The Chicago Cubs went through a lot of effort to restock a bullpen this offseason that was seriously depleted. To do this, the team went on an uncharacteristic spending spree this past winter.
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The Cubs would sign four free agent relievers for the rebuild (Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, and Hunter Harvey). They also opted to re-sign lefty Caleb Thielbar. Those five join closer Daniel Palencia and swingmen Colin Rea, Javier Assad, and Ben Brown to make up the new Cubs bullpen.
One can forgive the apparent overflow in relief options. The bullpen is probably the most unstable part of any major league team. Simply put, relievers get hot and cold and they also get injured. A team’s Opening Day bullpen is almost never the same bullpen even at the All-Star break. Last season, the Cubs used 25 pitchers out of the pen.
So, when 25-year-old prospect Jack Neely was sent down to Triple-A in the first cuts this spring training, it didn’t really mean that much to his long term chances of pitching in the majors.
This year’s Daniel Palencia?
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Actually, some feel that the 6-foot-8 righty could make a big splash this year in Chicago, possibly even becoming the Daniel Palencia of 2026 with an in-season call-up that grabs everyone’s attention.
Neely came to the Cubs in the 2024 trade deadline deal with the Yankees for Mark Leiter Jr. He hasn’t put up great numbers in the Cubs’ system, but he HAS proven himself to be a strikeout machine. Last season, between South Bend and Iowa, he notched 43 strikeouts in 33.1 innings. In 2023, as part of the Yankees system, he struck out a whopping 100 batters in 66.1 innings. In a 2024 cup of coffee with the big league Cubs, he struck out 7 in 6 innings.
The biggest issue affecting him has always been control. But some feel that he may have turned a corner in that area. This spring with the Cubs, he did walk 2 in 4 shutout innings, but he generally looked more in control of his stuff.
Overlooked
Rich Eberwein of Cubbies Crib feels that Neely is an overlooked prospect who demands attention:
“Neely has the potential to be a bullpen weapon and a contributor in high-leverage situations. We know he will not begin the year in the majors, but he should be one of the first arms to get the call if/when someone goes down with an injury. Walks have been the main thorn in Neely’s side in the past and it remains to be seen if he has worked past that issue. But Daniel Palencia struggled with the same thing before he emerged as a legitimate closer last year, so Neely is a guy that I’m keeping a close eye on early in the season.”
It’s likely that Neely will get a call or two from the Cubs this season. There’s no denying that he has a high upside and that he profiles as a shutdown closer-type. The question, as is always the case when it comes to prospects, is if he can live up to his potential.
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