The Chicago Cubs are riding high after ending the San Diego Padres’ run of being one of the only undefeated teams in baseball and have won the first series against them.
The Cubs are looking to go for their second straight sweep of the season when right-hander Ben Brown toes the rubber to add a sixth win to their ledger.
The Cubs will also look to their catchers to continue their hot streak and keep the winning streak going after they’ve gotten off to a hot start.
However, one thing that could prevent the Cubs from doing so is the backend of the bullpen, which has been quite up and down to start the season.
Is it time to start thinking about a change to the Chicago Cubs bullpen?
Apr 4, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Ryan Pressly (55) throws the ball against the San Diego Padres during the ninth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
The Cubs bullpen has been the worst part of the team to start the season, allowing 19 earned runs in 33.1 innings.
Three of those earned runs have come from the Cubs closer Ryan Pressly, who has struggled to begin his 2025 season.
In five appearances this season, Pressly has a 5.40 ERA, collected three saves, and has walked five walks in 5.0 innings.
Pressly almost cost one of the games the Cubs played in Arizona against the Diamondbacks, which was saved by a heads-up play by shortstop Dansby Swanson.
The one concerning sign when looking at Pressly’s Baseball Savant page, is hitters are hitting over .500 against his fastball and .300 against his slider.
Pressly will need to start missing bats with his fastball, as he is producing a whiff percentage of 0.0. He has given up three hits off his fastball, one of those hits being a home run.
In contrast, Pressly’s bullpen mate Porter Hodge has been great in all five games he’s appeared in, not allowing an earned run, grabbing four holds, and striking out six in 4.2 innings.
Given Pressly’s struggles and Hodges’s success, manager Craig Counsell might want to start thinking of a change in the backend of the bullpen to capitalize on the Cub’s strong starting pitching.
Capitalizing on the success of the starting pitching and the offense
The Cubs have had a great showing from their starting staff, and the offense has done a great job of producing runs, giving them a nice cushion to win games.
That’s not always going to be the case, with there going to be points during the season where the offense is stagnant, and the bullpen will be called on to hold onto a lead that the starters handed off to them.
Counsell may slowly ease Hodge into the role as the Cubs are about to play a tough stretch of games ahead of them, as they’ll welcome in the Texas Rangers for a three-game series before traveling to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers and Padres again for a six-game road trip.
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