Bullpen injuries aren't hurting the Cubs… yet

On July 25, the Chicago Cubs traded for flame-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman, and sent four players to the New York Yankees. It seemed a little redundant, though. The Cubs had a fantastic bullpen, one of the best in the majors, and though Chapman is outstanding it felt like they were gilding the lily.

It turns out that acquiring Chapman wasn’t redundant at all. In the eighth inning of Wednesday night’s game, reliever Pedro Strop injured his knee while trying to field a grounder. Strop, a solid setup guy with a 2.89 ERA, isn’t alone on the injury bench, either. Hector Rondon, the team’s former closer (in the pre-Chapman days), has been sidelined with triceps tightness for a week. Rondon has been excellent for the Cubs, with a 1.70 ERA in 42.1 innings

The Strop-less Cubs face their division rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, at 8:10 pm ET, and you can watch for free. Why? Because it’s Yahoo Sports’ MLB Free Game of the Day! You can stream the game on the Yahoo Sports app, Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index, video home and this very post. Local blackouts apply, per MLB rules.

With two relievers down, where do the Cubs go from here? As far as saves, they have Aroldis Chapman, who has picked up all the Cubs’ saves since he was traded to Chicago. If Rondon’s triceps tightness heals soon, the Cubs have a variety of situations where he’d be useful (eighth inning, non-save situations, and saves if Chapman needs the night off). But if Rondon needs more time, where does that leave them?

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The answer might be rookie reliever Carl Edwards Jr, who’s been with the Cubs since late June. In Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Angels, 24-year-old Edwards came in to replace Kerry Wood, who had replaced the injured Strop. With runners on second and third and no outs, Edwards struck out Mike Trout with a 95.6 mph fastball, then got the next two batters to ground out to end the inning.

Maddon has been reluctant to use their young gun too much, wanting to keep Edwards, who has a sparkling 1.42 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 19 innings, strong for moments when they’ll really need him. But with relievers dropping like flies, that moment may have arrived already. Like your grandmother’s couch, it might be time for Maddon to take off the protective plastic and start using Edwards more often.

With nine straight wins, these bullpen problems haven’t slowed the Cubs roll — yet. They want to clinch as soon as possible, and if they keep winning at this rate, they certainly will. But their bullpen is in a precarious position. Guys have to get well soon, because if anyone else in the ‘pen goes down, the Cubs might actually start to feel it.