More Adbert Alzolay struggles, more questions for the Cubs' bullpen

Last season, as he emerged as a reliable closer for the Cubs, Adbert Alzolay got used to cheers as he converted 22 of 25 saves and finished his outings with a fist-pump celebration.

Heck, go back to his major league debut in 2019, and the Wrigley Field crowd even offered him a standing ovation for his performance that night. He’s won Cubs fans over with his energy, personality and success on the mound.

That’s part of why it was so jarring to see him exit Friday’s 3-1 loss to the Brewers to a chorus of boos.

With two outs in the top of the eighth, Cubs manager Craig Counsell came out of the dugout to take the ball from Alzolay. Prior to that, he’d blown a 1-0 lead by giving up four base hits — each followed by a stolen base — and only recording one out as Milwaukee tagged him for three earned runs, raising his ERA to 5.54. The fans in attendance let him know they weren’t pleased.

“It’s hard to hear that,” Counsell said. “It’s hard to not have success on the mound after you’ve had a lot of success. That never feels good.”

Alzolay shook off the boos postgame, saying, “If you let that get to you, then you got a much bigger problem.” However, he knows all that matters at the end of the day is getting outs and wins, and he knows he hasn’t produced the way the Cubs need him to.

“This is a results-based game, and I’m not getting results, regardless,” Alzolay said. “That’s the bottom line for me. At this point, I’m not getting the results.”

Alzolay lost his spot as the team’s closer after another poor performance against the Marlins on April 20. At that point, he’d blown four saves in seven opportunities, already one more than he’d blown in all of 2023.

He followed that with a couple of scoreless appearances in lower-leverage situations, but then on Tuesday, he allowed a go-ahead and eventual game-winning three-run homer to the Mets. Though all the runs were unearned due to a throwing error earlier in the inning, it was nonetheless the fifth homer he’d given up this season.

So why, then, was he tasked with holding a one-run lead in the late innings Friday?

Well, the Cubs are currently in a stretch of 16 games in 16 days. They just played 11 innings Thursday. Counsell noted before Friday’s game that “there may be a guy or two” who might be unavailable, so the bullpen options were limited. Southpaw Richard Lovelady had just gotten an out to start the eighth, but a string of righties were due up next, so Counsell went with Alzolay.

Obviously, the move didn’t pay off, as he recorded his league-leading fifth blown save.

“The situation we’re in with just who we had available today, you can’t just stay away from people,” Counsell said. “We just can’t in a stretch like this. And so, we went with the guy that was best suited for that spot in the lineup in that part of the game, and it just didn’t work.”

The question right now is not just how to get Alzolay back to his 2023 self, but how to improve a bullpen that overall entered Friday with the No. 21 ERA in baseball (4.38).

One of the simpler ways to examine the issue is to look at the team’s health. Not only are Julian Merryweather and Drew Smyly on the injured list, costing the bullpen a duo of key relievers, but so are Justin Steele, Kyle Hendricks and Jordan Wicks. Those three starters being on the shelf means the likes of Javier Assad, Ben Brown and Hayden Wesneski — who struck out eight over 6 1/3 scoreless innings Friday — are in the rotation rather than potentially serving as relief weapons.

However, the Cubs may soon be getting reinforcements. Steele, who’s been out since Opening Day, made a rehab start Wednesday and is lined up to take the series opener against the Padres on Monday. Hendricks is set to make his second rehab start Tuesday. Wicks is still playing catch but is hopefully not too far away from coming back.

Steele’s return means either Brown or Wesneski could shift to the ‘pen (Assad’s standout performance thus far should keep him in the rotation), providing another arm for Counsell to utilize there. Whenever Hendricks and Wicks return, that should open up more options, and eventually, Merryweather and Smyly will rejoin the relievers, too.

For now, Alzolay knows he needs to be better. It’s not 2023 anymore. Any goodwill he built up with his success last season has vanished, and he ultimately just needs to get back to pitching like the high-leverage arm he showed he can be.

“Last year was last year,” Alzolay said. “We’re in a new year, and I’m still trying to figure out that part.”

The Cubs will continue to support him through the struggles. They don’t have many trusted relievers with long track records of success, so Alzolay getting back to that level would be a major asset to the relief corps.

He has no minor league options left, meaning he can’t be sent down to figure things out, and the Cubs designating him for assignment just feels completely unlikely anytime soon. So, the best course of action for now is helping him find what’s eluded him in 2024.

“He’s struggling right now, but we need Adbert,” Counsell said. “We need Adbert to be an effective member of the bullpen, and we need to keep giving him opportunities to do that.”

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