2026 Iowa Cubs Position Previews Part 2: Bullpen

One of the most noteworthy occurrences at Principal Park in Des Moines this offseason has been the construction of new bullpens. Once located within the field of play on the warning tracks, they have moved to a walled off area down each line where seats were removed. Alas, I’m not writing today to discuss the merits of relocating the bullpens, rather the main inhabitants of that area…relievers. Admittedly, the relief corps is the most chaotic and difficult position to nail down on a Triple-A roster so there are plenty of names listed and certainly others that could end up in the fold by the time camp breaks in Arizona.

Once again, we’ll start with a glance at how the bullpen was constructed in Chicago. Many of the arms that carried the load late in games during the postseason have moved on. That list includes Brad Keller, Andrew Kittredge and Drew Pomeranz. Those departures don’t necessarily guarantee openings on the big league roster for members of the I-Cubs 2025 bullpen. In fact, most of those roles figure to be filled by free agent acquisitions like Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, Jacob Webb and Hoby Milner. Caleb Thielbar and Daniel Palencia are back and the rest of the roster spots may be rounded out by pitchers who were used primarily in a starting role last season.

Just looking at the projected bullpen above, I feel like there is a good chance that the bullpen in Iowa looks very similar to how it did for much of the 2025 season. There are plenty of arms that bounced back-and-forth from Des Moines to Chicago like Porter Hodge, Ethan Roberts, Luke Little and Gavin Hollowell as well as southpaw Riley Martin who was tremendous last season and added to the 40-man roster in November. Last season, the I-Cubs broke camp with 15 pitchers on the roster so I would imagine there will be approximately 8 relievers from this list in the Iowa bullpen to start the new campaign with a couple of players from the starting pitcher article also possibilities.

Here is the group I have focused on today broken down into three groups: Porter Hodge, Ethan Roberts, Luke Little, Gavin Hollowell, Riley Martin, Jack Neely, Ryan Rolison, Nick Hull, Zane Mills, Trent Thornton, Collin Snider, Corbin Martin, Jeff Brigham, Gabe Klobosits and Yacksel Rios.

Porter Hodge

What a difference a year makes. That phrase keeps coming to mind when thinking about Hodge heading into 2026. Two seasons ago, he burst onto the scene and put together a dominant, if not historic, rookie season out of the bullpen in Chicago. That performance had many thinking he would be a staple in leverage situations for the Cubs for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, injury and a couple of forgettable outings prevented that vision from becoming reality in 2025. Hodge opened the year with five consecutive scoreless appearances, and all seemed well. A tough outing against Arizona on April 18 was followed by another long stretch of scoreless work until an oblique injury changed the course of the campaign for the Utah native. Following a month on the IL and a rehab assignment in Iowa, Hodge went back to Chicago and allowed seven runs in in his first 4.1 innings back. That led to another stretch with the I-Cubs before he closed the year back in the Cubs pen looking much more like his start to the season. Still just 24, can Hodge force his way into the opening day bullpen in Chicago or, better yet, return to the form that led to his magical rookie season?

Ethan Roberts

For most of the 2025 season you would have to forgive Ethan Roberts if he woke up each morning and needed a moment to remember what city he was in. Such is the life of a reliever in Triple-A. Roberts, who has pitched in 40 games for the Cubs since 2022, was optioned to Iowa five teams between April and September and recalled to Chicago on four occasions. The constant stream of transactions caused him to throw just 50.2 innings over 46 combined appearances in Triple-A and MLB. Armed with a sweeper that averaged over 20 inches of horizontal break, Roberts was brilliant throughout his time in Des Moines a season ago. The 28-year-old right-hander is another year removed from his 2022 Tommy John surgery and hoping to throw more innings in 2026, preferably in Chicago.

