3 Cubs relievers fighting for a spot in the bullpen mix

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With Steven Brault suffering a setback and the loss of Codi Heuer for the year, one thing is already clear for this Cubs team: there are spots open and up for grabs in the bullpen. As guys start getting kicked over to minor league camp, make no mistake: we’ll see a lot of them back with the big league club throughout the season.

Throughout the year, you’ll have guys struggle and get optioned and you’ll also have minor leaguers pitch so well they force their way into the picture in Chicago. In recent years, the Cubs’ bullpen has had a bit of a revolving door and that figures to be the case again in 2022.

Let’s take a quick look at three guys you should keep in the back of your mind as spring training winds down and Opening Day draws nearer.

3 Cubs relievers fighting for a bullpen spot – #3: Locke St. John

In three spring appearances, Locke St. John has recorded 3 1/3 scoreless innings and 3 strikeouts. If you were watching, he was noticeably sharp with all of his pitches and quickly became someone whose name I circled.

Last season, St. John posted a fantastic 2.58 ERA and 75 Ks in 36 games and 59 1/3 innings of work in Triple-A. In fact, he also posted a sub-3.00 ERA as well from 2016-2018. Over the course of seven minor league seasons, St. John owns a 3.44 career ERA, amassing nearly 500 innings of work during that span. The next step is proving it at the major league level, which he hasn’t exactly had much of a chance to do.

St. John is a potentially effective lefty the Cubs desperately need in their bullpen this season. Dare I say potential setup man to Mychal Givens or David Robertson as some point? If anything, his career numbers, work this spring and the team’s total lack of lefty relievers all give him a real shot at being a key guy in the Cubs pen this season.

3 Cubs relievers fighting for a bullpen spot – #2: Jesse Chavez

Signed to a minor league deal after the lockout mercifully ended, Jesse Chavez is ready to begin his second tenure with the Cubs. If this stint is anything like his last in Chicago, Cubs fans are in for a real treat.

Recently, I wrote up a check-in on former Cubs relievers predictions piece that included Chavez, who I believed the Cubs should go after in the reliever market. Shortly thereafter, Chavez was inked. Though the most successful stint of his career came in 2018 with the Cubs, where he pitched an incredible 39 innings to the tune of a dazzling 1.15 ERA, Chavez actually had the next best stretch of his career just last year with the Atlanta Braves after being called up in June.

In 2021, Chavez went off and posted a career-refreshing 2.14 ERA in 33 2/3 innings with the Braves. Though he has thus far struggled with a very small four-inning sample size this spring, he clearly has enough left in the tank to keep it going. He doesn’t need a career year on the North Side again to be effective. He could even regress from last year and still have the potential to be a huge pick-up. As time goes on, it will be interesting to see how the Cubs utilize Chavez and his services.

Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /

3 Cubs relievers fighting for a bullpen spot – #1: Ben Leeper

Ben Leeper’s story is truly remarkable. By the age of 16 he already had two Tommy John surgeries and was nearly ready to hang up his glove. Persistent as they come, he did not give up. He fought hard to get healthy and impressed enough in 2020 with a 2.45 ERA before the college season was scrapped due to the pandemic. Once again, he didn’t stop there and has seen nothing but upside since.

This spring, he pitched three innings, recording 5 Ks and a 3.00 ERA. It’s hardly a surprise he was invited to big league camp in the first place as he posted incredible numbers already at the Triple-A level just a year removed from college. First, he recorded a 1.26 ERA in 14 1/3 frames in Double-A Tennessee and then moved up to Triple-A where he earned himself a shiny 1.31 ERA in 20 1/3 innings of work. That’s not exactly that small of a sample considering he didn’t get shelled badly at all.

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Now, still just 24, Leeper seems like he’s finally healthy and is ready to make his mark. It has been an incredibly difficult road to this point, but against all odds he never gave up on himself and has stayed mostly healthy since his last major operation in 2016. It will be a solid feel-good story to see him more than likely make his debut this year if he stays hot toeing the rubber in Iowa.

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