Chicago Cubs: Pedro Strop quietly dominates yet again in 2018

The Chicago Cubs longest-tenured reliever, Pedro Strop brought stability, high-leverage dominance and his rampant emotions to the mound in 2018.

After watching the Chicago Cubs fall to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 National League Championship Series in just five games, it became abundantly clear that there was a seismic shift happening within in the league and that shift has shown especially apparent this past season.

We now live in the Bullpen Era.

As the series drew to a close and the Dodgers stifled any prospect of a second straight World Series championship for the North Siders, Theo Epstein immediately went into savant-mode. He witnessed the importance of the league’s direction, devoting a large portion of the offseason to retooling Chicago’s bullpen.

He signed several key free agents, including Brandon Morrow and Steve Cishek, to help bolster the bullpen.  While great additions to the team, the most notable late-inning arm in 2018 was, once again, a familiar face.

Pedro Strop had a career year in 2018, amplifying the importance of his presence on the team, helping the Cubs become the best bullpen the National League and second overall in the Majors, behind only the Houston Astros.