Early Predictions for the Cubs Playoff Roster

The playoffs are a few weeks away, but it’s never too early to start looking at how the Cubs roster will break down in October. There’s still a lot we don’t know — opponent, health, performance through the end of the season — but all things being equal, I think we can establish a pretty clear picture at this point.

First the position players, starting with the locks:

Willson Contreras

Anthony Rizzo

Ben Zobrist

Addison Russell

Kris Bryant

Jorge Soler

Dexter Fowler

Jason Heyward

Javy Baez

Now for the hard part, paring down the rest of the reserves. I’m tempted to go with five extras here, which might sound odd by conventional standards. But when you figure that the Cubs will employ a four-man rotation,…