The Cubs showed up to Wrigley Field Saturday with a drastically different bullpen than they had to begin the week.
Actually, the Cubs' bullpen has shifted dramatically even in the span of one day with Xavier Cedeno's addition into the mix after dealing with a wrist injury for the last couple months (Allen Webster hit the IL with a radial nerve issue in his right arm).
While the Cubs are still trying to maneuver everything without closer Pedro Strop (who hit the injured list Wednesday with a hamstring strain), they now have a trio of lefties in the bullpen after spending more than a week with Kyle Ryan as the only southpaw.
Cedeno's arrival changes the equation for the entire bullpen, but he will have a significant impact on how the Cubs will use Mike Montgomery.
Montgomery was activated off the injured list in Strop's spot Wednesday and threw 5 innings of relief Thursday after Yu Darvish, shutting down the Marlins in impressive fashion.
With Cedeno in the fold, that permits the Cubs to keep Montgomery in a long relief role if they choose (which could include piggybacking Darvish's starts in the short term) without having to rely on him for a one- or two-batter stretch against an opposition's tough lefties.
"To have the other lefty really permits the wild-card moment that Monty's capable of doing," Joe Maddon said. "He was good the other day. He was really good. I told him right afterwards, I loved his assertiveness, his confidence. Everything about him was just like, whoa. Really lasered in - his focus was that good. He maintains that, you're gonna see him do that often. That's not an anomaly moment for him.
MLB
"That's as good as I've seen him in a while, period. We had heard he threw like that in the minor leagues, came back up here, the guys told me in the bullpen was spectacular and then we saw it in the game."
Montgomery got off to a slow start in spring training because of a shoulder issue that prevented him from getting as stretched out as he - or the team - would've liked heading into the season. He started the year in the bullpen and struggled, hitting the injured list with a lat issue after only a week of action.
The Cubs took their time bringing Montgomery back, letting him get stretched out in the minor leagues to the point where he threw 6 innings and 76 pitches in his final rehab outing.
Now he's available for length out of the bullpen in extra inning games, if a starter is knocked out of a game early or even as an option to piggyback after Darvish, who is averaging just over 4 innings a start to date. Montgomery's length also allows the Cubs to give him a spot start if a need comes up or even go to a six-man rotation, though Maddon said the team probably wouldn't add an extra starter into the mix until after the All-Star Break at the earliest.
Meanwhile, Cedeno and Ryan form a valuable southpaw duo in the bullpen for shorter outings (though Maddon acknowledged Montgomery could still be available for brief appearances based on the availability of the other two lefties on a given day).
Ryan is solid against lefties, but induces a lot of weak contact and groundballs against right-handed hitters, too. He's had a tough week, but overall has a 2.04 FIP to go with 16 strikeouts in 13 innings and it did not take him long to enter Maddon's circle of trust.
The 32-year-old Cedeno has permitted a .223 batting average and .583 OPS against left-handed hitters over the course of his eight-year career. He was really good last year for the White Sox and Brewers, going 2-0 with a 2.43 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 48 outings.
Cedeno can be particularly effective for the Cubs as they finish out their series with the Brewers, who have some tough lefties - led by Christian Yelich and Mike Moustakas in the starting lineup, but also guys like Travis Shaw and Eric Thames off the bench.
After this weekend, the Cubs then move on to Cincinnati where some guy named Joey Votto resides and poses a big threat as a left-handed hitter.
This is exactly why the Cubs went out and signed Cedeno to a big-league deal right before spring training started.
"I've watched this guy pitch for a bit; been a big fan for a while," Maddon said. "He permits us to really match up left on left, however he's able to get righties out, too. Love his veteranship. It's exciting."
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Cubs easily on your device.