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What Cubs bullpen looks like with Ryan Pressly in the mix

3 weeks agoAndy Martinez

The Cubs have added the veteran, backend reliever they’ve been searching for.

After reportedly acquiring Ryan Pressly in another big trade with Houston, the Cubs’ bullpen — for the most part — seems complete.

So how do things look for Craig Counsell’s reliever corps?

Well, let’s break down how that part of the roster shapes out as Counsell and the Cubs front office prepare for pitchers and catchers to report to Spring Training in about two weeks.

[Cubs add veteran depth in Jon Berti to their infield]

The Cubs have added a ton of arms this offseason, giving Counsell options, but as camp nears, there’ll be competition for the eight spots in the bullpen — with potentially little wiggle room.

Pressly’s addition gives them a bonafide relief ace — despite struggles, he still posted a 3.49 ERA in 2024. But Pressly also gives them something they’re chock full of — pitchers without minor league options.

Beyond Pressly, their current 40-man roster has seven relief pitchers without minor-league options: righties Tyson Miller, Keegan Thompson, Julian Merryweather, Matt Festa and Pressly and lefties Caleb Thielbar and Rob Zastryzny.

If the season started today, the Cubs pitching staff would probably feature those seven arms, plus a rotation of Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd and Colin Rea. That would leave one spot open in the bullpen.

Porter Hodge was undoubtedly the breakout relief star for the Cubs — he developed into the team’s closer and racked up 9 saves in his rookie campaign 2024. So he could be a candidate for that last spot, but he might not be a guarantee.

Javier Assad was just as key of a piece for the Cubs, albeit in the rotation, and would figure to be in the pitching mix all spring.

Then, there’s a bunch of intriguing pitchers with options that have strong cases to be in the mix for a spot.

Nate Pearson was a key, trusted reliever for Counsell in 2024 and had a 2.73 ERA in 19 appearances after being traded from Toronto at the deadline. Righty Eli Morgan went unheralded in a loaded Cleveland bullpen in 2024, pitching to a 1.93 ERA in 32 games and should be in the conversation, too. The Cubs traded for Morgan early in the offseason.

[How Cubs’ Ben Brown is attacking offseason after injury cut his 2024 short]

Young arms like Ben Brown (3.58 ERA in 55.1 innings in 2024) and Luke Little (3.46 ERA in 30 games in 2024) looked like promising options before injuries cut their seasons short. Plus, there are non-roster invitees with big-league experience like Phil Bickford, Brooks Kriske and Ben Heller who will surely get looks.

Of course, the Cubs don’t have to make any roster decisions now. Injuries, poor performances and even more roster moves mean that this group could look vastly different when they team jets off to Japan in March.

Regardless, though, the bullpen will be a hotly contested position battle in Feburary and March.

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