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Chicago Cubs address major need in bullpen with trade with Los Angeles Dodgers

The Chicago Cubs are addressing an important need in a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers to acquire relief pitcher Yency Almonte.
Jordan Campbell
Jordan Campbell

Cubbies Crib

Colorado Rockies v Los Angeles Dodgers / Ronald Martinez/GettyImages

The Chicago Cubs are addressing a major need in their bullpen as the team is acquiring right-handed relief pitcher Yency Almonte from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Prior to the trade, Almonte and the Dodgers reached a deal worth $1.9MM for the 2024 season to avoid arbitration.

What has become a focal point for the Cubs this off-season is stabilizing the bullpen. While the Cubs feel comfortable with Adbet Alzolay, Mark Leiter Jr, and Julian Merryweather at the tail-end of their bullpen, the team had a need for middle relief pitchers.

Last week, Cubs' pitching coach Tommy Hottovy talked about the need that the Cubs had for middle reliefs as a way to not depend on the three pitchers at the backend to routinely bridge the gap from when the starting pitcher departed to the end of the game.

Almonte certainly will address that need. Almonte struggled to the tune of a 5.06 ERA in 49 appearances with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season but his xERA of 4.27 would suggest that there was some bad luck mixed in with his results. With the Dodgers in 2022, Almonte posted a 1.02 ERA in 35.1 innings.

Almonte also features a mid-to-upper 90s fastball and it's possible the Cubs see a similar profile to what they saw last season when they took a chance on Merryweather. With a plus fastball, Merryweather posted a 3.38 ERA in 72 innings pitched with a career-high strikeout percentage of 32.3%.

No word yet on what the Cubs are sending the Dodgers but on the day that players and teams are looking to avoid arbitration, it could be a player that the Cubs were unable to come to terms with.

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Jordan Campbell

Jordan Campbell

For nearly 15 years, Jordan has been a workhorse across the FanSided network - including being the inaugural site expert for Cubbies Crib, as well as a stop at Da Windy City as the site expert. In addition to returning to be a Co-Site Expert at Cubbies Crib, Jordan was previously the Site Expert at Bear Goggles On. In the years since, Jordan has joined FanSided's full-time team, serving as a staff writer for the MLB division. Jordan's work can be seen across the MLB division, including a consistent presence on our Cubs, Twins, Astros, and Tigers sites. Since 2010, Jordan has dedicated his craft to providing insightful commentary on all things Chicago sports, and he has enjoyed his venture into all things Major League Baseball.