The 40-man Roster, DFAs and building a better bullpen

In the era of the 8-man pen, and the plethora of pitcher injuries, the Cubs may have found a new way to construct a bullpen.

It’s only June 8th, and the Cubs have already used 25 pitchers, most of them in the bullpen. With 8 spots to fill, and volatility due to injury, fatigue and ineffectiveness, building pitching depth in an organization has become much more of a premium. And for a contending team, counting on unproven arms in the minor leagues to fill the holes may not be the best option.

The Cubs seems to be following a strategy of finding underutilized arms from other teams, who may be forced to cut ties with viable MLB relievers. This has gone hand-in-hand with a seeming unwillingness to overspend on veteran relievers during the off-season.

Bullpen Musical Chairs

First off, let’s look at the volatility of the Cubs bullpen over the past two season. When camp broke, here were the 8 relievers the Cubs had on their roster:
1. Adbert Alzolay
2. Hector Neris
3. Yency Almonte
4. Jose Cuas
5. Mark Leiter Jr.
6. Luke Little
7. Julian Merryweather
8. Drew Smyly

By the end of the season, here was the bullpen group, which was much improved in performance over the initial group:
1. Porter Hodge
2. Hayden Wesneski
3. Drew Smyly
4. Keegan Thomson
5. Nate Pearson
6. Ethan Roberts
7. Tyson Miller
8. Trey Wingenter
Note: Jorge Lopez, a key late season contributor, was injured by this point.

To start 2025 in the domestic opener, here was the 8-man group:
1. Ryan Pressly
2. Porter Hodge
3. Nate Pearson
4. Eli Morgan
5. Brad Keller
6. Caleb Thielbar
7. Colin Rea
8. Julian Merryweather
Note: Ryan Brasier was on the roster in Tokyo, but suffered an injury, allowing Keller to make the roster

And here is the current 8-man group
1. Daniel Palencia
2. Brad Keller
3. Caleb Thielbar
4. Drew Pomeranz
5. Genesis Cabrera
6. Chris Flexen
7. Ryan Pressley
8. Ryan Brasier

And this does not include all the other relievers who fit in somewhere in between these specific dates.

Looking for Bargains and Depth

With this amount of volatility, it stands to reason that the Cubs would not want to spend too much on relievers, preferring to sign players with more reasonable salaries or on minor league deals (Thielbar, Keller, Flexen), picking up players from teams looking to free up roster spots (Pressley, Brasier, Cabrera, Pomeranz), or promoting from within (Palencia, Hodge). It was an outlier for them to pursue Tanner Scott, but so far with a 4.40 ERA and -0.2 WAR, that is not looking like the worst move.

In 2025, the Cubs seemed to have leaned in on DFA acquisitions, as opposed to internal promotions. Young, controlled pitchers would seem to be the cheapest way to go. Luke Little, Gavin Hollowell, Ethan Roberts and Jordan Wicks have all had brief stints with the club this season. But none performed exceptionally well in their brief tie, and all are pitching in AAA (or on the minor league injured list) right now.

The answer might be depth and flexibility. All the players in the current bullpen except for Palencia need to be on the major league roster or would need to be given the opportunity to move on. Specifically, Chris Flexen was doing well in Iowa but would have had the option of leaving if he was not promoted.

As long as the pitchers in the current bullpen are performing, the pitchers in the minors can be kept around in case of injury. Add Tom Cosgrove and Michael Fulmer as veterans who the Cubs have picked up to provide minor league depth. And Keegan Thompson, who was offered arbitration in the offseason, agreed to pitch in AAA instead of seeking a major league spot elsewhere.

But the Cubs have also shown a level of ruthlessness if pitchers are not performing. Nate Pearson, who was a pivotal part of last year’s pen, was sent down after early struggles. And Eli Morgan, who was added by trade, went on the IL. Julian Merryweather, who was offered arbitration in the offseason, was released after several bad outings. And Tyson Miller, who was lights out in 2024 after a mid-season acquisition, never looked quite right in Iowa. He had almost as many walks in AAA this year (in 13 IP) as he had in 2024 over 50 innings.

Managing a 40-man roster

The 40-man roster is an interesting tool to prevent teams from holding major league ready players with a certain level of experience, in the minor leagues. Some young players need to be added to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. And other players must pass through waivers to be removed. Players on the 60-day IL do not count against the 40-man, but players on a shorter-term IL do count.

This leads to teams being forced to waive players to make room for other players – whether it be an injury fill-in or younger player not already on the 40-man roster. Even if the player passes through waivers, they must either be released, traded or agree to a minor league assignment.

This is how the Cubs have added Pomeranz, Cabrera and Cosgrove. And they may not be done until the trade deadline, when a more proven level of talent may be available.