Last night’s loss to the Marlins was about as gut-wrenching as they come. It was a back-and-forth affair that ultimately ended in Miami’s favor in the ninth inning after Daniel Palencia was unable to get the final three outs in the bottom of the frame. Palencia was close to getting out of the ninth, he was one strike away before it all went south. But that’s probably why they say the last three outs are the toughest outs to get in a baseball game.
As I was watching the drama unfold it definitely felt like a horror movie I’ve seen before, last year, actually. Some of you no doubt recall the nightmare as the Cubs came just short time and time again in one run games. The Cubs had 26 blown saves last year, any seven of which going a different way would have resulted in the Cubs playing in a Wild Card Series last year instead of watching the playoffs from their couch.
It was revealed after he game that Porter Hodge was unavailable Monday night and he’s now on the injured list dealing with an oblique injury. Speaking of horror movies we’ve all seen before, oblique injuries are some of the toughest to get an accurate read on from a timeline perspective — remember how Javier Assad was working his way back until he wasn’t? Me too.
So the Cubs have some decisions to make, below are all of the members of the bullpen who have thrown at least five innings this season. Pitchers who are currently on the injured list are italicized. Two members of the bullpen who are currently on the injured list but have not thrown five innings this season are Ryan Brasier and Tyson Miller, the latter of whom did appear in some higher leverage situations in 2025:
Cubs bullpen 2025
Name
W
L
SV
G
IP
K/9
BB/9
HR/9
BABIP
LOB%
GB%
HR/FB
ERA
FIP
Name
W
L
SV
G
IP
K/9
BB/9
HR/9
BABIP
LOB%
GB%
HR/FB
ERA
FIP
Caleb Thielbar
1
1
1
19
16.2
8.64
3.78
0.00
.214
68.75%
30.95%
0.00%
2.70
2.44
Brad Keller
0
0
0
19
20.2
9.58
3.05
0.00
.309
65.38%
63.64%
0.00%
3.05
2.28
Drew Pomeranz
1
0
1
11
10.1
9.58
1.74
0.00
.174
100.00%
30.43%
0.00%
0.00
2.13
Daniel Palencia
0
1
0
14
15.2
9.19
4.02
0.57
.184
80.88%
41.03%
7.14%
2.30
3.23
Chris Flexen
1
0
1
4
7.0
7.71
3.86
0.00
.211
100.00%
27.78%
0.00%
0.00
2.67
Colin Rea
0
0
1
3
5.1
3.38
0.00
0.00
.278
100.00%
33.33%
0.00%
0.00
2.35
Porter Hodge
2
1
2
21
19.1
8.84
5.12
0.93
.308
64.89%
42.59%
10.00%
5.12
4.18
Gavin Hollowell
0
0
0
5
6.1
7.11
2.84
1.42
.278
100.00%
31.58%
12.50%
1.42
4.52
Ryan Pressly
2
2
4
19
17.1
4.67
4.67
0.52
.339
60.81%
50.85%
5.88%
5.71
4.54
Julian Merryweather
0
1
0
20
18.0
7.50
5.00
1.00
.327
69.85%
46.43%
14.29%
5.00
4.54
Ethan Roberts
1
0
0
9
8.1
6.48
2.16
2.16
.250
73.17%
34.62%
18.18%
5.40
5.86
Nate Pearson
0
1
0
8
8.2
5.19
7.27
2.08
.344
60.44%
26.47%
10.00%
10.38
7.71
Eli Morgan
0
1
0
7
7.1
4.91
3.68
3.68
.360
46.30%
42.86%
23.08%
12.27
8.55
Select bullpen stats
FanGraphs
It’s a less than ideal situation to need to draft a closer from this crew, but that is precisely where the Cubs find themselves heading into Memorial Day weekend. Luckily a handful of these pitchers have closing experience. While Craig Counsell seems reluctant to return Ryan Pressly to the role in the short-term, Drew Pomeranz has closed in the past, although it’s been a few years, he has 10 career saves. Additionally, Caleb Thielbar has a bit of closing experience, with five saves during his MLB career. After that it’s a smattering of guys like Palencia, who did notch a save last season when the Cubs tried unsuccessfully to piece together the backend of the bullpen.
I ask you, Cubs fans, who should close games for the first-place Chicago Cubs?
Poll
Who should close for the Cubs while Porter Hodge is on the injured list?
27%
Ryan Pressly — he has the most experience
(60 votes)
37%
Drew Pomeranz — he’s been the most effective
(80 votes)
20%
Daniel Palencia — he throws 100 miles per hour
(43 votes)
14%
Other — leave in comments
(32 votes)
215 votes total