You know what you can never have too much of? Pitching. Just when you think you're all set, injuries happen, guys all of a sudden suck and even when things work out for the most part, they fall apart at the last second. That's the story of the 2018 Cubs bullpen and the front office is making minor steps trying to prevent another let down in 2019.
There haven't been any big moves, with Brad Brach and minor league deals for George Kontos and Junichi Tazawa being the latest additions to help the pen, but there might be one more coming.
According to Jon Heyman, the Cubs are one of several teams still looking at the free agent relief market.
So, who's left?
You can obviously cross Craig Kimbrel's name off the Cubs list, but the rest of the top remaining relievers could certainly be on their radar. Tony Sipp would be a perfect acquisition for the Cubs, who need depth from the left side out of their bullpen. Sipp has pitched the past five years with the Astros and has been great in three of those seasons, including 2018, when the left-handed reliever put up a 1.86 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 38.2 innings. Another left-hander still available is Jake Diekman, who the Cubs were reportedly interested in at the trade deadline in 2018, and had contact with his agent back in December. Diekman was eventually traded to the Diamondbacks by the Rangers last year and things went horribly wrong. He pitched in 24 games for Arizona and only threw 14.1 innings, recording a 7.53 ERA. Prior to that he was having a decent year with the Rangers, 3.69 ERA in 39 innings. In his career, Diekman has a 3.75 ERA in 312 innings. Even if the Cubs don't sign any of the top relievers left you should definitely expect them to add a few more arms on minor league deals before spring training.
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