You look at this Chicago Cubs bullpen since the trade deadline, specifically the past month, and you dread the Wild Card Series that they’re currently penciled into in the National League. It’s probably not a good sign that Aaron Civale is the only Cubs reliever to consistently produce positive results since the beginning of August, considering that he’s been used as a multi-inning mop-up guy to semi-leverage spots out of the bullpen this year.
You can point to 2004, 2019, or 2023; Cubs fans have seen this before. This bullpen will be the death of the 2026 team.
Jacob Webb doesn’t have it anymore. Maybe Daniel Palencia figures it out with three weeks left in the regular season, but time is running out. Caleb Thielbar has been bad all year long. Ryan Zeferjahn was the big trade deadline acquisition to give the bullpen a boost, and he’s shrunk in most high-leverage spots that he’s been used in.
Tuesday’s loss was the second straight game in which the Cubs had a late lead, and the bullpen could not hold it down. Monday’s effort was obviously a little different, as Zeferjahn entered with no outs and two runners in scoring position in the eighth. But still, the inability to stop the bleeding, prevent a big inning, and stop that extra run from scoring has been killing the Cubs for the past month. No lead is safe for the Cubs with this bullpen, and when they do get the job done, it feels like a miracle.
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It’s a shame, really, for Webb, who did not give up a run for 24 straight games, covering nearly two months, until a walk-off home run by Randy Arozarena on Aug. 22 seemingly broke the right-handed reliever. Including that disaster, Webb has now allowed multiple runs in four of his last six appearances.
That stretch includes three blown saves from Webb, and holy shit, he’s maximized the pain for Cubs fans because each one came with the Cubs leading in the ninth inning with two outs. Two walk-off home runs against the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks in back-to-back outings, and then Tuesday night’s game-tying home run by Jackson Chourio.
Three blown saves, three losses for the Cubs. This team doesn’t have a closer or a setup man, and maybe Ryan Rolison is the only other true high-leverage reliever that Craig Counsell has any trust in right now.
Heading into Wednesday’s series finale against the Brewers, the Cubs have a three-game lead over the Diamondbacks for the second Wild Card spot, and it’s more like four because the Cubs do own the tiebreaker. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Phillies are up half a game on the Cubs for the No. 1 Wild Card spot; the Cubs also have the tiebreaker over the Phillies.
With this bullpen, 16 games left to play, no lead is safe in the standings either.
