DENVER -- One goal the Cubs have over the next two months is to evaluate some of their in-house arms with an eye toward next season and beyond. The bullpen, in particular, has some intriguing options with plenty of innings up for grabs.\n\nHaving a foundation of up-and-coming relievers is a welcomed development for manager David Ross, as he now shifts an eye to the future.\n\n• Box score\n\n\"That's something that this organization has lacked in a little bit,\" Ross said prior to Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Rockies at Coors Field. \"And it looks like it's starting to sprinkle in and we're doing a nice job of developing some pitchers and finding out who can help us and who can't.\n\n\"That's a nice starting place -- the pitching area -- to find what you're going into the offseason with and what you need to get.\"\n\nIn the wake of the recent trades that shipped Craig Kimbrel (White Sox), Ryan Tepera (White Sox) and Andrew Chafin (A's) elsewhere, the Cubs have a wide-open bullpen situation. On Wednesday night, a strong start by Alec Mills and a three-run double by Patrick Wisdom provided the latest late-inning testing ground.
With that in mind, here are three bullpen arms to monitor down the stretch:\n\n**1\\. RHP
**2 RHP @manuel rodrígManuel Rodríguez**
Ross is not ready to apply the \"future closer\" label on the hard-throwing rookie Rodríguez, but the manager understands why fans might start dreaming that way.\n\n\"I don't want to put that on somebody,\" Ross said. \"I think he definitely has the stuff. I mean, 100 [mph] with two secondary pitches, sure, you could make that assumption. I don't know. It takes a lot of experience of handling those moments.\"\n\nThe 24-year-old Rodríguez flashed triple digits on the radar gun in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and has done so since coming up from Triple-A Iowa after the Deadline moves. Beyond the high-octane fastballs (sinker and slider), the righty also has impressed Ross with his cutter and breaking ball.\n\nThat repertoire helped Rodríguez post a 1.31 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings between Double-A And Triple-A this season.\n\nBeyond the stuff, Ross has also liked Rodríguez's composure. That actually included the pitcher's reaction to allowing a walk-off home run on Sunday against the Nationals.\n\n\"It doesn't look like he's going to be fazed by too much,\" Ross said. \"I was really impressed with that. It's not how you handle success. It's how you handle adversity. And that's definitely a moment where you're watching him walk off the field like, 'Wow, this kid is pretty impressive,' in just his demeanor.\"\n\nRoss gave Rodríguez the ninth inning on Wednesday night and the rookie responded by picking up his first career save. He sat 97-99 mph with his sinker, recorded one strikeout and dodged the potential harm of a two-out single.
**3\\. RHP