The Cubs have agreed to a one-year, Major League deal with right-hander Trevor Williams, Evan Altman of Cubs Insider reports (Twitter link). The contract will become official once Williams passes a physical. Williams will earn roughly $2.5MM, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, and Altman notes that some portion of Williams’ salary is likely to be deferred.
After spending all five of his MLB seasons in a Pirates uniform, Williams will remain in the NL Central and now look to win a job at the back of Chicago’s rotation. Kyle Hendricks, Zach Davies, Adbert Alzolay, and Alec Mills are lined up for the first four starting spots, though only Hendricks and Davies truly have their spots locked up. Kohl Stewart was also recently signed to a big league contract, Shelby Miller to a minors deal, and at least one more arm is on the way, as ESPN’s Jesse Rogers tweets that the Cubs are expected more pitching before Spring Training opens.
Williams opted to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment from the Pirates back in November, with the Bucs’ move essentially acting as an early non-tender — Williams was projected to earn between $3.2MM and $4.6MM in his second year of arbitration eligibility, and the Cubs control him through 2022 via that third arbitration year. The righty received a fair amount of interest on the open market despite some rough numbers in 2020.
Williams posted a 6.18 ERA and only a 19.4 strikeout percentage (ranking in the 25th percentile of all pitchers) over 55 1/3 innings. The home run problems that plagued Williams in 2019 worsened last season, as he allowed a league-high 15 homers. Both the home run increase and a marked uptick in hard contact allowed has led to struggles for Williams since the start of the 2019 season.
During the 2017-18 seasons, however, Williams looked like a durable young pitcher on the rise, as he had a 3.56 ERA over 321 innings in Pittsburgh’s rotation. Williams kept hitters off-balance despite a lack of a blazing fastball or big strikeout numbers, though since his SIERA was over a run higher than his 3.56 ERA, there might have been some good fortune involved.
Williams (who turns 29 in April) does have a solid track record when it comes to eating innings, which will certainly be valuable on a Cubs staff that may be juggling multiple arms at the back of the rotation. Alzolay, Mills, and Stewart have only 215 1/3 combined big league innings on their resume.
Are we just breaking out all the news right now? Good move CHC!
Who knew Universal DH was such a detriment to the pitching market?
I wonder how many pitchers want to hit so bad that the only teams they’d consider were in the N.L? And if there was a universal DH, then how many of them would sign in the A.L?
Let’s hope he rebounds
good dude. Unfortunately he was OOO so Pirates cut him. Would be a great 6-7 starter to stash in AAA.
Deferred money lol
Actually latest reports say won’t be much of any deferred money. He’s getting 2.5 mil 1 year, we can bring him back thru arb if we want him for 2022. I like the signing.
Why even bother deferring any? Are the Cubs that tight on cash? Williams has made *only* $4.5M in his career. But this is a good signing for $2.5m and control on him for ’22.
Bill Gates can eat at McDonald’s if he wants to . Just because he can fly to Japan each day and eat Kobe steak he doesn’t have too . Cubs are a business owned by Ricketts they can put you at ss if they choose too . So are the Cubs the only team not spending the money? Bauer signed yet ? Cubs hitting reset . They are tipping hats to Dodgers Padres and braves and letting other teams win crap central and get swept in first round of playoffs. Congrats cards purchase division champs one and done in playoffs shirts . White Sox can enjoy getting knocked out too for next 5 years and Cub fans can say their window closed why didn’t they win 5 championships?
You realize how hard it is to win a world series? Sometimes you can have the right players and it just dont happen… Look at the Braves in the 90s That team was loaded a hall of fame rotation some real sluggers yet they only net 1 championship in the 90s.. Sometimes it just isnt in the cards…
What the hell was that? A little reefer madness Mikel? That was a pretty long and disorienting run on thought
some deferred money is more then none.
Yea but there saying it looks like there won’t be any.
The Cubs should just blow it up at this point.
They can do that next offseason. They might want to give out QOs to some of their players that will be free agents.
Looks like they’re doing a pretty good job of that already
Lol ok, when all is said and done I think we resign Javy and Rizzo long term and really only deal kb from the current group. No need to blowup anything, reloading if anything and hopefully reup the payroll closer to the 200 mill mark from that last few years after this current season in which I still firmly believe we can definitely win the central still. Need to add Wong/schoop and archer/arrietta.
