CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs are holding mid-season auditions in their bullpen, as three new arms have arrived to try to bolster the unit.
Righties Carl Edwards Jr., Spencer Patton and lefty Gerardo Concepcion will see action. If any have success, you can bet they’ll stick around. The Cubs' bullpen still ranks high in the National League with a 3.45 ERA, but that figure is somewhat deceiving; they rank last in the NL in innings pitched by a wide margin. They should be having success with that kind of a workload -- and for a while they were -- but it's obvious to any casual observers, including the front office, that they are struggling.
“We’re aware of it,” general manager Jed Hoyer said on Monday.
Things will likely right themselves over time, as bullpens are volatile by nature. However, it'd be foolish to ignore Clayton Richard's 7.30 ERA, Adam Warren's issues or even Justin Grimm's June struggles. This is the time to see who emerges and who returns to form as trade season approaches.
“There’s no doubt we’re going to spend the next 40 days before the deadline trying to evaluate where we are,” Hoyer said. “We want to address the weaknesses that we have.”
Left-handed relief pitching is a top priority -- though Travis Wood is giving it his all. Still, it will be tough for him to run the Bryce Harper/Daniel Murphy gauntlet in the playoffs if called upon. Wood needs to be exact with his pitches since he doesn't blow people away. The Cubs need more.
Concepcion could be an answer. The 24-year-old has made a huge leap this season after posting an 8.24 ERA in 31 games at Double-A Tennessee last year. He struck out Brandon Moss on Tuesday in his major league debut to end the sixth inning, then got three more outs in the seventh. But even if Concepcion has success, you can bet the front office will still hit the market looking for more left-handed veteran relief. It’s simply a priority.
As for the right side of the bullpen, the Cubs have more options, including Joe Nathan, who’s getting ready for a rehab stint in the minors. And Edwards Jr. thinks his stuff might play better in his second extended stint in the majors.
“Last time I was a lot more nervous,” Edwards said. “I actually feel like I can stay here.”
It’s worth a shot; Warren and Richard aren’t the only ones who have struggled. Grimm is still trying to right his ship. Trevor Cahill has been good for the most part, but the Cubs could use all the help they can get.
Tryouts have already started.
Six-man rotation
If Joe Maddon is ahead of his contemporaries in one aspect of managing, it’s the concept of rest. With many supplements now illegal and a more rigorous travel schedule these days, the Cubs manager stresses days off for veterans and young players. So it comes as no surprise the team would adopt the same philosophy with its starting rotation by expanding it to six.
The New York Mets made a similar move last season after getting some separation in the NL East, though Maddon claims the idea to start Warren when he returns from the minors has nothing to do with the standings. Maddon says this would be the right move even if the Cubs didn't have a double-digit-game lead.
“The threat is if you think you’re not in a good enough situation (in the standings) and you keep pushing your guys, I promise you any opportunity to win is going to go away,” Maddon said.
Having said that, the Cubs didn’t consider a six-man rotation last year, when they were fighting for the division, but that could've been due to the lack of depth at the time more than anything else. Maddon might have wanted to skip Jake Arrieta or push him back but had no one to take his place.
Though the current plan is for Warren to be that sixth guy, what happens if he doesn’t have success as a starter at Triple-A Iowa? Odds are that he wouldn't be trying out a new role at Iowa right now if he was more successful in his original relief role.
“The other night put this whole thing in motion,” Maddon said, referencing a 50-pitch relief outing by Warren.
How will it all play out now that it's in motion? Stay tuned.
