Bullpen Help? These two former Cubs relievers are still available

Charles LeClaire - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 1 day ago

Many feel the Cubs are done making major league moves for the offseason after agreeing to a one-year, six-million-dollar deal with Justin Turner (with $2.5 million in incentives). If that holds true, the Cubs have had an excellent offseason and filled many of the needs they aimed to fill.

Sure, you would've loved them to add at least another starting pitcher, but considering the lack of production Kyle Hendricks has given this team the past two years, Matthew Boyd, at the very least, will provide you with more production, instantly making this team better. Adding Kyle Tucker to this lineup was a huge addition, but losing Cody Bellinger in what was a salary dump still raises some questions, as their lineup would've looked so much better with both of them in the middle.

As part of the salary dump, the Cubs received an additional 27 million dollars to spend this offseason, and many felt that this would allow them to make several more moves. The Cubs had a plan to land Alex Bregman, but after watching him sign with the Red Sox, they shifted their focus to Turner as their fallback plan.

Although Turner is not the player that Bregman is, Turner did come much cheaper and essentially saved the Cubs more than 20 million dollars that would've gone toward Bregman. That additional 20 million keeps them well under the luxury tax and, if anything, gives them more roster flexibility should they need to add players throughout the season.

Many feel the Cubs are done making moves because of the luxury tax itself, as Tom Ricketts refuses to go over that first tier. Even at that, 20 million dollars is a lot of money, and should the Cubs go after another player or two, they will still have enough money to use as the season goes on.

Unless they trade for a starter, in which case most of their remaining funds would be used to pay that starter, the Cubs roster does seem to be set in stone for the Spring. However, given how poorly their bullpen performed last season, they are still considering additional help. Jed Hoyer has done a great job building up the bullpen this offseason, but no one will get mad if he adds another name to the mix.

Not only are there several relievers still on the open market, but two relievers who the Cubs have been linked to all offseason and have prior connections to the Cubs organization.

David Robertson and Andrew Chafin are the names that continue to be linked to the Cubs, as both of them are still looking for work and would be the final piece to what has been a strong offseason thus far.

Robertson has been linked to the Cubs for most of the offseason, and there were reports as recently as January 30 that the Cubs and Robertson were discussing a reunion. Then came the Ryan Brasier trade with the Dodgers, which seemed to kill that momentum, but that doesn't mean the sides haven't continued to talk.

Despite his age (39), Robertson has been one of the best relievers in baseball the past few seasons, and you can make the case that he started to round back into form during his time with the Cubs. After posting a 2.40 ERA in 63 innings in 2022, Robertson has responded with ERAs of 3.03 and 3.00 the past two seasons while throwing at least 60 innings each year.

Looking at his last three years as a whole, Robertson has been one of the best relievers in the game as his 201 innings rank (7th), 2.82 ERA (24th), and 31.1% strikeout rate (19th). By far, the more expensive remaining option on the market, the longer he goes unsigned, the lower the price tag would be, as he would give the Cubs another late-inning arm to depend on.

While Robertson may be the better of the two options, Andrew Chafin makes the most sense and has also been linked to the Cubs this offseason. Like Robertson, Chafin turned his career around with the Cubs and emerged as one of the best left-handed relievers on the Northside.

He hasn't had the same success since being traded, but he still managed to post a 3.51 ERA over 56 innings last season with a near 29% strikeout rate. That includes a strikeout rate of nearly 32% against lefties, which is why he makes the most sense for the team. As their current roster is constructed, Caleb Thielbar is the lone lefty in the pen, and coming off the season he had, there is a ton of pressure on him.

Sure, guys like Luke Little, Riley Martin, and Brandon Hughes are also possible options for the Cubs, but none of them are proven southpaws, which puts this team in a tough spot. Not only is Chafin a proven lefty, but he would cap off the offseason for the Cubs as he would be the missing piece to what the bullpen is lacking.