Cubs bullpen, despite hiccups, has path to becoming legitimate strength

Relievers are notoriously fickle. Even those who have an established record and are generally trustworthy have their moments of struggle. But there’s a simple trait most look for when searching for bullpen arms that can thrive.

“There’s adversity thrown in front of you, there’s failure thrown in front of you,” Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “How do you respond to it and how do you grow from it?”

Cubs relievers have faced plenty of adversity this season. Entering play Friday, they were 27th in the league in ERA (5.17), 29th in strikeout rate (18.9%) and had the eighth-highest walk rate (11.2%). Being anywhere close to those numbers for the remainder of the season would be an outright disaster.

But even with recent difficult moments, there appears to be a path to success for this group. Friday’s 4-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies was highlighted by Colin Rea’s five shutout innings as the veteran has filled in well for the injured Justin Steele. But the bullpen also provided four scoreless innings as it inches toward stability.

Brad Keller worked a scoreless inning, bouncing back nicely after four earned runs in one-third of an inning Tuesday. Lefty Drew Pomeranz made his Cubs debut and kicked things off nicely by striking out Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, touching as high as 94 mph with his fastball. And Daniel Palencia continued to look like a different version of himself compared to what he gave the Cubs last summer, working a clean ninth.

“The most important thing Daniel has been doing so far is attacking the strike zone,” Counsell said. “That’s put him in a pretty good position. He’s doing a good job. I think being in the strike zone is going to give him confidence, and it’s the way for him to pitch.”

Entering this season, Palencia had a 13.8% career walk rate. With a triple-digit heater and a nasty slider, he’s always been a tantalizing talent. But the walks have sunk him. So far through 6⅔ innings this season, he’s pounding the zone and walking just 8% of batters. That has allowed him to slowly gain the trust of Counsell, who continues to give Palencia higher leverage moments.

Porter Hodge gained that trust last season. After dominating for much of this season, Hodge finally had a bad outing in last Friday’s wild contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He worked just two-thirds of an inning, facing eight batters and allowing four hits and two walks in a 6-run outing that ballooned his ERA. In his three outings since, Hodge has been perfect, facing nine batters and retiring each one.

“I’m proud of Porter,” Counsell said. “He had a rough outing, and he came out and threw (three) great innings after that outing. That’s impressive.”

Guys such as Palencia, Hodge, Keller and Julian Merryweather (who is healthy this season and looking like the dominant 2023 version) have the type of velocity and swing-and-miss stuff this bullpen has been lacking. Ethan Roberts has emerged as a trusted do-it-all type. Ryan Pressly, who was shaky early, brings the veteran presence the group missed in recent years.

When team president Jed Hoyer traded for Pressly this winter, the hope was he’d bring a known element to the back end of the bullpen. Of course, at 36, there were some questions as to whether he could still be effective.

After his first six outings, those questions certainly seemed legitimate. Despite not allowing many runs and his only blown save coming when his defense failed him, Pressly had allowed nine hits, including a home run, along with six walks to just two strikeouts in his first six innings.

Counsell insisted Pressly just needed to get on the mound and would eventually find his rhythm. His manager appears to have been right. Pressly has looked impressive since that rough start. They’d certainly prefer a higher strikeout rate than his 17.6%, but he’s allowed no walks, no runs and just three hits in his last five outings.

Pressly was not available during the Dodgers series after having his right knee drained of fluid, and he was avoided Friday, as well. Pressly threw off a mound before the win against the Phillies, and Counsell said the team was “very encouraged” by his work and felt he was trending in the right direction. He wouldn’t commit to whether Pressly would be available Saturday.

“It’s been an annoyance for a little while here,” Counsell said of Pressly’s knee. “It just got to the point where he doesn’t want to deal with it. If we can do something quickly to get rid of it or maybe lessen it, it’s going to put him in a better spot on a day-to-day basis.”

Counsell said having a knee drained is probably more common than the average fan or media member realizes. He said it’s often a procedure that’s done before an off day and allows for a player to be ready to go rather quickly. The hope for Pressly and the Cubs is that this lessens the issue and that it becomes more manageable for the veteran.

Just two weeks ago, it seemed like Pressly may be a major issue for the Cubs and the bullpen could be headed for disaster. Days such as Tuesday and last Friday will bring questions from fans. But the reality is the Cubs seem to be finding numerous options to get the job done.

Even with Pressly’s knee, the team seems to have developed legitimate depth. The relievers need to prove it and get the job done for an extended time, but as a brutal schedule to start the season approaches an end, the Cubs may be turning a corner when it comes to the relief corps. They’ll need reinforcements as the season goes along, but the bullpen has a chance to rid itself of the label of being the team’s weakest unit.

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