The Chicago Cubs entered the offseason knowing that they’d be dealing with the unenviable task of having to rebuild almost their entire bullpen before the 2026 season. Of the relievers named to the NLDS roster, only Daniel Palencia and Ben Brown were guaranteed to still be Cubs by the end of the winter.
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Bullpen anchors Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, and Caleb Thielbar will likely drift off into free agency, joined by Michael Soroka, Ryan Brasier, Taylor Rogers, and Aaron Civale. Andrew Kittredge, who carried with him a $9 million option when acquired from the Orioles at the trade deadline last season, was traded back to the Orioles in early November. Injured 2025 offseason acquisition Eli Morgan, meanwhile, was non-tendered.
A mass exodus of bullpen arms
Oct 8, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Brad Keller (40) celebrates after defeating the Milwaukee Brewers in game three of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images
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The mighty exodus of bullpen arms is a major issue, obviously. It’s an issue that the Cubs have already begun to address, though, with the free agent signing of veteran reliever Phil Maton to a 2-year, $14.5 million deal. There will be many more pieces added to the Cubs relief puzzle over the next couple months, unless the team has a brain-seize and decides to stand pat with a bullpen forced to rely on guys like Jordan Wicks, Luke Little, Ethan Roberts, and Gavin Hollowell carrying way too much weight.
But Cubs president Jed Hoyer and company have a knack for finding fringe arms/reclamation projects, polishing them up, and flipping them for single seasons of success. There’s no reason to believe that Chicago won’t take the same budget-friendly approach this season when it comes to middle and long relief.
The real issue for 2026, however, is in the one spot where there remains a 2025 holdover– closer.
The dire need for a closer
Apr 25, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Daniel Palencia (48) delivers a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Daniel Palencia had an eye-opening season last year, coming from Triple-A in mid-April to earn the closer spot by mid-May. He finished the year with a 2.91 ERA and 22 saves. Up until August 1, he was still sporting an ERA below 1.50 as the team’s full-time closer.
Then, “things” happened.
From August 1 to the end of the season, the 25-year-old disappointed and frustrated with a 7.07 ERA and he just all-around seemed to be on the brink of full-on collapse. In the playoffs, although his 3.52 ERA was decent enough, he gave off the vibe of being more fortunate than good.
Palencia’s crashing back to earth was actually predicted by many who loudly expressed their disappointment at the Cubs’ inability/unwillingness to acquire a more experienced closer at the trade deadline. By the close of the NLDS– and the end of the Cubs’ baseball year– it became irrefutable that the team needed another late-inning guy to work alongside Palencia.
And so far this offseason, as is usually the case with the offseason hopes and wishes of Cubs fans, there is a slow whittling away of optimism as the team seems to fall right back into their buy cheap, cross fingers talent acquisition habits.
The deal with Maton raised hopes that the Cubs would change their frugal approach. Maybe this time, with the team so close to actually competing for a championship, they’d spend to bring in the kind of quality pitching that pushes teams from “contending” to “winning.”
Conservative Cubs falling behind once again
Oct 7, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Devin Williams (38) delivers a pitch in the seventh inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during game three of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
But, barely into December, two prime closer targets are already gone. Ryan Helsley has been signed by the Orioles on a 2-year, $28 million deal and Devin Williams just agreed to a 3-year, $45 million contract with the Mets.
Both contracts are way beyond what one would reasonably expect the Cubs to spend on a reliever. They’re also likely below what the top-tier closers Edwin Diaz and Robert Suarez will get.
So, that leaves the Cubs shopping in the bargain bin once again.
There are still some closer-capable free agent pitchers out there like Pete Fairbanks, Emilio Pagan, Kenley Jansen, and Kyle Finnegan. But, realistically, it’s unlikely that the conservative Cubs, even with dire need staring them right in the face, will be aggressive enough spenders to outbid the competition for these late-inning assets. If signing Maton to a $7.25 million-per-year deal over two years was wildly headline-worthy, spending $50 million-plus over three years for a closer would be straight-up science fiction.
Hopefully, time will prove this skepticism wrong.
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