Cubs Must Address Glaring Weakness Before It Derails Their Season

The Chicago Cubs' bullpen has been their Achilles heel this year.

Mar 31, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell (11) before the game against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park. / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs are off to an incredible start, going 9-6 and leading the NL Central by multiple games.

Their offense is firing on all cylinders and their rotation's been excellent, carrying the team in the early going that makes them look like favorites to win their division and get back into the playoffs.

However, the Cubs still have a major cause for concern amid this impressive start: their leaky bullpen.

Chicago's relief staff has been one of the worst in baseball this year, going 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA, a 1.80 WHIP and a 39:27 K/BB ratio through 46.2 innings entering play on Wednesday.

Cubs relievers have been getting shelled, allowing opponents to hit .308/.396/.443 against them during the early going.

Fortunately, it hasn't mattered much with how well the team is swinging the bats. However, a shaky bullpen isn't a recipe for success in the long run, as it will likely cost Chicago close games and be an issue if the team makes the playoffs.

Aside from Colin Rea, there haven't been too many bright spots in the bullpen thus far.

Most of the Cubs' relievers are getting hit hard, struggling with their command or both.

New closer Ryan Pressly has a 6.91 FIP and a 2.43 WHIP, while Nate Pearson has a 8.59 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. Julian Merryweather has a 1.85 WHIP, while Caleb Thielbar has a 6.23 ERA and more walks (five) than strikeouts (four).

Even Porter Hodge -- likely the team's best reliever and closer of the future -- has a concerning 1.43 WHIP and has already blown two saves.

Some of these numbers will improve as the season progresses, and it hasn't helped that Chicago's played a brutal schedule thus far. However, the relief corps' first impression has not been good.

Part of the onus falls on pitching coach Tommy Hottovy to get these issues ironed out, especially before the weather heats up and the ball starts flying. Craig Counsell also needs to manage the bullpen effectively and play the matchups to get the most out of his relievers.

That said, it's never too early to start looking for bullpen help.

While Jed Hoyer could have done more in the offseason to bolster the unit, he also needs to be proactive about upgrading it either internally or externally before it becomes a major problem.

Either way, the Cubs must keep a close eye on their bullpen over the next few weeks and hope it improves.

If it doesn't, changes will need to be made sooner rather than later.

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