#closer-role

#closer-role

For as much as I really do appreciate Craig Counsell as manager of the Chicago Cubs, he has one quirk that always rubs me the wrong way. And that's when he refuses to identify the roles of any pitcher, particularly relievers, electing instead to label them all as "out-getters." It's like, yeah, I get what you mean (and you're not wrong to operate that way), but can you just answer the question?

Chapman was a blizzard of dominance in 2025. Already one of the greatest closers of his generation, Chapman posted career bests in ERA+, walk rate, strikeout-to-walk ratio, and WHIP, while posting the second-best hits-per-nine-innings rate of his career. He was outstanding. And yet... I'm not completely sold on him as we enter 2026. I was skeptical of him last year and he shoved it in my face, so feel free to ignore me.

He's such a great fit for us and he wanted to be here. I don't want to speak for him but I think his goal and his first choice was to be back in Atlanta. We're glad that we were able to get it done and he's just a great fit for us.