With the baseball world being stuck in a lockout and us not knowing when it's going to end, though I hope it will be over before March, it's time to take a little review of the Cubs' offseason checklist, what they have accomplished and what needs to be accomplished.
Starting Pitching
The Cubs added Wade Miley off of waivers in the beginning of the offseason, adding a solid rotation piece that has great durability and shown some good success in 2021. Then, right before the lockout, they surprisingly added Marcus Stroman on a 3-year deal, giving the rotation a pitcher that has had great success in 2021 and one that is now a die-hard Cubs fan (and recruiter.)
The Cubs said at the beginning of the offseason that starting pitching would be a priority, and Hoyer said just recently that they were done focusing on the rotation, so we can conclude that they made the additions they wanted to for the rotation.
What are my thoughts on the final product? The rotation looks like this:
- Stroman
- Miley
- Hendricks
- Mills
- Alzolay/Steele
Obviously, I see a lot of groundball-reliant pitchers (like I've covered before in previous articles), but I also see a good veteran presence (Miley and Hendricks) which really should help balance out the younger two, possibly three (Alzolay, Steele, Thompson). I also see a rotation that is not very injury-prone, because the pitchers in the rotation are all softer-throwers to some extent and are not power-strikeout pitchers. That should be good, so we know that the likelihood of keeping this same rotation throughout the season is pretty high.
I also see pitchers that have had great success in the past. Even if you are a pitcher that is contact-reliant, but you still get outs and don't allow runs, then you are a successful pitcher. This is what I see in Stroman, Miley and Hendricks, all of which have potential to put together a great season.
So overall? I'm pretty happy with the rotation as it stands for 2022, but I still don't think it's a playoff-type rotation. The Cubs will probably have to get together a better rotation if they mean to compete, but in the interim (only 2022 I hope?) I think it's a solid rotation.
Bullpen
The Cubs have not made any official major league bullpen signings, though they have signed a few relief pitchers that will certainly be contributing on a major league level in 2022.
They have signed the following relief pitchers that will doubtless be in the Cubs bullpen at least some of 2022:
- Stephan Gonsalves
- Locke St John
- Conner Menez
- Mark Leiter Jr
And with that, you can't say that they haven't done anything to the bullpen this offseason, though they haven't been major signings like signing Chafin back or something. The Cubs obviously have some good internal options, with Marquez, Kilian, Roberts, Abbott, and possibly Jensen likely to contribute to the Cubs bullpen.
So, although the Cubs don't have a weak bullpen as of now, it's also not a dominant one. The roles of all those guys in the bullpen are still up in the air (set-up man, closer, multiple-innings reliever, etc.), and some of these guys it's their first MLB season. So, while the bullpen has potential to be very solid, the pieces really have to come together, and these guys have to perform well on a MLB level.
Are the Cubs done with the bullpen? I don't think that they are entirely. I do feel like there are other areas on the roster that need more attention, but adding a MLB reliver (maybe a veteran reliever?) might still be a move they would make.
How do I like the bullpen? Again, I see a lot of talent, but it needs to be harnessed and used to the most effective way possible. Potentially, it can be a perfectly solid bullpen, but there are big question marks there.
Conclusion
The Cubs have definitely focused on pitching in the first part of the offseason, and I think that's a good thing. The Cubs' pitching in 2021 was short of terrible (only those like Chafin, Tepera, and Kimbrel were dominant), so improvement was needed to say the least.
That's all for now!
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