After consecutive 83-79 seasons and missing out on the playoffs both times, the Cubs are beginning one of their most crucial winters in recent years. As the hot stove season kicks off in earnest, we analyze the Cubs depth chart at each position and how Jed Hoyer and the Cubs front office might address the team’s needs.

Next up: Bullpen

DEPTH CHART

1. Porter Hodge
2. Tyson Miller
3. Eli Morgan
4. Nate Pearson
5. Julian Merryweather
6. Luke Little
7. Rob Zastryzny
8. Keegan Thompson
9. Caleb Kilian
10. Hayden Wesneski
11. Ethan Roberts
12. Jack Neely
13. Daniel Palencia
14. Gavin Hollowell
15. Michael Arias

ANALYSIS

Expect Jed Hoyer and the Cubs front office to spend a lot of time poring over the bullpen this offseason.

They’ve already addressed the position, adding Zastryzny and Morgan to the group – the former off waivers and the latter in a trade with the Guardians last week.

The Cubs bullpen ended up becoming a strength for the team with a Top 5 unit in the league for most of the year – they ranked 4th in MLB with a 3.33 ERA from June 1 on.

The problem was early in the season, as multiple bullpen implosions cost the Cubs some early games and ultimately played a huge hand in keeping the team out of the playoffs for the 4th straight year.

Last offseason, the Cubs mostly stood pat with their bullpen, only adding veteran reliever Héctor Neris. That proved to be a costly misstep as the reliever depth was tested early when Merryweather was lost to injury in early April and Adbert Alzolay struggled to the point where he was removed from the closer’s role before May.

Hoyer acknowledged that fact in his end-of-season press conference.

“Being self-critical, I feel like that’s something that I didn’t do a good job of last offseason,” Hoyer said. “… Our bullpen numbers in the second half of the season were really, really strong and among the top in baseball.

“But at a critical moment when those guys struggled and were hurt early, we didn’t have enough depth in that moment and that hurt us. So that’s something we have to address.”

The offseason is only a few weeks old yet Hoyer and Co. have already made some solid additions to the relief corps.

Morgan is a 28-year-old right-hander who has 21 holds and 1 save to his name across 161 MLB appearances in Cleveland. Over the last 3 seasons, he has put up a 3.27 ERA and 1.12 WHIP while striking out 181 in 176 innings.

Zastryzny is a lefty who will turn 33 in March and was actually drafted and developed by the Cubs (2nd round pick in 2013). He has bounced around the league over the last few years and found success in 9 games with the Brewers in 2024 (1.17 ERA, 0.65 WHIP).

The Cubs needed help from the left side in the bullpen and Zastryzny fills that need, as he has allowed a .190 batting average and .550 OPS to left-handed hitters throughout his big-league career.

Beyond the new additions, the Cubs have a solid group of returning arms.

Hodge burst onto the scene and enjoyed what may be the greatest rookie season by a reliever in Cubs history.

Miller was an under-the-radar acquisition early in the season in a deal with the Mariners and became a reliable option for Craig Counsell. Pearson was also acquired in a trade and performed well with a change of scenery moving from Toronto to Chicago.

2024 was essentially a lost season for Merryweather as he missed 3-and-a-half months with a rib/shoulder injury and struggled when he returned. But he was one of the team’s most valuable relievers in 2023 when he posted a 3.38 ERA, 17 holds, 2 saves and a whopping 98 strikeouts in 72 innings and agreed to terms with the righty on a 1-year contract last week, avoiding arbitration.

Little missed the entire second half of the season with a shoulder injury and experienced some expected growing pains as a rookie reliever. He looked dominant at times as a lefty who can dial his fastball up near 100 mph but also walked 18 batters and hit 4 more in 26 innings.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Hoyer’s front office will undoubtedly add more names to this group that will potentially push some pitchers off the list. While a potentially solid group, the current Cubs bullpen doesn’t have much in the way of experience.

It would not be a shock to see the Cubs add at least 1 — and quite possibly several — proven veterans into this group. As they do every year, the Cubs will also add some interesting bullpen names on minor-league deals with invites to Spring Training.

At the moment, it looks like 5 spots in the Cubs Opening Day bullpen are pretty close to being locked in: Hodge, Miller, Morgan, Pearson, Merryweather.

The Cubs may opt to keep both lefties (Little, Zastryzny) but Little could also start the year in the minors as a depth option.

Beyond that, the calculus could come down to simple roster construction – a lot of players are out of minor-league options and the Cubs would risk losing them on waivers if they did not include them on the 26-man Opening Day roster.

The list of players out of options includes: Zastryzny, Merryweather, Miller, Thompson and Kilian.

Thompson and Kilian are intriguing cases, as they have both teased their potential over the last few years but have also dealt with injuries and inconsistency.

Kilian turned heads in Spring Training but missed the first 4 months of the season with a shoulder injury. He has performed well in the minors but hasn’t had the same success in the big leagues (9.22 ERA in 27.1 MLB innings). He’ll be 28 in June and doesn’t have much experience in the bullpen, so he may end up being a roster casualty this winter or next spring.

Thompson turns 30 in March and has been up and down between Chicago and Iowa the past couple seasons, with a few injuries sprinkled in. When he was in the big leagues in 2024, he performed well to the tune of a 2.67 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 10.7 K/9. But he has had trouble recovering quickly as a reliever, often needing multiple days between outings which can put the bullpen in a tight spot.

Wesneski missed 2 months with a forearm injury in the second half of 2024 and very well may be one of the organization’s top 15 or so arms by the time Spring Training rolls around. But is he a starter or a reliever? Between the lack of clarity in his role and the fact he has minor-league options remaining, Wesneski could begin the 2025 season in Triple-A as depth.

Neely and Palencia have eye-popping stuff and tantalizing potential but both players likely need more seasoning in the minors. Roberts was a nice story in 2024 after nearly 2 years recovering from injuries and figures to serve as depth on the Iowa-to-Chicago shuttle.

BOTTOM LINE

The Cubs have already addressed the bullpen this winter and will continue to do so. This is a unit with intriguing upside though there are a lot of pitchers on the bubble and the Cubs simply won’t be able to keep them all.

State of the Cubs series
Catcher
First base
Second base
Third base
Shortstop
Left field
Center field
Right field
DH
Starting rotation
Bullpen