MESA, Ariz. — Cubs reliever Michael Rucker’s offseason program included building a mini gym in his garage. He only had a 8-by-12-foot section of the garage to work with, so he had to be efficient.
“I’m really excited with how it turned out,” he told the Sun-Times, flipping through the pictures on his phone.
A big focus for Rucker this offseason was gaining strength so he’d be available for more back-to-backs, or whenever manager David Ross calls his name. Rucker, entering his third big-league season, debuted in 2021 and began to establish himself in a middle relief role last year.
“Coming into this year, for a lot of us young guys, it’s not a done deal making the team out of camp,” Rucker said when asked about his goals this year. “So, continuing to establish myself, and say that I’m a part of this team, and I can contribute, and I want to help this team win, and I’m going to do all I can to do that.”
The Cubs brought in veteran pitchers Brad Boxberger and Michael Fulmer to supplement an otherwise young bullpen.
The group left in the second half of the season, thrust into higher leverage roles after the Cubs traded their back-end relievers at the deadline, still managed a 4.21 ERA in the last two months of the season, top six in the National League. But with 17 pitchers in camp on non-roster invite deals, there’s a lot of competition for limited Opening Day roster spots.
“It helps having flexibility in everybody,” Fulmer said. “Anybody can go out and pitch ninth, anybody can go out and pitch the sixth and seventh. It doesn’t matter, as long as we all root for each other, we do good and stay together as a unit in the bullpen.”
For Rucker, building off last year began with a literal building project.
He laid down plywood as the platform base, and then stall mats on the sides — cutting through the three-quarter-inch-thick rubber with an X-ACTO knife — and maple in the middle. He assembled a power rack and bench to sit on top. In all, from ordering the supplies to putting in the final touches, he completed his gym in two months.
Happy trails, Doc Adams
The Cubs announced Tuesday that longtime team doctor and medical director Stephen Adams is retiring.
Adams, or “Doc Adams,” as he’s often called, has been affiliated with the Cubs since the 1980s, when he covered the first aid station at Wrigley Field. He’s been the head team physician and medical director since 2000. Even in retirement, he’ll remain tied to the Cubs, serving as a special adviser to the president and general manager.
“Dr. Adams has had such a positive impact not only on the Chicago Cubs but also on the sport’s medical policies and guidelines,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said in a team release. “His service, empathy and dedication to our organization and the game has benefited countless players, uniformed personnel and front office associates. We thank Dr. Adams for his many years of caring for our team, staff and families.”
