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Tyler Chatwood isn’t completely revamping his delivery like Carl Edwards Jr., but like his hard-throwing teammate he’s been looking at a lot of video this offseason and has come up with one small mechanical change that could be big for the Cubs.
Sure, Yu Darvish only making eight starts in 2018 was frustrating, but watching Chatwood not be able to throw a strike to save his life was truly agonizing to watch last year. He was finally pushed out of the rotation once the Cubs traded for Cole Hamels in July and now as Chatwood enters his second year with his new team he’s in no man’s land.
Although the Cubs didn’t sign one of the top free agent relievers this offseason they have plenty of depth for the middle of their bullpen. Realistically they have one, maybe two spots open for competition in spring training, with as many as 10 pitchers trying to earn a role in the pen.
Chatwood worked out in California this offseason and was able to pinpoint a mechanical issue in his delivery. It was simple, but still something that he couldn’t completely focus on during the middle of the 2018 season.
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Via The Athletic.
“This offseason I worked pretty hard on cleaning up my mechanics a little bit. My (right) hand was traveling a little bit towards the third-base side. So when my front foot struck, it wasn’t up. So it’s tough to be consistent during that.”
“I took my glove tap away midseason,” Chatwood said. “I think part of it was I was so used to glove-tapping, I was going to glove-tap somewhere. So I was jabbing, missing my glove — taking my hand that way. My timing was terrible last year. It’s tough to be consistent that way.
“Normally when you pitch, you want your arm up when your front foot hits. My arm was never getting there so my body was trying to make adjustments on the fly. But I’m putting my body in a better position now and it feels good.”
Chatwood made 20 starts for the Cubs last year and walked 95 batters in 103.2 innings.
But it’s a new year. A new spring training and maybe there’s a new glimpse of hope for Chatwood. We’ve got a long way to go, as pitchers have only started throwing bullpen sessions this week, but if Chatwood can somehow find a way to not walk everyone in the world, then the Cubs might have a new Chatwood problem. A “good problem.”
The biggest strength of the roster has always been the flexibility when you look back at the success of the Cubs during the past four seasons. I know 2018 was different because as a whole the team had a huge decline offensively in the second half, so fans were quick to blame the lineup changes. Yet, Joe Maddon’s been mixing and matching since 2015 and the results have been pretty damn good and that’s because he has several guys who can play different positions any day of the week.
So, how about some pitching flexibility from Chatwood? Best case scenario the new mechanics work and Chatwood looks good in spring training. Problem is, if there are no injuries to the rotation, then he’s going to the bullpen. But again, the Cubs have a lot of guys competing for a spot in the eight-man pen, so if they see something positive in Chatwood that creates another roster crunch.
But what if Chatwood looks great in spring training and all of a sudden catches the attention of another team. Yeah, he has $25.5 million owed to him during the next two seasons, but maybe a good stretch attracts a trade offer even if it is just a salary dump for the Cubs?
OK, that’s still unlikely but despite the depth in the minors it’s almost impossible to see the Cubs flat out cut Chatwood and eat the rest of his deal. Let’s just hope he fixed the problem for good and creates even more depth in the bullpen for the Cubs.
