Chicago Cubs finalize 2016 Opening Day roster

The Chicago Cubs announced their 25 man roster for Opening Day of the 2016 season on Tuesday.

After a flurry of roster moves, the Chicago Cubs have finalized their Opening Day 25-man roster for the 2016 season.

First, manager Joe Maddon told outfielder Matt Szczur that he had made the team during batting practice Tuesday morning. Szczur will be the team’s fourth outfielder behind Dexter Fowler, Jason Heyward and Jorge Soler.

The roster came more into focus soon after when the Cubs announced that they had released outfielder Shane Victorino, left-handed reliever Manny Parra and infielder Munenori Kawasaki. All three were re-signed to minor league deals later in the day, however.

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Parra and Kawasaki will head to Triple-A Iowa to begin the season, but Victorino will head to Arizona to rehab a calf injury. With these moves, Szczur, infielder Tommy La Stella and relief pitcher Neil Ramirez all made the Opening Day roster.

The last move made was putting utility player Javier Báez on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 25th. According to ESPN.com, Báez jammed his thumb sliding into first base two weeks ago and feels ready, but Maddon wants to play things cautious so early in the year.

“We’re not comfortable it’s 100 percent well,” Maddon said. “He’s kind of disappointed because he feels he can be ready, but he hasn’t played in a while. He needs at-bats.”

Báez is expected to be ready sometime next week against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Here is the official Opening Day roster of the 2016 Chicago Cubs!

With or without Báez, the Cubs’ infield was going to have a unique look no matter what this season. Besides Anthony Rizzo, every other player, including Báez, can play multiple positions.

Báez has the ability to play every position on the diamond, excluding catcher and pitcher. Kris Bryant is the starting third baseman who can play every position in the outfield and first base.

Starting shortstop Addison Russell can obviously play second, as can Tommy La Stella, who plays third base as well. Russell played most of 2015 on the right side of the infield before taking over for Starlin Castro as the starting shortstop in August.

A unique player in the team’s infield is Ben Zobrist, who played nearly everywhere for Maddon during their tenure together with the Tampa Bay Rays. Zobrist will primarily play second base, but Maddon will not hesitate to move him around if necessary.

Here are the 2015 stats for this season’s infielders, with the expected starter’s positions labeled.

Infielders:

3B- Bryant: 151 games, AVG: .274, HR: 26, RBI: 99

La Stella: 33 games, AVG: .268, HR: 1, RBI: 11

1B- Rizzo: 160 games, AVG: .278, HR: 31, RBI: 101

SS- Russell: 142 games, AVG: .242, HR: 13, RBI: 54

2B- Zobrist: 126 games, AVG: .276, HR: 13, RBI: 56

Like the rest of the Cubs’ roster, the outfield is one full of depth and flexibility. The Opening Day starters will most likely be Schwarber in left field, Fowler in center field and Heyward in right field. However, several other players could and will start quite often.

On days where Schwarber catches, look for Soler to start in left. During games where Fowler has the day off, either Szczur, Heyward or even Báez, Bryant or Zobrist could start in center. If Heyward starts in center for Fowler and Schwarber starts in left, then Soler would play right.

Basically, the outfield could change on a daily basis, but this depends on the situation at hand. But when push comes to shove, look for Schwarber, Fowler and Heyward to be the starters, with Szczur and Soler on the bench. Below are the primary starting positions of the outfielders with their 2015 stats.

Outfielders:

Fowler- CF: 156 games, AVG: .250, HR: 17, RBI: 46

Heyward- RF: 154 games, AVG: .293, HR: 13, RBI: 60

Soler- RF or LF: 101 games, AVG: .265, HR: 10, RBI: 47

Szczur- LF, CF, RF: 47 games, AVG: .222, HR: 1, RBI: 8

Compared to last season, the Cubs’ 1-3 starting pitchers in 2016 look to be a formidable group, starting with Jake Arrieta. Coming off of winning the Cy Young award in 2015, Arrieta is the clear cut ace of this year’s staff, taking the role from Jon Lester, who was the ace coming out of spring training last season.

Speaking of Lester, Arrieta being the clear cut ace is no slight to him, as he is still the same workhorse, ace and winner that he was last season. Realistically, Arrieta is the 1A. in the rotation, with Lester being 1B. Both are dominant guys who represent one of the best 1-2 punches in all of baseball.

Rounding out the top of the rotation is John Lackey, another workhorse who had a 2.76 ERA as a 36-year-old last season. He is being counted on to bring experience and leadership to a young team, as well as another strong season like 2015.

Next: Lester hits two-run homer vs Rockies

After these three pitchers is where things get interesting. Jason Hammel and Kyle Hendricks both had up-and-down seasons in 2015, especially the former. Hammel had a 2.86 ERA before the All-Star Break last season but struggled to a 5.10 ERA afterward. The Cubs need him to deliver a complete season, not just one-half of one.

All in all, though, Hammel and Hendricks should have better seasons in 2016 simply because they are in less stressful spots in the rotation. Below is this year’s starting staff, with their 2015 stats included.

Starting Pitchers:

1. Arrieta: 33 starts, 229.0 IP, 22-6, 1.77 ERA, 236 SO

2. Lester: 32 starts, 205.0 IP, 11-12, 3.34 ERA, 207 SO

3. Lackey: 33 starts, 218.0 IP, 13-10, 2.77 ERA, 175 SO

4. Hammel: 31 starts, 170.2 IP, 10-7, 3.74 ERA, 171 SO

5. Hendricks: 32 starts, 180 IP, 8-7, 3.95 ERA, 167 SO

The Cubs’ 2016 bullpen will be full of depth but starting pitching as well. Should any of the five starters struggle or get hurt, the team has a plethora of options to step in.

Between Trevor Cahill, Clayton Richard, Adam Warren and Travis Wood, the team has four starters waiting in the bullpen if needed. All four have excelled in the ‘pen, however, so moving them to a starting role could be detrimental to the late inning pitching performance.

Speaking of the late innings, the team’s set-up men and closer are returning off of solid seasons in 2015. Justin Grimm had a sub-2.00 ERA and consistently got the team out of jams when needed. The same can be said for Pedro Strop, who had a sub 3.o0 ERA. However, Strop got himself into jams via walks, something he’ll need to improve on this season.

Closer Hector Rondon returns to his ninth inning role in 2016 after two strong seasons there. Rondon followed up his 29 saves in 2014 with 30 more in 2015, going along with his 1.67 ERA. However, Maddon removed him from the closer role in 2015, so it is clear he will make any changes as needed. If Rondon struggles, look for Grimm to get a shot in the ninth.

Relief Pitchers:

Cahill (with Cubs): 11 games, 17.0 IP, 1-0, 2.12 ERA, 22 SO

Grimm: 62 games, 49.2 IP, 3-5, 1.99 ERA, 67 SO

Ramirez: 19 games, 14 IP, 1-0, 3.21 ERA, 15 SO

Richard: 23 games (3 starts), 42.1 IP, 4-2, 3.83 ERA, 22 SO

Rondon: 72 games, 70.0 IP, 6-4, 1.67 ERA, 69 SO

Strop: 76 games, 68.0 IP, 2-6, 2.91 ERA, 81 SO

Warren: 43 games (17 starts), 131.1 IP, 7-7, 3.29 ERA, 104 SO

Wood: 54 games (9 starts), 100.2 IP, 5-4, 3.84 ERA, 118 SO