Chicago Cubs: Demoting Carl Edwards Jr. would be a mistake

Carl Edwards Jr. has struggled in his last three outings, but demoting him to Triple-A would be a huge mistake for the Chicago Cubs to make.

Carl Edwards is one of the best relievers in the Chicago Cubs‘ bullpen and should be treated as such. There is no doubt he has struggled his last couple times out. His worst performance of the season coming on this past Sunday against the Washington Nationals. The slender right hander gave up a grand slam which turned out to be a game winner for the Nationals.

His struggles were magnified recently because the Cubs were playing the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Nationals, two premier teams in the National League. The Cubs could match up against either team come playoff time.  If Carl Edwards can get back to his regular self, the Cubs have themselves a great bullpen, especially with the addition of Justin Wilson. Also, manager Joe Maddon has not lost any confidence in the String Bean Slinger.

Is there reason to worry?

Of course, there are reasons to worry about a bullpen pitcher. Bullpens are volatile by nature, considering many relievers were not consistent enough to be starting pitchers at some point, Edwards included. There is a reason each of them is in the bullpen. For example, Wade Davis was a sub par starting pitcher and he is now one of the best closers in the league.

The story has always been the same with Carl Edwards. He has a lively fastball and a devastating curveball, but he walks too many hitters. Edwards has the stuff to strikeout hitters consistently. He also has control issues that he walks batters consistently.

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With Edwards, the Cubs have to take the good with the bad. Much like Edwards’ teammate, Javier Baez. Baez will strikeout a ton, but also hit many home runs. Edwards is going to strikeout a lot of batters but also walk a ton too.

By the numbers

Edwards’ August has not been pretty. In three outings, he has pitched 1.2 innings, seven earned runs, four walks, and only one strikeout. It is pretty easy to why he is struggling. He has walked hitters and could not get a strikeout when he needed one. Now, let’s not have three bad appearances shape his entire season.

Edwards Jr proved his abilities in July. His numbers in the entire month of July were: 1-1, five holds, 11.1 innings, three earned runs, 19 strikeouts and 10 walks. Those are some lights out numbers. He is one of the most electrifying pitchers to watch when he is throwing strikes.

Players are going to struggle at some point in the season due to how long the season can be. Edwards needs to continue to pitch against Major League hitting. I would look to see if Edwards pitches in low leverage spots until he gets his command back to where it was in July.

But sending him to Triple-A will not do any good. He has struck a lot of people out and walked a lot of hitters at every level. He needs to hone his craft at the highest level. He needs to be ready to get big outs in September and October.

The Cubs would be making a mistake sending Edwards to Triple A Iowa. There is not a more talented arm in Triple-A that would improve the Chicago Cubs at this point in the season. Edwards’ fastball and curveball are too good for him to consistently struggle. The biggest thing he needs to do is limit base on balls.

Next: Should we be worried about Carl Edwards?

A walk is innocent until it is paired with another walk or hit. That’s when Edwards gets himself in trouble. Look for Edwards, Justin Wilson, and Wade Davis to be a three-headed monster down the stretch for the Chicago Cubs.