MILWAUKEE – Given the familiarity that the Cubs have with the Brewers, there was less prep time needed to discuss strategy going into the National League Division Series. And there were no big surprises when Chicago revealed its roster for the best-of-five clash between the division rivals.
“There is a lot more knowledge,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said during Friday’s workout at American Family Field. “Most of it is because we play them more and we've played them more recently. [Third-base coach] Quintin Berry was on the [Brewers’] coaching staff last year. I was obviously part of the organization and know a lot of the players. The managers know each other pretty well.
“There is kind of less [unexpected], and we're very aware of each other stylistically, no question about it.”
For the Wild Card Series against the Padres and the NLDS, Counsell went with 14 position players and 12 pitchers. With three off-days in the Division Series, the Cubs could stick with three starters (Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon), but it’s possible righty Colin Rea is in the mix for a start as well.
The only change to the Cubs’ roster was swapping righty Ben Brown (1.00 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 18 career innings against the Brewers) onto the staff as a replacement for lefty reliever Taylor Rogers. Counsell noted on Friday that rookie Cade Horton (15-day injured list, right rib fracture) would not be activated during the NLDS.
Here is the Cubs’ full 26-man roster for the Division Series:
Catchers (2): Carson Kelly, Reese McGuire
First base (1): Michael Busch
Second base (1): Nico Hoerner
Shortstop (1): Dansby Swanson
Third base (1): Matt Shaw
Designated hitter (1): Moisés Ballesteros
Outfielders (5): Kevin Alcántara, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Kyle Tucker
Utility (2): Willi Castro, Justin Turner
Starters (4): Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, Colin Rea, Jameson Taillon
Relievers (8): Ben Brown, Aaron Civale, Brad Keller, Andrew Kittredge, Daniel Palencia, Drew Pomeranz, Michael Soroka, Caleb Thielbar