3 Chicago Cubs who must be on a short leash in 2023

3 Chicago Cubs who need to be on a short leash - 2. Julian Merryweather

Appearing in two games so far, Julian Merryweather has registered five earned runs in 1.2 innings pitched. Usually, we would understand the small sample size being a factor here, but the fact that this is familiar to him makes matters worse. Last Season, with the Toronto Blue Jays, Merryweather recorded a 6.75 ERA in a larger sample of 26.1 IP. The Cubs can ill-afford to blow games in the later innings, as their current projected win total is already indicative of this team's overall ceiling.

That is why the Cubs need to understand if there is little history to go off of where they count on past success, they need to cut ties quickly. The front office has done a fantastic job in the piece with reclamation projects, but if this trend continues, look for the Cubs to call up Jeremiah Estrada, who we already know is thought to be a critical piece of the Cubs bullpen moving forward at some point.