The recovery of these two Chicago Cubs pitchers will be key in second half

With it looking more and more likely that the Chicago Cubs will be sellers at the Major League Baseball Trade Deadline, the Cubs would be wise to use the rest of the 2024 season as a way to map out the certainties and question marks on the roster heading into the offseason.

Specifically, the Cubs have to determine the path forward for their starting rotation and bullpen. Adbert Alzolay and Ben Brown are two pitchers who will be key in planning the pitching staff for next season.

Where the Cubs erred with Alzolay is using a two-month stretch during the 2023 season as validation that he was the unquestioned closer heading into the 2024 season. Alzolay's struggles at the start of the season are a large part of the reason why the team's hot start was quickly erased, and he has been sidelined for nearly the past three months with a flexor strain.

Despite speculation last month that Alzolay would miss the rest of the season, it seems that he is now on a path toward returning at some point later in the season. Alzolay began a rehab assigned on Friday in the Arizona Complex League and struck out all three of the batters he faced.

The Cubs need to know what they have in Adbert Alzolay and Ben Brown.

Alzolay's scoreless inning on Friday is not a sign that he is back on the path toward being the team's closer at the Major League level, but it is a positive first step in his recovery. At this point, the Cubs need to see who the pitcher Alzolay is when he is healthy. While the Cubs can't pencil Alzolay in as the closer next season as they did this year, if healthy, he still has value as a high-leverage reliever when right.

For Brown, his neck injury came right as he was finding his footing in the starting rotation. While the Cubs have been vague with information surrounding Brown's injury, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (Subscription Required) reports that he is set to throw off a mound in Arizona this week.

The question that the Cubs need to answer with Brown, assuming his full recovery, is whether the plan moving forward is to use him in the rotation or as a high-leverage reliever. While Brown has the arsenal to generate a volume of swing-and-misses that rivals only Shota Imanaga in the rotation, his pitch mix and upper velocity also make him an ideal closer candidate. Ideally, the Cubs have his path for the 2025 season mapped out before making any further moves to the pitching staff this offseason.