CHICAGO CUBS CLINCH PLAYOFFS WITH ROSTER FEATURING FORMER IOWA CUBS
DES MOINES, IA – On September 17, the Chicago Cubs defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates by an 8-4 score to clinch a spot in the 2025 Major League playoffs. It marks the first time the Cubs have clinched a playoff spot since 2020. As of Sept. 30, the current active roster
DES MOINES, IA – On September 17, the Chicago Cubs defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates by an 8-4 score to clinch a spot in the 2025 Major League playoffs. It marks the first time the Cubs have clinched a playoff spot since 2020.
As of Sept. 30, the current active roster features six players who played for the Iowa Cubs in 2025, including right-handed pitchers Porter Hodge and Cade Horton, catchers Moises Ballesteros and Reese McGuire, infielder Matt Shaw and outfielder Kevin Alcántara.
Another former I-Cub who contributed to the postseason chase was Pete Crow-Armstrong, who played for Iowa in 2023-24. Crow-Armstrong became the second player in Cubs franchise history (third occurrence) since 1901 to reach the 30HR/30 SB mark, which occurred on September 26 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Other notable names that made the 26-man playoff roster and previously played for Iowa are right-handed pitchers Colin Rea and Daniel Palencia. Rea played for Iowa in 2019 and posted a 14-4 record with a 3.95 ERA in 26 starts. Palencia has been with Iowa from 2023-25 where he's posted a 2-2 record with a 5.34 ERA in 52 appearances (one start) and outfielder Ian Happ played with Iowa during the 2017 and 2019 seasons and hit a .255 batting average (118-for-463), 25 homers and 78 RBI.