The Bullpen IS an Issue, and There’s an Easy Fix
Sep 19, 2017; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein talks with manager Joe Maddon (70) prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Since the end of the 2018 season Theo Epstein has been preaching urgency. The team needs to get off to a hot start. They expect the club to be in first at the end of the first month. There’s a sense that Joe Maddon is on the hot seat this season, and if the Cubs don’t start hot then he could be out by mid-season. The club didn’t help their cause by going 1-2 against a Texas Rangers team that lost 95 games in 2018.
The Cubs offense has not been a problem in 2019. They have scored 28 runs in their fist three games of the season. Most players have been tearing the cover off the ball.
What is most impressive is the Cubs hitting with runners in scoring position, or what the Cubs are calling, opportunity hitting. Currently they are slashing .366/.471/.592 with a 1.429 OPS and 21 RBI in these situations. Add two-outs and the Cubs are slashing an impressive .313/.417/.438 and have driven in 8 runs in 16 opportunities.
Of course this is after just three games, but the offense is showing the urgency that they need.
Pitching
Coming into the 2019 season we knew the bullpen was going to be an issue, especially at the start. With Brandon Morrow out with an injury and Pedro Strop still nursing a hamstring. Strop is back, but has been a bit shaky in his first two appearances of the season. Morrow will help add depth, but the team still is relying on guys like Carl Edwards Jr and Mike Montgomery in tight situations even after he returns.
The starting staff is what has been a bit surprising. After Jon Lester, Yu Darvish had a poor outing and Cole Hamels seemed to have things going until his fourth inning where gave up five runs including a grand slam to Delino DeShields Jr.
While the pitching staff as a whole has been questionable, I believe Maddon’s handling of the staff has shown some urgency. He pulled Darvish after 2.2 innings, that same game he put Jose Quintana in the game in relief. He has relied on Tyler Chatwood, till he broke.
Not all moves paid off, but a carpenter is only as good as the tools in his tool belt. Right now it seems most tools in his belt are dull.
Practice what you preach
I have never criticized Theo on anything. Sure there have been some moves that haven’t paid off. There have been some contracts that have broke the bank. There have even been some trades that sent high profile prospects elsewhere for rentals. Regardless of that all, I continue to stand behind Theo.
Thing is, if he wants the players to have urgency, the pitching to show urgency, hitters to take every at bat like it is game seven, and have Maddon coach with urgency – should Theo also show urgency himself?
There is a glaring weakness on this club, and it is the bullpen. Personally I think the closer is figured out in Morrow, but Theo made a move to replace a good closer in the past by trading the team’s highest rated prospect. If he wanted to improve upon the closer spot in 2019, all it will take is cash.
Craig Kimbrel is out there. He wants to play for a team. He wants to play for money. But the Cubs *claim* to have no money.
The Cubs have a payroll of $208 M and a tax number of $222 M. Kimbrel will absolutely want the biggest AAV for a reliever ever, which would break Wade Davis’s $17.3 M AAV deal. This would likely put Kimbrel over $20 million a year.
Can’t have it both ways
If there is a top down call for urgency, you can’t skip a rung on the ladder. It has got to be all levels. This is early in the season, but if the top echelons of the organization is calling for urgency then it has got to be everybody. No exceptions. Theo, Jed Hoyer, Maddon, the first player on the roster and the last.
If “October begins in March” then the July deadline was three months ago and right now all the Cubs have to show for it is Daniel Descalso. Not that Descalso isn’t a good player, he is, but an utility infielder wasn’t the Cubs need. They have got to add, and Kimbrel and his career 1.91 ERA and 333 saves would stretch out the Cubs bullpen.
I am not criticizing Theo here. I am not getting ahead of myself. I’m not giving up on anything. I think that the Cubs are the most talented offensive team in the National League, maybe entire league. I think the Cubs have the deepest starting rotation in the National League. I don’t think the Cubs have an adequate bullpen as currently constructed.
Kimbrel doesn’t fix the Cubs bullpen, but he makes them a lot better. This could be a team that makes a deep playoff run, but with the bullpen as currently constructed they will scratch and claw and fight every single day, even when they have large leads. Kimbrel can at least help lock down that last inning. That pushes Pedro Strop to the eighth, which locks down that inning. This promotes Steve Cishek and Carl Edwards Jr to the seventh and less stressful inning. Without it, games like Sunday night will continue to happen. Games like Saturday night will continue to happen.
Signing Kimbrel has got to happen. Theo, make this happen.
