With 12 pitchers sidelined, Chicago must decide if a low-risk reunion with its former homegrown reliever could stabilize a depleted bullpen following his release by the Mets.
The Chicago Cubs have been very active in adding some pitching depth in the first half of the season.
The Cubs have signed veterans like Drew Pomeranz, Liam Hendriks, and Aaron Bummer, traded for pitchers like Tyler Ferguson and David Peterson, and even claimed pitchers like Luis Peralta, Bryse Wilson, and Eduarniel Nunez off waivers.
Chicago could use all the pitching down in the minors right now, given all the pitcher injuries the Major League team is currently going through. The North Siders have a whopping 12 pitchers on the injured list right now, including Edward Cabrera, Ben Brown, Daniel Palencia, Hoby Milner, and Hunter Harvey.
That could lead them to go after right-handed reliever Adbert Alzolay.
Alzolay was released by the New York Mets on Friday afternoon amid a rough 2026 season down in the minors. The 31-year-old had an uninspiring 7.36 ERA, 1.705 WHIP, and 10 strikeouts across 14 ⅔ innings pitched at rookie ball, Single-A, High-A, and Triple-A before being let go.
This is Alzolay's first season back since undergoing Tommy John surgery in August of 2024. At that time, the right-hander was in the Cubs organization, but the team eventually moved off him a couple of months later to make way for Owen Caissie on the 40-man roster. He was officially designated for assignment by the Cubs on November 19, 2024.
However, it didn’t take long for Alzolay to get picked up. Although he was set to miss the entire 2025 season, he signed a two-year Minor League deal with the Mets on January 9 while he worked his way back from that elbow surgery.
After missing the entire 2025 campaign, Alzolay was fully healthy entering the 2026 season. He worked his way up through his rehab assignments and was eventually activated from the injured list on June 4.
In his first eight appearances with Triple-A Syracuse, though, Alzolay just didn’t seem to have it. He allowed 10 runs across 8 ⅔ innings pitched (10.38 ERA). He allowed a run in five of his eight outings, which included giving up four runs across ⅔ of an inning in his most recent relief appearance before his release.
Alzolay's stock is obviously down at this point in his career. He is coming off a major arm injury and got hit hard in the minors this season. His average fastball velocity is also sitting at only 92.4 mph. That’s a big difference from the last time he was in the Cubs organization in 2024, when he had a 94.5 mph average fastball velocity.
If the Cubs want to give Alzolay another chance, it could make sense as a pure depth piece move for the minors. This would be a low-risk signing in hopes that the 31-year-old can turn back the clock and provide some meaningful innings of the bullpen.
If there is any team that could look to sign Alzolay, it would be the Cubs. They are obviously very familiar with him and were the team that signed him out of Venezuela back in 2011.
