Cubs Eyeing Bullpen Rebounds: Harvey, Snider, Thornton All Looking to Recapture Form
MESA, Ariz. - Spring training always brings its share of intrigue - the pop of the mitt, the crack of the bat, and the endless questions about which performances are fool’s gold and which might actually stick. For the Cubs, it’s more than just idle curiosity.
Last spring, Brad Keller turned a dominant March into a spot on the roster and became a key bullpen piece. That kind of story doesn’t just help on the field - it helps build the Cubs’ growing reputation as a place where pitchers, especially relievers, can rediscover their best selves.
“There’s kind of two parts to the recruiting standpoint,” said GM Carter Hawkins. “There’s the pitch - what we can do for a player - and then there are the success stories.
When you can point to someone who came here and got better, it’s no longer just talk. It’s proof.”
As camp gets underway, the Cubs are hoping to add a few more names to that list. Three pitchers - Hunter Harvey, Collin Snider, and Trent Thornton - are all looking to bounce back and prove they still have plenty left in the tank.
Each one has shown flashes of being a high-leverage arm. Now, it’s about getting healthy, fine-tuning mechanics, and seeing if the Cubs can help them unlock that next level.
Hunter Harvey: High Ceiling, Health the Key
Hunter Harvey isn’t a flier or a non-roster invitee - he signed for $6 million this offseason - but he fits the profile of a potential bounce-back weapon. The Cubs weren’t the only team interested, but what drew Harvey to Chicago was the way the team spoke about helping him stay healthy and recapture his best form.
“A lot of teams said they had things they thought they could mess with to get there,” Harvey said. “But I just felt like the way it was talked about here pulled me a little bit more.”
By “there,” Harvey means a full, healthy season - something that’s eluded him far too often. The Cubs laid out a plan that included tweaks to his stretching routine and some mechanical adjustments aimed at improving mobility and reducing wear and tear.
“They showed me video from when I was at my best,” Harvey said. “And then compared it to when I wasn’t right - when I was hurt or my stuff wasn’t as sharp.”
At his best, Harvey’s a power arm with a splitter that dives and a four-seamer that used to sit around 98 mph. Last season, that heater dipped to 96.1. Those two ticks matter, especially for a pitcher who relies on overpowering stuff.
“That was one of the things we talked about,” Harvey said. “Last offseason was all messed up.
I had back issues at the end of the year, and everything got pushed back. I didn’t have my normal routine, and that threw off my mechanics.
The velo was down, the feel wasn’t there. But this offseason was normal.
We’ve been working on getting those ticks back.”
If Harvey can stay on the mound, the Cubs believe he could be a major piece in the bullpen - maybe even the piece. When his arm is right, he’s got the kind of stuff that can dominate late in games.
Collin Snider: A Unique Fastball and a Simple Fix
Collin Snider knew early in the offseason that he wanted to land with the Cubs. After a breakout in 2024 with Seattle, he struggled last year, but he’s hoping to get back to what made him so effective - and the Cubs think they can help him do just that.
Snider’s fastball doesn’t have elite spin or vertical movement, but what makes it special is the release angle and height. It’s different - and in baseball, different can be deadly.
In 2024, he leaned into that uniqueness, shifted away from a sinker-heavy approach, and started throwing more four-seamers. The result?
A 27.8% strikeout rate and a 1.94 ERA over 41 2/3 innings.
But last season, that magic disappeared. His ERA shot up to 5.47, and the strikeouts dipped. So what changed?
“The main thing was health,” Snider said. “Then I got into some bad mechanical habits. One thing kind of fed into the other.”
The Cubs’ staff identified a subtle but important issue: his shoulder plane. Snider had started throwing more east-west, coming around the ball instead of staying behind it.
That led to him cutting pitches too much, which not only hurt his command and movement but also put stress on his forearm. His velocity dropped, and the effectiveness went with it.
“It was honestly something very simple,” Snider said. “I was coming on the side of the baseball instead of getting behind it. Just that little change made a big difference.”
After making the adjustment, Snider said his first bullpen session was the hardest he’s thrown in an offseason setting. If he can stay healthy and keep that shoulder plane in check, he’s got a real shot to be a contributor again - and maybe more.
Trent Thornton: Recovery in Progress, but Upside Remains
Trent Thornton’s road back is a little longer. He tore his Achilles last season while trying to cover first base, and while he’s made significant progress, the Cubs are taking a cautious approach.
“In my mind, I’d like to be ready for Opening Day,” Thornton said. “Is that realistic?
Possibly two or three weeks late. But if you asked me to get three outs right now, I could do it.”
Thornton’s 2024 season with Seattle was quietly impressive: a 26.2% strikeout rate, just a 6.5% walk rate, and over 72 innings of solid work. But in 2025, even before the injury, something was off.
His velocity dipped, and the strikeouts tailed off. The Cubs believe a small tweak to his trunk positioning - essentially how he uses his core during delivery - could help him regain his old form.
He’s also working on tightening up his sweeper. In the past, it was more of a loopy, slower version. Now, the Cubs are helping him develop a firmer version that tunnels better with his fastball.
Right now, Thornton is throwing bullpens and feels good off the mound, but his left calf - the one affected by the Achilles tear - still lags behind his right in terms of strength. The Cubs aren’t rushing it. The focus is on getting him fully healthy so that when he does return, he can stay on the field.
If all goes well, Thornton could be a valuable midseason call-up. He and Snider were key bullpen arms for the Mariners in 2024, and if both can bounce back, the Cubs’ relief corps could go from solid to deep in a hurry.
The Big Picture
The Cubs aren’t just hoping for lightning in a bottle. They’re building a system - one that identifies undervalued arms, helps them get healthy, makes small but meaningful mechanical tweaks, and turns them into contributors.
It worked with Brad Keller last year. Now, they’re hoping Harvey, Snider, and Thornton are next in line.
Spring training is where the foundation gets laid. And if these three arms can recapture what once made them so effective, the Cubs might just have another bullpen surprise or two waiting in the wings.