The Cubs made a couple great trades in 2018, making deals for Jesse Chavez and Cole Hamels, that really did save the pitching staff in the second half. However, one trade that never worked out was the acquisition of right-handed reliever Brandon Kintzler.
The Cubs were hoping Kintzler could have provided some stability in the middle of the bullpen, but he was terrible. In 25 appearances with the Cubs, Kintzler allowed 14 earned runs, on 27 hits and nine walks. He posted a 7.00 ERA and 2.00 WHIP in 18 innings.
Pretty, pretty bad.
Late on Tuesday night, the AP reported that the Cubs declined a $10 million team option in 2019 for Kintzler. However, that doesn't mean he's gone, yet. Kintzler still has a $5 million player option that he most likely will pick up.
He has by Friday to pick up the player option. The thing is, even the $5 million player option there's no guarantee that Kintzler will be in the bullpen come opening day 2019. Also, there's just no way the Cubs can go into their other offseason plans with Kintzler having a spot locked up in the bullpen. The hope is, like with Justin Wilson, that Kintzler simply goes back to being the solid reliever he's been throughout his career if he does indeed make the 25-man roster in 2019. Yet, don't be surprised if the Cubs just release Kintzler during spring training if there isn't any noticeable improvement.
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