President Jed Hoyer Says Cubs Won't Trade For Reliever Until Mid-to-Late June
The bullpen is one of the largest issues plaguing the Chicago Cubs early in the 2025 season. After the Cubs' bullpen blew a game against the Miami Marlins, the concerns there have been heightened.
During a segment on 670 The Score, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer provided an update on the Cubs' pursuit of relief help. Hoyer believes that mid-to-late June is the earliest the Cubs could make a move for a significant reliever.
As a follow-up to the Cubs waiting on reliever help, 670 The Score described Hoyer's plan. "For now, as it pertains to the bullpen woes, the Cubs have to focus on other transactions, getting relievers healthy and working with them to improve, he [Hoyer] says."
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With the Cubs' plan to be patient when it comes to acquiring bullpen help, the current crop of relievers needs to step up their game. The Chicago current bullpen has the 12th worst ERA at 4.36, and has blown 8 of their 18 save opportunities.
Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Ryan Pressly (55) and catcher Miguel Amaya (9) shake hands after defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The Cubs' bullpen is led by veteran Ryan Pressly, who has a 5.71 ERA in 19 appearances and 17.1 innings pitched. He's had 16 appearances without allowing a run, but didn't record an out against the San Francisco Giants while giving up eight earned runs.
One bad outing ballooned his ERA, making his numbers look worse than his performance. Daniel Palencia is similar, as he'd been solid for the Cubs with a 2.30 ERA in 2025. But, in his most recent outing against the Marlins, he gave up a walk-off double after allowing two runners to get on with two outs.
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Chicago's bullpen issues go beyond just those two players, as Porter Hodge has a 5.12 ERA, Julian Merryweather has a 5.00 ERA, and Elijah Morgan has a 12.27 ERA. While they all have different innings pitched, the Cubs' bullpen issues have come at the worst times.
In the meantime, the current Cubs bullpen needs to improve, and quickly. Whether it's through in-house improvements or additions elsewhere, the Cubs need their bullpen to improve before mid-to-late June. There is a clear need in the bullpen for the Cubs, and while Hoyer recognized the need, the Cubs don't plan to address it until mid-to-late June.
In the meantime, the current Cubs bullpen needs to improve quickly. Whether it's through in-house improvements or additions elsewhere, the Cubs need their bullpen to improve before mid-to-late June.
Related: Former Cubs Fan Favorite Makes Pete Crow-Armstrong Admission
Related: Cubs' Craig Counsell Provides Injury Timeline For Shota Imanaga
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Chicago Tribune
23 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Column: In the Showdown in Motown finale, the Chicago Cubs lose 4-0 to the Detroit Tigers
DETROIT — Some good-natured bantering occurred over the weekend between Chicago Cubs president Jed Hoyer and Detroit Tigers president Scott Harris, who worked his way up the ladder after joining the Cubs as director of baseball operations in 2012 under Hoyer and former president Theo Epstein. They helped the Cubs build a championship team together before Harris moved on to become the general manager of the San Francisco Giants and then president of the Tigers in September 2022. Harris was informed Sunday that the winner of the rubber game between the Cubs and Tigers would be awarded the 'Theo Cup,' a trophy that only exists in the imagination of a few media members looking to replicate the Vedder Cup, a newly recognized award named for Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder that goes to the winner of the San Diego Padres-Seattle Mariners series. 'The decisive game of the Theo Cup?' Harris said when apprised of what was at stake. 'Jed and I have talked, yes, but nothing worth sharing.' Cup or no cup, the Tigers wound up with a 4-0 win in the Showdown in Motown to take the interleague series. There was no champagne celebration afterward, but at least fans were treated to an interesting series between two of baseball's best teams, and some impromptu fireworks Sunday when Nico Hoerner was ejected by plate umpire Derek Thomas in the fifth inning for arguing a called third strike, followed by manager Craig Counsell's ejection after backing Hoerner. While the New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox rivalry took center stage on the baseball calendar, Detroit was the place to be this weekend. The Cubs move on to Philadelphia to complete their three-city road trip, facing another top team, albeit one that lost eight of nine heading into Sunday. The Phillies took two of three from the Cubs in late April at Wrigley Field. Matthew Boyd will start in the opener, followed by Colin Rea and Ben Brown. Sunday's finale featured an intriguing matchup between Cubs rookie Cade Horton and Jack Flaherty, who returned to the Tigers after being dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline and winning a ring. Flaherty threw six shutout innings, allowing two hits, while Horton suffered his first career loss in his sixth appearance. Horton struggled in the first inning, putting the first two men on before giving up a two-out, two-run double to Spencer Torkelson. Flaherty didn't give up a hit until Pete Crow-Armstrong singled with two on and one out in the fourth, but Ian Happ was thrown out at the plate by right fielder Kerry Washington, and the Cubs failed to score when Michael Busch lined out to center with the bases loaded, ending the threat. The Tigers padded the lead on Riley Greene's two-run single off Horton in the fifth, while the Cubs couldn't muster up any offense against Flaherty. Expectations have grown considerably for the Cubs over the last several weeks, with the team off to its best start since 2016. The Cubs were considered a favorite for a division title all along, but few thought they could hang in the same area code as the megabucks Dodgers or New York Mets. The offensive explosion and improvement of the bullpen now has many Cubs fans thinking bigger things, which brings more attention to the team. 