Neil Ramirez, Matt Szczur, Tommy La Stella All Make Team, Javier Baez to DL, Roster Set

[adinserter block=”1″]According to multiple reports, the Cubs have finalized their expected 25-man roster today thusly:

  • Javier Baez will start the season on the DL with a “left thumb contusion”
  • Neil Ramirez will make the team in the bullpen
  • Tommy La Stella will make the team as an infield backup
  • Matt Szczur will make the team as an outfield backup
  • Assuming the Cubs are able to get Munenori Kawasaki to sign a new deal, they’ll be able to keep him in the organization as depth, too, which could mean the Cubs were able to keep everyone, even though it was looking like at least two of these guys were going to have to go at some point. And sure enough, as I’m typing, the Cubs were indeed able to keep all of Kawasaki, Shane Victorino, and Manny Parra on minor league deals (Mooney). That’s excellent news.

    Because Baez is expected to be ready to join the big league team again soon enough, this current set up will last only so long. The Cubs have bought themselves some time on guys like Ramirez and Szczur, each of whom are out of options. But decisions, eventually, could still have to be made.

    [adinserter block=”2″]Hopefully Baez is indeed ready to return quickly, though he’ll need some time in extended Spring Training to get back up to game speed. Without he or Kawasaki on the roster, the Cubs must have felt comfortable enough with Ben Zobrist as the backup at shortstop for now. Of course, with Kawasaki still in the organization, he’s just a phone call away if a need develops for more than a few innings and Baez isn’t ready yet.

    So, then, here’s your expected Opening Day roster:

    Starting Pitchers

    Jake Arrieta

    Jon Lester

    John Lackey

    Jason Hammel

    Kyle Hendricks

    Bullpen

    Hector Rondon

    Pedro Strop

    Justin Grimm

    Travis Wood

    Trevor Cahill

    Adam Warren

    Clayton Richard

    Neil Ramirez

    Catchers

    Miguel Montero

    David Ross

    Infielders

    Anthony Rizzo

    Ben Zobrist

    Tommy La Stella

    Addison Russell

    Kris Bryant

    Outfielders

    Kyle Schwarber

    Jorge Soler

    Matt Szczur

    Dexter Fowler

    Jason Heyward

    written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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