Cubs' bullpen reeling, but Estrada brings hope
The Cubs ripped apart their bullpen at the trade deadline, sending away four of the top relievers.
The remaining group survived for a while, but this week has been a different story. Over the past six games, Cubs starters have a combined ERA of 1.69, while the relievers are a dismal 8.77.
The bullpen squandered leads in three straight games before finally salvaging a 7-5 win at Toronto. The Cubs had Thursday off before starting a three-game series in St. Louis.
Some individual ERAs have been alarming. Brendon Little returned to Iowa after allowing 3 runs in two-thirds of an inning in his major league debut. Sean Newcomb has a 32.40 ERA in his last two outings, with Erich Uelmen at 16.20, Rowan Wick 11.57 and Michael Rucker 9.00.
The exceptions are Mark Leiter Jr., who has three straight scoreless appearances, Manuel Rodriguez with a 1.93 ERA over 4-plus innings and Brandon Hughes.
Then there's rookie Jeremiah Estrada, who will stay with the Cubs as rosters expanded by two to 28 players on Thursday. David Bote was the other addition.
The Cubs used to be known for developing closers, with guys like Lee Smith, Bruce Sutter, Bill Caudill, Willie Hernandez and Donnie Moore making their big-league debuts on the North Side.
But Estrada is shaping up as the best late-inning prospect they've had in a while. In his major league debut on Tuesday against the Blue Jays, Estrada's fastball maxed out at 98.8 mph and according to Statcast, it had 5 inches of vertical movement.
Estrada's sample size is minuscule, obviously, but the movement on Tuesday would lead all major league pitchers. Among qualified players, Minnesota's Cody Stashak is tops in four-seam vertical movement at 4.0 inches.
A sixth-round draft pick in 2017 out of Palm Desert (Calif.) High School, Estrada had Tommy John surgery and missed 2018. Just over a year ago, while pitching in Myrtle Beach, he was hospitalized with a severe case of COVID.
Estrada will probably stay in the majors the rest of the season, and there are a couple of other candidates to give the Cubs' bullpen a lift.
• Adbert Alzolay had his second start in Triple A for the Iowa Cubs on Thursday and gave up 4 earned runs in less than 2 innings. After missing most of the season with elbow soreness, Alzolay is attempting to get back to the majors before the season ends and is expected to work in relief, but it appears he'll need more time to get in tune.
• Another interesting development is the Iowa Cubs brought Hayden Wesneski out of the bullpen to pitch 5 innings on Wednesday. Would the Cubs consider calling up Wesneski and using him out of the bullpen to ease him into the major leagues, like they did with Justin Steeler and Keegan Thompson?
The Cubs got Wesneski from the Yankees for Scott Effross. After two rough starts with Iowa, the right-hander has allowed 1 run and 4 hits over 15 innings in his last 3 outings.
• Wade Miley was placed on the 60-day injured list to make room for Estrada on the 40-man roster. The veteran left-hander has been out with a shoulder strain since June 10, so it's conceivable he could still come back this season. Miley made a rehab start for South Bend on Wednesday and gave up 2 runs and 5 hits in just under 4 innings.
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