MILWAUKEE — The Cubs’ 26-man roster for the National League Division Series almost mirrors the roster used for the wild-card round against the Padres.
The lone change was swapping out lefty Taylor Rogers for right-hander Ben Brown. Manager Craig Counsell said the rationale behind adding Brown was to give the pitching staff a different stuff mix.
“Ben’s ability to make, to strike somebody out is something that we thought — kind of a little small moment — but that’s something Ben can do,” Counsell said. “[With] the back-end pitchers, frankly, the goal is not to get to them because you get enough from your other guys.”
Brown struggled as a starter this season. He sported a 6.30 ERA over 15 starts. He has an electric arm but struggles with command — Brown’s average fastball velocity was in the 75th percentile during the regular season. The Cubs hope that in shorter spurts, Brown’s velocity can be a positive addition to the bullpen.
Adding Brown meant that right-hander Javier Assad would be left off the roster. Assad missed the majority of the season with a strained left oblique but finished the season strong with a 3.18 ERA over four outings in September.
“[Assad] was under strong consideration for this roster, absolutely,” Counsell said. “It was a difficult decision.”
The pitching staff is still feeling the effects of the wild-card round. Right-hander Andrew Kittredge pitched three straight days, righty Brad Keller pitched 2 1/3 innings and struggled in the clinching game and righty Daniel Palencia pitched three innings over the series.
“Today, I don’t think we can maybe do some things that we we’ve done in the past or done in the previous series,” Counsell said. “But the off days do change bullpen usage 1000%. There’s three off days in a five-game series.That changes what a reliever can do no question about it.”
Matthew Boyd got the nod to start Game 1 of the NLDS against the Brewers. His low pitch count (58) in Game 1 of the wild-card series was a factor in the Cubs being comfortablle with him starting on short rest.
Counsell said Boyd had been clamoring to start Game 1 of the NLDS since he got to the dugout on Tuesday. The team had him warming in the bullpen on Thursday just in case they needed him. Counsell said Boyd was thinking about throwing after Game 3 if the Cubs advanced.
Because of the off day between Game 1 and Game 2, left-hander Shota Imanaga would be lined up to start Game 2 on regular rest. But Counsell said “it’s on the table” for right-hander Jameson Taillon to be available for Game 2 on short rest.
Left-handed pitcher (4)
LHP Matthew Boyd
LHP Shota Imanaga
LHP Drew Pomeranz
LHP Caleb Thielbar
Right-handed pitchers (7)
RHP Aaron Civale
RHP Brad Keller
RHP Andrew Kittredge
RHP Daniel Palencia
RHP Colin Rea
RHP Michael Soroka
RHP Jameson Taillon
RHP Ben Brown
Catchers (3)
C/DH Moisés Ballesteros
C Carson Kelly
C Reese McGuire
Infielders (6)
1B Michael Busch
2B Nico Hoerner
SS Dansby Swanson
3B Matt Shaw
INF/DH Justin Turner
UTL Willi Castro
Outfielders (5)
OF Kevin Alcántara
CF Pete Crow-Armstrong
LF Ian Happ
RF Seiya Suzuki
RF Kyle Tucker