchers in last year’s Wild Card Round. It wouldn’t be surprising to see them follow that same thing this season. They’ll go with two catchers, six infielders, and six outfielders for this series against the Padres.
Most of the players projected to make this Wild Card Round roster are pretty self-explanatory. The only difference between the current 14 position players that the Cubs carried at the end of the regular season and my projected Wild Card roster is Gabriel Arias.
The Cubs could leave off Arias in favor of speedy outfielder Justin Dean. Dean served in a replacement role with the Dodgers in last year’s postseason, and his speed makes him a potential late-inning pinch-runner replacement. The team doesn’t really have that right now. Dean had 25 stolen bases at Triple-A this season.
Left-Handed Pitchers (4)
- Matthew Boyd
- David Peterson
- Ryan Rolison
- Shota Imanaga
Right-Handed Pitchers (8)
- Kevin Gausman
- Clay Holmes
- Jacob Webb
- Ryan Zeferjahn
- Aaron Civale
- Colin Rea
- Daniel Palencia
- Javier Assad
There are some key bullpen arms that could be left off the Wild Card roster. Edward Cabrera, Caleb Thielbar, and Gavin Hollowell are all relievers who could not make the postseason roster.
Thielbar finished the regular season with a 4.86 ERA, Cabrera has allowed five earned runs across four innings pitched since moving to the bullpen in mid-September, and Hollowell has only thrown six pitches with the Cubs this month.
Assuming the Cubs throw out Gausman, Boyd, and Holmes as their three starters in this series, they would still have three lefties in the bullpen (Rolison, Imanaga, and Peterson). Assad, Civale, and Rea are also all more deserving of getting a roster spot than Cabrera and Hollowell.
