Projecting Chicago Cubs' Roster for NLDS Clash Versus Brewers

A nail-biting NL Wild Card Round saw the Chicago Cubs escape with a 2-1 series victory over the San Diego Padres. Chicago used a combination of timely hitting and stellar pitching (especially from the bullpen) to advance through the first stage of the postseason and set up a divisional showdown against the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS. Chicago's roster in the first round of the playoffs did not have many surprises, but there are a couple of additions that may be coming to the next round's roster given the strengths of the Brewers (and the fact that this is a best-of-five series). Here's our best guess at the Cubs NLDS roster.

Pitchers (12)

• Shota Imanaga
• Matthew Boyd
• Colin Rea
• Jameson Taillon
• Javier Assad
• Andrew Kittredge
• Brad Keller
• Daniel Palencia
• Michael Soroka
• Caleb Thielbar
• Drew Pomeranz
• Taylor Rogers

Just one change here to the pitching staff, as we replace Aaron Civale with Assad. Assad throwing on the Sunday before the Wild Card series began made it an easy decision for Craig Counsell to take a fresh arm like Civale instead. Assad will be fully rested and may even be in line to start Game 1 against Milwaukee on Saturday, depending on if Matthew Boyd is ready/willing to take the ball on short rest.

Catchers (2)

• Carson Kelly
• Reese McGuire

No changes here to the catching unit, as we still do not have an update on Miguel Amaya. If by some chance Amaya is healthy, do not be surprised to see him crack the roster over McGuire, though Kelly will grab just about every start regardless, thanks to the built-in days off during the postseason.

Infielders (5)

• Michael Busch
• Nico Hoerner
• Dansby Swanson
• Matt Shaw
• Justin Turner

Outfielders (4)

• Ian Happ
• Pete Crow-Armstrong
• Seiya Suzuki
• Kevin Alcantara

Designated Hitter (2)

• Kyle Tucker
• Moises Ballesteros

Utility (2)

• Willi Castro
• Justin Turner

As far as we can tell, these will be the 26 men repping the road blue/grey and home white when the Cubs and Brewers do battle in the NLDS. The one change we did make was swapping out Civale for Assad, but there are a couple of other changes that could potentially be made if the front office wants to.

Replacing Alcantara with Billy Hamilton would be the first option. Hamilton was signed on Aug. 31, making him eligible for the postseason roster. You have to figure that was for a reason, and the option to put him on the roster over Alcantara is certainly there to make, especially since his glove and speed would make him a valuable addition to Counsell's bench. The trade-off, of course, is that he's a complete zero at the plate. This could come down to whether or not Tucker is healthy enough to play right field again.

Another potential change made would be surrounding the status of the previously mentioned Amaya. How healthy is he and what can he produce? If he is healthy, should the Cubs carry three catchers and remove someone entirely, or should it just be a straight up McGuire for Amaya swap? Even if he is healthy, though, should he replace McGuire's hot lefty bat (112 wRC+ in September)? We should know the status of Amaya in the coming hours and that will determine his place on the NLDS roster.

Chicago could very well just stick with the same 26-man roster that it used against San Diego, but that feels a bit unlikely, especially since Counsell won't be able to manage his bullpen quite so effectively in a longer series. Minuscule changes are more than likely at this point, and they are probably in the best interest of the team. Whatever the decisions may be, the series between the Cubs and Brewers is shaping up to be one of the more highly anticipated playoff series in recent memory.