{"id":93251,"date":"2025-01-03T14:58:38","date_gmt":"2025-01-03T19:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=93251"},"modified":"2025-01-03T14:58:38","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T19:58:38","slug":"cubs-bullpen-left-handed-depth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/01\/03\/cubs-bullpen-left-handed-depth\/","title":{"rendered":"The Case for More Lefties in the Cubs\u2019 Bullpen"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the new year begins, the Chicago Cubs’ bullpen needs to drift to the left. The recent acquisition of journeyman reliever Caleb Thielbar<\/a> gives the Northsiders just three left-handed options on the 40-man roster. What’s worse, the Cubs prospect pool lists just one lefty among its top 30. While the starting rotation could still use some depth, the Cubs’ front office must be thinking about adding more left-handed depth.<\/p>\n

The Case for More Lefties in the Cubs\u2019 Bullpen<\/h2>\n

The 40-Man Roster is Right-side Heavy<\/h3>\n

A Steady and Reliable\u00a0(When Healthy) Returning Cast<\/h3>\n

The good news is that the Cubs’ stable of righties offers some interesting talent with a variety of experience. The reliable cast of Julian Merryweather<\/a>, Nate Pearson<\/a>, Tyson Miller and Keegan Thompson<\/a> gives Cubs manager Craig Counsell<\/a> some nice short, long and late-inning relief options.<\/p>\n

Returning Autumn closer<\/a>, Porter Hodge, showed real potential in that role last year. Then there’s Ben Brown, who’s been green-lighted to begin<\/a> a normal preseason transition and could serve either in a starting or relief role.<\/p>\n

Some Highly Talented, If Unreliable Young Relievers<\/h3>\n

Beyond that core Counsell and his staff will be looking to develop some brilliant young talent. Daniel Palencia<\/a> and Jack Neely<\/a>, 24, have electric stuff but haven’t yet harnessed it. While Ethan Roberts<\/a> and Caleb Killian, 27, have struggled with injuries and haven’t yet realized their potential.<\/p>\n

Thirty-year-old Cody Poteet<\/a> pitched well in limited action for the New York Yankees last season. Poteet is the one treasure that came in the trade that sent Cody Bellinger to the Bronx Bombers with cash<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Maybe the Cubs’ best offseason acquisition<\/a> so far is 28 year old Eli Morgan who the Cubs got in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians for right fielder Alfonsin Rosario<\/a>. Morgan recorded a 3-0 record with a 1.93 ERA and 0.98 WHIP for the Guardians last season.<\/p>\n

Add to the list of unseasoned prospects are the six-foot-seven Gavin Hollowell<\/a>, 27, and Cubs number 18 prospect, Michael Arias<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Bullpen’s Lonely Lefties<\/h3>\n

The aforementioned Caleb Thielbar, 37, will be the old man in the bullpen for the Cubs. The journeyman left-hander has a career record of 23-12, with a 3.38 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 347 games. But his 5.32 ERA and 1.56 WHIP for the Minnesota Twins last season was his worst as a pro.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Rob Zastryzny<\/a>, 32, whom the Cubs claimed off waivers<\/a> in November, had his best year in 2024, albeit in limited action. The only other option for Counsell, to this point, will be Luke Little<\/a>. The hard-throwing 24-year-old has shown signs of brilliance but has struggled to find the plate.<\/p>\n

We should also mention Jordan Wicks<\/a>, 25, who will be seeking a starting role. Wicks is another inexperienced talent who will likely spend time in the bullpen as he figures out how to pitch consistently at the major league level.<\/p>\n

The Picking’s Are Slim Down On the Farm<\/h3>\n

There isn’t much to choose from in the Cubs’ farm system. A top 30 featuring nine pitchers overall, including number three Cade Horton, has one left-handed option. Drew Gray<\/a>, 21, is said to have good movement on his mid-90’s fastball, a slider and a curve. But after one season of Single-A ball he’s still too green to think of as a legitimate target for 2025.<\/p>\n

The Front Office Needs to Think About Adding More Lefty Depth<\/h3>\n

The Cubs’ bullpen needs, both in lefty arms and closing power, are serious if they intend to contend this season. With the likes of Tanner Scott<\/a> (4.5 WAR), Danny Coulombe<\/a> (15-9, 3.52 ERA, 1.21 WHIP over 10 seasons), and A.J. Minter<\/a>, 31, still available, there are plenty of reliable arms to choose from.<\/p>\n

Coulombe and Minter might make the most sense given the Cubs’ present needs and ever-present budget restraints. But president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has sworn to build a contender. If so, he’s going to have to answer this question among others the remainder of this offseason.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credits: Matt Marton-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the new year begins, the Chicago Cubs’ bullpen needs to drift to the left. The recent acquisition of journeyman reliever Caleb Thielbar gives the Northsiders just three left-handed options on the 40-man roster. What’s worse, the Cubs prospect pool lists just one lefty among its top 30. While the starting rotation could still use […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5158,"featured_media":93264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24,2,926,1071],"tags":[68,69],"class_list":["post-93251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cubs","category-featured","category-milb","category-mlb","tag-baseball","tag-mlb"],"modified_by":"Evan Mazza, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5158"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93251"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93266,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93251\/revisions\/93266"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}