Chicago Cubs: Top 5 Storylines as we head into Spring Training

Chicago Cubs: Will Tyler Chatwood be more Rube Baker or Kyle Hendricks in 2019?

The Chicago Cubs owe Tyler Chatwood $25.5 million over the next two years. They can’t just dump that salary like a used-up reliever who is on the books for $3 million. They need to fix him and have him be productive at some point because not only do they owe him money; they’re going to have to keep him on the Major League Roster.

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Chatwood has a ton of upside, great stuff, and throws hard. Unfortunately, as 2018 wore on, he couldn’t throw strikes. What was annoying and frustrating at the beginning of the season became comically awful before he was shut down for the season.  Was it just a case of the yips or a mechanical issue? Cubs fans hope it’s the latter.

If Chatwood can serve some sort of role out of the bullpen or piggyback with Mike Montgomery as a tandem 6th man in the rotation at times, he could still be very useful as part of the Cubs’ staff. If he struggles early, it could portend larger issues (either financial or roster-wise) that could persist for another two seasons.

If Chatwood looks confident and is throwing strikes, even in early Spring Training, that would signal a potentially positive 2019 outlook for the player, team, and fans alike.