NEWSLETTER
The two couldn’t be much more different in this year’s Cubs camp. One is a righty, one is a lefty. One is an established big league veteran. One is coming over from Japan. One is a sure-fire late-inning option for the Cubs from day one. One is just trying to win a spot on the roster.
But one thing Hector Neris and Edwin Escobar have in common? They both seem like great teammates, and good additions to the group of players working together in Mesa, Arizona.
To that end, two profile pieces on the two relievers that I thought were very much worth sharing.
First, Sahadev Sharma writes about Neris as the late-inning, veteran leader the Cubs’ bullpen desperately needed to add this offseason:
There are so many great tidbits in there, including Adbert Alzolay’s point that last year the bullpen had so many key guys who didn’t have experience getting through a full season in a big league bullpen. They didn’t really have guys to lean on for tips and leadership on game prep, rest and recovery, how to be available every day, etc. They can guard a LITTLE bit better against that this year because now a lot of these guys HAVE done it, but it’s also the arrival of Neris, who does it year in, year out.
I loved this bit on how Neris saw the always-excellent Houston Astros bullpen working, offered via reliever Jose Cuas:
‘Cuas noted that the bullpen is isolated from the rest of the team during games. Neris has reinforced the idea that they need to come together as one and trust each other. The key to the teams that have found success, Neris told Cuas, is that they played as one.
“No one took the blame and no one took the throne,” Cuas said. “Everyone gets a piece. Everyone do your part and as a whole, things will end up working out.”’
No one took the blame and no one took the throne. Man that’s such a good line. Much more in Sharma’s piece.
Meanwhile, over at The Tribune, Meghan Montemurro writes about Edwin Escobar, who is trying to return to stateside baseball after seven seasons in Japan:
Escobar went from top-100 prospect to big leaguer to guy who just couldn’t get over the hump to guy who was passable in Japan to guy who was suddenly dominant in Japan to guy who is trying to return to MLB on a minor league deal at age-31.
Escobar told Montemurro that, although he could keep going in Japan – and probably on a pretty good contract, too – he just felt like it was time to come back. He not only wanted a chance to make it in MLB, but also more time with his family. He does have a familiar face on the team, though, as he played with Shota Imanaga in the NPB.
Right now, the Cubs’ bullpen is going to include one “lefty” in Mark Leiter Jr. (he’s a righty, but his splitter makes him very much like a lefty weapon), and has one optionable lefty in Luke Little. It’s possible Drew Smyly also winds up in the bullpen. So it’s potentially a little crowded even before you get to the non-roster invitees like Escobar and Richard Lovelady (who has had a bit of a rough spring, for what that’s worth).
My gut says the Cubs really like the different look that Escobar brings – it’s a funky delivery – and whether he makes the Opening Day bullpen could come down to the health of others around him, and the general mix the Cubs and Craig Counsell are looking for. It’s a lot of guys, though.
There will be only eight relievers in the bullpen to start the season, and many of those spots are inarguably locked down if healthy (Leiter, Neris, Adbert Alzolay, Julian Merryweather, Yency Almonte), with many others presumed but with some roster flexibility (Little, Smyly, Cuas, Javier Assad, Hayden Wesneski, and Daniel Palencia). Obviously not all 11 of those guys can make the opening bullpen. Many will be optioned to Iowa because of the crunch, and some might be traded. The point is only that, for Escobar to make the bullpen, he’s really going to have to be impressive in the weeks ahead.
If he doesn’t make the opening pen, the question will be whether he’s got an opt-out available in his deal, and whether he exercises it. If not, I’m sure the Cubs would be thrilled to have him ready in waiting at Iowa for a few weeks, and coming up at some point in April or May when the inevitable injuries arrive.
Either way, the guy is very easy to root for.
