PHOENIX -- One of the stated goals over the offseason for the Cubs was to build up a longer roster of experienced bullpen pieces, putting the staff in a better position to withstand the kind of in-season storm that arrived early on a year ago.
The first test has already arrived.
On Sunday afternoon, Chicago¡¯s bullpen -- having already flirted with trouble within the first handful of games this season -- surrendered an eight-run eighth inning to send the North Siders to a 10-6 loss at Chase Field. The end result was a split of this four-game set, rather than boarding the flight to Sacramento with a series win.
¡°We've got a great group of guys down there,¡± Cubs starter Matthew Boyd said. ¡°We have so much talent. There¡¯s a lot of experience. There¡¯s not one ounce of worry when it comes to those guys. All in all, we¡¯ve got a great pitching staff. We know what we can do.¡±
The Cubs began the domestic portion of their season with five new additions in the bullpen, plus three holdovers from the 2024 relief corps. Chicago acquired veteran Ryan Pressly via trade from the Astros to add experience to the ninth inning, while also bringing in Caleb Thielbar (free agency), Colin Rea (free agency), Eli Morgan (trade) and Brad Keller (Minor League deal).
Along with veteran righty Ryan Brasier -- acquired from the Dodgers over the winter -- those new faces were brought in to deepen the pool of resources. Last season, the Cubs ran into injuries and other issues between April and May, and the lack of tested players at that juncture played a key part in the 83-win campaign that ended with no playoff berth.
The Cubs¡¯ bullpen found its footing as last season wore on, especially with pitchers like Tyson Miller, Porter Hodge and Nate Pearson joining the mix in-season and steadying the ship. The hope right now for Chicago is that the course correction can happen more swiftly, given the volume of pitchers now on the depth chart.
¡°This is our group,¡± Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.
Brasier (left groin strain) and Miller (left hip impingement) are currently on the 15-day injured list, removing two pieces from the equation. Right-hander Julian Merryweather was unavailable on Sunday after warming up (but not pitching) twice earlier in this series, including on Saturday night. Pressly was also not available after working the ninth in Saturday¡¯s dramatic 4-3 win.
Under the circumstances, Counsell¡¯s options were a little thinner after Boyd did what the manager called a ¡°wonderful job¡± over five scoreless innings. Even with a few arms down for the day, a trio of homers -- one apiece for Dansby Swanson (solo), Seiya Suzuki (two-run) and Kyle Tucker (three-run) -- gave the Cubs a 6-2 cushion by the eighth.
That is when things went awry on the bullpen.
Lefty Caleb Thielbar escaped a jam in the seventh, but then issued consecutive walks to begin the eighth. Counsell then handed the ball to Morgan, who had looked strong in his previous two appearances out of the chute this season. In the span of eight batters and 21 pitches, Morgan had relinquished seven hits.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had the loudest contribution off Morgan, belting a two-run homer that pulled the game into a 6-6 deadlock. Josh Naylor -- Morgan¡¯s former teammate in Cleveland -- then put the Cubs behind with an RBI double off the wall in center. D-backs pitcher Ryne Nelson also had the first at-bat, hit and RBI of his career with his single in the offensive outpouring.
¡°I feel like the pitches felt good out of my hand,¡± Morgan said. ¡°It¡¯s more command -- seeing where they end up -- versus stuff.¡±
Morgan said he plans on examining his outing to get to the root cause of the string of hard-hit balls, but the righty is hardly alone.
Pressly (four walks and one strikeout in three innings) and Pearson (four walks and two strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings) have been wobbly out of the gate. Morgan and Thielbar have had mixed results. Overall, the Cubs¡¯ bullpen has an 8.34 ERA with nearly as many walks (19) as strikeouts (23) in the 22 2/3 innings in this six-game sample.
There is plenty of season left, and the Cubs are counting on this cast of relievers being able to quickly pull together and become a strength of the roster.
¡°We¡¯ve certainly got to be a little better than that, and expect it,¡± Counsell said. ¡°And we will. Today wasn¡¯t a good day.¡±