Chicago Cubs Roster Projections 2.0: Who makes the Opening Day roster?

Relief Pitchers

The Cubs have the makings of what could end up being a very solid bullpen. The names that are early guarantees are Keegan Thompson, Michael Fulmer, Brad Boxberger, Brandon Hughes, Rowan Wick, and Adbert Alzolay.

I think the two Cubs that will end up getting those last two spots in the bullpen will be Adrian Sampson and Jeremiah Estrada.

I think Sampson still gets a spot on opening day because he proved to be a player you could rely on all season. Plus it gives Ross the flexibility to use Sampson for multiple innings if need be.

Estrada pitched a couple of innings for the Cubs in '22 and did alright in only 5.2 innings. He had a really good year in the minors last year and I think the Cubs will want that fastball out of their bullpen to open up the year.

The other thing that really helps with this Cubs bullpen is the fact that you can use a lot of these pitchers as swing start guys as well as for multiple innings if needed.