Breakdown of Cubs Bullpen Options for 2020

[CubsWin]

According to AZ Phil's 40-man roster here's a breakdown of 2020 bullpen options. There are a lot of possibilities after Kimbrel ($16 million) and Chatwood ($13 million), but a lack of minor league options for a lot of candidates muddies the water a bit. Spring training battles for some of these guys should be interesting. Chatwood, of course, remains a slight possibility for the rotation.

 

Free agents:

 

Pedro Strop

Steve Cishek

Brandon Kintzler

Xavier Cedeno

 

Free agents with club options:

 

Brandon Morrow ($12 million, definitely not picked up)

Derek Holland ($7 million - very likely not picked up)

David Phelps ($1 million, $3 million if pitches 30-39 games, $5 million if 40-49, currently has 21 appearances)

Tony Barnette ($3 million - has minor league options but can refuse or elect FA)

Kendall Graveman ($3 million)

 

Under control but no minor league options:

 

Kyle Ryan

Duane Underwood

Allen Webster

Alec Mills

Randy Rosario

 

Under control with a minor league option but can choose FA if sent down:

 

Rowan Wick

 

Under control with minor league option(s):

 

Adbert Alzolay (1)

Brad Wieck (1)

Dillon Maples (1)

James Norwood (1)

Justin Steele (2 or 3 depending)

 

Possible 40-man additions:

 

Dakota Mekkes

Danny Hultzen (no minor league options left)

Tyson Miller

Colin Rea

[sweetpeteman]

My predictions on some of these:

 

Free agents:

 

Maybe Kintzler or Strop if they come cheap enough. Cedeno is probably broken. He may get a minor league offer.

 

Club Options:

 

Morrow is obviously gone, and the only way Holland gets his optioned picked up is if he somehow pitches lights out vs both lefties and righties down the stretch, so I doubt it.

 

Phelps - picked up unless he gets injured, even at $5 mil. Why? Well the Cubs have 48 games left. He could get to 40 appearances, but if he gets to 40, then he is probably pitching well enough to pick up the option at $5. If he doesn't get to 40, he's probably worth it at $3 mill.

Barnette - dropped. There's no reason to keep him around with the options the Cubs have

Graveman - picked up. The point of the option was to keep him around after he recovered from TJS. The only reason it would be dropped is if he's suffered some setback during recovery.

 

No MiL Options:

 

Ryan, Underwood, and Wick are all going to be back. Rosario and Webster will be DFA'd in the offseason and may be re-signed on minor league contracts. Mills might be kept around through spring and then either win a spot in the BP as the long relief option; or will then be DFA'd.

 

MiL Options: These guys will be back in the spring to compete for whatever spots exist.

 

 

40-man additions:

 

 

According to AZPhil, Rea and Hultzen are minor league FAs at the end of the year, so they either need to be re-signed or added. Mekkes and Miller are Rule V eligible.

[Post Count Padder]

I really do think Wick's spot next year is his to lose at this point. He's looked great. I've been a big fan of Mills and would like to see him enter ST with a shot at a role too.

 

Kimbrel

Wick

Ryan

Chatwood

Mills

Phelps

 

with: Wieck, Mekkes, Maples, Norwood, Underwood, Clifton, Rea, Brooks, Steele as other realistic options (the latter few more on the fringe). Really have to pursue a contract for Will Smith or a trade for a lefty but there are some good bones there for the pen. It's not excellent but there's some decent depth. I think Webster and Rosario are gone (or at least off the 40 man roster). I forgot about Graveman but I don't think he can be counted on.

[snoodmonger]

I'm a sucker for a good story and would be sad to see Hultzen go and finish his comeback elsewhere.

[CubsWin]

I'm a sucker for a good story and would be sad to see Hultzen go and finish his comeback elsewhere.

I agree. We had reports of him throwing 97 in side sessions while in Mesa. He's been more like 93 while in Iowa. At this point I don't know if he's all that likely to be placed on the 40-man after the season, though there should be plenty of room with so many relievers coming off the books. It depends somewhat on how many FA relievers they sign.

 

Him agreeing to a minor league contract would be ideal. I obviously have no idea what the internal opinion of him is with the Cubs brass, but signing him to a major league deal just doesn't feel all that likely to me. That could change based on how he throws the last month of the AAA season.