It wasn’t the best western road trip for the Chicago Cubs. They headed to Seattle having won nine road series on the road, and they head back to Chicago having dropped both series against the Mariners and the Diamondbacks. Not only that, they’ve lost three of their last four series and while they still have a two-game cushion for the top wild card spot they are back to 6.5 games behind the Brewers for the National League Central lead. In other words, the Cubs are in a pretty good position to make
the playoffs, but with 28 games to go they need to get back to their winning ways. Their 4-6 record in their last 10 games isn’t going to cut it.
For the most recent sample, one of the issues that jumped out to me was the bullpen. The Mariners walked the Cubs off twice, once from a tie in the ninth and once from a deficit of two. The Diamondbacks came back from being down 4-0, first against presumptive closer Daniel Palencia and finally against the pitcher who’s more recently been in that role, Jacob Webb. Regardless, that’s three games the Cubs had in the W column that moved to a loss in the course of a week, which is cause for concern.
To be clear, this is not a new concern. With the injury issues the Cubs have dealt with this season, the bullpen has been an adventure for a while now. Admittedly, Webb has done more than anyone could have expected from an offseason free agent signing. He’s thrown 58.2 innings this season with a 2.91 ERA off a 3.75 FIP and while the 26.0 percent strikeout rate doesn’t exactly scream closer, he’s gotten the job done with nine saves so far this season. That said, he’s blown six save opportunities and all of those wind up being games that the Cubs either need to come back and win in the bottom of the ninth or losses.
Having Palencia back in the fold could stabilize the bullpen in the waning weeks of the season. His first appearance back was classic Palencia, pitching a scoreless, hitless inning with two strikeouts against the Mariners. His second appearance was less compelling. He gave up three runs in two-thirds of an inning, giving up two hits, walking a batter and hitting Jordan Lawlar in a moment that was scary for everyone watching the game.
With all of that in mind, here’s a look at the current pitchers in the Cubs bullpen along with a few guys who might come back to impact the end of games between now and October:
To be clear, two of the best options on this list are also two of the least likely options to help the Cubs in the Postseason. There was news yesterday that Ben Brown suffered a setback after he threw a bullpen session and felt symptoms of his neck issue re-emerge. Additionally, earlier this month we learned that offseason free agent acquisition Hunter Harvey hasn’t been progressing as the Cubs hoped. So the high-leverage calvary probably isn’t on the way to the North Side of Chicago anytime soon. That said, manager Craig Counsell has gotten the Cubs to this point of the season with fewer options than he has now, so here’s hoping the off day and some home field vibes at the corner of Clark and Addison can turn the bullpen around over three games against the Reds and four games against the Brewers.
