Chicago Cubs: Why the team needs to part ways with Hector Rondon

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For the past two years, watching Hector Rondon pitch is like staring at the sun – it hurts your eyes.

According to Baseball Reference, the Cubs former closer currently has a 4.74 ERA, a WHIP of 1.216, and gives up 3.3 walks per 9. Those numbers aren’t pretty.

Don’t forget; this guy was a great closer for the Cubs in 2015. He boasted a 1.67 ERA in 72 games and had a perfect 1.0 WHIP. So what happened?

According to his Fangraphs page, his velocity has dipped slightly on his pitches but overall has remained pretty consistent throughout his career. He stopped throwing his cutter the past two seasons, but I don’t think removing a pitch he used 6.1% of the time in 2015 should make this much of a difference.

Whatever has happened to Hector Rondon, one thing is for certain – this marriage between him and the Cubs needs to come to an end.

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Whenever I look at anyone’s numbers and try to find out what’s wrong, it has a courtroom-like feel for me.

I decided to take an even closer look at Rondon by looking at his advanced stats such as pitch type, velocity, pitch values, etc.

As I mentioned before, Rondon completely threw out his cutter after the 2015 season. He has also severely decreased his amount of two-seam fastballs from 29.2% of the time in 2015 to just 3.7% today.

As a result of those two decisions, Rondon has distributed a total of 31.6% of his former arsenal into two main pitches: his four-seam fastball and his slider.

First, let’s call his four-seam fastball to the stand. He currently uses it 58.3% of the time, by far the most of any of his pitches. Surprisingly, Rondon’s numbers with the four-seam fastball have remained pretty consistent throughout his career. Four-seam fastball verdict: Not Guilty.

Next, I call Rondon’s slider to the stand. Rondon currently uses his slider 35.8% of the time, his career high. All of the advanced stats on Rondon’s slider are down dramatically since 2015.

For example, according to Fangraphs, Rondon’s wSL (slider runs above average) fell from 7.1 in 2015 to -0.8 this year. Talk about a dramatic difference. The verdict on the slider: Guilty.

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Numbers only tell so much about a player, the mental side of the game matters too.

Back in the 2015 season, the 9th inning was Rondon’s. Then when 2016 rolled around, Rondon was starting to struggle. Then there were questions about whether or not Rondon could be a dominant closer.

Since Rondon failed to prove himself as a closer, the Cubs brought in Aroldis Chapman. Rondon then tucked his tail between his legs and assumed the role of setup man. Even though publicly he said that the move didn’t bother him, deep down it had to have been a huge blow to his ego.

Once the playoffs rolled around, we saw how Joe Maddon trusted nobody besides number 54 out of the ‘pen. Another blow to Rondon’s ego.

Then the Cubs win the World Series (SPOILER ALERT), and Chapman decides to go back to the Bronx. Again, the Cubs faced a closer problem.

What did they do with that problem? They just traded for one of the best closers in the game (Wade Davis) leaving Rondon in the dust. Once again, in the span of just a year’s time, Rondon took three huge blows to his ego.

His slider may be what’s causing trouble on the bump, but the lack of trust between Rondon and the Cubs organization can’t be understated.

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It’s obvious that the Cubs have to do something about Rondon.

You could trade him, except for the fact that nobody wants to give anything up for him. You could send him to the minors, but that isn’t a classy move.

Let’s face it; Hector Rondon is in a no-win situation for the Cubs. Even if Wade Davis leaves after this year, Hector Rondon will never be the Cubs’ closer again.

If the Cubs truly valued Rondon’s time and appreciated what he has done in the past, you’d cut him. While from afar it may not seem like the best case scenario, it really is.

The Cubs should let him sign a deal with a team where he has an actual shot at being their closer.

This article is a downer, but I’m confident that if Rondon gets put in a situation where he can succeed, he can once again be an excellent closer.

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For the past two years, watching Hector Rondon pitch is like staring at the sun – it hurts your eyes.

Whenever I look at anyone’s numbers and try to find out what’s wrong, it has a courtroom-like feel for me.

Numbers only tell so much about a player, the mental side of the game matters too.

It’s obvious that the Cubs have to do something about Rondon.

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