A way-too-early look at the 2026 Chicago Cubs bullpen before free agency

A couple of weeks remain in the MLB postseason, but for the Chicago Cubs, it's time to start evaluating their options for the offseason. After falling just short of making the National League Championship Series, Jed Hoyer and the front office will have a lot of questions to answer with the roster to come back stronger in 2026. Not least among their worries is addressing a bullpen that's about to be dismantled by free agency.

Despite some early struggles, the Cubs built a mostly effective group once again from the scrap heap, ending with a middle-of-the-pack collective ERA of 3.78 and FIP of 4.03. Their big acquisition of Ryan Pressly blew up in their faces spectacularly, but pleasant surprises like Drew Pomeranz, Caleb Thielbar, and, most of all, Brad Keller made up for it. Coupled with their trade for Andrew Kittredge at the deadline and the breakout of Daniel Palencia, Craig Counsell's "out-getters" transformed into a unit capable of carrying the team to a Wild Card win over the Padres.

Hoyer isn't the type to pay up to bring back relievers that clicked in Chicago. Once again, the strategy will likely involve the front office identifying minor league free agents and veterans with untapped potential to be their next Keller or Pomeranz. Before they start rebuilding the corps, let's examine what they currently have in the organization to see what needs remain.

Closer: Daniel Palencia

Counsell is unlikely to ever truly name a closer, but Palencia earned that role in a big way in 2025. He pitched to an excellent 2.91 ERA and 3.03 FIP, critically dropping his walk rate to a much more manageable 2.73 BB/9. The big question will be if he can maintain his control in 2026, but you can almost certainly pencil him in as the go-to late-inning option with swing and miss stuff the Cubs have sorely lacked.

RHP: Eli Morgan, Ben Brown, Porter Hodge, Ethan Roberts, Gavin Hollowell

One of the earliest moves the Cubs made in the offseason was adding Eli Morgan in a minor trade with the Guardians. Despite posting a 1.93 ERA the year prior, he was a total non-factor in the 2025 season thanks to poor performance and a lengthy injury. He's not a free agent until 2028, though, and he'll give them flexibility to send him between the majors and minors if he can't bounce back right away.

Beyond Morgan are several familiar faces. With the breakout of Cade Horton and all the starting options the Cubs already have on the roster, 2026 may finally be the year Ben Brown is converted to the bullpen. He didn't inspire much confidence with a 5.92 ERA and 4.08 FIP during the season, but the potential of his high-90s fastball and curveball combo in relief is enticing.

Despite being limited due to injury and posting a 6.27 ERA, Porter Hodge will undoubtedly get some chances in 2025 as well if he's healthy. Like this season, Ethan Roberts and Gavin Hollowell will likely bounce between the majors and Triple-A to fill in where needed, too.

LHP: Luke Little, Jordan Wicks, Riley Martin

On the left-hand side, the options are fewer. Luke Little is easily the most intriguing, showing some signs of brilliance in 2024 before getting injured and cruising in Iowa with a 2.87 ERA and 11.31 strikeouts per nine this season. Like Palencia, though, he needs a lower walk rate to be a reliable option. There's also Jordan Wicks, who could be a potential swingman, assuming he's not traded, though the big league results this year didn't match the 3.55 ERA and 3.07 FIP in Triple-A.

Although he has yet to crack the majors, Riley Martin still feels like a strong candidate for a promotion after posting a 2.69 ERA at Iowa and an impressive 52.1% ground ball rate. He's also a bit wild, but has swing-and-miss stuff and a 70-grade curveball to lean on, along with the endorsement of I-Cubs manager Marty Pevey.

The Cubs have lots of work ahead to build a respectable bullpen

As expected, there's upside aplenty among their current crop of controllable arms, but next to no track record. That'll change as Hoyer and company get to work, but it does highlight how they'll essentially be reconstructing the bullpen from scratch. Two spots could sort themselves out early, depending on what the Cubs do for Kittredge and Colin Rea's options, but from there, they'll have quite the interesting crop to explore, including guys like Edwin Diaz, Devin Williams, and Raisel Iglesias.

Of their free agents to be, Keller has made it clear that he'd love to stay in Chicago for another season. Speaking on the North Side Territory podcast, The Athletic's Cubs beat writers Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma expressed some skepticism that Hoyer would break with tradition, but believe the team may be more "open-minded" in the hard-throwing righty's case because of his age, role, and fit with the organization.

He'd make plenty of sense to bring back after not only posting a 2.07 ERA, but excelling in his peripherals and ending with an expected ERA of 2.78, FIP of 3.32, and batting average against of .204. Keller or no, the bullpen will look quite different coming Opening Day.