Cubs Week In Review: Righty Brooks Kriske Joins Phil Bickford As One Of Cubs' "Flip" Projects

[RavenCub30]

Taking a stroll through Chicago's beloved Christkindlmarket floods the hearts of locals and visitors from across the world with the warmth of the holiday spirit. I don't know if there's a tracker for the number of times a sentence like that has been written about the Cubs' front office, but if there is, the number it has yielded up to this point is probably not very high. Through making relief pitcher micro-transactions such as the one Jed Hoyer made this holiday week, he's not proved himself to be a full-on Grinch, but certainly the type of gift giver that keeps socks in his "frequently purchased" tab. You best be extra nice to Santa this year so Jed doesn't draw your name for the gift exchange. 

Everyone loves a good comeback story. This past year notwithstanding, Kyle Hendricks proved this on more than one occasion, especially in 2023. Now, there's no such thing as too much pitching, and that baseball adage is still valid, but the recent acquisition of Brooks Kriske and fellow reliever Phil Bickford stretches that truth to its limits. By contrast, with the Los Angeles Dodgers' monopoly on the league's top talent, most other players seem like fixer-uppers. 

Regardless of what the public perceives the team's needs to be, Hoyer, both privately and publicly, believes pitching will solve the club's playoff calculus. Lugging around two pitchers with astronomical ERAs, both either over or close to ten, this duo doesn't seem like the answer. Similar to so many decisions Hoyer and the Cubs' front office make, the add comes at the low cost of risk and low cost of finances. 

Feel free to take this information with a whole Costco-sized bag of salt, as the North Siders are far from done with the offseason shuffle. The imminent trade of superstar outfielder Cody Bellinger and the money it would return are likely the move we're all waiting for when it comes to welcoming the next big-name, jersey-selling member of the Chicago Cubs. 

The Cubbies' big splashy move is an inevitability, like a toddler on Christmas morning receiving a toy that's difficult to assemble and much easier to break. The question on my mind, and certainly the minds of other fans of this baseball team, is: Do any of these pieces work when they fit together?

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