Despite key injuries, the Chicago Cubs have a share of first place in the National League Central. The Cubs starting rotation has been stellar to start the year, but the bullpen has been an area of concern. However, with the trade deadline still a ways away the club’s president of baseball operations, Jed Hoyer, is ‘looking for a closer,’ according to The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney.
“When I think back on some very calm moments in my career, having Jonathan Papelbon and Aroldis Chapman back there is a good feeling,” Hoyer said. “I wouldn’t mind getting back to that where you can sort of pack up your stuff in the ninth inning and not have a lot of anxiety. That’s where we all want to be. There’s not many guys in the game you can say that about. Obviously, our job is to trade for one or to sign one, or to develop one. The teams that have those feel really comfortable.”
The Cubs bullpen has the sixth-worst ERA in the majors and has allowed the fourth most walks. The Cubs could move a starter to the bullpen as Justin Steele has made his return. Kyle Hendricks and Jordan Wicks should be returning soon.
Cubs Bullpen
While the Cubs have external options to fix the bullpen, Hoyer acknowledged that those moves are not abundantly available in May.
“We’ll be looking for external stuff,” Hoyer said. “But that stuff is generally not available this time of year, so the focus right now is on getting healthy and improving guys that might be struggling.”
The returns of Steele, Hendricks and Wicks should allow the Cubs to move Hayden Wesneski or Ben Brown to the bullpen. However, Wesneski shined in his last start against the Milwaukee Brewers. The 26-year-old went 6 1/3 innings, allowing just three hits and no runs.
The Cubs have moved Adbert Alzolay from the closer role. Alzolay has already blown five saves in 2024. He converted on 22 of 25 save opportunities in 2023. Héctor Neris has become the “unofficial closer,” but could potentially lose that role.
“It’s easy to see how he could eventually lose his spot in the ninth inning. He’s walking around 20 percent of the hitters he’s faced so far this season,” wrote Mooney.
Hoyer has already been involved in acquiring marquee closers in the past.
“The last World Series window in Wrigleyville featured a collection of All-Star closers as Theo Epstein and Hoyer traded for Aroldis Chapman and Wade Davis and later signed Craig Kimbrel,” wrote Mooney.
Miami Open for Business
One name mentioned by Mooney was Miami Marlins closer Tanner Scott. He has a 2.77 ERA in 13.0 innings pitched. He has converted on four out of five of his save opportunities.
“Scott is not a big name, but he has 37 career saves and 300-plus innings of major-league experience,” wrote Mooney. “He’s averaged almost 68 appearances across the past three seasons. He also has a walk rate of around 22 percent so far this year. He’s due the balance of his $5.7 million salary and can become a free agent after this season, which in Miami makes him expendable.”
The Marlins have already indicated their intentions when it comes to the trade deadline. They traded two-time All-Star and batting champion Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres. The Marlins president of baseball operations, Peter Bendix, acknowledged that the club is “unlikely to make the playoffs this year,” according to the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson. They are looking to maximize the value of proven players for the future.
While recapping the Cubs series-clinching win on his show, REKAP, ESPN 1000’s David Kaplan shared that the Cubs might be “working on a deal for a reliever” with the Marlins.
Hoyer does not expect the Arraez trade to start a series of moves from the club.
“I don’t expect that to kick off a ton of early deals,” said Hoyer. “It may be earlier than usual, but it’s not going to be all of a sudden in mid-May everyone’s making a bunch of trades.”
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