At this point in the year, the Chicago Cubs have to try and do everything possible to optimize their bullpen as they cling to their playoff spot. While the relief options have been better in the past four games, there are still major concerns in high-leverage situations, and although there are two weeks remaining in the regular season to hopefully sort those issues out, some help would be great. There won’t be any one savior, but rehabbing reliever Gavin Hollowell could upgrade the Cubs’ bullpen down the stretch.
The 28-year-old relief pitcher was having a nice year out of the bullpen before an injury sidelined Hollowell at the end of July. The sample size was relatively small- 14 appearances covering 14.1 innings- but nonetheless, the right-hander was stellar with a 2.51 ERA. That included a stretch of only giving up two earned runs in 12.2 innings from June 16 through July 30.
In his last 13 games before going down with right shoulder inflammation, Hollowell posted a 1.42 ERA with 12 strikeouts.
Hollowell had an extended departure from game action, recovering from his shoulder issue, and did not pitch again until Sept. 5 with the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A. He’s made three rehab appearances since, including a perfect inning of relief on Friday. He struck out two batters to complete his second straight scoreless outing with Iowa.
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During this past weekend’s series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cubs activated Edward Cabrera from the injured list and added him to the bullpen, replacing Trent Thornton, who was placed on the 15-day injured list because of an ankle issue. If the Cubs do believe that Hollowell can be an impact arm for the rest of the regular season, then we could once again see Javier Assad being the odd-man out, as he’s the only pitcher on the active roster with minor league options remaining. At least from the guys you’d consider replacing if there isn’t an injury.
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Right-handed pitcher Gavin Hollowell has been kind of nasty out of the bullpen since June, but he’s going to miss at least a couple of weeks. The 28-year-old pitched a scoreless eighth inning in Thursday’s 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, but now Hollowell has been placed on the 15-day injured list because of shoulder inflammation.
The Cubs announced the roster move, promoting Kelly to take Hollowell’s spot in the bullpen ahead of Friday’s series opener against the New York Yankees.
The right-handed reliever missed nearly three weeks in April with an unspecified injury when he was with the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A.
Hollowell had a rough season debut, allowing two runs in 1.2 innings, which included four walks in what was supposed to be a low-leverage spot against the Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs were up 8-1 when Hollowell entered in the eighth inning, and he couldn’t make it out of the ninth, forcing Craig Counsell to go to Daniel Palencia to escape a bases-loaded jam. Hollowell was optioned back to Iowa the next day.
However, because of all the pitching injuries, Hollowell received another shot, and he’s been pretty damn good since returning from Triple-A. In his last 13 games, Hollowell has recorded a 1.42 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 12.2 innings. He’s been asked to pitch in more high-leverage situations, including a save opportunity against the Pittsburgh Pirates last week, which Hollowell converted.
