Watch CBS News

Levine: Cubs' Rondon Ready To Move Aside For Closer Chapman

By Bruce Levine--

CHICAGO (CBS) – Monday's acquisition of new closer Aroldis Chapman shifts right-handed reliever Hector Rondon into the primary setup man for the Cubs.

The road to the closer's job came with a ton of hard work and dedication for Rondon. This type of demotion could dampen the spirit of a young pitcher -- especially one who closed for a team that reached the NLCS in 2015 -- but the affable Rondon has put on a happy face and is fine with passing the closer's baton to his new teammate.

"I like it, I like it," Rondon said when asked of the addition of Chapman. "He is one of the best relievers we have right now (in baseball). I agree with that, and I know I have done a really good job in my role. We will see what happens."

Rondon has converted 18 of 22 save chances this season and carried a 1.95 ERA into Monday's game. Although he isn't a household name in baseball, he has been really solid for the Cubs.

"Everything is about winning," Rondon said. "It does not matter if we win 10-1 or 1-0. If we win I am happy."

The Cubs' run differential in the first three months of the season prevented many save opportunities for Rondon and his bullpen mates. As of late, he had begun to get on a good pace in his role. Now, he'll enter before the ninth inning.

Chapman has a 2.01 ERA this season and is considered the most dominant reliever in baseball by many.

"They did a really good job of getting that guy," Rondon said. "If you have a chance to get a guy like Chapman, you better take it."

Cubs manager Joe Maddon has the pleasant task of putting Chapman at the end of the group of hard throwers he has available.

"I have not talked to Hector yet," Maddon said. "I will, of course, but I know he is all on board with this. The entire group is. When the team sees that an acquisition raises the level of your abilities, it is an easy sell.

"The tougher sell is when it's a lateral-type move, when you can't see the push or the impact. When you acquire a gentleman like this to play at the back end of your game, everybody recognizes the results."

Chapman is under contract control only until the end of the season. The Cubs' chance of re-signing him will be good if the results from this year equal a deep playoff run.

"What happens with our bullpen now is you put the anchor on the back side," Maddon said. "That permits you to do what you do with the lineup, like adding one more great hitter. Chapman is a unique pitcher. It is unique throughout the history of the game -- his ability to throw that hard regularly. He is very resilient. The one thing I stress more than anything about is the bullpen. The big part of that is setting it up against that particular team that game. He is the type of guy that allows you to not run other people down. The trick than is to not run him down."

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.