Addressing The Cubs' Bullpen

I’m desperately searching for realistic bullpen options for the Cubs.

David ‘Stormy’ Weathers and Chad Cordero come to mind. Neither, of course, is an ideal candidate, but the Cubs’ pen situation is far from ideal.

Weathers, 40, is currently unemployed and coming off a 1-3, 4.88 ERA season with Milwaukee. On the plus side he’s a 20-year vet with opulent knowledge of the NL Central having spent his last six seasons in the division.

Cordero, on the other hand, is pitching in Mariners camp but is on the outside looking in to a set bullpen in Seattle. By the numbers, he appears the better choice considering he’s far younger than Weathers, 27, and sporting a career 2.78 ERA in six seasons. And given the Bradley trade, there’s hope Hendry could swing another deal with Seattle before Opening Day.

Meanwhile, right-handed reliever, and Chicago native, Jason Frasor hasn’t disappeared from the radar, either. The Cubs, however, will most likely need to package some prospects to pry him from Toronto. Given Guzman’s status, the Jays have all the leverage, which leaves Hendry with plenty of tough decisions on who’s sent packing–if anyone at all.

Has the bullpen situation really come to this, potentially signing a Weathers or Cordero? Is it truly this bad? Yeah, unfortunately it is.

Two good Cubs articles to read. The first is from Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown addressing Alfonso Soriano’s importance to the lineup. The second is from Jon Heyman at SI.com talking about the Cubs’ injury-plagued start to spring training.

Great quotation from Sam Fuld in the Heyman piece. On dealing with his diabetes… “It’s definitely a battle every day, something that’s always on my mind and never quite figured out.” “It’s like hitting in that way.”