The Cubs have agreed to a one-year, $2MM deal with free agent lefty Brian Duensing, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (Twitter links). Chicago has announced the signing.
Duensing, 33, spent much of the 2016 season in the minors. But he performed rather well there — with a 2.23 ERA and 9.5 K/9 versus 1.7 BB/9 over 32 1/3 innings — and earned a late-season promotion with the Orioles. In fourteen appearances for Baltimore, Duensing allowed six earned runs on 13 hits while recording ten hits against three walks.
Chicago had a need on the southpaw side of its pen, particularly assuming that Mike Montgomery will become a part of the rotation. But it’s still a bit surprising to see the defending World Series champs place a bet on Duensing, who is perhaps best characterized as a steadily useful arm. Over his eight-year major league career — the vast bulk of which came with the Twins — he has allowed 4.13 earned per regulation game while striking out 5.9 and walking 2.9 batters per nine to go with a solid (but hardly world-beating 46.3% groundball rate).
Um. Okay. Would rather have Wood back.
He’s probably looking for a starting gig first.
Hopefully a NL team so we can see him put good…………wood on the ball when he hits. Sorry, had to do it. 2 million is not that much for a reliever. Remember, last year the Cubs payed 1million for Ryan and 13 million or so for Jackson to play somewhere else other than Chicago.
Wood is gonna get a lot more than $2 million lol
they need travis wood back too.
how does this guy get$2 mil? this market is crazy
This is dirt cheap compared to what has signed. The Cards are spending top dollar on barely above average Cecil at $7.625M/season on average for the next 4 years. Now the Mariners just spent $11M over 2 years ($5.5M/season) on Rzepczynski……. a barely mediocre LHRP. So while Duensing is a very uninspiring move…… he is the cheapest guy to sign. Would still like to see them sign Blevins, Dunn, or Logan.
Side note, In 2015 Duensing made $2.7M. Not sure what he made in 2016 but from his 2015 standpoint he has taken a pay CUT, so this isn’t a ridiculous deal at all IMO. Not exactly something anyone saw coming because it is seemingly so insignificant, but not ridiculous. Again, I don’t get why you’d waste money on him and not just sign one or two of the other 3 guys I mentioned. Or try and trade Soler in a deal for Doolittle out in Oakland. Shouldn’t cost much more than Soler IMO. Both Soler and Doolittle are injury prone, Soler is young and has serious potential when healthy….. and plays everyday (when healthy) whereas (when healthy) Doolittle plays maybe 60-65 innings per year. Soler and Pierce Johnson for Doolittle.
How does Brett Cecil get 30mil with a full no trade clause. He’s not good enough to justify getting that kind of money and a no trade.
I like this signing a lot. Left handed reliever, who could start if needed. A Montgomery/Travis Wood-esque player. And 2 million dollars is somewhat cheap. I like it.
I’m glad Montgomery is getting some love even though he’ll eventually be a starter.
This guy is really bad at pitching though???
Why would they do that?
To me this seems like a case of a Depth Pitcher getting signed to an MLB Contract
His market value was $1.6m based on his 2016 results and $6.4m based on career average- and when taking into account return on that throughout his career, the threshold that would make it a good signing on this market is $2,221,605.00.
This is all assuming market value is $8,000,000 for 1 WAR
While I don’t love the signing, on the market it’s solid.
$2 million is literally nothing in today’s MLB but Duensing is also really bad at baseball so I don’t know what to think of this
“Bad at baseball” might be a stretch for a guy who has logged over 7 years over major league service time. I’d say he’s pretty damn good at baseball.
He’s played for 7 years because he throws the ball with his left hand
You’re right, he’s not “bad at baseball” compared to the rest of the world, just when you compare him to other major leaguers.
Not really. He’s put up 6.4 career rWAR. What percentage of major leaguers ever reach that?
No idea, and I can honestly say I don’t care enough about Brian Duensing to look. The fact that he’s getting paid only $2 million in THIS market says enough about the quality of pitcher he is.
