It's Time Chicago Cubs Move Franchise Hero Into Bullpen

The writing is on the wall for the Chicago Cubs to move one of their veteran pitchers into the bullpen for the remainder of the season.

Mar 30, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs have faced major issues to their pitching staff early this season because of injuries and poor performances.

Starters Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon were moved to the injured list alongside one of their top relievers Julian Merryweather. They recently sent down Jose Cuas to their Triple-A affiliate after a tough start to the year.

Out of those available, the most disappointing performer has been veteran Kyle Hendricks.

He has an 0-2 record with a 12.08 ERA through his three starts. He's given up 26 hits and 17 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings pitched while only striking out eight batters.

This is a huge concern.

When the Cubs decided to pick up his $16.5 million club option this winter, they thought he might have turned the corner based on what he did last year.

That is clearly not the case.

So, instead of repeatedly trotting him out there every fifth or sixth day to put Chicago in a tough position where they likely have to come from behind to win, they should move him into the bullpen.

Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic took a look at how Hendricks has performed this year per each inning, and it's clear the veteran is at stage in his career where he should be used as a reliever.

During his three starts, he's allowed only one home run, with no walks and eight strikeouts when facing the lineup the first time. His soft contact rate is 33.3% and the opponent's OPS is .945.

Hendricks has similar numbers when going through the lineup a second time.

Once again, he's only given up one homer. He has no strikeouts, but he also hasn't walked anyone. His soft contact rate goes down to 22.2%, while opponent's OPS numbers are at .963.

Not great numbers, but also not terrible.

Those are solid numbers from an older pitcher who has battled shoulder injuries during this stage of his career.

Where Hendricks really gets into trouble is when he faces a lineup for the third time.

Compared to the 27-batter sample size from before, he's only seen 12 batters three times in a game this year. He's given up three home runs, walked three without a strikeout, has a soft contact rate of 0.0%, and opponent's OPS numbers spike to a ridiculous 2.722.

When the Cubs get back Taillon and Steele, they should really consider moving Hendricks into the bullpen.

He's been a fairly effective pitcher when facing a small number of batters.

It'd be crazy to keep trotting him out there as a starter when Chicago has other options they can call upon.