Ben Brown’s latest setback has forced the Cubs to lean even harder on a bullpen that already had some shaky spots, and the pressure is now squarely on a few arms to hold things together.
Brown was nearing a rehab assignment before his neck injury symptoms flared up again, and that likely wipes out any chance of him returning in 2026. Because Brown would have come back as a reliever, the Cubs lose a possible late-inning weapon for September and the playoffs at the exact moment they could have used one. With Jacob Webb having blown back-to-back saves recently, the margin for error is getting thin.
Ryan Zeferjahn is the clearest name on the list. Chicago paid a real price to get him from the Angels, sending Moises Ballesteros and minor-league pitcher Mason McGwire in the deal.
The Cubs clearly saw him as a high-leverage setup option, the kind of reliever who could pair a blazing fastball with tough movement and slam the door in big spots. That hasn’t happened yet.
In eight innings with the Cubs, Zeferjahn has given up 11 hits, four walks and six earned runs. He also made a costly mistake in last Friday’s game against the Mariners, a play that likely swung the road series away from Chicago.
The stuff is there. The results haven’t matched it.
Daniel Palencia is a different conversation. There’s no need to overreact after two outings since coming off the injured list.
One of those appearances was a clean inning with two strikeouts. The other ended with three earned runs and the Diamondbacks’ walk-off win on Tuesday.
Arizona’s Gabriel Moreno may have caught a break on a check-swing, two-out double that probably gets ruled a foul ball more often than not, but that doesn’t change the bigger point: it’s still too soon to label Palencia as unreliable. He has the arsenal and the confidence to close, and the main thing for him is staying healthy.
Then there’s Trent Thornton, who has already done plenty. The 32-year-old is in the best stretch of his big-league career, carrying a 2.32 ERA and 1.05 WHIP over 42 2/3 innings.
Even so, Brown’s absence, Webb’s struggles and Zeferjahn’s uneven start leave Thornton with even more on his plate. The challenge gets tougher because he doesn’t miss a ton of bats, with a 15.2 K rate through 41 games, and he leans on ground-ball outs to get through innings.
Still, the Cubs need that version of Thornton to keep showing up, especially with the playoffs looming and his seven-year career still without a postseason appearance.
In Other News...
Cubs Just Made A Bullpen Move That Raises Bigger Questions
The Cubs bullpen picture got a little more complicated this week with the designation of Hoby Milner for assignment, a move that comes after the left-hander had been working his way back from an emergency appendectomy. Milner was reportedly nearing a return from the injured list and had turned in a strong rehab stint at Triple-A, which made his roster status one of the more noteworthy developments on the pitching side.
Instead, the decision suggests the Cubs are weighing more than just Milners recent form as they try to sort out a relief corps that still needs answers. For a team that can use dependable innings in the late-game mix, moving on from a pitcher so close to returning raises broader questions about how the front office is managing the bullpen spot by spot, and what other changes might be coming next. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Bullpen Suddenly Has Two Intriguing Answers To A Growing Problem
The Cubs have kept getting quality work from their rotation, but the bullpen has been the place where games have started to slip away. Help may be coming from two different rehab tracks in Iowa, where Hoby Milner has been pitching effectively as he nears the end of his 30-day rehab window and Shelby Miller has continued to show encouraging signs in his comeback from Tommy John surgery.
Milner gives Chicago a near-term decision on a left-handed relief option, while Millers work has been louder, with 12 strikeouts in 6.1 innings this month and fastball readings as high as 98 mph. For a bullpen that has been asking for answers, the Cubs suddenly have two relievers trending the right way, even if the timing and fit of each one still need to be sorted out. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Face Another Carter Hawkins Question As His Stock Keeps Rising
The Astros decision to move on from Dana Brown is the latest reminder of how quickly the GM market can shift, and it inevitably sends the focus back to Carter Hawkins. Around the league, Hawkins is the kind of executive who tends to surface when a front office job opens, and for good reason. Since taking over as the Cubs general manager, he has earned a strong reputation for helping reshape the clubs pitching infrastructure, which has become one of the organizations more encouraging stories.
Still, theres a difference between being a name that gets mentioned and being a realistic departure candidate, and thats where the conversation gets more complicated for Chicago. Hawkins is not expected to leave unless a team is prepared to offer him a clear promotion, but his profile keeps climbing as vacancies emerge. The questions around him now are less about whether hell draw outside interest and more about how the Cubs continue to balance the areas where he has helped most with the internal development and communication issues that still need work. [Read more 🡒]