What the Cubs' Signings Say About Their Approaching to Building the 2026 Bullpen

What the Cubs' signings say about their approaching to building the 2026 bullpen

At the beginning of the week of winter meetings, the Cubs talked over the metamorphosis of their bullpen throughout last season.“What we thought about our bullpen going into the season, ... we were wrong,” manager Craig Counsell said in his winter meetings media availability Tuesday in Orlando. “We were pretty wrong on it. We ended up pitching pretty well. But at the start of the season, it maybe wasn't the guys that we expected to do it.”What’s…

What the Cubs’ signings say about their approaching to building the 2026 bullpen

At the beginning of the week of winter meetings, the Cubs talked over the metamorphosis of their bullpen throughout last season. “What we thought about our bullpen going into the season, … we were wrong,” manager Craig Counsell said in his winter meetings media availability Tuesday in Orlando. “We were pretty wrong on it. We ended up pitching pretty well. But at the start of the season, it maybe wasn’t the guys that we expected to do it.” What’s…

Cubs add Tread Athletics arm with clear path to 2026 bullpen

This offseason, the Chicago Cubs have taken some significant hits on the pitching side. Most of last year’s bullpen is now in free agency, and so far the lone corresponding addition has been Phil Maton. The team also lost Director of Pitching Ryan Otero, who departed for a position with the Boston Red Sox. Otero’s exit has opened the door for Tyler Zambrano, previously heavily involved with Tread Athletics and hired by the Cubs last winter, to t…