Ryan Rolison Seizing Opportunity In Cubs Bullpen
Injuries opened the door for Ryan Rolison. The Cubs' surprise reliever is quickly proving his worth with a dominant, six-pitch arsenal.
The Chicago Cubs have gone through a lot of different bullpen arms to start the season. With Daniel Palencia, Hunter Harvey, Phil Maton, and Caleb Thielbar all on the 15-day injured list , the Cubs have needed to call up a handful of pitchers from Triple-A. That includes pitchers like Riley Martin, Corbin Martin, and Vince Velasquez.
But the biggest surprise in this revamped bullpen has been Ryan Rolison. The Cubs claimed Rolison in early January after the Chicago White Sox designated him for assignment. Although Rolison struggled in his rookie season with the Colorado Rockies in 2025, Chicago saw his potential as a reliever.
That potential has no doubt been on display in his short time in the Cubs organization. Rolison got off to a solid start at Triple-A Iowa to begin the season. The southpaw had a 3.
68 ERA and 11 strikeouts across 7 ⅓ innings pitched and posted strong metrics in his five appearances. He had an 82. 5 mph average exit velocity, a 0% barrel rate, a 20% hard-hit rate, and a 35.