He has a 4.13 career ERA, 4.08 FIP, and 1.38 WHIP……. I wouldn’t call that good. Oh, and a 5.9 K/9 and a 2.9 BB/9.
His numbers in years he was just used as a reliever aren’t much better…. if better.
Why is he “bad at baseball?” Because he is going to be a 34 year old in 2017 who had a difficult time staying at the ML level in 2016. If you’re a quad A quality player in your early-mid 30s……. you’re not good at baseball.
While I’m not upset per se at the signing since it is for a relatively insignificant amount….. and because it isn’t my money….. I just don’t understand why you sign a 4A player to a ML deal. This is purely a depth move and I am assuming….. hoping they sign at least one more LHRP who is actually noteworthy and more reliable be it just Blevins, Logan, or Dunn. Leaving Duensing fighting for a roster spot. That’s what Duensing is. The dude you invite to spring training and hope he surprises you. Not the dude you give a guaranteed contract to.
You’re an idiot.
I feel that we could have picked up a cheaper Loogy, but I no longer question that wisdom of HoyerStein.
now they need Jansen or Chapman. make it happen Theo
Exactly why they signed this guy. His 2 mil and chapman/ Jansen 20 mil. So 11 mil average for 2 roster spots
I hope not. IMO Jansen and Chapman compared to Melancon are overrated. Melancon has the better stats of the 3 players over the last 4 years. Yet Chapman and Jansen get all the hype solely because they throw hard. That’s it. Once their velocity starts to fade I’m willing to bet they become average relievers. Melancon on the other hand is a better PITCHER and not just a thrower. Jansen and Chapman will cost like you said, $18-20M/season. Melancon in projected to get a deal worth $13M/season. I’d take Melancon any day over Chapman or Jansen. But the media is too busy drooling over Jansen and Chapman’s velocity and K totals because they are easily distracted by shiny objects. I truly believe if it wasn’t for the media all three would be valued at about the same dollar amount on a per year basis. But the Media has inflated both Jansen and Chapman’s reputation and values considerably while they ignore Melancon solely because he doesn’t K 10/9. He’s the better pitcher but has no flash for the ESPNs of the world to gawk at.
IMO I’d rank the three based on projected money and talent level as follows: 1) Melancon, 2) Jansen, 3) Chapman.
Of these 3 stat lines compiled over the last 4 years which would you rather have?
297 Gs, 290 IP, 1.80 ERA, 212 ERA+, 2.25 FIP, 0.91 WHIP, 8.3 K/9, 1.4 BB/9, 147 SVs, 91% SV%
246 Gs, 242 IP, 1.93 ERA, 203 ERA+, 1.72 FIP, 0.98 WHIP, 15.8 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, 143 SVs, 92% SV%
268 Gs, 263 IP, 2.19 ERA, 167 ERA+, 1.86 FIP, 0.86 WHIP, 13.6 K/9, 1.9 BB/9, 155 SVs, 90% SV%
Who belongs to which line? First one is obvious due to the K/9. That would be Melancon’s stats for the last 4 years, of which he was only a full time closer for 3 of those years. The second line, and IMO the worst of the 3, belongs to Chapman. The third line then of course is Jansen. Melancon will be 32 yrs old in 2017 while Jansen and Chapman will be 29. Melancon will supposedly sign a deal somewhere around 4 years and $52-56M. Chapman and Jansen though are supposedly going to sign 5 year deals putting them around $90-100M. When you look at the cost of each and what each have done as of late I don’t get how Melancon isn’t the most coveted of the 3. Just as good stat-wise at almost half the price. How can you not like discounts?