Cardinals are > after Arenado
Of course, they are, but I’m fat and I haven’t started singing yet.
Well I guess that settles it… No need to play the season.
So what there going to be managed badly
That’s how Mets and Padres fans view the world.
Besides goldy and Nolan the cards lineup is still garbage. Like the cubs better top to bottom esp if we sign a Wong/schoop for 2b
Youu may say im crazy for saying this but, What Arenado is turning 30 this year.. He really has what maybe 3 monster yrs left in him till he starts to decline and thats iff he remains healthy.. Soo what the Cards get him for what 6 yrs 155 mil now after the 50mil cover from Colorado.. Im sure STL iss hoping he opts out after his 2nd yr in STL because realistictly i dont think he will be worth 32mil once he hits 33 years old.. Plus his numbers out if Coors arnt great.. Iff anything i see him hitting about 35HRS 110RBIS .288AVG im STL which is nice but not as good as a 40HR 120RBI .295 Avg in Coors thoo… Plus they have Gorman in the system he will be ready in 2 yrs full time in 3 yrs.. Being a baseball fan STL is glad to keep him bc long term I think he be the 3B of the future mainly bc of Arenado past age 30 will decline plus his salary.. Than again Gorman iff somehow goes off next yr could be used for trade bait also.. Well see tho.. Im just not a huge fan on long contracts which huge money past age 30 9/10 they dont go the way it should unless they front load it.. In the NL with no DH Arenado final 3 or 4 yrs might not go as well for 32mil/yr…
Cubs wont sign Wong or Schoop iff anything they bring Kipnis back on a short 1 yr deal.. They only need someone for 1 yr.. This gives time for Hoerner in AAA in which he will be up by Aug the latest.. Wong will be looking for 2-3yr deal somewhere.. The cubs will look at someone much older to get 1yr out of.. It all comes down to KB.. They might offer him a extension before they deal him after seeing STL scooping Arenado up They might be forced to extend KB mainly because STL didnt give up much for Arenado chose a salary dump which hurts KB value.. Plus, by locking KB up it insures them that they are in a good position in the divison for the next 4 yrs in which im sure they hope to contend in 3 yrs anyways.. They could trade him take the risk of losing him permantly orr trade him then sign him back in Free agency.. Im pretty sure he goes into FA next offseason..
Javvy is the One they will lock up long term mainly bc he brings alot of latin American players to the cubs.. I read somewhere alot of Latin players admire Javvy and look up to him which helps the cubs sign those 16 17 year olds…
We shall see about your Cubs. Speaking of garbage, the Cubs pitching staff is full of it.
Lol the sp atm does look admittedly shaky past Kyle and Davies but I think Azolay is gonna surprise a lot of people. Dude was filthy his last few starts after he introduced the knuckle curve. Also don’t sleep too hard on the bullpen Kimberly bounced back very nicely abd was almost unhittable the last month. Adam abd Wick are nasty. Need a cpl more guys but that always seems to work out for us.
Ross had a very rough year tactically. Imagine how bad he will be if he doesn’t have the DH to make his job easier.
Wick is basically Kevin Gregg. His fastball is straight as an arrow. If his curveball isn’t on he gets lit up hard.
Also, As for Salary the Cubs want to rebuild the farm system they are on a short rebuild soo they expect to stay south of 170mil this yr.. As for 2022 It will be about the same minus the extensions.. They dont plan to contend till 2023 2024 most of the good prospects wont be ready till after the 2022 season.. One guy to keep an eye on his a young SS from Chicago Ed Howard he is the Future.. He is about 4 yrs out.. He is part if the 3rd wave of prospects coming up.. The 1st wave will hit Sept and early 2022 season.. Soo Buckle up Cub fans its going to be a long proccess. Only reason why they are in contention is because of a very weak NL central.. By 2022 Fans will be in the park prob at a 80% capacity by then soo they may have the money to spend..
