For the Chicago Cubs, being “all in” when it comes to winning this year means that they have to be “all in” across the board, in every aspect of the game.
Although the Cubs front office has talked up the addition of another quality arm in the starting rotation and they made a major splash when they traded for the Houston Astros’ Kyle Tucker, it’s clear that the bullpen is something that needs to be addressed.
Last Season’s Bullpen Woes
Last season, a wildly ineffective relief core aided in putting the team in a hole early in the campaign from which they could never emerge. By the end of June, manager Craig Counsell and pitching coach Tommy Hottovy had managed to help turn things around, whipping the crew into one of the better bullpens in the league. But, unfortunately, it was too little, too late.
“Being self-critical, I feel like that’s something I didn’t do a good job of last offseason…When Adbert (Alzolay) struggled early, when (Héctor) Neris struggled early, when Julian (Merryweather) got hurt, we didn’t have the depth at that point that we needed,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer told The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma back in October. “That’s something that we’ll certainly look to improve going forward. That hurt us early.
“At a critical moment when those guys struggled and were hurt early, we didn’t have enough depth in that moment, and that hurt us. That’s something we have to address.”
Have The Chicago Cubs Done Enough To Fix The Bullpen?
However, looking at the team’s movements thus far in the offseason, not a lot has been done to add that depth.
The Cubs acquired 28-year-old right-hander Eli Morgan from the Cleveland Guardians via trade. They then received 30-year-old right-hander Cody Poteet from the New York Yankees in the trade for Cody Bellinger.
That doesn’t seem enough to truly insulate the team from a mess like the one that happened early last season.
ESPN Senior Writer David Schoenfield believes the Cubs bullpen is better than what the stats show, but that depth and consistency will probably have to come from within the organization.
Per Schoenfield:
“The Cubs ranked 25th in the majors in bullpen win probability added in 2024 after they were 17th in 2023, ninth in 2022 and 15th in 2021. One thing the Jed Hoyer regime has been unable to do: build consistently effective bullpens. Craig Counsell, who managed great bullpens in Milwaukee, was supposed to help turn around this trend, but the Cubs again underperformed their Pythagorean record (by seven wins under David Ross in 2023 and by five wins under Counsell in 2024).
Barring any further additions — and there are still some good relievers out there in free agency — the Cubs will be counting primarily on internal improvement…
FanGraphs currently ranks the Cubs’ bullpen 26th in projected WAR. I think it’s better than that, but it’s hardly a sure thing.”
Cheap And/Or Frugal?
If Chicago dips into free agency and signs a big name, like Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates, or Jeff Hoffman, with a big-money, multiple-year deal, it will fly in the face of everything Jed Hoyer’s front office has done over the last few years.
But, maybe, that’s exactly what’s needed for a team that, possibly, has a one-year window under the field leadership of Kyle Tucker to make a run at playing deep into the post-season.
If the Cubs remain true to form, however, they’ll pass over the flashy, big money free agent bullpen arms and try to make the most of what costs them the least.
The 23-year-old Porter Hodge, who picked up nine saves and posted a 1.88 ERA over 43 innings in his rookie season, will likely be pegged for closer duty. From there, the team hopes for good health and good fortune for their relievers, plus a boost from new additions Morgan and Poteet.
All of this makes fans wonder whether Chicago’s frugal policy on relievers will come back to bite them on the rear end– again.
Follow me on Twitter at @boxing_tribune, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Paul Magno via email at paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com.
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