Some have accused the Cubs’ bullpen of looking a little tired recently.
Results have been middle-of-the-pack for the last two weeks. And in Mark Leiter Jr. (63), Julian Merryweather (61), Jose Cuas (61) and Michael Fulmer (57), the Cubs have four of the 60 most-used relievers in MLB by appearances, despite Fulmer being on the injured list for the last two weeks and ineligible to be activated until Saturday.
“There was a long time where we had one person in the top 25 for appearances in baseball, and the way the games have gone the last two weeks have bumped that up,” pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said. “There’s still so many other things you can do to evaluate fatigue or if a guy might be ready to go pitch that night. But guys know this is the time of the year to push, and we need to win every game we can.”
The Cubs had ways of knowing that closer Adbert Alzolay needed a breather, even if his career-high 56 appearances this season are a step behind their other high-leverage arms. Back-to-back blown saves (incurred while pitching for the third time in four days) marked the point where the team elected to give him a break. Friday marked his first appearance in a week, and he looked sharp once more.
“When you get fatigued, what guys tend to do is, guys try to use their body a lot more than they probably do when their arm is fresh,” Hottovy explained. “With Adbert’s slider, he’d hang a little bit more and not be as sharp.”
Help is on the way. Fulmer threw a high-intensity 30-pitch bullpen session Friday, although Hottovy said the Cubs want to see how he recovers before he returns from his strained forearm.
Another telling move is veteran righty Brad Boxberger being activated Friday after missing almost four months with his own strained forearm, with Keegan Thompson optioned to make room. Boxberger had a 5.52 ERA when he was injured in May but is coming off back-to-back strong seasons of more than 70 appearances. Whereas Thompson is most accustomed to multi-inning outings with days off in between, Boxberger is experienced in late-inning work and ready to pitch every day.
“I understand what it takes to go down to a playoff push and be available,” Boxberger said. “To be able to bounce back every day and recover well is definitely one of my goals.”
Stroman’s progress
Hottovy’s phone was lighting up Thursday with texts from right-hander Marcus Stroman after the All-Star thew a two-inning, 29-pitch live batting practice at the team complex in Arizona. Stroman is due for another such session Monday before the Cubs map out a plan for rehab assignments. It was once feared that fractured rib cartilage would end Stroman’s season, but now there’s optimism.
“He’s more enthused and we’re more enthused that he’s going to get to a point where he can help us this year,” Hottovy said.
Heavy lifting
The Cubs are in a stretch of 27 games in as many days that will end with a day off next Thursday in between road series in Colorado and Arizona.
“This was definitely one of the tougher stretches,” left fielder Ian Happ said. “We’ve got a lot of dudes in here who go out and play every day and know how to handle that with their bodies.”
