Chicago Cubs have no choice but to add to their bullpen

Chicago Cubs: What will these guys offer moving forward?

The contract Brandon Morrow signed with the Cubs last year is a two-year deal with a vesting option for a third or a $3 million dollar buyout. It’s possible that between the time he missed due to injury last year and the time he is expected to miss at the beginning of this season as he finishes recovering from injury, it would be increasingly difficult for the vesting option to trigger.

So Morrow could, potentially, be a free agent after this season. When the right-handed fireballer was healthy, he was dominant great for the Cubs. He had 22 saves and a 1.47 ERA in only 35 appearances for the North Siders. But his health is one of many questions for the Cubs bullpen.

Brian Duensing was one of the best parts of the Chicago Cubs bullpen in 2017. So when he re-signed for two years with the Cubs and took less money to do so, it was a pleasant surprise. But Duensing’s 2018 season as a whole was a disaster (7.65 ERA) despite beginning the year without giving up a run in his first 17 appearances.

No matter what you think of Brandon Kintzler he is currently a member of the Chicago Cubs. Coming into this offseason, his contract had a team option for $10 million and if that was exercised then he had a player option for $5 million. The Cubs declined their team option on Kintzler, but he used the $5 million player option.

Kintzler’s salary may be one of the contracts the Cubs are trying to move before attempting to sign Bryce Harper. But if Kintzler remains a Cub, he could follow Justin Wilson‘s scenario. Wilson was terrible after first being traded to the Cubs, but then he had a nice bounceback season in his first full year with the team. Kintzler was not nearly as good with Cubs (7.00 ERA) as he was with the Nationals (3.59 ERA) pre-trade.