3 moves the Chicago Cubs need to make after the lockout

Bullpen

The Chicago Cubs will need to solidify their bullpen if the team plans on contending during the 2022 season.

Much like the Chicago Cubs did to their starting lineup at the trade deadline last season, the team decimated their bullpen. There were three trades in particular that the Cubs made that cemented the destruction of their bullpen last season. Those trades were the trade of Andrew Chafin to the Oakland Athletics; the trade of Ryan Tepera to the Chicago White Sox; and the trade of Crag Kimbrel to the White Sox.

The Cubs are hoping that one of the players they received from the White Sox in exchange for Kimbrel can play a pivotal part to their bullpen success in 2022. That player is relief pitcher Codi Heuer. Heuer has the makeup to be the Cubs’ 2022 closer but it will be dependent on the work that is done within the Cubs’ pitch lab. Heuer was a mixed bag of results during his first two months with the Cubs. In August, Heuer posted a 1.29 ERA in 14 innings for the Cubs but struggled during the last month of the season as he posted a 5.27 ERA in 13.2 innings of work.

The Cubs will need to look to add a veteran presence to what otherwise will be an inexperienced bullpen in 2022. It is possible that the Cubs look towards Chafin once more. By all accounts, Chafin loved his time with the Cubs to begin the 2021 season and the veteran became an immediate fan favorite.