Relief Pitching still An Area of Need

With Carlos Marmol manning the closers role this year for the Chicago Cubs, the Cubs are now looking for a reliever to take Carlos Marmol’s old role as the eighth inning set-up guy. And most likely that guy is on another team right now, and the Cubs are looking to trade for them.

They are showing serious interest in Blue Jays reliever Jason Frasor. The Cubs have been in trade discussions with the Blue Jays over the past couple months regarding their interest in Frasor.

Frasor,33, had a very solid year for the Blue Jays last year as he posted a 2.50ERA in 57.2 innings pitched. He also had a very good record considering he is reliever and had 7 wins with only 3 losses. He mainly works with three pitches with those being a fastball, slider, and split fingered fastball. His Fastball tops out at an average of 93MPH, with his Slider at 83, and his split fingered fastball at 85. He likes to work with the Fastball though, as he uses it 65% of the time.

As for who the Cubs will give up, it likely will be one of three pitchers. They will either be Angel Guzman, Sean Marshall, or Tom Gorzelanny. Among the three the Blue Jays have showed the most interest in Angel Guzman. The reason why all three are expendable for the Cubs is that for Angel Guzman the Cubs are concerned with his medical reports, and are not sure if his arm can hold up. As for Gorzelanny, and Marshall they are virtually the same pitcher. Both are left handed and can either start or pitch out of the bullpen. However Marshall has not shown anything that would make the Cubs regret trading him, and Gorzelanny is a better fifth starter then he is a reliever. Both however are expected to compete for the Cubs fifth starter role.

San Diego’s Luke Gregerson is another reliever that the Cubs have a strong interest in. Gregerson,26, really came onto the scene last year as he struck out 93 batters in 75 innings pitched. He features mainly a fastball and changeup, as his Fastball averaged 91MPH and his changeup 83MPH. San Diego has shown a strong interest in Cubs reliever Angel Guzman, as they view him as their potential closer. Along with his 93 strikeouts, Gregerson posted a 3.24ERA.