Cubs Add Moisés Ballesteros to Opening Day Roster, Shaking Up Iowa

Craig Counsell did not let Moisés Ballesteros sweat for long. When the 22-year-old was summoned to the Cubs manager's office in Mesa on the afternoon of March 20, Counsell delivered the news before the catcher even had a chance to sit down. "He's on the team," Counsell said. "I think we made Moisés unnecessarily nervous, actually."

The announcement confirmed what a .355 spring had been suggesting for weeks. In 11 games entering Friday, Ballesteros was 11-for-31 with two doubles, two home runs, eight RBIs, a .394 on-base percentage and a 1.007 OPS. Numbers like that have a way of making roster decisions feel inevitable, but the context around this one matters: Ballesteros is Pipeline's top Cubs prospect and No. 55 on the overall Top 100 list, and carrying Minor League options into a spring like this put extra weight on his performance.

Counsell made clear that Ballesteros earned more than just a bench seat. "He's going to DH for us a pretty significant amount to start the season," Counsell said. "When you have a player that has [Minor League] options and it's a young player, you've got to kind of beat down the door to get yourself in the lineup. And so, Moisés has earned that opportunity. You almost have to do a little more to get that opportunity, and I think he has. He's shown us through his stint last year and through what he's continued to do this spring that he deserves at-bats."

That stint last year was brief but consequential. In 20 games for the Cubs in 2025, Ballesteros hit .298/.394/.474 with two homers, two doubles, one triple, 11 RBIs, nine walks and a 151 OPS+. He played very little in the field, logging just six innings at catcher and four innings at first base over the course of those 20 games. His value was almost entirely at the plate, and it was enough to land him on two postseason rosters as Counsell's preferred left-handed pinch hitter.

The DH role makes sense given how the Cubs are constructed behind the dish. Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya are projected to split the duties behind the plate, leaving Ballesteros to provide depth at both catcher and first base while getting the bulk of his at-bats as the designated hitter. If Ballesteros is in Thursday's Opening Day lineup against the Washington Nationals and right-handed starter Cade Cavalli, he would become the youngest player in franchise history to DH in the season opener, according to team historian Ed Hartig.

The roster decision sent immediate ripple effects toward Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs optioned right-handed relievers Ethan Roberts and Gavin Hollowell to Triple-A Iowa on Friday afternoon, trimming the field of candidates for the lone vacancy in the Opening Day bullpen. Both pitchers have Major League experience and figure to be on call throughout the season, but their departures signal that Chicago is leaning toward a different arm for that final bullpen spot. Counsell confirmed Ben Brown's one-inning outing Wednesday was to prepare the right-hander for the possibility of being used out of the bullpen to start the season, with Javier Assad also in the mix for that last slot.

The bench picture remains unsettled. The Cubs still have a few 26-man roster decisions to make before Thursday, predominantly with their bench, which could be affected by right fielder Seiya Suzuki's status for the start of the season. A decision is expected by the end of the weekend regarding Suzuki's availability and whether he will need to go on the injured list because of a sprained PCL in his right knee. Counsell has noted that Suzuki did some light hitting and throwing on Wednesday, as well as some drills in a pool. The outfielder used Thursday's team off-day as a recovery day but was planning on attempting to up his activity level during Friday's workout.

What is settled is Ballesteros. At 22, ranked No. 55 in baseball, he hits with the kind of natural, all-fields approach that makes a manager slot him into a lineup and let it ride. Roberts and Hollowell will get their opportunities in Des Moines; Ballesteros gets Wrigley.