With the magic number of the playoffs down to 4, I finally feel comfortable enough to start providing some conjecture about what the playoff roster could look like. If somehow, this jinxes the Cubs, and they lost 10 or 11 in a row, with one of the Reds, Giants or DBacks winning 10 in a row, I apologize in advance.
Roster Structure
For the purpose of this post, I’m going to assume the Cubs will go with 13 position players and 13 pitchers. In previous Wild Card games, they’ve gone with more hitters, but with a best of 3 being the shortest series, I’d think they’d want as many arms as possible, But I will have a 14th hitter (and more) ready, just in case.
Position Players
Based on his performance, I’m putting Carlos Santana pretty low on the list. The Cubs could decide to add a pinch runner specialist (Billy Hamilton) but I would not expect that. I have Caissie a bit low partially because of his concussion, which might linger. Castro is a lock due to his versatility. And Turner is probably the #1 pinch hitter against lefties. I would guess the Cubs would go with three catchers, assuming Amaya is healthy.
Locks (assuming health)
- Kyle Tucker
- Pete Crow-Armstrong
- Nico Hoerner
- Dansby Swanson
- Ian Happ
- Michael Busch
- Seiya Suzuki
- Carson Kelly
- Matt Shaw
Likely
10. Willi Castro
Probable
11. Reese McGuire
12. Justin Turner
Possible
13. Miguel Amaya
14. Moises Ballesteros
15. Kevin Alcantara
16. Carlos Santana
Longshots
17. Owen Caissie
18. Billy Hamilton
Pitchers
On the pitching side, there are lots of candidates for the last few relievers, and health and quality over these last few weeks will probably determine whether Porter Hodge, Taylor Rogers, Javier Assad, Michael Soroka, Aaron Civale and/or Ben Brown make the roster – as there would only be 3 spots for those guys. If Rogers does not make it – or if Pomeranz or Thielbar is not available, there’s a small chance a 3rd lefty for the bullpen might be selected.
Locks (assuming health)
- Shota Imanaga
- Matthew Boyd
- Cade Horton
- Brad Keller
- Caleb Thielbar
- Daniel Palencia
- Andrew Kittredge
- Jameson Taillon
Likely
9. Drew Pomeranz
10. Colin Rea
Probable
11. Porter Hodge
12. Taylor Rogers
Possible
13. Javier Assad
14. Michael Soroka
15. Aaron Civale
16. Ben Brown
Longshots
17. Ryan Brasier
18. Eli Morgan
19. Jordan Wicks
20. Ethan Roberts
21. Nate Pearson
22. Luke Little
Cubs in 7 
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