Report: Chicago Cubs interested in hard-throwing strikeout specialist as last bullpen piece

The Chicago Cubs are walking into this year’s winter meetings with a need to rebuild almost their entire bullpen. But, if a recent report is correct, they may not have the urgency one would expect from a team with such a clear and glaring need.

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Of last season’s NLDS bullpen, only Daniel Palencia and Ben Brown are guaranteed to still be on the team next year. Bullpen anchors Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, and Caleb Thielbar are eligible for free agency, joining Michael Soroka, Aaron Civale, Taylor Rogers, and Ryan Brasier. They also traded Andrew Kittredge (and his $9 million option) back to the Baltimore Orioles while non-tendering Eli Morgan.

But in the midst of this mass exodus, the Cubs, apparently, are not all that concerned with the bullpen rebuild. They’ve already signed veteran Phil Maton to a 2-year deal to play the role of setup man and emergency closer.

One last bullpen target?

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And now, according to Matthew Trueblood of Northside Baseball, the Cubs may have their next target in site– and it may be their last significant bullpen target.

Trueblood says that, per his sources, the Cubs have significant interest in hard-throwing right-hander Ryne Stanek. The bigger news, however, may be that those sources also indicate the team may be done with any significant bullpen free agent shopping after that.

The 34-year-old Stanek should come relatively cheap after a disastrous 2025 with the Mets, posting a 5.30 ERA in 65 games. The horrible 2025 comes after a pretty bad 2024 (4.88 ERA) split between the Mariners and Mets.

A strikeout specialist

What Stanek does well, though, is strike people out. His fastball can still reach 100 and the Cubs feel that some minor tweaks could get him back to overall success. Even when “bad,” though, he averages more than one strikeout per inning. They’ve reportedly targeted him before, so they clearly feel that they have some answers when it comes to his recent struggles. He also has some experience closing games, something which will give the Cubs more late-inning insurance for Palencia.

A bullpen rebuild consisting of only Maton and Stanek, however, would have to be seen as a disappointment for fans who were expecting a high-end co-closer and maybe at least three more solid middle relief options.

Chicago Cubs happy with their bullpen situation?

But, from the Cubs’ perspective, they may already have what they need if Stanek can be had. If they go out and acquire a front-of-rotation starter, as rumored, Colin Rea and Javier Assad would get pushed off to the bullpen where they would join Palencia, Brown, and Maton. The team is also holding out hope that Porter Hodge and Jordan Wicks can reestablish past success. Depth can then be added via on-the-fly pickups and minor league promotion. They also would reportedly welcome the return of Keller and/or Thielbar if a deal could be made.

Stanek as the last “big” bullpen acquisition is not ideal, but this current Cubs regime has never been fully invested in big-time bullpen acquisitions. Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has been very good at picking up castoffs and reclamation projects, getting the most of them on the cheap. That strategy, apparently, won’t be changing all that much this offseason.

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Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-free-agent-bullpen-ryne-stanek