Ranking the 3 biggest Cubs disappointments so far this season

On the heels of Saturday's drubbing at the hands of the Phillies, optimism is waning on the North Side. The Cubs closed out the month of April dropping six of their final eight and things haven't gotten better in May, with Chicago entering action Sunday at 6-12 on the month.

Injuries to Nico Hoerner and Cody Bellinger certainly haven't helped, although at least the former has returned to action and picked up right where he left off. While there's plenty of blame to go around between David Ross, the front office and the players themselves, there have been a few key disappointments that really stand out.

Ranking the 3 biggest Cubs disappointments: #3 - Michael Fulmer and Brad Boxberger's continued struggles in the bullpen

The two guys who were supposed to be the go-to veterans in the Cubs bullpen, Michael Fulmer and Brad Boxberger, have been anything but reliable this year. The latter is now shelved with an injury and I'd be shocked if we saw him back on a mound anytime soon.

The former's struggles, regardless of the role or situation this year, are well-documented at this point. Although never formally annointed as the closer, he pretty clearly entered the year as the ninth-inning guy in David Ross' mind and quickly lost the role after multiple late-inning blow-ups.

Without either of these guys contributing meaningful, quality innings, a lack of depth (at least with the pen as it's currently constructed) is apparent. Maybe we see guys like Hayden Wesneski or Ben Brown brought into the picture this summer to add some firepower to this group, but right now, success stories are few and far between.