3:53pm: The Cubs have announced the signing.
3:31pm: The Cubs have agreed to a Major League contract with free-agent left-hander Kyle Ryan, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (on Twitter). The 27-year-old southpaw, who is represented by Frontline, spent the 2014-17 seasons with the Tigers and was with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in 2018.
Ryan amassed 128 innings of Major League experience in his four-year run with the Tigers, working to a 3.87 ERA with 4.9 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 0.77 HR/9 and a strong 54 percent ground-ball rate. Ryan didn’t excel against either lefties or righties but was similarly effective against both (.725 OPS against righties, .728 for lefties). He’s averaged just 88.9 mph on his fastball in the Majors and managed only a 7.9 percent swinging-strike rate, however.
This past season with the Cubs’ affiliate in Iowa, Ryan thrived in a bullpen role. Through 66 innings, he put together a 2.86 ERA with 8.3 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 1.23 HR/9 and a whopping 61 percent ground-ball rate. The Chicago organization presently has Mike Montgomery, Brian Duensing and Randy Rosario as lefty relief options, but Ryan will add to that mix in affordable fashion. Though Ryan has seen action in parts of four big league seasons, the up-and-down nature of his time with the Tigers led him to accrue just under two years of MLB service time. As such, he could be controlled for another five seasons, though he’d be arbitration-eligible as a Super Two player next winter if he finishes out the season on the 40-man roster.
Why a major league contract?
They had him in AAA all last year and apparently liked what they saw. I imagine he had opportunity with another team if they didn’t offer him MLB deal.
I’m curious about that myself. Was he that highly sought after?
Starting to suspect the rumors of the cubs being broke are true
The Cubs print there swn money. They are far from broke.
If they wanted to they could sign , Harper, machismo Corbin and kuechel. And then extend rizzo Bryant Baez Contreras and almora je.
Are you sure? I heard machismo wont sign for less than 100 million a year.
Lol, hes very arrogant that machismo
Yeah Machismo has way to much machismo. I dont think hes worth more than 10 million a year.
Somebody should notify the feds that the Cubs are printing their own money. I think there’s laws against that.
It is a form of currency called cubbie bucks, it is only good if used at wrigley concessions. I’m surprised players even agree to play for it, but I guess if you drink enough old style.
What is the ratio of Stanley Nickels to Cubbie Bucks?
The same as the ratio of unicorns to leprechauns.
Your dreaming pal
Swn money?
Swan money, it turns an ugly ballclub into a beautiful playoff bound team
To put this in a slightly less zealous way, the Cubs are far from broke, it’s more a question of willing to spend than able
Though Theo does seem to tend to prefer not to spend big on middle relief and hope for the best, so this is a pretty typical November Cubs signing
It’s all about Theo creating an environment where he can operate in stealth mode while everyone debates the team’s financial woes and revises the FA destinations.
Haha I think they’re just doing fine.. I think they want to save $$$ for Rizzo, Bryant, and Baez Contracts down the road.
No
The load up on small before Big?
It’s 2034 and my great grand son is like, “poppy, how were able to know on exactly November 28th 2018 at 10:51CET that the Cubs run of playoff births was most definitely coming to a screeching halt?” And I’ll be like, “well my boy, they signed this kid named Ryan to major league contract and you see, this Ryan was a guy they found in the Tigers scrap bin.”
You’re 12 how would you have a great grand son by 2034
A beautiful story for the young’uns.
Mets still needs a hitting coach
This guy has the ceiling of an old Jeff Fassero
Or present day Jeff Fassero
You win!
Maybe this guy should write for MLBTR? I mean he’s got the two first names thing going for him.
Still plenty of time to sign another Jason Heyward or maybe swing a trade for dexter Fowler before they run Theo and madden out of town to break the orioles’ curse.
Can’t trust Duensing to bounce back
Rosario ain’t much of a strike out guy
Montgomery wants to start
Wilson is a free agent
Need all the help in the world in the lefty relief department
If he can build off of his triple A numbers he might be just what the team needs
He has five seasons of control making him more enticing
What Montgomery wants to do has no bearing on anything.
He’s not a free agent.
Well yes but he’s not the most effective of lefty relivers either
Having watched him with the Tigers, there’s nothing to see here, folks. Having years of control was not enticing to the Tigers, who are rebuilding. He may not give up a lot of home runs, but he sure gives them up with the game on the line. Plus, no fastball to speak of.
Failed starting prospect I know
but maybe a bit more life on the fastball
and other small tweaks might turn him around?
He’s always had a good era in the minors
must have had something working right for him.
I’d the Cubs s coaching staff sees something they can ‘fix’ in him, I fail to see why not give it a chance
Who is he never heared of should have resign justin wilson
Theo is really scraping the bottom of the barrel this offseason for improvements to the team. I’m really starting to believe the Cubs are not gonna spend money this offseason
When you were a playing team last year, there’s worse things you can do that only make minor changes
Patience. If you don’t think the Cubs will spend, you haven’t paid attention to how they operate. They understand the window is now.
Not so sure about that. Theo Epstein’s decisions haven’t worked particularly well lately. Signing Harper to a wooper contract might be a risky move for his career if the Cubs have a repeat of last year.
Harper’s still unsigned
Just because the Cubs aren’t spending like mad in November doesn’t mean much in the grand scale of things
Spot on, stymied one. Ryan won’t last the year with the Cubbies.
Kyle Ryan has potential. Some of you need to pay more attention to his stats & to the minor leagues in general before you start judging a guy.
I do like this move ! Now trade for Greinke
Ryan is a AAAA pitcher. He’ll shine in AAA but will be mediocre at best at the MLB level. Problem is as a LHP he has not shown the ability to put away LHB with any consistency.
Who is he never heared of should have resign justin wilson
Justin Wilson is atrocious.
Kyle Ryan’s performance was terrible in most of DET’s system, However, it looks like the Cubs may have “fixed” him while at AAA Iowa. I predict he’ll be a significant RP for CHC in 2019.