Chicago Cubs: 3 areas the front office must improve this winter

Chicago Cubs: 3 areas to improve this winter – 3. Bullpen

Let’s start off with the bullpen. After a flurry of moves then sent the team’s top three relievers away at the trade deadline in Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Chafin and Ryan Tepera, the Cubs were left with guys that have shown potential but also lacked a solid veteran presence. After Dillon Maples, Codi Heuer and Adrian Sampson, it was mostly guys playing around average or far below.

Once the three-headed monster departed, the bullpen was left with gaping holes or players that started hot and finished poorly. The Cubs will have to improve the back end especially if they are looking to be even remotely competitive in 2022. As it sits, Heuer is mostly in line for closer duties – with Rowan Wick in the mix, as well – but you want to see the front office bring in someone with more experience and dominance in that department.

After Kimbrel struggled mightily with the White Sox, it will be very interesting to see if the South Siders even pick up his 2022 option this winter. If they don’t, the Cubs need to come calling and get their guy back. The differences between the North and South Sides for Kimbrel have been night and day.

He went from having one of his best seasons ever to one of his worst. If there’s something about Wrigley Field and the crowd that gets him going and he just has more success at Wrigley in general, Chicago can look to capitalize by bringing him back into the mix.

Chicago Cubs: 3 areas to improve this winter – 2. Starting Rotation

If you were suddenly expecting the Cubs’ starting rotation to figure something out as the year went on, you’re sitting at home pretty disappointed. Though Justin Steele finished the year on a very high note, tossing seven shutout innings of seven-strikeout, four-hit ball, he was still pulled at only 76 pitches while throwing a gem. This reiterated something we already knew: Steele just doesn’t (at least not yet) have the ability to max out a pitch count near triple-digits. Therefore, when he got into trouble, his outings were mainly 4-5 innings max.

As was the case with Keegan Thompson, who the Cubs continue to have high hopes for. Granted, he has sky-high potential but is yet to put it all together at the big league level. He too has a short leash and saw an average of no more than 3 to 4 innings. These are not numbers the front office can rely on moving forward from their starters. It is almost safer to keep Steele and Thompson as solid pieces in the bullpen or push them to Iowa and really let them get stretched out.

As for the rest of the rotation, Trevor Williams was traded at the deadline and Zach Davies had an incredibly down year after a polar opposite season in 2020. Davies finished with a 5.78 ERA to go along with a 6-12 record. He will test free agency this season and more than likely not receive an offer to reup with the Cubs. Even Kyle Hendricks, who is now the Cubs ace, finished with a 14-7 record but a brutal 4.77 ERA. If the Cubs are looking to spend intelligently, it will be on quality starters to help the rotation. You simply can not have success in Major League Baseball with below -average starting pitching.

Chicago Cubs: 3 areas to improve this winter – 1. Coaching Staff

So, we all know the Cubs struggled mightily in the pitching department. At the end of the day, how much of that falls on coaching? The Cubs ranked 27th out of 30th in 2021 with a 4.87 team ERA. For one, it’s easy to say professional pitchers shouldn’t need coaches, they are professionals, after all.

However, it is in fact up to the pitching coach to help struggling pitchers either make tweaks to their mechanics or help them figure out what’s going on. For example, Davies goes from posting a 2.73 ERA with San Diego last season (granted, shortened season due to COVID) to a 5.78 with the Cubs one year later. Three full runs higher than just a season ago is absurd.

Recently, at the conclusion of the season, the Cubs fired hitting coach Anthony Iapoce and assistant pitching, catching and strategy coach Mike Borzello. These are certainly steps in the correct direction, but now it will also be up to the front office to make the proper hires, including even possibly a new pitching coach to replace Tommy Hottovy.

It’s understandable that players go through ups and downs. It happens. But to continue doing so for nearly an entire season presents the possibility that something is not clicking in the coaching department, especially when players have shown prolonged success in the past.

Not only do the Cubs need pitching, they need the proper pitching coach to support the pitching staff as well. Chicago cannot exceed expectations for 2022 if they do not have both of these things in place. To say the least, the front office will be extremely busy this winter.