The current makeup of the Cubs’ bullpen is very different from what it was before the July 30 trade deadline. Gone are the days of knowing the last three innings of close games would be in the hands of Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin, and Craig Kimbrel.
For the past month, pitching coach Tommy Hottovy has been working to figure out how best to utilize all of the new faces.
That has meant spending time learning different pitchers’ routines, seeing how they respond to things like pitching in back to back days, and what matchups are likely to work best.