Cubs Set 26-Man Roster; Boyd To Start

The Chicago Cubs announced their 26-man roster for the 2025 NL Wild Card series against the San Diego Padres, carrying 14 position players and 12 pitchers in the franchise’s first postseason appearance since 2020. Left-hander Matthew Boyd is slated to start Game 1 at Wrigley Field, while Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon and Colin Rea are available for the remainder of the series, with Rea possibly used as an opener/long reliever. Games 1 and 2 begin at 2:08 p.m. CT and a Game 3, if necessary, would be Thursday. Key roster notes include versatile infielder Willi Castro, likely late-inning pinch-runner Kevin Alcantara, and the notable omission of catcher Miguel Amaya as he continues to recover; outfielder Owen Caissie is making concussion-related progress. The Cubs have a taxi squad in Chicago that includes Ben Brown, Porter Hodge and Nicky Lopez, and the winner of the best-of-three will advance to face the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Division Series.