5 offseason moves the Cubs need to make now that they have their manager

3. Re-sign Steve Cishek and Brandon Kintzler

Joe Maddon may have struggled to motivate and push the right buttons for his roster in 2019, but his task was made much more difficult by having an unreliable bullpen. The struggles and injuries to All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel didn’t help matters, nor did losing Brandon Morrow for the entire season. The Cubs bullpen did end the year with a somewhat respectable 3.98 ERA, but that does not paint a full picture of how difficult it was for them to protect leads all year.

The Cubs had several high-profile blowups from Kimbrel, Pedro Strop, Brad Brach and Carl Edwards, but their middle relievers, led by Steve Cishek and Brandon Kintzler, were actually quite solid. Cishek appeared in 70 games, logging 64 innings and had a 2.95 ERA. Kintzler made 62 appearances and finished with a 2.68 ERA in 57 innings. Both right-handers are free agents and nearing their mid-30s.

Cishek and Kintzler both have long track records of consistency, something that is hard to come by in middle relievers. The Cubs paid them a combined $11.5 million last season, which is a great deal for quality relievers. Another round of two-year contracts should satisfy the pair of righties.

If the Cubs are able to retain Cishek and Kintzler and get Kimbrel, Morrow and Edwards healthy, they will give David Ross a strong bullpen to work with. Managing a bullpen effectively for 162 games is always the most difficult thing for a rookie manager. Theo Epstein needs to make sure Ross has as few headaches as possible when trying to navigate innings seven through nine.