Cubs bullpen already raising concern after early look at revamped group

The Chicago Cubs completely rebuilt their bullpen with free agent signings over the offseason, but two of them have struggled early in their initial outings in Chicago.

Phil Maton was the most significant addition, as the Cubs shelled out a $14.5 million deal to the righty. Maton is expected to be one of the team's high-leverage guys as the team rarely gives multi-year contracts to relief pitchers. It made sense since Maton has 86 career holds and 10 saves under his belt, as well as an impressive 2.79 ERA over 61 1/3 innings pitched last year.

But Maton hasn't been that guy so far. In his second outing, the 33-year-old needed 23 pitches to get through one inning, where he walked one batter, hit another, and gave up an insurance run in a one-run ballgame. His third appearance against the Angels on Tuesday was worse. Maton came in to start the sixth inning in a 0-0 ballgame, but he surrendered two earned runs, two hits, and two walks while transferring the momentum of the game to the Angels, who went on to win the game 2-0.

Cubs bullpen already giving fans reason to worry early

Similarly, Hoby Milner has been shaky in his first three outings, and he has a smaller margin of error since the southpaw is only signed to a one-year deal ($3.75 million). The 35-year-old has already hit one batter, given up two earned runs, and three hits. One of those hits was a two-run home run to Washington Nationals' hitter Keibert Ruiz. It was a vital blow that put the Cubs down by four runs in the eighth inning and contributed to a series loss against an inferior team.

These numbers only represent a tiny sample size for two guys who will have a bit of runway with the team, especially Maton. It's way too early to panic or call for them to be replaced, but we do need to start seeing better results soon.

The Cubs need Maton and Milner to be effective if they want to keep runs off the board late in games. But the early results haven't been great and the team has plenty of relief depth in the minors.