Luke Little

One of the biggest personalities in the Cubs farm system also cuts one of the most imposing figures on the mound. Little, who stands 6’8, is coming off a really solid 2025 campaign in Iowa in which he posted a 2.87 ERA, struck out 75 batters in 59.2 innings and allowed the opposition to hit just .174. On the other hand, his dominant work in Triple-A only translated two 2.2 innings with the Cubs, during which he issued six walks. Considering he pitched well in 37 appearances with Chicago during the previous two seasons, you have to believe Little and the Cubs had higher expectations going into last season. The southpaw’s velocity was down a bit early in 2025 and he talked about getting closer to where he wanted to be toward the latter part of the slate. I talked to Luke briefly at the Cubs Convention in January and he seemed optimistic (per usual) about everything heading into camp.

Gavin Hollowell

Another imposing figure on the hill, the 6’7 Hollowell spent a bulk of 2025 pitching for the I-Cubs. He also pitched in seven games for the big league club, allowing runs in just two of those opportunities. The right-hander traveled the path from Des Moines to the Windy City as much as anyone in 2025, having been recalled four different times. Between the Rockies and the Cubs, Hollowell has 40 games of MLB experience under his belt over four seasons. I would imagine he will once again be a preferred option should injuries or a heavy workload strike in Chicago.

Riley Martin

Martin was one of my favorite pitchers to watch during my first year broadcasting games in the Cubs farm system. The lefty spent the entire season with the I-Cubs and pitched in a career-high 47 games. He talks about wanting to attack hitters and get ahead in the count with strike one, something that was evident from the jump in 2026. The walk numbers had always been the primary concern with Martin and sometimes overshadowed his eye-popping strikeout numbers. For the most part, his command was never a major problem in 2025, and he continued to miss bats with regularity. Opponents are hitting just .209 against him for his professional career. I firmly believe that if he comes even close to matching his level of performance from last year, he will be rewarded with his MLB debut at some point this spring/summer.

Jack Neely

This is another case of a pitcher coming off a season they would probably like to forget. Acquired in the Jack Leiter Jr. deal from the Yankees last July, Neely pitched eight times for the I-Cubs in 2024 and then made his MLB debut with the Cubs in September. The mustachioed right-hander came into 2025 with the expectation of building off that debut in a big way. The season started well with five consecutive scoreless outings including a couple of saves. However, his earned run average was 6.00 or higher in each of the first three months and a two-game stretch in June during which 10 consecutive hitters reached base against him led to a two-month stint on the injured list. The good news is that when healthy, Neely bounced back and closed the campaign with four scoreless outings in a row.

Ryan Rolison

Rolison was claimed off waivers by the Cubs on January 7, ending a wild offseason for the former first round pick of the Rockies. The southpaw split the 2025 season between Colorado and the Rockies Triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque, making his MLB debut in May. Pitching at Coors Field for the bulk of your outings is always a tough way to start a career as a pitcher and Rolison allowed 11 home runs in his 42.1 innings on the bump while walking 20 and striking out 25. Since the season ended, Rolison was designated for assignment by Colorado, traded to Atlanta, designated for assignment again, claimed off waivers by the White Sox and then designated for assignment a final time before latching on with the Cubs. The 28-year-old put together a solid season in the Pacific Coast League a year ago and may get his first look at the International League to start 2026.

Nick Hull

The first player on this list without previous Triple-A experience, Hull spent the entirety of 2025 pitching for the Double-A Knoxville Smokies. A role in the Triple-A bullpen may be tough to grab for someone like Hull early in the season, considering the amount of potential returning arms with big league service time and veterans signed to minor league deals. However, following a solid season with the Smokies (3.61 ERA), he figures to get a chance to pitch in Des Moines at some point. His numbers don’t really jump off the page, but he has been effective throughout his career at getting people out and that really is the name of the game in the end.

Zane Mills

Mills came to the Cubs by way of the Triple-A phase of last December’s Rule 5 Draft. His first five seasons of pro ball were spent with St. Louis after the Cardinals used their fourth-round pick on him back in 2021. Mills slowly climbed the rungs of the Cardinals organizational ladder and made his way to Triple-A for the first time last season for a brief stint. A bulk of the year was spent at Double-A Springfield, where he 5-5 with a 4.91 ERA. Based on the way the Cubs assigned relievers coming out of camp last year, Mills may be destined for Knoxville to begin 2026 but certainly could be a factor in Des Moines sooner rather than later.

