SEATTLE — After a month of mixing, matching and settling in, Cubs manager Joe Maddon thinks he knows what he has with his bullpen.
“I feel much better about it,” said Maddon, whose bullpen was the weak link during a 1-6 start.
What he doesn’t have is closer Brandon Morrow (elbow), and that could prove to have a significant impact this season for a team that doesn’t have much payroll flexibility to add from the outside.
“We want him back, but to count on something like that, you just really can’t necessarily,” said Maddon, who likely won’t see his closer until around the All-Star break in a best-case scenario. “As a manager, you’ve just got to continually try to piece it together with what you have.
“He could be a huge difference-maker for us. If we had him in the second half of the season, that’s large. But in the meantime, I have to prepare each day as though this is what it’s going to look like the rest of the year and try to nurture this group in that regard.”
That means keeping Pedro Strop in his back pocket for closing opportunities while also balancing him in a setup role if the matchups dictate.
“But [Tuesday] you saw with [Steve] Cishek what he can do in the ninth inning, too,” Maddon said of the former closer’s save in a 6-5 victory.
He also mentioned former All-Star closer Brandon Kintzler and right-hander Brad Brach, another former closer in the bullpen.
The bigger relief story is that the bullpen had a collective 2.03 ERA entering Wednesday over the previous 19 games. Carl Edwards Jr. and Brian Duensing, who are in the minors, also provide depth along with Mike Montgomery, who is on the short-term injured list.
And Maddon said Tyler Chatwood’s early-season work has given him more confidence to use the hard-throwing right-hander.
“I think we have a better feel about all of our guys right now,” he said. “And there’s other guys that are on the way. You have to have the depth, and I think that the [front-office] boys have done a nice job of that.”
Bryant ready for weekend
Kris Bryant, who is dealing with mild hamstring tightness, was the designated hitter for the second consecutive game as a precautionary measure.
After three plate appearances, Bryant was lifted for pinch hitter Daniel Descalso in the fifth inning of a 9-0 game, ahead of a day off Thursday.
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But Bryant said he felt fine Wednesday, and Maddon said he expected him to return to the field defensively Friday, when the Cubs open a three-game series against the Cardinals.
$200,000 option
Among the byproducts of Addison Russell being optioned to Class AAA Iowa when he’s eligible to return from his domestic violence suspension Thursday is that it will cost him $200,000.
In addition to his base $3.4 million contract for this year, Russell has four $100,000 bonuses for days on the active big-league roster (up to 120 days) and a $200,000 bonus for reaching 150.
Starting Thursday, 151 days remain in the major-league season.
The Cubs told Russell this week that he’ll be in the minors when he’s activated from the restricted list.
