Craig Counsell quiets fears about Cubs offseason addition raising alarms

For all the concern surrounding Craig Counsell's bullpen choices during the early days of the Chicago Cubs' season, history has proven to be on his side. During his first two years as the Cubs' manager, Counsell was faced with early questions about the stability of the bullpen. Each time, his circle of trust was identified, and by the end of the year, the Cubs had a stable bullpen. It's why it's entirely too early for the Cubs to give up on Phil Maton.

In Counsell's first year, the Cubs were faced with the problem of Hector Neris. Last year, it was Ryan Pressly. This year, Cubs fans have been quick to throw Maton into that same category of bullpen rejects.

Through the first two weeks of the regular season, Maton has given up six runs on six hits and four walks in four innings of work. Intentional or not, there's been an early demotion for Maton. The expectation was that he would be the primary setup man to Daniel Palencia in the bullpen, but his last couple of outings have been either when the Cubs have trailed or in a low-leverage situation.

The Cubs don't expect that to be the case for much of the season. Speaking with The Athletic's (subscription required) Sahadev Sharma, Maton revealed that a hitch in his delivery has been identified. While he doesn't have the luxury of correcting the issue during spring training, the impression is that the Cubs' coaching staff can get him back on track.

No, the Cubs aren't ending the Phil Maton experiment anytime soon.

Counsell also didn't back down from the idea that Maton will eventually resume his role as a high-leverage relief pitcher in the Cubs' bullpen.

“Phil’s one of those guys you’re going to count on in big innings, you’re going to count on him to get right-handed hitters out,” Counsell said. “So we need that, absolutely. He’s not throwing it like he’s capable of the last couple outings. But we’ll get him there. I’m very confident we’ll get him there.”

It should also be made clear that Maton is going to be given a far longer leash than the one Neris and Pressly had with the Cubs. Maton signed a two-year deal with the Cubs this offseason, a deal that Jed Hoyer prioritized at the start of the offseason.

For every Neris and Pressly, there's Brad Keller. Keller was a priority minor-league signing for the Cubs last year, and pitched to a 4.97 ERA during the first month of the season with the Cubs. By the end of the year, he was Counsell's most trusted reliever. It's fair to suggest Maton could be on a similar path if his mechanics get fixed.