The Chicago Cubs' final bullpen spot for the 2026 season is currently up for grabs.
Ben Brown, Javier Assad, Porter Hodge, Jordan Wicks, Luke Little, Trent Thornton, and Corbin Martin are all currently in the running to earn that final bullpen spot. All seven of these relievers will be battling it out all throughout Spring Training.
However, another reliever might have just been added to that list following an impressive spring showing against the Chicago White Sox on Friday afternoon.
Reliever Gavin Hollowell struck out the side in his only inning in Friday’s loss. He set the White Sox down quickly in the sixth, with a swinging strikeout and two strikeouts looking. In both strikeouts looking, Hollowell leaned on his devious sweeper.
He set up both White Sox hitters with a few fastballs to begin the at-bat. He then came back with his sweeper to catch both hitters off balance. Both Braden Montgomery and Munetaka Murakami were thrown off and went down without swinging.
The Cubs have seen this kind of strong performance from Hollowell before. He made seven appearances in the Majors last season and put together some solid numbers in those limited innings.
Outside of allowing four earned runs against the Brewers in mid-August, Hollowell looked good on the mound. He gave up one run across 7 ⅓ innings pitched (1.23 ERA) with eight strikeouts in his first six appearances last year.
The key for Hollowell is getting more swing-and-miss on that nasty sweeper. He only had a 16.7% whiff rate with a 13% putaway rate on that pitch a season ago. Opposing hitters also had a .308 batting average with a .538 slugging on that sweeper in 2025.
So, that sweeper has to be more consistent for Hollowell. With a 36-inch vertical drop at a 10° arm angle, that pitch has the potential to be elite for the right-hander. It’s all about putting it together now.
Following his strong relief appearance in the Spring Training opener, Hollowell is definitely in the running to make the Cubs Opening Day roster. The team is looking for one reliever to step up, and that pitcher could be him.
Hollowell faced all left-handed batters in his one inning on Friday, throwing 12 of 15 pitches for strikes. He induced one whiff on his sinker, and three of the six sweepers he threw were called for a strike.
If Hollowell keeps pitching like he did against the White Sox, he could win that final bullpen spot out of Spring Training.