3 Cubs players who won’t be on the roster by September 1

These three members of the Chicago Cubs roster are the ones most likely to be gone by September 1.

The Chicago Cubs roster looks different today than it did when the season began. Although core players like Willson Contreras and Ian Happ remain, many of the other guys are long gone.

The Cubs are playing out this season with an eye toward the future. A part of this involves giving as many innings as they can to players they think could be a fit for them next year.

With those decisions comes some bad news for some other players. By September 1, it’s these three that are most likely to see their time with the club come to an end even if it’s just for a short period of time.

1. Cubs roster can clear the way for someone else over Zach McKinstry

Zach McKinstry hasn’t had a productive stint with the Cubs since joining them. The piece acquired for Chris Martin at the trade deadline, the Cubs should already have some second thoughts about having him be the piece they acquired. As average as Martin had been, it might have been wiser to see if the Los Angeles Dodgers would give them a more controllable prospect rather than a 26th man for the bench.

There is an easy argument to make with respect to keeping McKinstry on the roster and it’s two-words long: why not?

The Cubs don’t care about the standings, clearly. But with some other possible candidates to receive playing time over McKinstry, who still does have minor league options, perhaps they even just temporarily send him down to the farm in favor of someone else.

McKinstry did get enough playing time with the Dodgers to show he probably isn’t going to suddenly turn into an everyday player. He seems to be not much more than a seat filler this year on a Cubs team that should be prepared to experiment with the roster.