The Cubs were eliminated from playoff contention Saturday and as a result, their lineup Sunday looked quite a bit different.

As the Cubs were making a push for the playoffs, manager Craig Counsell was running out the same lineup on a near-daily basis.

Over the last few weeks that lineup looked like this:

1. Ian Happ – LF
2. Dansby Swanson – SS
3. Seiya Suzuki – DH
4. Cody Bellinger – RF
5. Isaac Paredes – 3B
6. Michael Busch – 1B
7. Nico Hoerner – 2B
8. Pete Crow-Armstrong – CF
9. Miguel Amaya/Christian Bethancourt – C

Sunday’s lineup for the series finale with the Nationals represented a departure from that consistency:

1. Happ – LF
2. Swanson – SS
3. Busch – 1B
4. Suzuki – DH
5. Mike Tauchman – RF
6. Paredes – 3B
7. Crow-Armstrong – CF
8. Amaya – C
9. Miles Mastrobuoni – 2B

Bellinger and Hoerner each get the day off after playing just about every day since the All-Star Break.

[MORE: Counsell evaluates Cubs’ defense throughout 2024 season]

Tauchman and Mastrobuoni have not received much playing time lately.

Tauchman came up with a big pinch-hit, 2-run single in Friday’s win. He has started only 5 games since the beginning of August.

Mastrobuoni was promoted from Triple-A Iowa when rosters expanded in September. He’s started just 1 game in that stretch (Sept. 8) and has only appeared in 5 contests.

The Cubs lineup will likely change at times throughout the rest of the season as the Cubs back off the gas pedal. That said, don’t expect to see prospects promoted from the minor leagues to get some experience over the final week.

“There’s no plans for that right now,” Counsell said.

With 6 games left after Sunday, the Cubs don’t have anything to play for in the standings.

But there is a lot to play for individually.

“Nothing changes,” Counsell said. “You go out and you play the game and you respect the game and you respect your teammates and that’s it.”

Bellinger could opt out of his contract after this season and become a free agent, so his overall statline will be an important factor.

The Cubs also have established veterans (Happ, Swanson, Suzuki, Hoerner, Paredes) who have been performing well offensively of late and will want to keep that rolling.

[MORE: Crow-Armstrong, Busch reflect on rookie seasons]

Then there is a trio of young players (Busch, Crow-Armstrong, Amaya) who need to continue to gather experience and will want to finish strong.

So conceivably, there would not be consistent playing time for young prospects and it doesn’t make sense to start their service time clock for limited big-league action.