2025 Chicago Cubs Season Predictions: Long Relief |
Dustin Riese
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- 17 hours ago
We have reached the stretch run of our season projection series as we shift to the bullpen. This was without question the Achilles heel for the Cubs last season as 41 blown leads and 27 blown saves cost this team a playoff berth in 2024. That can't happen again, and Jed Hoyer knew that going into the offseason as he has done a great job retooling this bullpen.
Not only have the Cubs done plenty of retooling, but they have added depth across the board, as the pen is in much better shape than it was a season ago. Regardless of what the roster says, it will still be up to the pitchers themselves to produce. Otherwise, the Cubs will once again be on the outside looking in come October. Unlike the rest of our season projection series, where we break each player down individually, the bullpen will be divided into three categories: Long, Middle, and Late relief. Those are the three categories talked about for the bullpen, and the Cubs have more than 25 pitchers to choose from when heading into Spring. Part one of the bullpen is what some like to call low-leverage relief, but think of this as long relief. These are the guys who will be counted on to give the team multiple innings and will fill the roles of pitching in every situation. As the roster currently sits, two names appear to be the only locks for this position, as Colin Rea and Nate Pearson are destined to begin in long relief. Rea was signed as a free agent in December and was given a one-year five million dollar contract. While some expect him to compete and potentially lock down the No. 5 spot, history shows he isn't a long-term starter. Sure, from time to time, you can count on him to be a starter and eat up innings, but his value is going to be in the pen, where you can use him in several situations.
Pearson will be one of the mysteries this season, especially when you look at his overall potential. One of the many in-season pickups made by the Cubs, Person played a considerable role in the second-half turnaround by the Cubs bullpen. The former Top-100 prospect and one of the best prospects in the Blue Jays system, Pearson has gone from a starting pitcher to a reliever and hasn't had much success with it.
What he did after coming to the Cubs is living proof that the potential is there for him to be something special. The Cubs have already reported that Pearson will be stretched out some this Spring with the hopes of him being one of those multi-inning openers that many teams use. Should that not work, you have the multi-inning approach in the pen, as he will be counted on a ton this season.
Outside of those names, the Cubs have plenty of other options that are deemed potential fits. Tyson Miller is another excellent option here after being acquired from Seattle last season. Like Pearson, Miller was the first step in improving the pen and went on to have a fantastic season in Chicago. However, he is pitching for his job this spring with no remaining options.
The same can be said about Keegan Thompson, who was once viewed as the Cubs secret weapon out of the pen. However, since May of 2023, Thompson has been a shell of himself, and it's starting to look like he may never round back into form again. If there were ever a time for him to do that, this Spring would be the time, as Thompson is another pitcher out of options.
That means that Miller or Thompson is almost guaranteed to make the team out of camp; otherwise, they will be released by the organization and picked up by another team. Apart from those names, Caleb Kilian is an option as a low-leverage long reliever, as is Cody Poteet, whom the Cubs received as part of the Cody Bellinger deal.
Ethan Roberts and Jack Neely are two more arms that the Cubs should consider as low-leverage arms to start the season.
The difference between the second half of names and the first half is that all of them have Minor League options remaining, allowing the Cubs to send them down with the option of calling them up during the season. That's a good problem to have heading into 2025.
