Strength Or Weakness? A Look At The Cubs' 2022 Bullpen

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Welcome back, baseball.

After plenty of uncertainty this winter regarding if and when baseball would be played in 2022, we now know that a full 162-game season is on the horizon. Questions remain for nearly all 30 teams as they’ll soon navigate this very unique season after a shortened spring training calendar.

The Chicago Cubs (and its die-hard fan base) have questions, too. Specifically, the bullpen will be an area to keep a close eye on for the first few weeks of the season. If the Cubs are to be surprise contenders this season, a strong bullpen figures to be a key ingredient.

It was a very busy March for the team’s front office as the club acquired veteran relievers Jesse Chavez, Chris Martin, Robert Gsellman, David Robertson, Mychal Givens, Steven Brault, and Daniel Norris, among others.

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Let’s take a look at how the Cubs’ bullpen is shaping up.

Closer Candidates

Rowan Wick

Wick emerged in 2019 as one of the team’s better relievers with an impressive 2.43 ERA across 31 games. He provided value again in the shortened 2020 pandemic season, sporting a 3.12 ERA in 19 games.

Wick will be in the mix to close games in 2022, but he will need to lower his walk rate. He walked 14 batters in 2021 in just 23 innings, and his career walk rate stands at 4.1 BB/9 (walks issued per nine innings). It’s never a good idea to issue free passes in the 9th inning when you’re trying to secure a win.

David Robertson

Robertson turns 37 on April 9 so the Cubs will hope to squeeze some good baseball out of him as he enters the twilight of his career. And what a career it’s been for Robertson.

An American League All-Star in 2011, Robertson holds a career ERA of 2.93, spread across 13 seasons and now five different teams. He has 137 career saves and from 2014 to 2016, he was one of the games’ most reliable closers, averaging 37 saves per season with an ERA in the low 3.00’s.

The concern will be Robertson’s recent past. He has just 18.2 innings pitched over the last three seasons, and they have not been pretty (5.40 ERA in 2019; 4.50 ERA in 2021). Still, his resume suggests he will have an opportunity for 9th inning work this year.

Mychal Givens

Along with Robertson, and many others on this list, Givens was signed as a free agent in March of 2022 to add depth and a veteran arm to a Cubs’ pen in need. Givens, a 31-year-old with 29 career saves, may also get a chance at the 9th inning this year, but also may be a key setup man for the 8th inning.

Like Wick, walks have been an issue for Givens, as he posted a 4.8 BB/9 rate in 2021, pitching for the Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds.

Givens has demonstrated that he can be a workhorse in the bullpen, as he averaged 73 innings pitched in four years from 2016 to 2019 while he pitched in Baltimore.

Middle Relief

Daniel Norris

Norris figures to be the only left-hander in the Cubs’ bullpen to start the year, as the team currently has lefties Justin Steele and Drew Smyly slated for the starting rotation. This is, in part, because starting pitchers Adbert Alzolay and Wade Miley will open the year on the injured list.

In Norris, the Cubs will look for the arm that was once considered a high-end prospect as a former second-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers, and not the arm whose responsible for a career 4.65 ERA as a starter and reliever.

He may be used in only lefty-on-lefty situations, as Norris has held left-handed batters to a career .245 batting average across almost 500 at-bats. Against right-handers, it’s a different story, however.

Chris Martin

Martin is the third member of the 2021 World Series champion Atlanta Braves to now call Chicago home, as he joins both Drew Smyly and Jesse Chavez as new Cubs with rings on their fingers.

Chris Martin (no, not that Chris Martin) was quite good for the Braves a year ago, posting a 3.95 ERA across 46 games. Even more impressive than that, is that Martin only walked six batters in 2021. Throughout his 195 career innings, Martin has issued just 29 walks, which is a trend that Cubs manager David Ross hopes will continue.

Scott Efross

Cubs fans may have tuned out in August and September of last season and likely missed Efross’ 3.68 ERA and 0.95 WHIP that was posted. Granted, it was across just 14 innings, so the jury is still out on Efross. But a nifty 18:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio will certainly play in 2022.

Ethan Roberts

Just take a moment to enjoy this awesome video from the Cubs’ Arizona spring training camp.

That’s what it’s all about. A young pitcher learning his life-long dream had come true. It will be fun to root for the former fourth-round draft pick this year and see what his future holds.

Long Relief or Spot Starters

Jesse Chavez

A blast from the Cubs’ past, fans remember Chavez and his magical 2018 season that saw a sparkling 1.15 ERA and 0.79 WHIP across 39 innings for then-manager Joe Madden. Chavez offers not just a veteran arm, but also versatility.

He proved his worth a year ago for Atlanta, as he was used as an opener during the Braves’ NLCS series, and can provide multiple innings per appearance.

Though he’s now 38-years-old, there is still plenty left in the tank. Chavez produced a 2.14 ERA in 33 innings for Atlanta last year, with a WHIP just over 1.00. Welcome back, Jesse.

Keegan Thompson

With Justin Steele and Drew Smyly winning starting rotation jobs and Alzolay and Miley hopeful to return soon, Thompson may have to wait another season to join the starting staff. Maybe the fact that he’s in the bullpen is a good thing, however, for Ross and the Cubs.

In 2021, Thompson had a 2.43 ERA and 10.0 K/9 rate (strikeouts per nine innings) as a reliever but struggled as a starter (5.51 ERA, 1.89 WHIP, 11:14 walk-to-strikeout ratio).

Until he finds his game, the bullpen appears to be where he’s best suited.