Castoff Rockies reliever suddenly becoming lifesaver for Cubs' pitching staff

Leave it to Jed Hoyer to find a few diamonds in the rough to help the Chicago Cubs bullpen throughout the year. Amid an avalanche of pitching injuries that have decimated the relief corps and stretched their depth thin, there's a need more than ever for the team president's reclamation minor league signings and waiver claims to step up. Fortunately, he appears to have another early winner in former Colorado Rockies first-rounder Ryan Rolison. Brought in as a low-risk, low-cost waiver claim from the White Sox, he's already come through in several big moments in his first six innings with the team.

Rolison's Cubs career began with a scoreless inning in Philadelphia in a 10-4 win, but he only really got on fans' radars ten days later when he appeared in Los Angeles. As the team was orchestrating a wild come-from-behind win, the lefty came in during the sixth and proceeded to throw three shutout innings, allowing only two hits. With so many key contributors on the IL, including Caleb Thielbar, Phil Maton, and Daniel Palencia, and the Dodgers' vaunted lineup, keeping the score where it was was far from a guarantee. Not only did Rolison's efforts secure a win that was very much in question, but he bailed out a particularly beleaguered bullpen after Craig Counsell deployed six pitchers in the previous game.

His latest appearance against the Padres on Tuesday was a similarly important effort, spanning two scoreless innings and helping Hoby Milner wrap up the game after Edward Cabrera left. Again, by going multiple frames, he saved the Cubs from having to burn an additional arm. A late Pete Crow-Armstrong home run gave some insurance and, by proxy, a longer leash for Rolison, but the stability he provided again set them up for success on Wednesday.

It's a small sample, but the results have been impressive and a far cry from his experience in Colorado. Since being drafted in 2018, Rolison endured a long and winding journey through the Rockies' farm system, dealing with a plethora of injuries before finally converting to relief and making his debut last year. The results weren't pretty — he posted a 7.02 ERA and 6.75 FIP in 42 1/3 innings with a 13 percent strikeout rate and 10.4 percent walk rate — but there were reasons for hope once he got out of Coors Field. Namely, he sported an excellent average exit velocity of 87.5 MPH and a solid 48.6 percent groundball rate.

Rolison still isn't striking out batters, and his groundball rate is down, but he also has yet to walk a batter. That's impressive given the caliber of lineups he's faced, but what's more interesting is his velocity. He's averaging 94.1 MPH on his fastball so far, up over a full tick from 2025. Coupled with a lack of barrels or hard hits, the signs are all intriguing, even if it's too early in his Cubs tenure to declare him the next Thielbar or Brad Keller. What's important is that he's found ways to get good hitters out at a time when this team desperately needs it.

Ryan Rolison will be important to the Cubs with so many key injuries

Now that he's shown he can manage important innings successfully, Counsell may need to keep leaning on Rolison a while longer as they continue navigating a mountain of injuries. Maton is back in the fold, and Palencia's bullpen on Tuesday went well, setting him up for a quick return. However, Thielbar and Hunter Harvey are still working their way back from a hamstring strain and triceps inflammation, and Riley Martin is down for about eight weeks with a flexor strain. Justin Steele's recent setback also ensures that Colin Rea will be needed in the rotation until after the All-Star break. So early in the season, these minor league fliers are the only real option Hoyer has to weather the storm, so getting even one locked in is critical.

After more arms come back, Rolison also has an option year. The Cubs will always have use of solid relievers whom they can shuttle up and down to eat innings effectively when needed. If this run of injuries is any indication, they will have more openings to work him in as the season progresses. For now, it's just a matter of making the most of the lefty while he's here. Between him and a resurgent Ben Brown, this bullpen has gotten two crucial, pleasant surprises that are helping to hold the entire unit together.

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