Chicago Cubs Urged to ‘Keep an Eye On’ Closer With Sub-1.65 Era

The Chicago Cubs need to address their bullpen issues and could fix them with this pitcher.

May 25, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Kyle Finnegan (67) pitches against the Seattle Mariners during the ninth inning at Nationals Park. / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs season has flipped in a major way, struggling like never before. A few weeks ago, it looked likely that they'd be in a position to win the National League Central.

Now, 28-30 and 2-8 in their last 10 games, the Cubs are 6.5 games out of first place in the division, a concerning sign. They're still in a position to have the season they were looking to have if things go as planned, but this recent stretch has been a disaster.

It's one thing for one area of the team to struggle. However, it's been every side of the baseball in recent games. The offense isn't good enough, the rotation is starting to struggle, and the bullpen has been one of the worst in baseball all season.

Struggling in ways they didn't expect to, the front office has to be willing to spend and land players who can help them before the July trade deadline. It should be a busy deadline if they want to improve, needing players all over the place.

The bullpen has to be addressed. This can't continue, even if they start to figure things out again offensively and as a rotation.

Looking at three roster moves Chicago "must make" to help their struggles, Michael Brakebill of Cubbies Crib urged Jed Hoyer to fix the ninth-inning issues.

Searching for names, Brakebill listed Kyle Finnegan.

"It's time the front office figures out who they want to keep in their prospect pool and trade some of it to make the major league roster as competitive as possible."

Finnegan, a member of the below-average Washington Nationals, has been an elite closer this season. The right-hander has a 1.64 ERA and 15 saves. In his 22.0 innings of work, he's struck out 22.

Whatever happens over the next month will be an indication of how serious the front office is about winning. If they're as serious as they need to be, a move will be on the way.