PITTSBURGH – The Cubs have gone all year without a consistent left-handed relief option. Drew Smyly’s move to the bullpen may have solved that problem.
“It’s like I never left, I guess,” quipped Smyly, who made one start in Detroit between bullpen stints. “I get it. I haven’t been doing my job as a starter. So there’s nothing I can say, or any type of way I can feel about it.”
The Cubs have not yet announced who will replace Smyly in the rotation. But lefty prospect Jordan Wicks’ recent performance in Triple-A has impressed the organization, and he was a healthy scratch from his last start.
“If you don’t do your job, someone’s going to come to do it for you,” Smyly said. “That’s how it’s been from Day 1. Doesn’t matter whether you’re a rookie or you have 10 years in the league, someone’s waiting to take your job. So you always know that.
“But this is one of the reasons I chose to sign back here, because I thought the Cubs were really close to winning. And we are. We’re right here in the bottom stretch. So, I’m happy to fill any type of role for them. I just want to help the team win and try to get us to that next step.”
Smyly, a 10-year veteran, has experience out of the bullpen. He even moved into a relief role with the Braves in the last month of their 2021 season and World Series run. When he signed with the Cubs that offseason, the team set the expectation that he might have to tap into that versatility.
Smyly didn’t have to until last week, when he threw three scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He simplified his approach in those outings, leaning heavily on his curve, and secondarily his sinker. He walked just one batter and limited opponents to a total of two hits.
“Sometimes as a starter I found myself this season getting really caught up in scouting reports and having to pitch certain hitters certain ways,” Smyly said. “And that’s great — it’s great to know what the hitters are trying to do against you, or what he’s good at, to do my homework. But when you get too caught up in that, you start to lose yourself.”
When Smyly returned to the rotation this week, he gave up seven runs in 3 ⅔ innings.
“That was just a frustrating one all around,” Smyly said. “Because I didn’t feel good at all that game. My mechanics were way off, and struggling with command, and I just didn’t pitch or execute or attack the way I needed to.”
In the immediate aftermath, manager David Ross called for “a little bit of grace” to be given to Smyly in his first game back from the bullpen. But in the following days, the team made the decision to give someone else a chance in the fifth starter spot.
“I know I could fill a lot of different jobs in the bullpen, whether it’s a long relief, or a one-inning stint, or lefty, or whatnot,” Smyly said. “I do think I could be really good at it. So I’m hoping to turn it around in that role and help the team try to finish rolling and compete for a playoff spot.”