If you haven’t been paying attention, the Cubs Adbert Alzolay hasn’t met anyone’s expectations this season. I hate to say it, but I think last year was the fluke and that he’s reverted to form. That being said, the Cubs don’t appear willing to give up on him and his five blown saves. After saving his last game on April 14, he’s blown his last three save opportunities.

The Cubs are not the only team with postseason aspirations that is having bullpen/closer issues and they’re not the only one holding on for dear life. This apparent loyalty isn’t merely about small sample sizes either. There just aren’t that many great (available) closer types floating around.

Find me a recent, first-round draft pick, closing games currently for a ML team.

Pick any team and look through their current 8 or 9-man bullpen and guess how many will be on that roster at the end of September. I’ll bet 10 or 12 different relievers pitch for three or more ML teams by the end of the season.

While not necessarily bestowing closer status immediately, some managers will try get guys back in a rhythm more quickly than others. They may never regain that ultimate status, but some teams need these guys to perform in different, but important roles.

People in Chicago have questioned manager Craig Counsell for showing any faith in Alzolay after his recent failures, but he’s had much better success handling a bullpen than the last Cubs manager. After blowing a save on May 3, Counsell inserted him in lower leverage situations on the 6th and the 8th. He’s been rewarded with 2.1 innings of shutout relief. Alzolay earned the closer role last year with a nice second half. However, he’s 29 years old, but has only pitched in 119 career games.

One need look no further than the recently completed Royals-Brewers series for examples of what teams are facing. Editor’s note: I had never heard of either pitcher before the 2024 season.

Royals de facto closer, James McArthur (27y/o), blew a save on a game-tying homer in the bottom of the 9th against the Rangers on May 5. Then on the 7th, he allowed a game-winning homer to Willy Adames of the Brewers(yesterday). In today’s series finale, manager, Matt Quatraro called on him to save the game-which he did.

Likewise, the Brewers bullpen has been piecemeal at best with the loss of closer Devin Williams. New manager, Pat Murphy, had to work with matchups and balancing innings among relative nobodies. One such nobody, Jared Koenig (30 y/o) has seen his role in higher leverage situations increase. However, on May 6, he coughed up a two-run lead in the seventh and took the loss against the Royals. He bounced back yesterday and earned the win in that McArthur loss. These are two great examples of trust which isn’t to say, either pitcher will be with their current teams in August.