The Cubs bullpen has quietly gotten on track after a very rough start to the season, but the relief corps took a hit with yesterday’s news that Rowan Wick suffered a left oblique strain. Wick “got some testing done and it’s pretty bad,” manager David Ross told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and other reporters, and it could mean that Wick might be out of action for the postseason. Wick has a 3.12 ERA, 10.4 K/9, and 3.33 K/BB over 17 1/3 innings this season, with just one home run allowed. He also has four saves this season, though none over the last month as Jeremy Jeffress has recently emerged as Chicago’s top closer option.
The most obvious replacement is Andrew Chafin, who was just activated from his own stint on the injured list. A left finger sprain has kept Chafin out of action since August 17, meaning that Chafin has yet to pitch since the Cubs acquired from the Diamondbacks at the trade deadline. Chafin has an 8.10 ERA this season, though over the small sample size of 6 2/3 innings, and a lot of that damage stems from a July 29th outing that saw Chafin allow three runs to the Rangers without retiring a batter. If Chafin returns to his solid form from the 2015-19 seasons, he could be an important weapon for a Cubs team that has designs on a deep October run.
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- Speaking of the bullpen, Ross said that the Cubs will use Jose Quintana in short stints when he returns from the 10-day injured list. Quintana is expected to return during the Cubs’ upcoming four-game series with the Pirates (beginning on Monday), and the team’s plan is to gradually build up Quintana’s pitch count. But, “if not, if we don’t have that opportunity….then he’ll just stay a bullpen piece and we’ll use him that way,” Ross said. Between Quintana’s recovery from thumb surgery and this current IL stint due to a left lat injury, the southpaw has only made two appearances all season, both as a reliever — these games marked his first work as a relief pitcher since his 2012 rookie season. Assuming no setbacks and a spot on the postseason roster, Quintana could be an intriguing x-factor in the playoffs, theoretically capable of working as a traditional reliever, a multi-inning swingman, a bulk pitcher following an opener, or as an opener himself for the first two or three innings of a bullpen game.
- The Cubs surely won’t exercise their $25MM club option on Jon Lester for the 2021 season, as the veteran left-hander will instead be bought out at the lower sum of $10MM. That said, Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago opines that a reunion between Lester and the Cubs on a lower-cost deal shouldn’t be ruled out, with Lester offering familiarity and veteran leadership to a team that will still need pitching depth. Lester has a 4.91 ERA, 2.92 K/BB rate, and 6.7 K/9 over 51 1/3 innings in 2020, showing only flashes of his past All-Star form. On the plus side, Lester is still very durable, averaging 199 innings per season from 2008-19 with only a few minor IL stints during that stretch. Lester, Quintana, and Tyler Chatwood will all be free agents, leaving Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks as the only locks for Chicago’s 2021 pitching staff. No-hitter hero Alec Mills seems like a solid bet for one rotation spot, and youngsters like Adbert Alzolay, Tyson Miller, or even top prospect Brailyn Marquez will be in competition for the other two jobs, so bringing Lester back as an experienced option makes some sense.
I believe Lester has averaged 176 innings per season for 2018 and 2019. Big difference from Polishuk’s reported 199. That’s about 5 starts per year that didn’t happen. Lester had a good run, don’t embellish on it that much. That job belongs to his agent.
His 199 IP/year ave was from 2008-2019 not 2018-2019.
I think the point he’s making is that the avg innings is a lot lower if you look at the more recent last 2 years
Now that this contract is over, Lester might go back to Boston for a swan song or he might choose to join Maddon in Anaheim. I definitely don’t see him coming back to Chicago next year, unless it’s for money
He might stay for David Ross, much tighter connection than Maddon.
More staying because of David Ross then following Madden. If Boston in a rebuild, Lester goes nowhere near Beantown. Ross is the magnet bringing Jon back at a far lesser price.
Is there something about Lester not happy in Chicago nobody else is aware of? Lester and Ross are close friends and has very good relationship with the team, I would think the Cubs would be Lester’s first choice.
Angels are a mess and remember the Red Sox lowballed Lester? but some reason he would rather go back to the Sox than the Cubs would gave him everything he wanted?
I think it will be down to 3 options, return to the Cubs, play close to home for the Braves or Retire.
It’s time to move on from what’s left of the ‘16 team-it has been on a steady decline since then, no speed or situational hitting and they held on to players that just haven’t produced. The Cubs are stuck with a very weak minor league system that has not developed any of their own pitching and a lot of underachieving position players. Blow it up
You’re right about the fact that they just don’t develop their own pitching. Hendricks is the only SP I can think of that’s come out of their system in the past decade. That’s just shameful.
He was acquired in Dempster trade to TX
Cubs really don’t get the credit for Developing Hendricks either, Rangers get more credit than the Cubs for that.
How so? Texas had him for only a year in their system (signed June 2011, trade to Cubs July 2012). Was in the Cubs minor leagues until he debuted in 2015.
I mean, you might let the Cubs at least finish THIS year before they start another rebuild. They are in first at the moment.
I’d like to see Lester stick around for another four years, rack up some stats and make a run at the HOF.
He’s more likely to rack up some flapjacks and make a run for the (i)HOP.
I once saw Rowan Wick kill a man with a pencil. A fkin pencil! Or maybe that was Ted “Theodore” Logan. I don’t know, strange things were afoot that night at the Circle K.
Niiice! But wasn’t Rowan tha faker, who at first blush resembled a stone cold assassin, but was actually a befuddled Mr. Bean caught in a case of mistaken identity? Hilarity ensued.
Lester for 1 year 15mil sounds like a pretty decent investment to me. That’s what his option boils down to. Maybe they try to resign him for 2 years or add another option at a lower AAV but 1/15 seems like a no brainer to me.
He gets the $10M buyout no matter what so the Cubs would need to pay him 1 year, $5M for him to get $15M from the club. If he’s looking for one more payday, it makes sense for him to leave the Cubs, get his $10M buyout and then sign with someone else for $10-$15M. He’ll end up getting his full $25M that way if he does.
Make him the pitching coach.