2019 Cubs Spring Training Uniform Numbers

Since it also includes players who are ill (cancer, blood clot, ebola, etc), a more accurate term would be "Patient List," since the diagnosis must be confirmed (in writing) by a physician (usually the team physician), such that a player who is inactive by virtue of a certified injury or illness must (by definition) be somebody's patient in order to be on the list. 

Or the term "Slacker List" could be another possibility, in that it is both descriptive and inclusive and might help motivate certain players to suck it up and get their ass back on the field and play baseball. 

BRADSBEARD: Definitely a typo. If Craig Brooks was converting from RHP to INF, he would have been doing it at Instructs (which he wasn't), plus there is no way he would have gotten an NRI to MLB ST as an infielder without first proving he can hit at AA and AAA. A pitcher doesn't convert to position player unless he is a proven professional hitter. Also, Brooks is a legit MLB bullpen prospect. 

Brailyn Marquez and Yovanny Cruz were the two best Cubs pitching prospects at Extended Spring Training last year. Cruz throws a mid-90's two-seamer and a hard-slider and probably projects as a reliever at the higher levels, unless he can find a reliable off-speed pitch. 

Although he was drafted just last June, Luke Reynolds turns 24 next month so he will need to hit the ground running and keep moving forward. Time is not on his side. He is a polished college bat with plus BP power, he drives the ball to the opposite-field if he is pitched outside, and he takes a lot pitches and draws a lot of walks. The Cubs played Reynolds at both 1B and 3B at Instructs last month, and he looked comfortable at both spots and handled both positions well. I would think he will probably eventually morph into a "four-corner player" (1B-3B-LF-RF), if he doesn't run out of time.  

Even if the Cubs exercise the six 2020 club options (Barnette, Brach, Graveman, Morrow, Quintana, and Rizzo) and the two players with potential post-2019 player opt-outs (Heyward and Darvish) don't choose to leave, the Cubs will still have $53M+ coming off the books after this season (Cedeno, Cishek, Duensing, Hamels, Kintzler, Strop, and Zobrist are FA post-2019). 

The Cubs are paying their seven abitration-eligible guys (Baez, Bryant, Edwards, Hendricks, Montgomery, Russell, and Schwarber) about $37M (collectively) in 2019 with Contreras and Almora and possibly Happ and/or K. Ryan (both are a potential "Super Two") eligible for salary arbitration post-2019, so even if there is a collective 50% increase (about $20M) in aggregate arbitration salaries in 2020, the Cubs still would have about $35M (or $40M if Morrow does not return in 2020) in payroll below where they are now going into 2020.     

The Cubs are presently about $20M over the 2019 Competitive Balance Tax ("luxury tax") threshold ($206M), so with $40M+ in 2019 salaries likely subtracted from the payroll post-2019, the Cubs could add as much as $20M in 2020 payroll next off-season (and that's beyond the projected estimated post-2019 salary arbitration bumps) and still come in under the 2020 CBT threshold ($208M). 

Again, that is presuming that the Cubs exercise all of the club options for 2020 (probably with the exception of Morrow) and don't make any "salary dump" trades, Heyward and Darvish do not opt-out, and all of the post-2019 arbitration-eligible guys are tendered 2020 contracts.  

So what would the Cubs MLB 40-man roster potentially look like after the World Series? 

33 players 

* bats or throws left-handed 
# bats both

PITCHERS: 20 
Adbert Alzolay 
Brad Brach 
Tyler Chatwood 
Yu Darvish 
Oscar de la Cruz 
Carl Edwards Jr 
Kendall Graveman 
Kyle Hendricks 
* Jon Lester 
Dillon Maples 
Alec Mills 
* Mike Montgomery 
James Norwood 
* Jose Quintana
* Randy Rosario
* Kyle Ryan 
* Justin Steele 
Jen-Ho Tseng 
Duane Underwood Jr 
Rowan Wick  

CATCHERS: 3 
# Victor Caratini 
Willson Contreras 
Taylor Davis 

INFIELDERS: 6 
Javier Baez 
David Bote 
Kris Bryant 
* Daniel Descalso 
* Anthony Rizzo 
Addison Russell 

OUTFIELDERS: 5 
Albert Almora
# Ian Happ 
* Jason Heyward 
* Kyle Schwarber 
Mark Zagunis 

Mills, Rosario, K. Ryan, Underwood, and Zagunis will be out of minor league options post-2019 making them good candidates for a trade or a non-tender if they do not establish themselves in MLB in 2019, and #3 catcher T. Davis is another candidate for a trade or a non-tender, which would bring the potential post-2019 roster down to 27.  

Even if the Cubs leave three or maybe four slots open for free-agent signings (probably a couple or three relievers and maybe a 2B), the Cubs should be able to add as many as nine or possibly ten minor leaguers eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft (or eligible to be a minor league free-agent) to the 40: 

MOST-LIKELY TO BE ADDED TO THE 40 OVER THE NEXT NINE MONTHS (alphabetical):  
Miguel Amaya, C 
Trent Giambrone, INF-OF 
Dakota Mekkes, RHRP 
Duncan Robinson, RHSP 
Zack Short, SS 

PROBABLY "ON THE BUBBLE" (alphabetical): 
Jose Albertos, RHSP 
Craig Brooks, RHRP 
Bailey Clark, RHRP 
Ian Clarkin, LHP - SWING (minor league 6YFA post-2019)
Trevor Clifton, RHSP (minor league 6YFA post-2019)
Tom Hatch, RHP - SWING
P. J. Higgins, C-INF 
Erick Leal, RHP - SWING (minor league 6YFA post-2019)
Tyson Miller, RHSP 
Erling Moreno, RHSP 
Jhonny Pereda, C (minor league 6YFA opost-2019)
Michael Rucker, RHP - SWING 
Matt Swarmer, RHP - SWING