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Ahead of their Opening Day loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Chicago Cubs officially set their initial 26-man roster for the season.
The key word in that sentence is initial as the Cubs' 26-man roster will look different by the time they play their stateside Opening Day game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on March 27. For example, Nico Hoerner did not travel with the Cubs to Japan but is expected to be ready in time for the series against the Diamondbacks.
Elsewhere, despite traveling with the team, veteran Brad Keller was not among the pitchers on the initial roster. For Keller, it seems to be a procedural move as he was a minor-league signing and the Cubs have yet to add him to the 40-man roster. Keller making the Opening Day roster has been all but confirmed and likely will take place next week. Chances are that Keller will take the roster spot of Eli Morgan or Nate Pearson once the Cubs resume regular-season play on March 27 following Wednesday's game against the Dodgers. Morgan, for what it's worth, did pitch during the Cubs' loss on Tuesday.
The #Cubs have set their Tokyo Series Opening Day 26-man roster: pic.twitter.com/TORUMbDN9d
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 18, 2025
Cubs set Opening Day roster but decisions loom
One move the Cubs did make official is designating Keegan Thompson for assignment. With Thompson not traveling with the team despite being out of minor-league options, it was all but confirmed that he was going to be designated for assignment once the Cubs made their Opening Day roster official. There likely will be a team willing to take a flier on Thompson with the hope they can fix his recent command regression. Matt Shaw was officially added to the 40-man roster as the corresponding move.
Outside of the decision with Keller, the other notable decision for the Cubs' 26-man roster before next week is who takes the final spot on the bench. Assuming Hoerner is, in fact, ready to go, the Cubs will need to decide between Gage Workman and Vidal Bruján. Whoever the Cubs don't choose, they will risk losing given the statuses of each player. Workman is a Rule 5 selectee while Bruján is out of minor-league options.