Predicting Chicago Cubs' 2016 Opening Day Roster

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The Chicago Cubs enter the 2016 season as the favorites to win the World Series. That’s strange to say about a team that hasn’t won it all in 107 years, but they have the strongest roster in all of baseball.

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Entering spring training, there are a couple battles, specifically for bench and back-end rotation roles. Based on how the roster looks right now, here are the final 25 that will be in L.A. as the Cubs take on the Angels on Opening Night.

Next: Bench

Bench

Aug 5, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Chicago Cubs second baseman /

Projected Bench:

IF/OF Javier Baez

IF Tommy La Stella

OF Chris Coghlan

C David Ross

Baez could be a starter on almost every other team in baseball, but he will be a utility player with the Cubs. In winter ball, the team had him playing centerfield so that he could be more versatile in the field. With this versatility, he’s still likely to play consistently.

La Stella wasn’t healthy for most of last season and he could provide a major spark if he stays healthy in 2016. He won’t hit for any power, but he works good counts and makes pitchers work. That’s what you want from a bench player.

Coghlan had a breakout 2015 campaign, hitting 16 home runs. Having his left-handed bat off the bench will be gigantic for a team looking for matchups late in games.

Of course, Ross is the weakest hitter on the team, but he’s not in Chicago to hit a baseball. He’s in the Windy City to be the personal catcher for Jon Lester and a great veteran clubhouse guy. There’s no doubt he will fulfill both those roles well.

Next: Bullpen

Bullpen

Projected Bullpen:

Long Relief – Adam Warren

Long Relief – Travis Wood

Middle Relief – Rex Brothers

Middle Relief – Justin Grimm

Middle Relief – Carl Edwards Jr.

Setup – Trevor Cahill

Setup – Pedro Strop

Closer – Hector Rondon

Chicago has plenty of relievers coming back from last year, but roles won’t be identical to last year. For example, Cahill showed he can be relied upon in late innings, especially when it matters most. Expect him to get more innings in the seventh and eighth, especially early in the year.

Clayton Richard will just miss the cut here as his ceiling isn’t as high as some of the other long relief candidates. However, he will likely be the first arm called up in the case of an injury.

Edwards gets his first taste of a full season of major league baseball and he should excel with the stuff he has. Brothers will also get his first taste of baseball in a Cub uniform. He’s a lefty specialist who gives them much more versatility.

Strop is locked down in the setup role and Rondon is surely the team’s closer after a great 2015 season. At times, he made Cubs fans sweat, but he always seemed to get the job done, especially when it mattered most. He will anchor a very solid group.

Next: Starting Rotation

Starting Rotation

Projected Starting Rotation:

RHP Jake Arrieta
LHP Jon Lester
RHP John Lackey
RHP Jason Hammel
RHP Kyle Hendricks

A lack of starting pitching depth proved to be the Cubs’ downfall in the playoffs last year, but after adding Lackey this offseason, they have one of the deepest rotations in the game.

Some people tend to forget Hammel was the team’s best pitcher for the first two months of 2015, but he fell off the map after suffering a back injury around midseason. If he can return to form, this rotation looks even better.

Of course, it will be almost impossible for Arrieta to duplicate his historic 2015 run, but Lester should be more consistent now that he’s seemingly comfortable in Chicago. Even if this unit suffers an injury or two, it has guys like Warren and Wood waiting in the wings to step up.

This group should absolutely be a strength this season, especially pitching for a team that figures to score plenty of runs.

Next: Starting Lineup

Starting Lineup

Projected Starting Lineup:

This lineup has virtually no holes. Of course, plenty of guys are entering their second seasons, where many tend to struggle, so they could hit some rough patches. However, outside of the Blue Jays, nobody has this deep a lineup.

There isn’t an easy out in there after Heyward and Zobrist were added this offseason. Unlike last season when the entire lineup was young, there’s a little bit of a veteran presence there now. Heyward is only 26, but has a lot of experience.

Expect this unit to be one of the Cubs’ best in decades. It’s a unit that is extremely talented and supremely motivated. That is a deadly combination and it’s a combination that just might help the team erase the longest championship drought in North American professional sports.

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