Cubs seeking more relief from bullpen

ANAHEIM -- Given how crucial Mark Leiter Jr. has become for the Cubs’ bullpen, there have been recent games in which manager David Ross saved him for the later innings. On Wednesday night, Ross handed the ball to Leiter in the sixth inning with the game on the line against the Angels.

“I tried to bring in the best leverage guy we had in Leiter,” Ross said. “It didn't work out.”

The Cubs’ 6-2 loss does not fall at the feet of Leiter -- not when the offense continued its knack for misfiring in clutch moments. The runs allowed by the righty just felt more glaring under the circumstances, which include a season-long search for rhythm and reliability out of the relief corps.

When the North Siders went into the season, the bullpen was constructed in a way that made it look like the most obvious area to target upgrades when the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline came up. The past two years included trades dealing veteran arms away. This season could have been one to inject some experience down the stretch.

The issue right now is that the revolving door of relief troubles has played a large role in the Cubs (26-35) sitting in fourth place in the National League Central. Chicago finds itself now needing a sustained run of winning to realistically consider shifting into buy mode at the Deadline.

“We're going to have to, at some point, win a bunch of games in a row,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said this week at Angel Stadium. “And I think we have the pitching to do that. We've had consistent starts, which is usually the thing that leads towards winning streaks. We just have to do it.”

As Hoyer noted, the starting pitching has been one of the stronger aspects of the roster, especially with Jameson Taillon appearing to regain his footing. The big righty worked into the sixth inning on Wednesday, limiting the Angels to a pair of solo homers before slipping into a two-on, one-out jam in the sixth.

“I thought that was a nice lane for Leiter to come in there,” Taillon said. “With a guy like that out there, you can take whatever happens. He's a bulldog.”

Leiter entered the night with a 2.66 ERA, using an elite splitter to neutralize lefties and emerging as one of Ross’ most trusted bullpen arms. This time around, the righty just had an off night, allowing an RBI single to Luis Rengifo and a three-run double to Mickey Moniak to put the Cubs behind, 6-2, and effectively seal the loss for Chicago.

Expect Leiter and Adbert Alzolay (2.25 ERA in 22 games) to continue on as the primary leverage arms for Ross. Right Julian Merryweather, who has a 1.37 ERA in 20 games dating back to mid-April, has also earned more trust. Veteran Michael Fulmer has looked better of late after a rough start to the season as well.

“There's definitely some guys who have taken some ownership down there in the bullpen and have stepped up their game,” Ross said. “We've just got to continue as a unit to be a full team down there -- a team within a team as a whole. It just stands out sometimes when guys have a short day, a bad outing.”

Overall, the Cubs’ bullpen has posted a 4.62 ERA, which ranks 13th in the NL and 25th in the Majors. Chicago’s relievers have combined for -2.38 Win Probability Added, which is 14th in the NL and 27th in the Majors.

There have been a variety of issues: Fulmer not getting off to a great start as the de facto closer to open the season; veteran Brad Boxberger's ineffectiveness being followed by a trip to the injured list with a right forearm issue; lefty Brandon Hughes working through a knee issue and laboring at times as the lone lefty; hard-throwing Jeremiah Estrada struggling to pair effective offspeed stuff with his overpowering fastball; and righty Keegan Thompson performance necessitating a demotion back to Triple-A Iowa to get right.

The expected depth at Iowa has also not panned out as hoped, as the power arms available have, on the whole, not balanced stuff with command. Righty Codi Heuer is nearing a return from Tommy John surgery, offering some potential help soon. Prospects Daniel Palencia and Ben Brown could be on the radar at some point, too.

What is not clear is whether the Cubs will be in a position to seek help at the Deadline.

“That area that we’ve had a lot of success for a while,” Hoyer said recently, “it hasn't been an area of success this year. I think that's been hard on Rossy, and that's on me.”