Julian Merryweather's recent struggles have put the Cubs in a tough spot

Last night was fun, right?

After falling behind late, Justin Turner picked the absolute perfect time for his first extra base hit of the year, driving home both the tying and winning runs with a two-RBI double in the ninth. It was a wonderful moment for the struggling Chicago Cubs veteran, who finally got his moment on top after a tough stretch to begin the season.

However, in looking back at the game, there is one glaring reason Turner was even put in that position to begin with.

We need to have a talk about Cubs reliever Julian Merryweather

Originally projected to be a reliable piece of the Cubs’ bullpen heading into 2025, Merryweather has been anything but that lately. Dating back to May 4 against the Milwaukee Brewers, Merryweather has appeared in four games, giving up six earned runs in just three innings of work.

He struggled once again in Tuesday night’s ballgame, entering in the seventh inning with a 2-2 deadlocked score. His second pitch of the night was a 96 MPH fastball grooved into the wheelhouse of Connor Norby, who instantly deposited it into the left field bleachers to break the tie.

The next batter, Derek Hill, reached on a single off of another fastball, this time in a 2-0 count. Hill scored on a Jesús Sánchez single, before Merryweather’s next two batters each reached via the walk. The inning was completed by Ryan Pressly, another struggling link in the bullpen, who struck out Kyle Stowers to finally put an end to the misery, but not before the Cubs found themselves down 4-2.

Merryweather presents an aggravating case for the Cubs, as his season has been relatively good heading into the month of May. His 91.8 MPH exit velocity ranks in the bottom eight percent of Major League Baseball according to Baseball Savant, and his walk percentage (11.9 percent) is in the 16th percentile of MLB. 

Merryweather's breakout campaign in 2023 established himself as someone the Cubs could rely on, amassing an ERA of 3.38 in 72 innings pitched. Chicago was hoping to see him replicate that success after injuries kept him out for a majority of the 2024 season.

Injuries to aces Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga have left the pitching staff shorthanded as it is. Mix that with the aforementioned struggles of Pressly, and the Cubs cannot afford to be picky with who they put in high-leverage situations. 

With that being said, looking at Merryweather’s form as of late (albeit a small sample size), it’s hard to argue that he should be seeing many of those situations until he works some things out.