'I don't know that anything has changed from that perspective,' Counsell said in a conversation before Sunday's game. Expectations haven't changed despite having the league's best record? 'The expectations are just playing good baseball, doing our jobs the right way and continuing to do that on a daily basis,' he said. 'Those are the expectations.' That may be true, but certainly Cubs fans' expectations have risen, right? 'I'm telling you what we worry about,' Counsell replied. 'We just worry about the stuff we control every day and I think those standards in itself are something that's difficult to achieve every day. But it's what we've been working at since the beginning.' Counsell has downplayed the Tigers series because it's still June, and it may have meant more to Harris and Hoyer, two old friends with bragging rights at stake. Even before Sunday, there was a lot for Hoyer and Harris to talk about, from Tarik Skubal's dominance in the Tigers' 3-1 win on Friday, to five Cubs home runs Saturday in their 6-1 victory. Harris denied there was any trash-texting between him and Hoyer after their team's respective wins, and said the competition is friendly. 'I would characterize it as we're both very competitive, and we both want to win today,' Harris said. 'But after today, I really pull for those guys. There are just a lot of really good people over there and I want them to be successful. I know they will be successful because they're really talented and they built a really, really good baseball team. 'We share observations about each other's teams, because a lot of times those conversations are really constructive, and it's useful for someone like me to see the Tigers through an outsider's lens. And he's an outsider, and I imagine that's useful for him to understand the perspective of an outsider watching his team. So we often share observations. I find them useful. I don't know if he finds them useful.' Hoyer did not make the trip to Detroit, which Harris speculated was because Hoyer wanted to spend time with his family, not because he didn't buy into the importance of the Cubs-Tigers series. 'You're more bought into the Theo Cup than Jed is,' Harris said. Guilty as charged. Either way, the rematch of the Theo Cup would have to wait until October, and that's only if the two teams meet in the World Series. That's a long way off, and obviously a lot has to happen for both teams just to get there. But the way things have been going for the Cubs and Tigers the first two-plus months, it's no longer just a pipe dream.
28 minutes ago
Flaherty fans 9 in 6 scoreless innings as Tigers beat Cubs 4-0 in matchup of AL-NL Central leaders
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Hamilton Spectator
30 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Flaherty fans 9 in 6 scoreless innings as Tigers beat Cubs 4-0 in matchup of AL-NL Central leaders
DETROIT (AP) — Jack Flaherty struck out nine over six scoreless innings as the Detroit Tigers defeated the Chicago Cubs 4-0 on Sunday and took two of three games in a matchup of two of the MLB's top teams. The AL Central-leading Tigers improved to 43-24, while the NL Central-best Cubs fell to 40-25 in the first matchup this season of 40-win teams. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, June 8 matched the earliest such matchup since 2004. The Yankees and Dodgers played the first such game of last season, also on June 8. Flaherty (5-6) allowed two hits and three walks. After a rough start, the 29-year-old right-hander is 3-1 with a 1.46 ERA and 29 strikeouts in his last four starts. Cubs rookie starter Cade Horton (3-1) took his first career loss, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings. Detroit took a 2-0 lead on Spencer Torkelson's two-run double in the first and Flaherty retired the first nine batters he faced. Chicago rallied in the fourth, getting four baserunners but failing to score. Ian Happ and Kyle Tucker led off with walks, and Pete Crow-Armstrong lined a one-out single to right. Right fielder Kerry Carpenter threw Happ out at the plate. Carson Kelly walked to load the bases before Parker Meadows made a jumping catch of Michael Busch's 107-mph liner to center. The Tigers doubled the lead in the fifth on a two-run double by Riley Greene. Key moment After Dansby Swanson's lead-off double in the fifth, Nico Hoerner took a 2-2 pitch that Statcast showed to be low and inside. Home plate Derek Thomas called it strike three, then quickly ejected Hoerner after he turned to complain. Cubs manager Craig Counsell was also ejected before the argument ended. Key stat The game drew a crowd of 40,343, the third sell out of the weekend after the Tigers had only sold out two games all season. The weekend total of 121,509 is the second-highest series attendance since Comerica Park opened in 2000, trailing the 128,108 for last year's season-ending series against the White Sox. That series saw Detroit clinch a playoff berth and Chicago set the MLB record for losses in a season. Up next The Cubs travel to Philadelphia for a three-game series starting Monday. Starting pitchers have not been announced. The Tigers are off on Monday before RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long (0-0. 7.36) is scheduled to start on Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles. ___ AP MLB:
