Unlikeliest Player Making Chicago Cubs Opening Day Roster
I don’t want to sound mean, and honestly, the Chicago Cubs are the ones making this roster move seem like a chore because, although it’s not 100% official yet, Scott Kingery will be on the team plane out of spring training. When it lands in Chicago, the Cubs will add Kingery to their Opening Day roster…unless they can find someone better.
That’s pretty much the final storyline a couple of days before Opening Day for the Cubs, who have just one decision left to make on the 26-man active roster. The pitching staff is set in place, as Ben Brown was picked over Javier Assad, and now Kingery is close to being the final man on the bench.
On Tuesday, outfielder Dylan Carlson confirmed that he would also be added to the team’s Opening Day roster, and again, if the Cubs can’t find a better option via trade or on the waiver wire, then Kingery will make it as well.
Kingery, now 31-years-old, was a top prospect for the Philadelphia Phillies nearly a decade ago. He was ranked in the top-40 in every major publication, and before he ever played in the majors, Kingery and the Phillies agreed to a six-year, $24 million contract extension. That deal ultimately ended poorly for Philadelphia, as Kingery was never able to fulfill his top-prospect expectations, and by the 2021 season, the infielder was vanished to the minor leagues.
If you’re the Cubs, then you obviously want this move to be as meaningless as possible. In reality, Kingery shouldn’t stick around for long, and as soon as Seiya Suzuki is fully recovered from his knee injury Kingery will be jettisoned from Chicago.
You can just tell how little the Cubs actually care about having Kingery or not, even at this point, when the team has publicly stated that they are interested in carrying another backup infielder.
With Kingery’s expected addition, the Cubs will have three players who were non-roster invitees to spring training on the Opening Day roster. However, out of the three, Kingery will surely have the smallest impact on the team, while Carlson and Conforto should be able to stick around for most, if not all, of the 2026 season. Carlson can be counted on as the fourth outfielder, serving as the primary backup in center field and a switch-hitting option off the bench. Conforto gives the team a bit of insurance from the left side of the plate in case rookie Moises Ballesteros ever gets into a rough patch, while also giving the team some left-handed pop.
In Kingery’s case, you kind of just hope that he doesn’t do anything to hurt the team if he’s ever used in any high-leverage spot. It’s doubtful that he would be the one called on in a big pinch-hitting situation, but maybe as a defensive sub or pinch-runner, the Cubs certainly don’t want him messing up in his limited playing time.
In 344 MLB games, Kingery has hit .227/.278/.382, which comes out to a 72 wRC+. The right-handed hitter has 30 career home runs, 19 of which came in 2019.