SEATTLE – Jacob Webb has learned something about this sport.
“In baseball,” the Cubs’ closer said before Saturday’s game, “you’ve got to expect the unexpected sometimes.”
Indeed, his season counts as unexpected.
The Cubs signed the righty reliever to a one-year free-agent deal worth $1.5 million last offseason, bringing him in to be a piece of their bullpen puzzle.
But not the piece.
That’s what he’s been, though, the team’s go-to reliever, bringing a 24-appearance scoreless streak into Saturday.
“The Cubs organization is a great organization. They’ve done nothing but given me opportunities,” Webb said. “It’s been fun going into some more pressure and some more challenges throughout a baseball year. I can’t thank them enough.
“It’s pretty cool closing for the Cubs right now.”
But that streak ended Saturday, with Webb giving up three runs – including two on Randy Arozarena’s walk-off homer – in the ninth inning of a 5-4 loss to the Mariners.
You know, the unexpected.
“Baseball happened,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It just shows you how impressive he’s been. It’s unfortunate when you give up some runs that result in a loss, but he’s been so, so good.
“He’s kind of held this whole thing together for most of the year. He’s been great. He’s having a heck of a season. [Saturday] doesn’t change that. He’s going to be out there the next time there’s an opportunity.”
Webb has been the headliner, but the Cubs’ bullpen has been an entire group of somewhat unexpected success stories.
Several of the higher-profile additions from last offseason haven’t yielded what Jed Hoyer hoped as his front office looked to almost entirely rebuild the relief corps. Offseason additions Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey and Hoby Milner have all missed significant time with injuries.
So, too, has the most notable holdover from 2025, closer Daniel Palencia, who just returned Friday.
But Webb (2.65 ERA), lefty Ryan Rolison (2.82) and righty Trent Thornton (2.43) have shone while shouldering unexpectedly heavy loads, helping the Cubs to one of the better bullpens in the game, the unit bringing a 3.83 ERA into Saturday.
“It’s been fun to watch some younger guys grow a little bit this year,” lefty reliever Caleb Thielbar said Friday. “You just never know when your time’s going to be up. Those kinds of moments mean a lot throughout the course of a season.”
“This bullpen’s just a testament to a grinder mentality and having fun out there,” Webb said, “not putting too much pressure on ourselves, just going out and pitching.”
The lights are about to get even brighter on these guys as the Cubs head toward the postseason, an entirely different pitching puzzle, with starters often yanked early in games and the highest-leverage situations coming at any moment, no matter the inning.
Are these Cubs relievers ready for the big time?
“Guys are feeling good, feeling good about themselves, and that’s really what you need to do going into the postseason is just feel good about what you’re doing,” Thielbar said. “It’s obviously a different animal once you get to the postseason, but going in with confidence and having an idea of what you’re doing, it goes a long way in pitching those big innings at that point in time at the end of the year.”
With so many pitchers to choose from, the Cubs’ bullpen could look different come October. Guys who have started – righties Edward Cabrera, Ben Brown, Javier Assad and Colin Rea, plus lefty David Peterson – could find themselves part of the playoff bullpen mix.
But the relievers who have had everything thrown at them already this season are ready for the next curveball.
“I take a lot of pride in coming out and trying to shut down whatever inning it may be,” Webb said. “It doesn’t matter if I’m in the ninth or seventh or fifth or fourth, it doesn’t matter.
“That’s ultimately all we care about is winning here. That’s the goal is to get to the postseason, and you never know what can happen in the postseason.”
As Webb well knows – and found out the hard way Saturday – the only thing you can expect is the unexpected.