ORLANDO — The Cubs fell one close game short of a berth to the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers this year. But even if they had advanced, they would have faced a new challenge.
“If we would have had to keep going, it would have gotten daunting,” Counsell said of the Cubs’ pitching situation. “I don’t think it was daunting for the first two series, and I don’t think it necessarily affected us for the first two series.”
A best-of-seven series, however, with less frequent off-days than the five-game format in the NL Division Series between the Cubs and Brewers, would be a different story.
So, even though the Cubs refuse to flex their financial might like their large-market counterparts, they know they have to add high-quality starting pitching to give themselves a chance at a deep playoff run. And, considering the lofty asking prices at the trade deadline, the time to do so is this offseason, whether that be via trade or free agency.
“We’re definitely looking for another starter,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said this week.
Even in the NLDS, the Cubs got creative as they lined up their pitching. They started left-hander Matthew Boyd on short rest in Game 1 so that he’d be available again for Game 4. And after left-hander Shota Imanaga struggled in Game 2, they went with a bullpen game for the final contest.
Left-hander Justin Steele’s season-ending elbow injury and right-hander Cade Horton’s fractured rib limited the Cubs’ starting pitching options. Horton, out for the first two rounds, was on track to return from the injured list for the NLCS. But without time to build back up, he still wouldn’t have been able to provide much length.
“That’s what you’re always guarding against,” Counsell said. “And you see teams like Atlanta, who had significant starting pitcher injuries, and what it can do to a season. And you think about that, absolutely.”
The Braves ended a streak of seven straight playoff berths with a 76-win season this past year.
The Cubs’ injury situation wasn’t nearly as extreme, but they were without multiple regular rotation members for much of the season. They managed to weather it, finishing with a 92-70 record and the top NL Wild Card spot. But the cracks began to show in the postseason.
“You’re always looking to add to that stable of innings, and the best way to do that is through a starter,” general manager Carter Hawkins said Tuesday. “And so that’s why that’s been one of our focuses, and that’s why we’re trying to shake every tree to figure out where our best best bet might be.”
On the extreme other end of the spectrum, the Dodgers plowed through the postseason on the strength of their starting pitching, which covered for holes in their bullpen.
In just Game 7 of the World Series, they deployed four star starting pitchers — Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
MLB superagent Scott Boras, after acknowledging that he’s had multiple meetings with Hoyer this offseason, summed up the Dodgers’ effect on the market in his winter meetings media availability Tuesday.
“All the clubs that were really close, in the playoffs last year, certainly realize they need to do more,” Boras said. “We’ve got a dynamic ongoing in this game; we’ve got a Goliath. They understand that. And that Goliath can get even better without really adding much.”
The Cubs are expecting Horton to have a normal offseason, and for Steele to return early in the season.
The bar, however, has been raised. And if the Cubs hope to meet it, they have to elevate their rotation.
