Aaron Civale could be the surprising answer to the Cubs' biggest playoff question

This feels like something I could have just copy-and-pasted from any number of recent iterations of this team, but I'll write it fresh just for the sake of posterity: The Chicago Cubs' bullpen stinks. Since the trade deadline, that unit ranks 17th in the league in ERA (4.11) and 28th in FIP (4.65). As a collective, they've contributed -0.4 fWAR to the team's cause in that span.

There's no shortage of parties deserving of the blame for this extended, putrid stretch. Jacob Webb, the Cubs' once-reliable fill-in closer, has a 5.71 ERA and ranks dead last among the relief corps with -0.4 fWAR. Edward Cabrera looks outright useless as a reliever. Even Daniel Palencia, despite some strong showings, has a 4.85 ERA since being activated off the injured list.

In fact, there have been just three relievers who have fallen on the positive side of the fWAR ledger since Aug. 3, two of whom (Ryan Zeferjahn and Caleb Thielbar) are sitting at 0.2. That leaves just one man as the final bastion of hope for this unit: Aaron Civale. Naturally, a promotion in both title and role should be bestowed upon him ahead of the playoffs.

Aaron Civale is the high-leverage reliever hiding in plain sight the Cubs have been praying for

It's unclear why anyone of Civale's previous five teams have been unwilling to use him a long relief role, but the Cubs have unlocked something deep within him by simply moving him out of the rotation. Following a tremendous effort last year (2.08 ERA in 13 innings), the North Siders brought him back in July of this season and have been rewarded handsomely for doing so.

In his 17 appearances spanning 34 1/3 innings in Chicago this year, the right-hander has logged a 1.57 ERA and 3.03 FIP, totaling a (relatively) whopping 0.5 fWAR since the trade deadline. By just about every applicable measure, he's been the team's best reliever over the past two months.

Which begs the question: Why is he still pitching a bulk reliever role? Yes, he's thriving there and giving the Cubs extremely valuable innings, but between Javier Assad, Colin Rea, and whichever starter doesn't make the playoff rotation, Craig Counsell has plenty of options to cover the middle innings of games. What he needs is a reliever who can reliably shut down offenses in high-leverage spots.

That's not to say Civale should be converted to a true one-inning fireman, but as a multi-inning set-up man, he could be the perfect bridge between the starters and whoever gets the nod as Counsell's playoff closer. He doesn't fit the traditional mold of that role, but he doesn't issue many free passes and limits home runs effectively. At this point, those are all the credentials the Cubs should need.

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