In my opinion, the biggest value add of Craig Counsell as manager is how he’s handled the bullpen. The lack of development of solid relievers in the minors, some ill-fated veteran signings, and plethora of injuries, has forced Counsell to take lemons and make lemonade in each of the past two seasons.
And 2026 has not been an exception. With Ben Brown, Javier Assad and Colin Rea moving to the rotation, in addition to injuries to Daniel Palencia, Hunter Harvey and (cough) Phil Maton (cough), it has been another year of a bullpen of misfit toys.
As detailed in other posts, the bullpen really had not been bad, posting a 3.77 ERA in March/April and a 3.12 ERA in May when the performance of the rest of the team was cratering. But June has been a different story, with the bullpen ERA jumping up to 5.14.
There are success stories, with Ryan Rolison and Jacob Webb looking pretty solid. Hoby Milner has been a bit up a down, but they’ve been able to (or forced to) use him a lot. Caleb Thielbar has not been nearly as effective as he was in 2025, but he’s been OK.
But that’s only 4 players. The Cubs have used 13 other players in relief this season. And they’ve been very active on the waiver wire and with minor league signings, looking for that diamond in the rough.
Of the players already in the organization who I thought might contribute, the only one to really step up was Riley Martin, who has a 2.16 ERA in 8 games before getting hurt. Ethan Roberts has been OK, although his FIP of 5.17 is much worse than his 3.86 ERA, so I really think of him as a decent eigth guy in the bullpen. Not a guy who you send out against the Brewers with a 1-run lead in the 6th inning.
The rest of the in-organization relievers have not been good. Porter Hodge got hurt in spring training, Jordan Wicks has been bad as a starter and reliever, Gavin Hollowell has not justified his continues occupation of a 40-man roster spot, and Luke Little has been so bad in Iowa that he got sent back to AA.
Next up were the waiver pickups and minor league free agents. As mentioned, Ryan Rolison, who was grabbed off waivers from the Rockies, has been the one guy who has stood out. But with so many players not available, the Cubs really need 2 or 3 of these success stories.
Trent Thornton has looked good on the surface. But he does not strike people out, and his FIP that is 3 runs higher than his ERA makes him look like a ticking time bomb, ready to blow a game that the Cubs really need.
The rest of the relievers have been a revolving door with Corbin Martin, Tyler Fergeson, Jayden Murray, Ty Blach, Charlie Barnes, Vince Velsquez and Yaksel Rios all appearing in games. Martin was a mainstay for a few weeks, getting 8 appearances. But only Fergeson and Murray from this list has appeared in more than 1 game. Barnes and Rios are no longer in the organization.
But there are other guys out there. Jut this month, they claimed Bryse Wilson and Edwardial Nunez off waivers,. And they signed Andrew Wantz, Aaron Bummer and old friend, Drew Pomeranz. Although, Nunez has already been DFA’d.
But will any of these guys provide something?
- Wilson has a 6.29 ERA in AAA, pitching only 2 innings in the majors
- Wantz had a 7.83 ERA in AAA for the Rays, and a 5.68 ERA in Iowa. He gave up 5 runs in 1.2 innings in his only appearance in the majors.
- Bummer had a 7.63 ERA in 15.1 innings for the Braves and has piched in 2 games in the Arizona Complex League for the Cubs
- Pomeranz had a 5.01 ERA and 1.59 WHIP for the Angels
- A pre-June pickup, Antoine Kelly, has actually doing well in Iowa, with a 0.93 ERA over 7 appearances in June, so maybe he will be an option.
The injury timetables are not good, as Palencia does not yet have a return date. Riley Martin is supposed to be back in July, but there are no recent updates. Hunter Harvey has no return date set. And even if Phil Maton comes back soon, he has not been effective.
Perhaps the Cubs make a trade for someone better than Murray, although the cost might be more than they are willing to pay. But there are not many teams out of contention who would be willing to part with someone.
Ultimately, Craig Counsell may need to work some magic to see if he can get some big out from an unexpected source.
Cubs in 7 
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