5 left-handed relievers the Cubs should consider in quest to bolster the bullpen

The Chicago Cubs have likely already made their biggest offseason splash with the Kyle Tucker trade last week. But there are still several areas of need for the front office to address, including the ever elusive left-handed bullpen arm.

This is one of the areas that the Cubs have struggled to improve since the 2021 trade deadline. In addition to shipping out former stars like Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, the Cubs also parted ways with southpaw Andrew Chafin in 2021 in a deal that netted them Daniel Palencia. There hasn't been a reliable lefty in the Cubs bullpen ever since and this year's free agency class still features several intriguing candidates for president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer to target.

Internal options are fairly scarce with Rob Zastryzny and Luke Little the only true candidates. Little could emerge as a trustworthy arm at some point, but he comes with control and injury concerns. Zastryzny has only a limited amount of Major League success, most recently with the Brewers last year, so his potential is also hard to project.

A proven Major League arm is what the team needs in the bullpen and here are a few great options that are also affordable after the Tucker trade.

1. Danny Coulombe

Danny Coulombe will be entering his eleventh season in MLB where he has generally been successful in recent years. Over his last four seasons, Coulombe has a 2.75 ERA in 127.2 innings pitched for the Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles. 2023 was particularly productive for the southpaw, where he posted a 2.81 ERA with 22 holds and 58 strikeouts over 61 games.

It was unexpected when the Orioles did not extend a contract to Coulombe in November, especially when he only would have cost $4 million. Maybe the team knows something that the public doesn't in regard to Coulombe's health. He missed about half the 2024 season with an elbow issue that eventually resulted in surgery.

He came back and pitched in 3 2/3 clean innings in September, but that small sample size may not tell the whole story. It's hard to tell how much gas the 35-year-old has left in the tank until he gets on the mound again but a major elbow surgery at his age is definitely a concern.

The Cubs would need to do their homework and determine if Coulombe's arm issues will be a problem moving forward. If they are not, he shouldn't cost too much and his track record is pretty solid considering the general volatility of relief pitchers.