Cubs Likely to Begin Season With Three Catchers on Opening Day Roster

Hey, hey, we finally have a few roster scoops about the Cubs. It seems like the Cubs have made it a tradition to be one of the last teams to announce any official roster moves, but we’re getting a better idea of what the Opening Day roster will look like and it will likely include three catchers.

According to The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma, the Cubs will likely carry Yan Gomes, Tucker Barnhart and Luis Torrens on the 26-man roster when the season begins on Thursday.

Via The Athletic.

Everyone knew that barring injury, Gomes and Barnhart would be here. But multiple sources indicated that Torrens would likely be on the team, which comes as a bit of a surprise. There are a couple of factors at play in this decision. The Cubs didn’t want to lose Torrens’ bat and they see him as solid, if unspectacular, defensively. If he weren’t to make the team, Torrens would likely opt out of his contract, meaning the Cubs would lose a valuable third catcher.

Torrens was signed to a minor league deal in the offseason and was a non-roster invitee to spring training. The right-handed hitter has definitely taken advantage of his playing time down in Arizona as he’s gone 6-for-19, with two home runs and two doubles in spring training.

Great news for Torrens, who is still only 26-years-old. Hopefully he gets back to his 2021 numbers. He hit 15 home runs and had a .730 OPS in 108 games with the Seattle Mariners. I love his swing.

This is certainly a surprising move if Torrens does indeed make the team out of spring training and it will have a trickle down effect on the rest of the bench. This could very much mean that Zach McKinstry will be designated for assignment to make room for Torrens on the 40-man roster.

But besides McKinstry, who was already looking like a long shot to make the Opening Day roster, a few other guys may get squeezed out despite solid performances in spring training.

Sharma listed Christopher Morel and Mike Tauchman will probably not make it, while left-handed hitting utility man Miles Mastrobuoni will likely join Torrens on the bench on Opening Day.

You can read more of Sharma’s roster predictions in the link below.