Who Should Be On The Cubs' Playoff Roster?

The Cubs are very likely headed to the playoffs, given their 7½ game lead for the second wild-card spot.

So, let's spend part of this off day discussing the players who should be on the 25-man roster for the wild-card game. Keep in mind that since this is a one-and-done game and the rosters can be adjusted for the Division Series, teams often carry more position players than usual. In last year's Royals/Athletics wild-card game, the A's used 15 position players and the Royals 14. I used this game as the example because it went into extra innings and overall, Kansas City used seven pitchers and Oakland six, so 22 players for each team got into the game.

I don't have the actual rosters that were submitted for that game available, so I'm going to assume based on player use that the teams both had 15 position players and 10 pitchers available for the wild-card game. Obviously, you only really need your starting pitcher, another pitcher who can go multiple innings in case your starter implodes and the rest of the pitchers can be relievers.

Here, then, are my selections for the 25-man wild-card game roster.

Pitchers (10)

Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks, Travis Wood, Clayton Richard, Justin Grimm, Pedro Strop, Hector Rondon, Tommy Hunter, Fernando Rodney, Zac Rosscup

Catchers (2)

Miguel Montero, David Ross

Infielders (6)

Anthony Rizzo, Starlin Castro, Javier Baez, Addison Russell, Kris Bryant, Jonathan Herrera

Outfielders (7)

Kyle Schwarber, Dexter Fowler, Jorge Soler, Austin Jackson, Chris Coghlan, Chris Denorfia, Quintin Berry

You, likely, will differ on some of these choices. I selected Herrera instead of Tommy La Stella because he's a better defender, and I'd put Berry on the roster because in a game like this, a pinch-runner might make a significant difference. I've got Schwarber listed as an outfielder because, although his future likely includes catching, I don't think we'll see him catch the rest of this year except in an emergency.

Hendricks is the "emergency" pitcher, but with Arrieta going, I don't think he'd be needed unless the game went into long extra innings. Hendricks, as the Cubs' fourth starter, wouldn't start until at least Game 4 of the Division Series, so he should be available for relief in a wild-card game.

Now it's your turn.