The National League Division Series begin on Friday and the first one we'll see is the defending champion Cubs visiting the NL East champion Washington Nationals. Here's the info on how to watch Game 1 on Friday.
With the series beginning Friday, each team had to submit its official 25-man roster for the series Friday morning. The only way a change can be made is via injury, and in that case, the player removed isn't allowed to come back.
Cubs
- Catchers: Willson Contreras, Alex Avila
- Infielders: Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, Javier Baez, Addison Russell, Kris Bryant, Tommy La Stella, Ian Happ
- Outfielders: Jason Heyward, Albert Almora, Jon Jay, Kyle Schwarber, Leonys Martin
- Rotation: RHP Kyle Hendricks, LHP Jon Lester, LHP Jose Quintana, RHP Jake Arrieta
- RH relievers: Wade Davis, Carl Edwards, Pedro Strop, John Lackey
- LH relievers: Brian Duensing, Mike Montgomery, Justin Wilson
The most glaring snub appears to be former closer Hector Rondon, who has struggled with health, consistency and effectiveness all season. Of course, Wilson has been bad since joining the Cubs, but evidently the Cubs would rather have Wilson in this one.
Martin might be a surprise for some, but he's of great help in late innings as a pinch runner and defensive replacement.
Nationals
- Catchers: Matt Wieters, Jose Lobaton
- Infielders: Ryan Zimmerman, Daniel Murphy, Trea Turner, Anthony Rendon, Adam Lind, Wilmer Difo
- Outfielders: Bryce Harper, Michael Taylor, Jayson Werth, Howie Kendrick, Brian Goodwin, Victor Robles
- Rotation: RHP Stephen Strasburg, LHP Gio Gonzalez, RHP Max Scherzer, RHP Tanner Roark
- RH relievers: Ryan Madson, Brandon Kintzler, Matt Albers
- LH relievers: Sean Doolittle, Enny Romero, Oliver Perez, Sammy Solis
Notable omissions would be fifth stater Edwin Jackson and reliever Joe Blanton. Maybe Stephen Drew, too, but overall there are no real surprises here. Anyone paying attention to the Nationals should have been able to nail this one.
