(670 The Score) The Cubs were one strike away from a win over the Marlins on Monday night, then they let a victory slip away.
Attempting to lock down his first save of the season, Cubs reliever Daniel Palencia allowed a two-out double, issued a four-pitch walk and then gave up a walk-off two-run double in an 8-7 loss to the Marlins. It underscored the Cubs’ bullpen struggles this season.
The Cubs bullpen owns a 4.36 ERA, which ranks 19th in MLB.
On the Mully & Haugh Show on Tuesday morning, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer confirmed the club will pursue external solutions, but he added this isn't the time of year that a trade of significance can be made.
“There’s no question that the bullpen is going to be aided by outside help, whether that’s big transactions or small,” Hoyer said. “I think there’s no question we’re going to continue to add guys.
“As far as larger transactions, that doesn’t really start probably until mid-to-late June at the earliest. That’s just the nature of it. You look around baseball now, there are a lot of teams that feel they’re in the race that believe they have a chance. That’s one area that baseball’s a little bit different right now than it has been in the other years. The sellers are less obvious.
“Thinking about big external transactions, that’s really at least a month away, if not more. I think we got to focus on smaller transactions and we got to focus on getting healthy and have our own guys be effective.”
The Cubs and Marlins will play the second game of their series Tuesday in Miami. First pitch is set for 5:40 p.m. CT. Pregame coverage starts at 5:05 p.m. on 670 The Score and the Audacy app.