Here's where the Chicago Cubs bullpen sits after adding closer Ryan Pressly

The Chicago Cubs are close to putting the finishing touches on their offseason. After trading for Ryan Pressly from the Houston Astros, the team now has a veteran, back-end reliever with a long history of closing to call on in the ninth. They may not have added an overpowering arm like Tanner Scott, but their actions with the bullpen have been more serious than in past years, adding some established, interesting arms alongside the typical reclamation pieces and minor-league signings to sort through in spring training.

Jed Hoyer hasn't entirely abandoned his strategy of bullpen construction on the cheap, but the group Craig Counsell has to work with is perhaps the strongest he's assembled in his tenure as president. Moreover, there may still be a move left to make. Bruce Levine reported that Ryne Stanek and old friend David Robertson were still on their radar to round out the bunch. With Stanek returning to the Mets, though, that group is thinning out. For now, let's look back through the myriad moves already done and get an early sense of what pitchers they'll call on come Opening Day.

Assuming the Cubs don't opt to go with a six-man rotation, they have eight spots up for grabs, and most of them should be locked down. For starters, there's Pressly, who can be penciled in as the closer coming off a 3.49 ERA season with a 3.10 FIP. Porter Hodge is also guaranteed a spot after debuting last year and becoming one of the team's most reliable arms with a 1.88 ERA and 2.75 FIP. Rounding out the back end will likely be Julian Merryweather and Tyson Miller, both of whom have been strong performers even if the former was plagued by injuries last year. Both are also out of minor league options, which makes the decision even easier.

From there, we can expect to see trade acquisition Eli Morgan and signee Caleb Thielbar in the pen. The Cubs were purposeful in targeting the former, who went under the radar with a 1.93 ERA in a crowded Cleveland bullpen. Thielbar, meanwhile, would be their lone lefty and has all the makings of a great buy-low candidate, given the differential between his 5.32 ERA and 4.10 FIP among other factors. Finally, the signings of Colin Rea and Matthew Boyd for the rotation mean that one of Rea or Javier Assad will start in the bullpen if a six-man rotation is out of the question.

That leaves one spot and a lot of names to choose from. There's a fair chance the eighth position will be given to a final free-agent signing like Robertson or Stanek, but let's assume the Cubs decide to call it there. In that case, Nate Pearson and Keegan Thompson would likely have the inside track on the job. Pearson was acquired from the Blue Jays at the trade deadline and appeared to find his groove down the stretch with a 2.73 ERA and 3.91 FIP. He's a strong choice to add some velocity to the group, but he still has an option year, whereas Thompson doesn't and still has a lot of promise, given his past successes in Chicago.

Even if they have the best shot, however, they'll have a lot of competition in camp from several places. Ben Brown is finally healthy and will join other homegrown arms like Daniel Palencia, Luke Little, Jordan Wicks, and Caleb Killian looking for a spot. Other options available include trade acquisitions Jack Neely and Cody Poteet, as well as a mix of minor league pickups and non-roster invitees, including Rob Zastryzny, Gavin Hollowell, Phil Bickford, Brooks Kriske and Ben Heller.

The caveat to all of this is that injuries are bound to happen, and many of these guys are sure to get chances with the Cubs at some point this season. Hoyer built a very deep group of arms to account for the season's travails after two straight years where bullpen failings cost them dearly. The Opening Day group heading to Japan may seem fairly obvious, but Counsell will be working with depth meant to be mixed and matched to find the right combination much earlier.