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After two blown saves in two chances, Jose Veras is no longer the Cubs closer.
Following a disaster of an outing Friday night -- in which the Cubs eventually won, no thanks to Veras -- manager Rick Renteria initially stuck by Veras. Saturday, though, Renteria told reporters that he spoke with Veras and decided to start giving other relievers chances to close games (Jesse Rogers).
Through four outings this season, Veras has a 12.27 ERA, 2.46 WHIP, seven walks, three hit batsmen and one wild pitch in 3 2/3 innings. The numbers don't even do justice to what he actually looks like on the hill. Basically, it looks like he has no clue where the ball is going on any given pitch.
Pedro Strop seems a likely fix, as he is the eighth-inning guy, but Justin Grimm and Hector Rondon are also reasonable options in the ninth. Rondon actually picked up the save in the 11th inning Friday night.
The Cubs are 4-6, but four of those losses came by just one run.
