Chicago Cubs: 3 bold predictions for the 2021 season
2. The Cubs bullpen will finish the year as one of the best in baseball
This one may sound very bold, but believe it or not, the Chicago Cubs’ bullpen has the pieces to be one of the top relief groups in the game.
Craig Kimbrel is entering his third year anchoring the Cubs’ bullpen, although the experience with him at the helm has felt much, much longer.
Cubs’ fans are well aware of Kimbrel’s struggles since donning the blue pinstripes, but a strong stretch to end the 2020 season has fans dreaming of a return to Kimbrel’s former Hall of Fame level of play.
In his final 14 appearances last year, Kimbrel struck out 26 and walked just seven over 12.2 innings, good for a 1.42 ERA and 0.98 FIP. Those kinds of numbers are what the front office had in mind when they inked Kimbrel to his three-year, $42 million deal in 2019.
If late-2020 Kimbrel is who shows up for the Cubs during 2021, the Cubs have the pieces to have one of the best bullpens in baseball.
In addition to Kimbrel, Ryan Tepera and Jason Adam are two familiar faces who the team should be able to rely upon for solid middle-relief innings. Rowan Wick is another returnee that’ll feature heavily in late-game situations once he returns from the Injured List.
Andrew Chafin may be somewhat familiar to Cubs fans – the team traded for him at the deadline last year, but due to injuries, he was only able to appear in four games. Chafin’s presence will be a big one for the Cubs, serving as the best left-handed option out of the ‘pen for as long as he stays healthy.
Although his 2020 numbers don’t look promising, Chafin had a great run in Arizona. He was a staple of the Diamondbacks’ bullpen from 2015-19, making 323 appearances while maintaining an impressive 3.55 ERA and 3.15 FIP. That kind of consistency from a lefty reliever is invaluable.
A new addition who could have a major impact on the Cubs’ bullpen is Brandon Workman. There aren’t a whole lot of nice words you could use to describe his 2020 season. He had a career-worst ERA and his strikeout rate dropped nearly 14 percentage points from the previous year.
Despite the struggles, the Cubs have hope Workman could become one of the team’s go-to late-inning options. He was a solid part of the Red Sox 2017 and 2018 bullpens, and in 2019 he became one of the best relievers in baseball. Workman’s 2.1 fWAR, 1.88 ERA, and 36.4 percent strikeout rate were all career-bests, and the Cubs are hoping he can find his 2019 form once again.
Fans’ hearts raced while watching the Cubs bullpen try to hold a lead the past two years, but that may not be the case in 2021. The team’s put together a solid group that should at the very least be middle-of-the-road, but if a couple of the relief options hit on their upside, the Cubs’ bullpen could be one of the best in baseball.