The Chicago Cubs bullpen is starting to take shape.

As we get closer to Spring Training, we should have a better idea of which borderline pitchers will make the Cubs’ Opening Day roster. One pitcher who is currently up in the air to make the team’s Opening Day roster is Ben Brown.

Advertisement

After a solid 2024 campaign, the Cubs believed they had an emerging swingman in their organization. Brown finished with a 3.58 ERA and 64 strikeouts across 55 â…“ innings pitched in his first Major League season.

He made 15 appearances (eight starts) during his rookie campaign and was becoming a reliable option as both a starter and a reliever. Brown had a 2.93 ERA from May 10 to June 8, which included throwing seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts against the Brewers during this span.

Unfortunately, Brown’s season was cut short after landing on the injured list on June 10 due to a left neck strain. Despite only appearing in 15 games in 2024, the right-hander definitely showed his potential on the mound.

However, the 26-year-old was a completely different pitcher for the Cubs this past season.

Advertisement

He finished with a 5.92 ERA and 121 strikeouts across 106 ⅓ innings pitched, and Chicago simply couldn’t rely on him to get outs toward the end of the year. His -1.6 WAR sums up just the year that Brown had in 2025.

The issue with the right-hander is that he primarily leans on his two-pitch mix. For a swingman, that is a major problem. Brown throws his four-seam fastball 56% of the time, and his knuckle curve 40% of the time.

Both of those pitches last year were hit hard. Opposing hitters batted .315 with a .526 slugging against his four-seam fastball, and hitters tallied 18 extra-base hits against his knuckle-curve. On top of that, Brown’s whiff rate on his fastball (14.8%) was extremely poor.

Following a disappointing 2025 season, Brown is in jeopardy of missing out on the Cubs’ Opening Day roster. While he does give the team an arm out of the bullpen that can pitch multiple innings, there’s a good chance that Javier Assad has that role covered in 2026.

Advertisement

So, Brown will certainly be fighting for a roster spot in Spring Training. With Daniel Palencia, Caleb Thielbar, Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Assad/Colin Rea locked into Chicago’s bullpen to start the year, the 26-year-old could be on the outside looking in as it stands now.

There’s also a chance the Cubs could trade Brown this winter. If Chicago doesn’t land Japanese star Tatsuya Imai in free agency, the front office could instead look to add a frontline starter via the trade market.

Brown could be a potential throw-in in any deal for a top starting pitcher. He is just 26 years old, and a rebuilding team would likely not mind trying to fix him.

If he does stay in Chicago, though, he’ll have to prove his potential in Spring Training.

Advertisement

His best position to thrive with the Cubs in 2026 might be in that one-to-two-inning reliever role. That would avoid hitters from seeing his two-pitch mix twice, and Brown could continue to rank in the upper half of the league in both strikeout rate and whiff rate.