The Cubs definitely need a closer. But I feel it's a bit of a catch 22:
- If Hoyer deems the need immediate, the pool of closers on the market is likely limited to a handful of teams that really suck: Marlins (Scott), W-Sox (Kopech), Houston (Hader), LAA (Estevez), and Rockies (?). And Hader's contract at 5 years @ $19M is ugly.
- Hodgepodge together a bullpen for the next 45-60 days with expectation more closers will be on the market.
While the 2nd option isn't ideal, it might be necessary because teams looking to trade now should be able to command a bigger trade return. But if the Cubs FO feels like their MiLB prospect pool is deep, why wait.
IMO the bright spot is the Cubs have a surplus of arms on the 40 man roster to lean on and maybe a couple can step up. Also, the strength of this roster has been starter arms. So Counsell can lean on guys (Brown, Wesneski, Smyly) who can pitch 2-3 inning of mid-relief vs. accumulating innings on guys like Leiter, Almonte, Alzolay, Neris and Palencia.