The Chicago Cubs still sit atop the NL Central Division, sporting a three-game lead over the second place Milwaukee Brewers and a five-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals as of this writing.
But their lead is not secure by any stretch of the imagination and there’s still a whole lot of baseball to be played en route to the postseason. In recent days/weeks they’ve begun showing signs of their weaknesses starting to catch up with them.
Starting pitching, specifically, has been a concern. They lost ace Justin Steele for the season in early April due to elbow injury. They also lost co-ace Shota Imanaga for about five weeks with a tricky hamstring strain. Projected fifth starter Javier Assad, meanwhile, has been sidelined for the entire season so far with oblique issues.
As a result, the Cubs front office is expected to be aggressive in their pursuit of a high-end starting pitcher by the July 31 MLB trade deadline.
The Chicago Cubs questionable bullpen heading into 2025
If we could go back in time, though, most fans and analysts probably would’ve assumed that the team would be desperately needing relief arms at this point of the season. After all, the Cubs bullpen, coming into the 2025 season, looked to be full of question marks, headed by a 36-year-old displaced closer in Ryan Pressly who had been brought over from the Houston Astros in hopes of a rebirth in Chicago.
Well, Pressly hasn’t panned out as a reborn closer and only half of the current bullpen was on the team’s opening day roster. Yet, somehow, manager Craig Counsell and staff have made the bullpen into an asset.
And, boy, have they been an asset.
From a weakness to a strength
On Wednesday, they did what they’ve been doing for much of the season– shut things down. Following a less than stellar Imanaga outing, Ryan Pressly, Caleb Thielbar, Brad Keller, and Daniel Palencia came in to provide 3.2 innings of top shelf relief work, allowing one run (not earned) to push the team to a 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Guardians.
Overall, the Cubs bullpen ERA ranks second in all of baseball at 3.21, behind the San Francisco Giants.
After a somewhat shaky opening month of the season, however, the Cubs bullpen has been far and away the best bullpen in the business.
Brett Taylor of Bleacher Nation puts some perspective on it nicely here:
“Going back to APRIL 30(!), the Cubs’ bullpen leads all of baseball in bullpen ERA … BY NEARLY A FULL RUN OVER THE SECOND PLACE TEAM. That’s MORE THAN TWO MONTHS of being MILES BETTER than THE NEXT BEST TEAM. I don’t think there are enough ALL CAPS for me to make this point as loudly as I want to make it. The Cubs’ bullpen, constructed on the fly using youngsters, reclamation arms, and well-chosen veterans, has been obscenely good. If there is anything this front office does well, it’s that.”
Built on the fly
May 31, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Drew Pomeranz (45) delivers against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images
If you go through the roster right now, you’ll see names that were on nobody’s radar this past offseason such as Keller, Palencia, Drew Pomeranz, and Chris Flexen (who have combined for a 1.18 ERA in 121.1 innings pitched). Palencia, who’s earned his way to the closer gig after a rocky baseball road, has especially been a godsend. Even the addition of the 38-year-old lefty Thielbar, which was thought to be a fairly minor free agent acquisition at the time, has paid dividends, with the veteran posting a stingy 1.98 ERA so far.
If not for two terrible outings from the since-released Genesis Cabrera and a horrendous Pressly outing in early May, the Cubs bullpen stats would be even more insanely outstanding.
And the team may be getting a bullpen boost in the days to come as Colin Rea will likely be moved to the pen if/when a high-end starter can be acquired before the deadline. Javier Assad might be there as well come August or September. There’s also the distinct possibility that the Cubs could pick up another reliever, preferably a lefty, at some point before the deadline.
All in all, the postseason-aspiring Cubs do have some holes to fill. The bullpen, though, has gone from liability to strength and, as of right now, it serves as a testament to the strengths of Cubs leadership and vision.
Chicago Cubs prospect deemed most likely to be dealt at trade deadline
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