Chicago Cubs: I love the guy, but this can’t be the answer
So, if Rosenthal’s report is, indeed, correct, the Cubs would head into 2019 in a reloaded National League Central race with the likes of Mike Montgomery and Randy Rosario as their two southpaws in the pen.
That’s comforting.
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For starters, Montgomery will likely end up (at least at some point) back in the rotation. He stepped in for Yu Darvish last year and wound up pitching as a starter for the rest of the year. He pitched effectively, but Lester Strode’s bunch out in the bullpen definitely felt the loss.
With Justin Wilson hitting free agency and reportedly drawing a wide range of interest now that Zach Britton is off the table, that leaves Randy Rosario and Brian Duensing as the team’s two left-handed relievers. Neither have shutdown stuff and the latter is coming off a season in which he fell off a cliff after a sterling start.
As for Rosario, he’s young, unproven and, if certain metrics are to be believed (9,1 H/9, 1.478 WHIP, 4.68 FIP, 1.36 SO/BB ratio), was somewhat lucky in regards to his success last season. That doesn’t sound like the guy I want to hand the ball to late in the season in a heated matchup against St. Louis with Paul Goldschmidt stepping in and the game on the line.