In the visitors’ clubhouse in Milwaukee before the last game of the 2023 season, Cubs rookie reliever Daniel Palencia handed outfielder Ian Happ a baseball and a pen.
It was a tradition Palencia started at the beginning of his pro career — collecting balls signed by his teammates each year as he climbed through the farm system. But this was a special season, his first in the majors.
“A lot of moments: my debut, throwing the ninth [inning] in St. Louis, my first game at Wrigley Field,” Palencia told the Sun-Times. “It’s amazing. First season for me is a big deal. I got a [Double-A Southern League championship] ring with Tennessee. A lot of goals accomplished.”
Palencia, who debuted in July, is among the young relievers whose development in 2024 could help raise the Cubs’ potential. But they’ll have to continue adding to the bullpen this offseason if they intend to make the playoffs. So far, they’ve acquired reliever Yency Almonte from the Dodgers (along with infielder Michael Busch). Some of the relievers they’ve signed to minor-league deals with invitations to major-league spring training could contribute this season.
Team president Jed Hoyer said during the Cubs Convention earlier this month that the Cubs have offered “some” multiyear deals to established relievers this offseason. But none has come to fruition yet.
“It’s not my favorite thing in general,” Hoyer noted. “But certainly, the bullpen is an area of priority. . . . There’s a lot of ways to skin the bullpen cat. But we do need to focus on it. It was an Achilles’ heel last year.”
Bullpen depth was an obvious issue at the end of the season. Coinciding with the Cubs’ late-September collapse, the team lost closer Adbert Alzolay and veteran right-hander Michael Fulmer to strained forearms. Around the same time, setup man Mark Leiter Jr. was battling back spasms.
Late-inning reliever Julian Merryweather had to shoulder extra responsibility in high-lev-erage situations. Palencia and fellow rookie Luke Little, whom the Cubs called up in September, were tapped for a postseason pursuit that fell one game short.
“The biggest advice Fulmer gave me was just don’t think about anything, just go out there and play your game,” Palencia said through an interpreter. “So I’d say the biggest thing is just to keep being the same person, regardless of good or bad days.”
Palencia and Little have that experience to build off this winter. Both are hard throwers, and pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said both are tinkering with adding splitters to their repertoires — a process that began for Little last season. They’ll also have Leiter and rotation addition Shota Imanaga to share more trade secrets.
And the Cubs, after revamping their player-development system several years ago, have more pitching prospects on the 40-man roster who are waiting to debut. Even those poised to become starters in the long run could break into the majors as short-term relievers.
Craig Breslow, now the Red Sox’ chief baseball officer, headed the overhaul of the pitching infrastructure. Ryan Otero, who worked closely with him, is the Cubs’ new director of pitching and has the tools to continue the vision Breslow put in place while bringing his own ideas to the job.
“[Otero is] a guy that has gone under the radar and done so many good things for this organization,” Hottovy said. “And it’s good to see him get that recognition.”
Young pitching is key to Hoyer’s long-term plans. But until the Cubs have developed enough of it to mostly fill out a bullpen, it won’t be enough.
And while teams can continue to add during spring training, the Feb. 14 reporting date for pitchers and catchers is fast approaching.
