How the Cubs made their pitch to Michael Fulmer, who might become their next closer
MESA, Ariz. — Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts once joined a recruiting dinner with Jon Lester because his top baseball executives felt his presence could help sell a vision of the future at Wrigley Field. A group of Cubs officials once traveled to Texas to meet with Yu Darvish and outline their philosophies, putting him at ease before a major decision. Those free agents were obviously exceptional.
Michael Fulmer was once on a trajectory that would’ve had him potentially sitting down with owners and weighing the years of security that those top-of-the-rotation starters can command. The New York Mets used a supplemental first-round draft pick to select Fulmer out of Deer Creek High School in Oklahoma in 2011. The Mets packaged Fulmer in a trade for Yoenis Céspedes, whose presence electrified the team that swept the Cubs out of the 2015 National League Championship Series. Fulmer then pitched in a Detroit Tigers rotation with Justin Verlander, becoming the American League’s Rookie of the Year in 2016 and an All-Star the following season.
In the Zoom era, the Cubs typically assign three staffers to make the initial presentation during their video conferences with free-agent pitchers: pitching coach Tommy Hottovy; Craig Breslow, an assistant general manager and vice president of pitching; and Ryan Otero, the organization’s assistant director of pitching. After deconstructing their bullpen at the last two trade deadlines — and overhauling player development in recent years — the Cubs are betting that they can continue to identify relievers with upside and ultimately win again with pitching and defense.
“They were one of the first teams to contact me,” Fulmer said. “Before any dollar figures were exchanged or anything like that, they were saying, ‘Look, this is what we think you can work on. Whether you sign here or not, we think you can benefit by throwing this pitch or something with this shape. Obviously, our interest level is high. We’d love to have you. But even if things don’t work out, this is how we think you can get better.'”
Fulmer’s path reminds Hottovy of the way that Wade Davis reinvented himself. Davis applied the skills and knowledge he developed as a decent starting pitcher to become a dominant reliever for the Kansas City Royals. When the defending World Series champs wanted an elite closer, the Cubs traded Jorge Soler for Davis, whose Game 4 save in the 2017 NLCS still marks the team’s last playoff victory.
Fulmer, who will turn 30 on Wednesday, felt those Cubs officials came across as genuine and ended the meeting more intrigued about the opportunity in Chicago. Hottovy also clarified that the team remains somewhat guarded around free agents: “We give them the majority of the ingredients. We don’t give them the entire thing.”
“But we give them enough to where we’re like, ‘Look, we really think this can help. You’ve already done some things really, really well. Here are some things — if you sign with us — that we would focus on,'” Hottovy said. “Guys appreciate that. Some teams feel unwilling to share information or even a plan. OK, you sign, you show up, now what are we going to do? We try to give them the plan as early as possible.”
Once the pitcher signs, the Cubs usually follow up with a more formal presentation that includes bullpen coach Chris Young, assistant pitching coach Daniel Moskos and major-league pitching strategist Danny Hultzen. Craig Driver, the game strategy/catching coach, is also considered part of the pitching group. Cubs manager David Ross obviously has strong opinions about how those areas should be run, given his 15 years of experience as a major-league catcher.
Looking back, Fulmer sort of pitched like a reliever when he was a starter, relying on his stuff and attacking the strike zone. That aggressive mentality works out of the bullpen, where he eventually landed after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2019. He saved 14 games for the Tigers in 2021 and finished that season with a 2.97 ERA in nearly 70 innings. He pitched his way out of Detroit and onto the Minnesota Twins at last year’s trade deadline.
The Cubs view Fulmer and Brad Boxberger as their primary options for the ninth inning. Boxberger, who signed a one-year, $2.8 million contract this past offseason, has 82 career saves and a long track record of durability and reliability. Brandon Hughes saved eight games after last year’s trade deadline — and finished his rookie season with a 3.12 ERA in 57 appearances — but he might be the only left-handed reliever on the Opening Day roster.
“They had conversations about (closing), but I kind of inferred it as me having to win a job,” Fulmer said. “This clubhouse is full of great relievers. I know a lot of them had closing opportunities last year, which is great. A well-rounded bullpen like that — where you can put any guy in any situation — is huge. Whatever Rossy says, whatever he feels — I know he’s big on matchups — we got a great group of guys. Anybody can do it. Would I love to be back there? Absolutely. That’s just kind of the way I’m wired. When the game’s on the line, I want to be pitching.”
The Cubs obviously don’t succeed with every waiver claim and minor-league deal. The organization’s struggles with developing homegrown pitchers have been well-documented. The true measure of this pitching infrastructure will be wins and losses this year and whether the rotation and the bullpen can consistently function at a high level for an entire season. But there are plenty of recent examples here: Craig Kimbrel and David Robertson reestablishing themselves as closers; contending teams trading for Andrew Chafin, Ryan Tepera, Mychal Givens and Scott Effross; and Chris Martin landing a two-year, $17.5 million contract with the Boston Red Sox.
“I don’t ever want to take credit away from the guys who were here,” Ross said. “You have to give them that credit. They came in and did all that stuff. What I love about the success we’ve had down there is taking some of those veteran guys and having them pitch to their strengths. The pitching group as a whole just tries to identify what these guys do well, and make sure they know why we bring them in and how we set them up for success from a matchup standpoint. Again, we can do all the work we want to do, but those guys have to go out and do it. I like the fact that we’ve got guys who have done it before.”
For as much as the Cubs targeted Fulmer and tried to make him feel wanted, it still took until mid-February to close a one-year, $4 million deal.
“It lasted a little longer than expected,” Fulmer said, “but I’m very glad everything worked out.”
(Top photo of Michael Fulmer: Matt Kartozian / USA Today)
