PEORIA, Ariz. — Julian Merryweather and some of his Cubs bullpen mates learned the hard way about the rigors of a 162-game season.
“I thought I knew it until I went through it last year,” Merryweather said. “You learn a lot more about it, just the grind of a full season as a reliever.”
The Cubs’ bullpen, which helped carry them to playoff contention through a large chunk of the second half of the 2023 season, faded miserably in September largely due to fatigue and injuries that became magnified during a stretch in which they lost seven of eight games and lost Adbert Alzolay, Mark Leiter Jr. and Michael Fulmer due to injuries.
Alzolay, Leiter and Merryweather return with the determination to remain healthy and effective through an entire regular season and help attain a National League playoff avert that seemed a lock until their swoon.
“If you’re not getting better, you won’t still be here,” Leiter said. “So I think the experience we all gained last year was tremendous. I think we didn’t meet our goals last year, but we played a lot of competitive baseball.
“We got a taste of a lot of things that will help us build toward this year. I think we’ve added a few more [relievers], and I think another year as an entire year, we have a lot of guys returning. We’ll keep growing together.
I think we’re ready to take another step forward.”
Leiter made no excuses for a back injury that inflated his ERA from 2.84 to 3.50 in September with only three strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.
“There shouldn’t have been any qualms (about my back),” Leiter said.
“I just kind of had a back spasm and ended up pitching back-to-back days with it and kind of gave out on me, costing me a week and I wasn’t the same after.”
Alzolay suffered a right forearm strain that sidelined him for three weeks. He didn’t return until Sept. 29 — a day before the Cubs were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
Michael Fulmer pitched only once after Aug. 24 and underwent Tommy John surgery after the season ended.
The addition of Hector Neris and Yency Almonte provide experience, and manager Craig Counsell spoke about the importance of volume in maintaining a healthy and effective bullpen throughout a regular season.
Daniel Palencia, who was optioned to Triple-A Iowa last week, gained experience last season that should be helpful once he’s recalled.
But for the core relievers, extra rest — such as passing up a bullpen session or not playing catch — might be best. Leiter and Merryweather (69) and Alzolay (58) set career-highs in appearances.
“Save your bullets,” said Merryweather, who walked 12 in 10 innings in September. “Maybe there’s a time where you’re pitching back-to-back, or a night game followed by a day game, you save your bullets for when they matter.”
Jose Cuas, Hayden Wesneski and left-hander Luke Little remain in contention for the final two spots in the bullpen with Thursday’s season opener at Texas looming.