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MESA, Ariz. — As Brad Keller weighed his options in free agency, the Chicago Cubs stood out with their genuine interest and thorough preparation. Not only did the organization’s pitching group run through a detailed presentation, Cubs manager Craig Counsell also joined the video conference, which made an impression on a player who would sign a minor-league deal.
Advertisement That transaction did not draw much attention over the winter, but it illustrates an area where the Cubs need to continually find an edge. An inability to consistently identify and develop pitching talent contributed to the franchise’s downfall after the 2016 World Series, leading to a complete system overhaul. “You just don’t stop,” Counsell said.
“You always have to stay ahead of it because it’s constantly changing and evolving, and people are catching up. You got to go for the next thing. That’s how pitching is right now.
” Though the Cubs have not yet returned as a regular playoff presence in October, there are undeniable signs of progress. Keller made the Tokyo Series travel roster, a big step toward earning a spot in the bullpen and converting his contract into $1.5 million guaranteed.
Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele, the two All-Star pitchers lined up to face the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Tokyo Dome, have far exceeded expectations after being acquired via the Japanese posting system and the draft. Brad Keller gets the Padres out in order twice today. His final line: 2.
0 IP 1 K 84% Strikes He’s throwing harder than he ever has in his career, and has looked great in both appearances this spring. pic.twitter.
com/WXbQ2trJSl — The Wrigley Wire (@TheWrigleyWire) February 24, 2025 Two recent first-round picks, Jordan Wicks and Cade Horton, could be ready and waiting in the Triple-A Iowa rotation. The depth is such that Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon recently looked around the Arizona training complex and observed: “We just have a super-stacked camp this year. On the pitching side — the non-roster guys we’ve brought in — I’ve never seen anything like it.
” In a loaded National League, Jed Hoyer’s baseball operations department does not have a budget on par with the Philadelphia Phillies, much less the Dodgers or New York Mets. That means less margin for error and no $200 million pitchers. It puts more pressure on an infrastructure that includes pitching coach Tommy Hottovy, director of pitching Ryan Otero, special assistant Tyler Zombro and a large crew of instructors and analysts.
Advertisement To put this information age in perspective, Counsell referenced his sons, Brady and Jack, who are playing college baseball at Kansas and Northwestern, respectively. “When I go see my sons in college, I tell the pitchers: It doesn’t really matter what’s going on in your career right now, you have the ability to change,” Counsell said. “There’s tools to help you change.
There are so many examples of pitching development. It’s not like the Matt Shaws of the world.” With Shaw looking like the Opening Day third baseman — and once Gold Glove second baseman Nico Hoerner is fully healthy — the Cubs should regularly have seven position players on the field who were first-round picks.
That’s every position except catcher, where Miguel Amaya was a well-regarded international prospect and Carson Kelly was a second-round pick. “That tells you a lot about hitting identification in baseball right now,” Counsell said. There wasn’t as much guessing with Dansby Swanson or Kyle Tucker, but pitching can come from anywhere.
Keller, 29, enjoyed individual success as a starter early in his career while the Kansas City Royals were rebuilding, accounting for 130-plus innings four times and producing three seasons worth 9 WAR combined, per Baseball Reference. The Chicago White Sox signed Keller last year and then designated him for assignment in May, exempting him from their march to 121 losses. Keller was picked up by the Boston Red Sox, whose chief baseball officer, Craig Breslow, had previously worked as a Cubs executive, becoming the driving force behind the organization’s pitching initiatives.
“This is just a reflection of how you got to be in the right place with the player,” Counsell said. “The time wasn’t right, maybe, in another organization. Maybe some things started to happen last year.
In this case, some things started to happen last year for Brad when he was in Boston. And we kind of picked up on it a little bit.” Advertisement With the Red Sox, Keller absorbed new information and corrected some mechanical flaws , a process that continued throughout the offseason at the Maven Baseball Lab in Atlanta.
Keller, a 6-foot-5 right-hander, impressed in the Cactus League with a fastball jump that has the Cubs envisioning him in shorter bursts, potentially as a late-inning reliever, rather than keeping him stretched out as a starter. This is an area where the Milwaukee Brewers excelled during Counsell’s time as their manager. Another outside influence, Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins, came from a Cleveland Guardians organization that is viewed within the baseball industry as a pitching factory.
The Cubs should not aspire to be those small-market teams, but doing more with less appears to be the message amid these budgetary constraints. At the same time, the Cubs want to emphasize concepts such as collaboration and innovation. In Chicago, Keller is one example of a much larger process playing out behind the scenes.
“We think this is an improving player, despite the experience and the age,” Counsell said. “Between the velocity and the slider, we still think there’s room to go. We’ve got our eyes open to possibly a different role than he’s ever done.
That means maybe we get a different pitcher than we’ve seen. All those things have made him really interesting.” (Photo: Mark J.
Rebilas / Imagn Images).
