Sorting out the Cubs new powerhouse bullpen following the Chapman trade

Aroldis Chapman is in the fold, and this gives Joe Maddon plenty of flexibility

The Cubs on Monday completed a deal for shutdown closer Aroldis Chapman, which obviously gives them an improved bullpen as they barrel toward the postseason. Without Chapman, the Cubs' relief corps ranked seventh in the NL in bullpen ERA and ninth in bullpen FIP. So while it wasn't a glaring weakness, it was indeed weakness -- at least to the extent that teams on pace for 98 wins have such things.

Besides "merely" having a better bullpen, what kind of tactical flexibility does the Chapman addition allow Cubs manager Joe Maddon? Thus far, here's how Maddon's bullpen tendencies compare to other NL managers in 2016 ...

• He's much less likely to use a reliever for a multi-inning appearance.
• Similarly, he's much less likely to have his relievers record more than three outs apiece in a given game.
• He's much more likely to bring relievers in with runners on base.
• He's somewhat less likely to use his relievers on zero days' rest.

First and foremost, Chapman is among the very best at converting save opportunities. This, of course, is because he's among the very best relief pitchers. For his career, he's saved 90 percent of his chances, and over the last three seasons that figure is 94 percent. Again, there's nothing magical about working the ninth inning -- all of this is because he's a great relief pitcher. Anyhow, by comparison, the Cubs this season as a team have converted 66 percent of save opps, which ranks just 11th in the NL. That said, Hector Rondon, Chapman's predecessor in the role, has converted 82 percent of save chances this season. As ever, bullpen upgrades at the back end tend to be marginal in nature.

The big thing that Chapman does is give the Cubs more "swing and miss" in the pen. Heretofore, the Cubs rank a respectable fifth in the NL with a strikeouts as percentage of batters faced mark of 24.6. Chapman's mark for his career? It's a remarkable 42.4. Specifically, Maddon now has three elite bat-missers at his disposal. There's Chapman from the left side, and then from the right side he's got Rondon, who's struck out 35 percent of hitters this season, and Pedro Strop, who's struck out exactly one-third of opposing batters in 2016. That's a lot of velocity, and that's a high percentage of strikeouts. As the Royals showed up last season, having multiple fire-breathers ready in the pen can be a valuable tool in the postseason, and now the Cubs have that.

Chapman -- as mentioned and as widely suspected -- throws left-handed, which brings us to the matter of how the Cubs' bullpen has fared against left-handed batters this season. As it turns out, they've done quite well, limited lefties to a line of .225/.322/.370. Maddon can still parry lefties with Travis Wood and the newly acquired Mike Montgomery. Dream ahead, though. If, in the course of the NL playoff bracket, the Cubs find themselves opposing, say, Bryce Harper, Matt Carpenter, Corey Seager, or Brandon Belt in a high-leverage spot, then Maddon can now summon perhaps the most dominating left-hand reliever in history.

Speaking of flexibility, Chapman's being installed in the closer's role now allows Rondon to rove in the middle innings. This season, Rondon has entered the game before the ninth inning just five times in 38 appearances. Now with Chapman locking down the ninth, he's free to get vital outs whenever they arise. With his setup corps, Maddon can now attack lefties with Montgomery and Wood and blunt righties with Rondon and Strop. And then there's Chapman. Assuming the Cubs get to the playoffs (as of Monday morning, the SportsLine Projection System gives them a 98.4 percent chance of getting there), you'll be talking about narrowed down pen strengthened perhaps by the addition of the fifth starter, who won't be needed in his usual role during the postseason.

As with any relief addition, it's not just about the excellence of the reliever in question. It's also about how his presence cascades through the rest of the bullpen. That's particularly the case with someone the rare caliber of Chapman. There's a real discussion to be had as to whether the Cubs paid too much for perhaps three months of a reliever who's slated for free agency, but there shouldn't be any question that Chapman's addition gives the Cubs the potential for a lockdown playoff bullpen. That, of course, was the whole point.