Cubs president Jed Hoyer on bullpen construction: ‘I’ve put Rossy in a tough spot’

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has given his vote of confidence to manager David Ross whenever asked this season. On Tuesday, Hoyer took it a step further.

Fans have voiced plenty of frustration with Ross this season, but the most consistent complaints have revolved around bullpen management.

“I’ve put Rossy in a tough spot to a certain extent,” Hoyer said.

When Hoyer and his front office went about supplementing the bullpen this offseason, they followed a similar script to recent years. Going into 2021 and 2022, the Cubs signed veteran relievers Andrew Chafin, Ryan Tepera, Chris Martin, Mychal Givens and David Robertson, then traded them.

“We’ve, candidly, done a really good job of finding relievers that could come in and throw high-leverage innings at a relatively low cost on one-year deals,” Hoyer said. “And we’ve been building bullpens that way for a while. And this year, that hasn’t worked yet.

“And that’s on me.”

The Cubs brought in Michael Fulmer and Brad Boxberger as their veteran relievers on one-year deals. But Fulmer has had an up-and-down season and ran into some bad luck. Boxberger is on the 15-day injured list with a strained right forearm. Ross has adjusted his strategy accordingly with mixed results. Entering Tuesday, the Cubs bullpen’s 4.50 ERA ranked 24th in the majors.