High-profile relievers still implode, but that doesn't mean the Cubs don't need them

The Chicago Cubs have relied on a mix-and-match collection of reclamation projects, young arms and low-cost veterans to build their bullpen over the last decade and, more often than not, have been successful in doing so.

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer admitted he didn't do a good enough job in this department last winter, saying, "Being self-critical, I feel like that's something I didn't do a good job of last offseason."

Adbert Alzolay's disastrous start to the year, paired with Hector Neris' ineffectiveness as a fill-in closer left the Cubs, once again, digging themselves out of a huge hole as the season went on. Chicago blew 26 saves this year, the sixth-most in the National League. Mid-season additions like Tyson Miller, Jorge Lopez and Nate Pearson helped steady the ship, but the damage had already been done.

Watching the postseason, so far, though - some of the game's best late-inning arms are struggling in major spots. Josh Hader had a brutal Wild Card series, blowing Game 2 as the Detroit Tigers swept the Houston Astros. That stung for Houston, who handed Hader a five-year, $95 million deal last winter only to get fairly pedestrian results in both the regular season and October.

Among the four teams still standing in their respective Championship Series, two have high-profile arms in the ninth inning in the Mets' Edwin Diaz and Guardians' Emmanuel Clase. The latter's struggles have Cleveland on the ropes after suffering a blown save and taking the loss in two of the first four games against the Yankees.

Diaz, meanwhile, has been a high-octane version of what the Cubs experienced with Neris this year - the main difference being Diaz actually has the stuff to wiggle his way out of jams. He's walked six batters in five NLCS appearances, but has countered it with a dozen strikeouts with the series shifting back to Los Angeles this weekend with the Mets down 3-2.

All this to say. Yes, these big-name, high-profile closers struggle. They aren't perfect. But that shouldn't stop Hoyer and the Cubs from looking to add some real, established firepower to the late-inning mix this winter. Chicago gave away too many games this year and if things are going to be different in 2025, they're going to need a shutdown pen ready to slam the door for manager Craig Counsell.