Recently released veteran arm could be a perfect roll-of-the-dice for the Cubs

In each of his last two starts, Colin Rea has done more than enough to give the Chicago Cubs a chance to win - only to watch the bullpen stumble. The veteran right-hander matched Brewers' ace Jacob Misiorowski on Friday night, but the wheels quickly fell off in the late innings as Milwaukee cruised to a 6-2 win.

Injuries and a complete lack of contribution from the team's two big offseason additions to the pen have the Cubs on thin ice, forced to rely on guys like Ethan Roberts and Jayden Murray in high-leverage spots which, well, went about how you'd expect in the series opener. Murray, acquired from the Astros less than a week ago, has been completely ineffective in two appearances, allowing six earned runs and a pair of homers.

Scott Barlow may have a lot more to offer the Cubs than anyone believes

There was little cause for optimism when the Cubs acquired him and, given how things have played out over the last week, there's no reason to think better days are ahead there. Given the dire situation in the pen (and across the pitching staff, as a whole) Jed Hoyer has nothing to lose by moving on and looking at other options - such as the recently-released Scott Barlow.

I know. At first glance, Barlow feels like a carbon copy of Murray: a struggling veteran reliever who has little to offer a team like the Cubs. But if you squint, just a little, you can get there.

Barlow, 33, was recently released by the Athletics and his overall body of work this year hasn't been great: 36 appearances, a 6.48 ERA and 6.44 FIP and just 7.83 K/9. Not great. But if you take him out of the bandbox conditions in Sacramento, where the A's call home, he's been far more serviceable. Actually, more than just serviceable - he's got an ERA of just 1.02 in 17 2/3 innings of work with a 0.679 WHIP.

Pick up the phone, Jed.

The former sixth-round pick features above-average breaking stuff and a whiff rate that ranks among the best in baseball. Swing-and-miss and numbers that suggest his home ballpark has really been a drag on him this season? Sounds like an easy plug-and-play option for a Cubs bullpen searching for answers.

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