Closing For The Future

  

Chicago, IL- The last few years, earning the save has been a difficult task for the Cubs closers. Carlos Marmol, Kerry Wood, Jose Veras, and Kevin Gregg are some examples of the shaky closers the Cubs have used before. To fix this issue that has been reoccurring, the Cubs have made some moves the last few years to find that ninth inning man for the future.

In Theo's first year of being President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs, he took a huge risk on a pitcher in a trade he made to the Braves. Sending Paul Malholm and Reed Johnson, Epstein knew these two were good players at the time, but needed a core player to build around for the coming seasons. In that trade with the Braves he acquired Arodys Vizcaino, a pitcher coming off of Tommy John surgery. It took awhile to recover, but Vizcaino finally appeared at Spring Training earlier this season. People realized he was a flamethrower, and could possibly be turned into the Cubs closer down the stretch. So far this season, he has appeared in thirteen games between A+ and AA with a .69 ERA and seventeen strikeouts in thirteen innings pitched. Vizcaino looks to have a promising career in the future if he remains healthy.

On the other hand, the Cubs might have their closer of the future at the big league level already. Hector Rondon, a Rule 5 Draft pick, was taken from the Cleveland Indians in 2012. Struggling last year with a 4.77 ERA and 1.409 WHIP, Rondon has really turned it around this year. So far this season, Rondon has an ERA of 1.33 and a WHIP of .984. Another thing to note is he is five-for-five in save situations. Just like Vizcaino, Rondon looks to have a promising career after coming back from Tommy John.

Down the stretch, it's going to be a tough call who gets the ninth inning in Chicago. Rondon might actually start to struggle soon, but the chances look unlikely. Vizcaino might also lose his charm, but that looks unlikely to happen too. No matter who becomes the future closer for the Cubs, these two look to be examples of the arms the Cubs are searching for to relieve their starters.

-Daniel (DanielDoreCTC)

(All stats from baseball-reference.com)