Cubs announce 2019 Opening Day 25-man roster

There are no real surprises here; the Cubs had pretty much made clear who was going to be on the 25-man Opening Day roster several days ago when it was announced who was being sent down or back to the minor-league camp.

Here it is, now, though, officially in print from the Cubs:

You’ll note the four pitchers beinning the season on the injured list. Brandon Morrow is expected back by late April or early May. There’s no timetable for Xavier Cedeno or Tony Barnette, and Kendall Graveman won’t be back until at least August.

It’s a familiar group. Just seven of these players weren’t on the Cubs’ Opening Day roster last year: Brad Brach, Cole Hamels, Randy Rosario, Brandon Kintzler, Daniel Descalso, David Bote and Mark Zagunis, and of those seven only Brach and Descalso didn’t play for the Cubs at all in 2018.

Anthony Rizzo is the senior Cub in length of service for the team. 2019 will be his eighth year with the Cubs, and it hardly seems like it could be that long, right? This is the first Opening Day roster assignment for Mark Zagunis.

Ready for baseball? I am! Here is the Opening Day lineup: