CHICAGO (670 The Score) -- Few championship-contending teams advance deep in the playoffs without a lockdown bullpen, and as they've rolled to a strong start this season, that remains on the Cubs' minds.
The front office knows it needs to add more pieces to a veteran bullpen as spring turns into summer. Manager Joe Maddon has done a quality job of mixing and matching with his relievers late in games since quasi-closer Pedro Strop went down with a grade-2 hamstring strain early in May. Strop was filling the role in place of Brandon Morrow, whose long injury history most recently has featured continued setbacks in rehabbing from elbow surgery last November.
While the Cubs bullpen has been solid with a 3.93 ERA that ranks 10th in MLB, it has also squandered some late leads without a ninth-inning answer. That includes doing so in a 5-4 loss to the Phillies in 10 innings on Monday night, when Jean Segura's RBI single off Cubs reliever Brad Brach with two outs in the ninth inning tied it.
For a team with championship aspirations to reach its lofty goal, the nightly grind of a manager mixing and matching and relievers being used in different roles is unsustainable in the long term.
While Strop did throw a bullpen Monday in a significant show of progress, Cubs executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have been actively pursuing more relief help -- though Epstein wasn't offering much when broached about the topic.
"Maybe," Epstein responded to questions about American League teams perhaps being ready to trade relievers soon. "It is kind of too early to tell. We will see, especially with the way the American League is shaking out. That could be a factor."
Under revised rules implemented for the first time this season, no trades of any sort can be made after the July 31 deadline. Previously, trades could still be made in August if the player passed waivers, which allowed for some lower-profile-but-still-important deals to be made.
The consensus is that change will cause teams to make deals sooner. The Cubs have already expressed preliminary interest in Blue Jays closer Ken Giles, and Tigers closer Shane Greene and Giants closer Will Smith are two others who figure to hit the open market in time.
"I think you will see a higher volume of deals and adding to Triple-A clubs for September depth," Epstein said of the change. "You have to take care of that earlier this year."
As is, the Cubs relievers are on alert daily for possible closing duty. Steve Cishek recorded a seven-out save Sunday before Brach faltered when he got the call Monday. Lefty Kyle Ryan has been used late on a number of occasions as well in situational matchups.
"We all realize right now that Joe will use any of the guys from the sixth inning on," Cishek said. "We all have the experience of closing, and that really helps. I do think as a team you always prefer to have that one guy you trust in the later part of the games. It can be tough on a team when you have a mix of guys that may not get it done. If you have one person in that role, it makes everyone else's job easier."
Brach echoed Cishek's belief.
"The best situation is when you take that uncertainty away," Brach said. "In Baltimore, we had Zach Britton, and it helped the rest of us establish the other roles. We all have done it before and can do it again. But when you have one guy in that role, it solidifies the other roles."
Maddon called the closer-by-committee approach an "attainable" way to accomplish a team's goals, but he also prefers having one true closer to turn to.
"It has always been better to have that one guy at the end of a game," Maddon said. "If you have a guy like (Aroldis) Chapman, that is a big difference-maker. If you don't have that and you have a bunch like Cishek, fine. If you don't have enough of that type, it becomes more difficult to get it done."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
