Intriguing quote from Tommy Hottovy sheds light on a key member of the Cubs bullpen

Even with the offseason addition of veteran Caleb Thielbar, the Chicago Cubs aren't exactly swimming in left-handed relief options. A familiar face back in the mix heading into 2025 is big southpaw Luke Little, who just threw live BP for the first time this spring as he starts to ramp things up down in Arizona.

Little, whose 2024 season was cut short by a lat injury, is a bit behind schedule, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, after some 'typical offseason' issues popped up this winter. He won't be ready for the Tokyo Series, but the Cubs are fine with that, focusing on making sure he's 100 percent heading into a new campaign.

Last season, Little made 30 appearances, overcoming an unsightly walk rate to post a 3.46 ERA across 26 innings of work with Chicago. He'll have to cut back on the free passes if he's going to be a reliable big-league reliever, but it seems the Cubs are learning more and more about how to utilize him, which could perhaps set him up for more sustained success.

‘‘What we’ve learned with Luke over the years is that sometimes he might need an extra day of recovery on the front end that some other guys might not need,’’ Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said. ‘‘He’s a big guy [6-8]; he throws hard. It’s a lot of moving parts when you watch him throw, so it definitely is more of that max-effort type of feeling.’’

In his live BP session on the back fields at Mesa, Hottovy said Little was sitting 95-96 on his fastball, a promising sign for a team that needs more high-powered weapons in the bullpen. The 24-year-old is an imposing figure on the mound at 6-8, 220 pounds, and it's easy to forget that he has just a dozen Triple-A appearances to his credit.

That is likely to change, with Thielbar projected to be the team's lone lefty out of the pen come Opening Day. You'd like to hope that some more seasoning at Iowa would help Little iron out his control issues, but they've been with him his entire professional career, so I'm not sure how likely that really is.

The goal is probably more along the lines of being effectively wild, which more than a few MLB relievers have made a living out of over the years. Even opening the year at Triple-A, though, Little is the next man up on the depth chart when it comes to left-handed relievers, so we'll definitely see him at Wrigley at some point this season.

With a live BP under his belt, he can cross the first 'to-do' off the list at camp. Hopefully, in the coming weeks, we see him get into some Cactus League games and he can open the year feeling good about where he's at, having built the 'solid foundation' Craig Counsell is focusing on with him this spring.