The Cubs threw money at their bullpen problem and it still may not be enough.

The team signed Craig Kimbrel to a three-year, $43 million deal in June, hoping a lockdown closer would fix their awful bullpen. Instead, Kimbrel has contributed to the instability and is now headed to the IL with right knee inflammation.

“Timing-wise, I was getting real close,” Kimbrel, who believes he will be back in 10 days, told MLB.com. “I was feeling really good. … It’s unfortunate I have to take a little break, but hopefully it’s a good thing.”

Kimbrel had notched two saves in a row before feeling pain in his knee, but his time with the Cubs has been wildly inconsistent with two blown saves in 11 opportunities and a 5.68 ERA.

The 61-51 Cubs still have a 2 1/2 game lead in the NL Central over the Cardinals and are more likely than not to make the postseason. How far they go could depend on the effectiveness of that bullpen. That takes us back to last October when the Red Sox won the World Series in spite of a struggling Kimbrel, who allowed runs in five of his nine outings and put Boston fans’ hearts in their throats anytime he walked out to the mound.

Those struggles were at least part of the reason Kimbrel, 31, went unsigned into the season and until after the draft compensation was removed from his signing.

“Hopefully, we have a lot more games, and getting him right and getting him dominating and feeling good and not having to change anything I think is the right thing,” general manager Jed Hoyer said.