I say sign Melancon to the 4 year deal. Then try and trade for Doolittle. Since Doolittle is about as injury prone as Soler I don’t think it will take much to get him. Soler and a sub top 10 prospect on their top 30 prospect list should be enough. Like, Soler and Pierce Johnson OR Ryan Williams for Doolittle should be more than enough. If not I’d say blow it out of the water and give them Soler and Candelario, who is ranked as our 4th best prospect. THEN I’d take a flyer on Greg Holland and see what he can do. A 2 year, $12-14M deal (with a club option on that 2nd year) should be enough to land Holland I’d think who is coming off TJ surgery. Then the bullpen looks pretty legit. Total money added in Melancon, Holland, and Doolittle for 2017…….. only about $26-27M for potentially 3 top tier quality relievers. Putting that in perspective, Chapman or Jansen ALONE will add $18-20M to the payroll in 2017. So potentially Melancon+Doolittle+Holland……… or Chapman -OR- Jansen….. not both. I take the trio – not even a hard decision.
CL Melancon
LHSU Doolittle
RHSU Holland
RHRP Rondon
RHRP Strop
RHRP Edwards
RHRP Grimm
LHRP Zastryzny/Duensing
Boone Logan? Travis Wood makes a ton of sense. Who else can Joe pinch hit in the 10th , play left and make good plays to start the bottom half and strike the last batter for the W?!? The answer and ONLY answer is Travis Wood. In fact, he should be a priority. Also, Montgomery should stay in the pen where he excels. And sign or trade for a very good pitcher. Ex:Soler, Happ, DeLaCruz, Candelario, and Hanneman for Archer?? Lackey wasn’t exactly tearing it up in the postseason. I’d like Jansen or Chap but I think we handle everything other spot in the rotation and pen and Strop, Edwards, Rondon, MM can close out just fine.
I’d like to see Jerry Blevins in a Cub uniform.
For all you bandwagon jumpers please settle down. This is what the cubs have done every year of Theo’s regime. He signs low end pitchers for low end money in hopes of finding a diamond in the rough. For example Jacob Turner (now on the white sox), Manny Parra, and traded the red Sox for Felix Doubront. Didn’t see any of them in the world series so I wouldn’t expect you to know this. None of them became a diamond for the cubs but hey, it was part of the process. The process has worked, and only in 5 years so calm down and enjoy the ride until you Jump off for the next hot team.
who are you talking to? No one is freaking out in need to be “settled down.” People are just pointing out how odd it is they gave a ML deal to a guy who had a hard time staying on a ML roster last year. Duensing is a 34 year old fringe ML talent. It’s fine if you want to sign that but sign it to a minor league deal. I assume you “die Hard” cub fan knows the difference between a major and minor league deal.
That said if you wanted to compare this to anything from previous seasons there is no better comparison than Clayton Richard last year when he and the Cubs avoided arbitration and reached a deal for……… 1 year and $2M.
Seriously though, do you think bandwagon fans come on MLB trade rumor message boards? If they do i wouldn’t call them bandwagon fans.
Wasn’t talking to you. When I comment on a post (which I rarely do) I read all the posts before responding. A lot of people were complaining and saying why would they sign such a dead beat player. I didn’t disagree with you one bit. Second, why can’t you be a bandwagon fan on this site? It’s not just for one team so therefore a person could be knowledgeable from this site and still jump from one team to another. Your comparison of Clayton is not a good one. Go look at your stats. He’s been on the team for a 1 & 1/3 years. So when they signed him the cubs already had him because they traded for him the year before. I was comparing the signing to a new player that they are trying out. I personally have been a fan of Brian since his days in Beloit. Im a Beloit Snappers season ticket holder. You don’t have to get butt hurt every time someone comments after you. It’s not always about you.
Typical no risk early December move. Maybe the guy can give you something as a LOOGY. If not, flush him and move on. Once in a while these moves pay dividends. Trevor Cahill was garbage for a few years prior to coming to the Cubs and he gave them some pretty good innings.
I see where the Cubs are going with this. They need someone to replace Wood and Montgomery. Both were good lefty swing men. Dunsing replaces wood and I wouldn’t be shocked if the Cubs trade for another starter like Odrizzi or trade for a lefty like Justin Miller, the later seems likely since he would not cost as much. Rondon would close again and Stropp Wilson and Edwards Jr. would be the setup men if I had to guess.