Here's how Cubs are handling the bullpen this offseason

This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian's Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO -- The Cubs headed into the offseason a year ago with multiple holes in their bullpen, forcing the front office to be more active on that front in free agency than has been typical for the ballclub in recent years. On the whole, the investments did not pay off.

“We didn’t get it right,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said at the end of the season. “That’s something we’ve spent a lot of time talking about already, and we’ll continue to talk about it. I take responsibility for that, and it’s something we’ll look to improve on this offseason.”

The good news is that the Cubs entered this offseason with a better foundation in place for the 2027 relief corps. The focus for Hoyer and his front office will be heavily steered to the rotation and its many vacancies. While the bullpen will need some addressing, there are returning pieces that drop that segment of the roster lower on the list of priorities.

Last offseason, the Cubs spent north of $30 million in guaranteed salary on Phil Maton, Jacob Webb, Hunter Harvey, Caleb Thielbar and Hoby Milner in free agency. Maton is signed through '27 and Webb recently re-signed for next year as well, but Harvey, Thielbar and Milner are on the open market.​

Out of that group, Webb was the only real success story (3.36 ERA in 68 games) after signing for $1.5 million last offseason. The other four dealt with injuries and/or poor performance. Maton posted a 6.18 ERA and had right knee surgery in September. Thielbar spent time on the injured list and struggled (4.86 ERA). Harvey appeared in only four games due to arm issues. Milner had an emergency appendectomy in late June and never made his way back to the Cubs.

Overall, Chicago had a respectable 3.90 ERA from its bullpen but outperformed the expected ERA (4.54) by a sizable margin. Cubs relievers ranked 24th in strikeout rate (20.8%), 26th in fielding independent pitching (4.59), 28th in fWAR (-0.6 per FanGraphs) and 29th in HR/FB rate (13.5%).

“The guys we acquired this winter didn’t produce nearly as well as they did a year ago,” Hoyer said. “I was really, really proud of our bullpen in 2025. It was a huge part of our success last year. We sort of built a bullpen with the same philosophy, or the same thoughts in mind.”

This time around, Hoyer said “how we spend probably is not my focus” when it comes to building the bullpen for 2027. The Cubs might look into an impact arm or two via free agency, but the approach may be more about bringing in a portfolio of pitchers with traits that make them good fits for a team with an elite defense or potential breakout candidates.

Along those lines, lefty Ryan Rolison was claimed off waivers last offseason and he turned into a key, trusted arm for the Cubs this year. Righties like Gavin Hollowell and Tyler Ferguson were less-heralded names going into 2026, but will now return as intriguing depth pieces (both out of Minor League options).

The Cubs are hopeful that hard-throwing righties Daniel Palencia (whose year was impacted by injuries) and Ryan Zeferjahn (acquired at the Trade Deadline) are poised for strong years in ‘27. Another interesting name will be veteran Shelby Miller, who came back from injury with Triple-A Iowa in 2026 and was healthy and on the cusp of Chicago by the end of the season.

There are other internal possibilities -- Ethan Roberts, Riley Martin (No. 26 prospect), Jordan Wicks and Jayden Murray, among them -- that add more arms to a possible preseason competition for final Opening Day bullpen jobs. And when considering all the returning names combined, the Cubs certainly look better positioned in this area when compared to a year ago.