Editor’s note: The Cubs enter the winter hoping to build a team that can make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since doing so four years in a row from 2015 to 2018. We look at each position on the Cubs’ roster as they aim to get back to October baseball in 2026.
Next up: Bullpen.
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Daniel Palencia
Phil Maton
Porter Hodge
Luke Little
Ethan Roberts
Ben Brown
Gavin Hollowell
Jack Neely
Riley Martin
Jordan Wicks
Javier Assad
Analysis
The Cubs’ reliever corps was a strength for the team in 2025.
Yet no area of the team has as many question marks entering the offseason as that group.
Four of the Cubs’ five most-trusted arms at the end of the season are off the roster. Andrew Kittredge was traded back to the Baltimore Orioles, and Brad Keller, Caleb Thielbar and Drew Pomeranz are all free agents. Sure, one of the latter three could potentially return, but that’s far from a certainty, either.
Bullpens are incredibly volatile, and investing a bunch of money in arms that have a chance to regress isn’t always the best use of a team’s budget. That’s not to say the Cubs won’t invest in their reliever corps – their first addition of the offseason suggests otherwise.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThey signed Maton to a two-year deal with a club option for 2028, the team announced on Tuesday. That signing also represents a bit of a shift for the Cubs – they hadn’t signed a reliever to a multiyear pact since penning a deal with Craig Kimbrel in 2019.
But Maton could be a solid pickup for the Cubs. He ranks among the game’s best in some of the advanced metrics that help paint a full picture of relievers. Maton was in the 91st percentile or better in whiff rate (36.2%), strikeout percentage (32.5%), barrel percentage (3.6%), hard-hit percentage (30.7%), expected ERA (2.84) and expected batting average (.195) in 2025. He’s made 63 or more appearances in every season since 2021 and has a career 3.98 ERA in 478 games across nine big-league seasons.
That pedigree is a solid complement to Palencia, the lone returner of Craig Counsell’s circle of trust from 2025. Last season was a breakout campaign for the fireballer, leading the team in saves (22), posting a 2.91 ERA across 52.2 innings and striking out 61 in that time.
He proved how valuable he can be in the playoffs, effectively working as a firefighter – Counsell would turn to Palencia in high-leverage moments, no matter the inning and often for more than three outs. The right-hander figures to have the inside track to be the Cubs’ closer in 2026.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement[MORE: Why Cubs’ Daniel Palencia’s matchup with Manny Machado was so special]
Beyond those two, there’s plenty of arms with intriguing mixes, but none with a proven track record to suggest the Cubs will be content to hand leverage roles to them.
Hodge ended 2024 as the Cubs’ closer, started last year as a high-leverage arm, then struggled with command and effectiveness, posting a 6.27 ERA with 18 walks in 33 innings in the majors. There’s still plenty of potential for the 24-year-old, and the volatility of bullpens suggests he could bounce back and post numbers like in 2024 (1.88 ERA, 0.88 WHIP), but banking on that isn’t a safe bet.
Little, Hollowell and Roberts have flashed their potential at the big leagues at times and could be breakout performers like Palencia was in 2025. But again, the Cubs won’t just assume that either. Hollowell is out of minor-league options, though, so he would have to be on the major league roster next year or be exposed to waivers.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBrown is a bit of an x-factor in this situation. He’s flashed the ability to be a starter at times, but also has had large swaths of struggle in that role. The right-hander has primarily a two-pitch mix, something that could be a tantalizing bullpen piece. Teams always prefer to stretch out pitchers, though, to start the year, and that might mean Brown is still in a starting role.
Wicks and Assad could be length options, like they were at times in 2025, but are more likely to be rotation depth. For purposes of this exercise, we included them low because of that, even though they might wind up pitching in relief at times in the big leagues next year.
What’s Next?
Two of the arms with the least amount of big-league experience – Neely and Martin – could be bullpen options for Counsell in 2026, for sure, but that’s not likely, either.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement[READ: Cubs add three players to 40-man roster, protect them from Rule 5 Draft]
The team needs to add more relievers and will add more. There’s just not enough certainty in that department for Counsell or the team to feel confident about closing games. And as they saw in 2025, the search for arms to augment the bullpen won’t end when pitchers and catchers report – no, it will continue throughout 2026.
Pomeranz was acquired in a minor-league trade in April. They traded for Kittredge at the deadline. The search for bullpen arms never stops, and that is especially true for the Cubs this offseason. Sure, some of the arms currently on their 40-man roster can turn heads and surprise – Palencia is proof of that – but counting on that is folly.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Cubs need to add relievers. Maton’s addition is the first of many.
Bottom Line
The Cubs’ 40-man roster features plenty of interesting bullpen candidates, but the volatility of that department means that this group will continue to evolve throughout not just the winter, but the spring, summer and potentially even fall, too.
State of the Cubs series menu
CatcherFirst baseSecond baseThird baseShortstopLeft fieldCenter fieldRight FieldDesignated HitterStarting Rotation
The post Cubs’ bullpen, strength in 2025, has holes to fill this offseason appeared first on Marquee Sports Network - Home of the Cubs, Bears, Red Stars and Sky.
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