Venezuelan native Adbert Marcelo Alzolay isn’t a spring chicken any more. At age 28, he’s finally settling into an effective role on the Cubs’ pitching staff, as a multi-inning reliever, capable of entering the game at any point.
He’s 1-3 so far this year but that’s no measure of his effectiveness, it’s just documenting his few failures, as he has been good for a 2.66 ERA (through Tuesday) with one save, in 18 games, in which he has pitched 23.2 innings and struck out 22 batters.
He has a lot of value for the Cubs, who at their best also have Keegan Thompson filling the same sort of role as big-bore weapons out of the pen.