Chicago Cubs: Rest, health will be huge part of team’s final months

Chicago Cubs: Slumping regulars cause for concern?

After splitting a four-game series against NL-worst Padres, its clear that the Cubs have several players pressing at the plate.

Addison Russell, Kyle Schwarber, Ian Happ and Albert Almora have all had their fair share of struggles recently. It’s normal for young players to have slumps during the dog days of summer. These are guys that may not be used to the wear and tear that a 162-game season does to a player’s body.

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Maddon is usually good at noticing when a guy needs a breather or a couple of games off but with the aforementioned injuries, he doesn’t have the same luxury to be able to rest players when the need may be apparent.

Bullpen being taxed

The Cubs bullpen has been consistently effective all year, thanks in large part to Strop and newcomer Steve Cishek. Each individual is an aging bullpen arm who have enjoyed long years.

While their contributions have been significant, they’re being asked to do a lot more than Maddon would probably like. That rings especially true considering these are two guys the Cubs will need in any sort of deep postseason run.

Strop has already had 46 innings pitched, and Cishek has thrown 52 1/3 innings. Neither guy has thrown 70 innings, even in their younger days.