Veteran reliever Danny Coulombe offers a cheap, swing-and-miss solution for the Cubs' final bullpen spot, but his injury history looms large.
The Chicago Cubs' bullpen is mostly set for the 2026 season.
By adding Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Hunter Harvey in free agency, there appears to be only one bullpen spot remaining entering the year. Those four additions will join Daniel Palencia, Caleb Thielbar, and Colin Rea in relief.
But assuming the Cubs roll with an eight-man bullpen to begin the year, there is still one more spot up for grabs. Players like Javier Assad, Ben Brown, Luke Little, Jordan Wicks, Trent Thornton, and Porter Hodge will all likely be fighting for that final bullpen spot out of Spring Training.
The front office could also choose to add a veteran free agent to that mix. Adding a left-handed reliever like Danny Coulombe would certainly strengthen the Cubs' bullpen.
It is a surprise that Coulombe is still a free agent in mid-February. Despite just turning 36 years old in October, the southpaw has been a reliable bullpen arm recently.
He had a 2.81 ERA and 58 strikeouts across 51 ⅓ innings pitched with the Baltimore Orioles in 2023, finished with a 2.12 ERA and 32 strikeouts across 29 ⅔ innings pitched in 2024, and ended the 2025 season with a 2.30 ERA and 43 strikeouts across 43 innings pitched.
The two biggest knocks on Coulombe, though, are that injuries have limited him in recent years and that he struggled in the second half of last year.
The left-hander has spent time on the injured list in each of the past three years. He missed three weeks due to a bicep injury in 2023, missed over three months due to an elbow injury in 2024, and dealt with two different injuries (forearm and shoulder) in 2025.
That shoulder injury could have been a reason why Coulombe struggled down the stretch last season. He had a 7.56 ERA in 11 August appearances before landing on the 15-day IL due to shoulder fatigue.
However, Coulombe been a game-changer on the mound when healthy. The 36-year-old ranked in the upper half of the league in chase rate (36.2%), whiff rate (27.7%), strikeout rate (24.4%), barrel rate (5.2%), and hard-hit rate (38.3%) last year.
Those metrics would definitely play well out of Chicago’s bullpen. The team would have another high swing-and-miss reliever, and Coulombe was actually a reverse splits pitcher in 2025. Right-handed hitters had a lower batting average (.188) than left-handed hitters (.225) against Coulombe last season.
With the Cubs already having two left-handed relievers in the bullpen, manager Craig Counsell could deploy Coulombe against both types of hitters. His addition would make this bullpen a bit better ahead of the new season.
Additionally, the veteran wouldn’t cost a ton in free agency. The Cubs could sign him for around $3-4 million this offseason. For a team that has World Series aspirations, signing Coulombe for cheap would be a nice move.