CTBC Brothers Bullpen Overhaul: Rick Shifts to Relief Role to Stabilize Pitching
- The CTBC Brothers are implementing significant adjustments to their pitching staff as they struggle with a bullpen that currently holds the highest earned run average in the Chinese...
- To address these defensive vulnerabilities, the team has transitioned pitcher Rick to a relief role to provide much-needed stability to the bullpen.
- The severity of the Brothers' bullpen struggles has drawn analysis from veteran pitcher Wang Chien-ming.
The CTBC Brothers are implementing significant adjustments to their pitching staff as they struggle with a bullpen that currently holds the highest earned run average in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), with a figure exceeding 6.00.
To address these defensive vulnerabilities, the team has transitioned pitcher Rick to a relief role to provide much-needed stability to the bullpen. This strategic shift comes amid calls for bolder pitching management to move away from a trend of quick collapses in the later innings of games.
Technical Failures and Pitching Analysis
The severity of the Brothers’ bullpen struggles has drawn analysis from veteran pitcher Wang Chien-ming. Wang identified a specific technical flaw in the current relief performances, noting that the pitches being delivered are consistently landing in positions 1 through 6 of the strike zone.
This lack of variety and precision in pitch location has made the relief corps predictable for opposing batters. The impact of these struggles was evident during a game on April 13, 2026, when the Uni-President Lions secured an 8-2 victory over the CTBC Brothers.
In that matchup, the Brothers held a 2-1 lead entering the seventh inning, supported by starter Chiang Chih-hsien. However, the lead vanished during a seven-run surge by the Lions in the top of the seventh. The rally began with a leadoff walk to Lin An-ko and culminated in a three-run home run to left-center by Chu Yu-hsien.
The collapse was specifically attributed to reliever Chen Po-chieh. Analysis of the performance indicated that while Chen’s velocity actually increased during the inning, his location suffered. He abandoned his reliance on breaking balls in favor of fastball-heavy sequences, leaving too many pitches over the plate in critical counts.
Roster Adjustments and Rotation Shifts
The decision to move Rick to the bullpen is intended to stop the bleeding in middle-to-late innings, but it creates a ripple effect throughout the team’s pitching rotation. The movement of a foreign pitcher into a relief role necessitates changes in who takes the mound for scheduled starts.
On April 12, 2026, the Brothers utilized local left-handed pitcher Wei Shuo-cheng as a starter. The management of the rotation remains fluid, as the timing of De Paula’s return is now considered a critical variable in stabilizing the team’s overall pitching strategy.
The team is currently balancing the immediate need for bullpen reliability with the long-term requirement of a consistent starting rotation. The transition of Rick is a temporary measure to shore up the defense while awaiting the return of key personnel.
League Context and Performance Trends
These struggles follow a high-stakes 2025 season for the CTBC Brothers. During the 2025 CPBL campaign, the Brothers successfully won the pennant. However, they were unable to secure the championship in the Taiwan Series, where they were defeated by the Rakuten Monkeys four games to one.
The 2025 season also saw the retirement of CPBL all-time home run leader Chih-Sheng Lin, marking a transitional period for the league’s offensive and defensive landscapes.
For the CTBC Brothers, the current 2026 early-season trend suggests that while their starting pitching may be capable of maintaining leads, the inability of the bullpen to close out games remains their primary liability. The failure of the bullpen under pressure, as seen in the April 13 loss, highlights a need for the bolder
management mentioned in recent sports columns to prevent further losses.
The team’s ability to integrate Rick effectively into the relief corps and the eventual return of De Paula will determine if the Brothers can lower their league-high bullpen ERA and return to the form that saw them win the pennant the previous year.