The Cubs final 25-man roster and thoughts

Earlier today the Cubs revealed their final 25-man roster and included in it were Matt Szczur, Tommy La Stella, and Neil Ramirez along with the moves was the announcement that Javier Baez would start the season on the 15-day disabled list with a thumb contusion.

The battle for the final roster spot seemed to be between La Stella/Szczur but the injury to Baez opened the door for them to both made the roster. Szczur probably had the upper hand anyway due to the fact that he was out of options, but both had been injured early on in the Spring and had recently returned to game action. Both have had good spring with Szczur going 7-16 with a pair of home runs and La Stella hitting 5-16 with a walk. Although the best option would be to have Baez healthy and having to choose between La Stella and Szczur. Both of them should be able to make an impact off the bench and give the Cubs extra flexibility.

Neil Ramirez had a lights out season in 2014 but seemed to be relying on a bit of luck to get through it with a 3.48 xFIP compared to his 1.44 ERA and a LOB% a well above average 82%. In 2015 he was on and off the disabled list with shoulder and abdominal issues and was limited to just 19 appearances. He pitched well in those games with a 3.21 ERA (4.04 xFIP) but it wasn't enough to guarantee him a roster spot for 2016. He hasn't pitched particularly well in Spring Training with a 12.60 ERA in 5 innings giving up 7 earned runs and striking out only four while walking one.

Overall I think this is the best roster the Cubs could come up with the Baez injury. They have a player that can play every outfield position in Szczur and who can play two infield positions in La Stella. I think Szczur was going to be on the roster no matter what because the Cubs didn't want to risk losing him early on to a team like the Phillies who are looking for outfielders. Ramirez has been battling a velocity drop only throwing in the early 90s this spring and not generating as many strikeouts as he did a few years ago so the Cubs will get an extended look at him early on in the year, but will have to decide on his future with the organization early on. I think he still has a ton of potential to be a top notch reliever in the NL but he will have to earn the playing time out of the 'pen.