The Cubs’ bullpen put together an up-and-down effort before the All-Star break. But as relievers have returned from the injured list, coupled with the help of some deep starts from the rotation, the bullpen has turned into a recent strength.
Cubs relievers entered play Monday with a major-league-best 1.09 ERA in the team’s last 20 games. Then it got more good news.
The Cubs activated high-leverage reliever Julian Merryweather from the 60-day IL. Merryweather had been out since early April with a stress fracture in a rib.
‘‘It’s great to get him back,’’ manager Craig Counsell said. ‘‘It’s been a long time, for sure.’’
To make room for Merryweather on the 40-man roster, the Cubs transferred reliever Luke Little, who likely will miss the rest of the season with a strained lat, from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL. And they optioned reliever Hunter Bigge to Triple-A Iowa to clear room on the active roster.
‘‘Our bullpen’s thrown really well recently,’’ president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. ‘‘I say that only because it’s such a challenge. You build a bullpen, and these things do go up and down. Not just for us, for everybody.
‘‘I’m proud of those guys that they’ve stabilized really well and they’ve done well during this stretch. And there’s going to be games going forward that we give up runs, but I think that we’ve stabilized well, which isn’t that easy in-season to do.’’
Even without a group of relievers on expiring contracts, like the Cubs have had at the trade deadline in recent years, the bullpen presents a unique opportunity for the team to make hay.
The Cubs would prefer to have a strong bullpen for the rest of the season, but because of the volatility of the position and the value of relievers for playoff-bound teams down the stretch, teams who trade bullpen arms at the deadline can get a strong return.
‘‘You have to be opportunistic, not just as it relates to the bullpen but with everything,’’ Hoyer said. ‘‘You’re always going to be listening. You’re always going to be thinking about what things can make us better for the future.
‘‘There are seasons when you play so well, you put yourself in such good position, where the only focus is on how do we get ready for the playoffs? How do we make sure that we make this team bulletproof for the next 61 games? We’re obviously not in that spot. So when you’re not in that position, you have to have to be optimistic and try to be creative and think about things like that.’’
Outfielder Cody Bellinger (fractured middle finger on left hand) has been hitting in the batting cage every day since Friday, Counsell said. And as long as his session Monday went well, he’s set to progress to hitting on the field Tuesday.
‘‘Cautiously optimistic,’’ Counsell said of Bellinger’s progress. ‘‘We haven’t done the velocity and the changing speeds, so there’s some hurdles to clear. But what [he did] this weekend was more than we expected.’’