Trent Thornton

Thornton, a veteran with experience at the Major League level in seven seasons, was inked to a Minor League deal by the Cubs on January 23. The 32-year-old has been traded twice in his career, with the initial deal sending him from Houston (who drafted him) to Toronto in 2018. He made his MLB debut with the Blue Jays as a starter in 2019 before moving to the bullpen almost exclusively in 2021. Thornton pitched in 108 games with Toronto before being dealt to Seattle in July of 2023. A key member of the Mariners pen in 2024 with a 3.61 ERA over 71 games, he ran into some bad injury luck last year. Appendicitis knocked him out of action in May and an achilles tear brought his season to an end in August after just 33 appearances. Thornton features an impressive track record at the game’s highest level, but his bounce back from a significant injury could determine what his role with the Cubs looks like.

Collin Snider

Like Thornton above, Snider also spent the 2025 season in Seattle’s bullpen. He was throwing the ball well early in the season before a rough outing against Washington in late May did damage to his numbers and a right forearm flexor strain put him on the injured list for about a month. He went to Triple-A Tacoma on a rehab assignment and never left, making his final 25 appearances of the season with the Rainiers. He could never regain his early season form, allowing 10 home runs and 38 hits in 25.2 innings in the Pacific Coast League. Snider is no stranger to the Midwest, having begun his career in the Royals organization, including significant time in Omaha.

Corbin Martin

Martin, a former second round pick of the Astros out of Texas A&M, was a premier pitching prospect early in his career. He quickly made it to the big leagues for his debut with the Astros in 2019 but underwent Tommy John surgery just a few weeks later. Despite the injury, he was part of a massive haul secured by Arizona in the Zack Greinke trade in July of that year. The timing of the COVID-19 pandemic couldn’t have been worse for the rehabbing Martin, who had nowhere to pitch in games with the Minor League season having been canceled in 2020. He ended up pitching in just seven games with the Diamondbacks in 2021 and 2022, missed the entire 2023 season with injury and didn’t appear in an MLB game again until last season with Baltimore. Martin made 17 appearances out of the Orioles bullpen but spent most of the campaign pitching in Triple-A Norfolk where he posted a 5.82 ERA.

Jeff Brigham

The 33-year-old Brigham celebrated the holidays by signing a minor league deal with the Cubs on Christmas Day. The right-hander has logged MLB appearances in six of the last eight seasons for the Marlins, Mets and Diamondbacks. A product of the University of Washington, Brigham spent 2025 with Arizona, making four appearances with the big league club and 17 more in Triple-A Reno. A couple of stints on the injured list in July led to an August release. Brigham last pitched in the International League in 2024, when he struck out 59 hitters in 42.2 innings for St. Paul.

Gabe Klobosits

One of the most recent signees to a minor league deal with the Cubs, Klobosits was added to the fold on February 4. He is certainly an interesting case, having spent the last two years pitching in independent ball. A 36^th round pick in the 2017 MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals, Klobosits was nearly unhittable as he slowly advanced through the organization. His dominance led to his MLB debut in 2021, where he made 11 appearances. After being designated for assignment early the next year, Klobosits spent the next two seasons in Triple-A with the A’s and Blue Jays but never received another chance in MLB. In an effort to keep his career alive, the 30-year-old has spent the last two summers pitching for Gastonia and High Point in the Atlantic League and Cleburne of the American Association. The move paid off with impressive results and has given him another chance with the Cubs.

Yacksel Rios

Our final pitcher on this list is another veteran with a bevy of experience in MLB. Rios, who signed a minor league deal on January 24, has six seasons of big league experience with five different organizations under his belt. Due to injury, Rios spent most of the 2025 season on the injured list, making only a couple of appearances for the Mets Triple-A affiliate. When healthy over the last handful of years, Rios has put up solid numbers. Good health has been fleeting, however. The last time that he made it through a full season with a regular workload was 2021. He has always had success at the Triple-A level so at the very least Rios could be a nice arm for the I-Cubs, but if he can stay healthy perhaps more will be on the plate for the native of Puerto Rico in 2026.

Other Positions

Starting Pitchers

Catchers