Nick Madrigal, Miles Mastrobuoni Complete Bench as Cubs Finalize Roster
The Cubs have finalized their Opening Day roster with three days left before they start the 2024 campaign against the defending World Series champs in Arlington. Craig Counsell announced to reporters in Mesa that Luke Little and José Cuas will round out the bullpen while Nick Madrigal and Miles Mastrobuoni will complete the bench. That means Hayden Wesneski and Alexander Canario have been optioned to Triple-A, with the former to stay stretched out as a starter.
Cubs finalize roster:
IF Nick Madrigal and IF Miles Mastrobuoni fill out the bench
LHP Luke Little and RHP José Cuas get the final bullpen spots
OF Alexander Canario and RHP Hayden Wesneski optioned to Triple A; Wesneski will stretch out as starter
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) March 25, 2024
Outfielder David Peralta has not opted out of his minor-league deal and will remain in Arizona when the season opens to work through the throwing program he’s been on since offseason surgery.
That means the position players are as follows: Madrigal, Mastrobuoni, Yan Gomes, Miguel Amaya, Michael Busch, Garrett Cooper, Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson, Christopher Morel, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Cody Bellinger, Mike Tauchman
The pitching staff is: Little, Cuas, Justin Steele, Shōta Imanaga, Kyle Hendricks, Jordan Wicks, Javier Assad, Drew Smyly, Hector Neris, Yency Almonte, Julian Merryweather, Adbert Alzolay, and Mark Leiter Jr.
Maybe it’s just the excitement of having just returned from spring training and prepping to head to Arlington for the first two games, but I like this roster. Even with the understanding that bullpens can have all kinds of flux, Counsell may have himself quite a solid unit there.