Lol nowhere does it say we don’t plan to conten for 5 years some of you guys get way too carried away with this crap. I can almost guarantee you that not only will dh be in the new CBA but extended playoffs too. Owners want it too bad abd there is no reason to go full rebuild cuz we might lose kb. We will be competing for the top 2 spots in the nl central no matter what watch. You can make the argument that bote at 3b everyday is not even that big a drop off to the team esp with how kb has been hurt/performed the last cpl years abd this is from someone who loves the guy. Mark it down we will be right there contending for the division in August and each of the next few years even if we do a retooling. But yea I love Ed Howard think he’s gonna be a stud. Another guy to watch that I don’t think gets enough hype is Brennan Davis cf. Think he will be the starting cf 2022. Dude is molded just like Betts, gonna be a monster.
Dont get me wrong im a cubs fan but, Think im crazy I think KB is overated.. Yaa is war is very high but only bc he really had 2 good years.. I dont think he worth more than 25mil/yr at all… Look at his stats when was the last time he has played more than 150 games in a season?? Health wise its a risk and he has had some shoulder issues too the point he might be best utilized at 1B.. look at the team you really think they are a playoff team?? Their best chances was iff they kept Darvish.. Kimbrel i wouldnt even trust in the 9th.. He a shut you down 8th inning setup man thats it.. Alzoy has question marks he not consistant to say the least.. And iff you follow the bleacher report which i doo on a regulat basis they say its a 2-3 yr window.. Look at the prospects they got for Darvish they are 17 18 yr olds comeon Thats a 4 yr window for them.. They had a solid package they were going to get 2 of their top 5 guys but The Rickets ego got in the way and got cheap said we wernt eating that much salary.. When ot comes to KB iff i was any team out there id offer the same package knowing Hoyer and Ricketts will take it bc they be giving away players for cheap..
Yes, pitiful excuse for a major league ball club!!!
What took you so long to comment, Mr. Massengill?
Well, if there’s any possible way to make his home run allowed numbers worse, it would be to have his home games in Wrigley. But seriously, I hope he does well, as a Pirate fan I won’t miss him but he never lacked for effort or drive.
Wrigley Field plays neutral… Tough to hit homeruns early in the season and then very easy to hit them after the all star break.
Good for Trevor Williams. He deserves a chance with a major league franchise after years in the Nutting minors.
Interestingly the Cubs have a bunch of low-strikeout pitchers in Hendricks, Davies, and now Williams. I wonder how successful they will be, as each pitcher has had individual success in the past but I don’t know how a rotation built on low-strikeout guys will hold up over the course of a full season.
I am really hoping they sign Wong. There is going to be a great need for infield defense.
Yea I want wong too. Wouldn’t mind schoop tho if we don’t get Wong. I think he is a really sneaky good player.
I wouldn’t mind Wong, but the infield defense is not bad… Hoerner was a GG finalist at 2B, Rizzo and Baez are GG winners already.
KB is the weakest link and he’s more of an average defensive 3B… He’s not terrible.
Wong has multiple gold gloves a better bat right now. I honestly hope Nico gets a few months in the minors.
Yea I’d like to see Nico have the chance to go tear up some AAA pitching.
I don’t think the strategy is a good one when most of their starters are finesse right handed pitchers… They need a lefty.
Although they do have some power arms coming soon in Alzolay and Marquez.
Nice I like this, dude is a gamer not matter what you think of him. He has the stuff hopefully we can figure it together. Now go sign Wong or schoop and Archer plz!
Except he doesn’t really have the stuff.
This is slowing starting to feel like 2012 all over again
I’d live through it again if it leads to a Cubs WS victory in 2025.
when you have to use deferrals to cover 2.5M lol
Dsnt look like there will be any actually
It doesn’t mean that they actually couldn’t afford to pay him now. Maybe that’s how the player preferred
I remember him in 2018, and I thought he would be a stable rotation guy in Pittsburgh, even though he’s a cub now I hope he bounces back
Nice, not great, signing…now let’s get Wong (probably take $8-10m) and maybe Arrieta or Archer
Exactly!!!
JFC
I hear you.
Any Cubs fans still missing Darvish now? I didn’t think so.
Yes, I miss Yu and was glad to have him last offseason, too.
Every step I take, every move I make
Every single day, every time I pray
I’ll be missing Yu
I’m flagging this comment to give a moderator a good laugh today.
I deff miss Yu loved the guy, couldn’t ask for more of a class act too. Now I do think people will be surprised to see Davies as really not much of a step back in terms of wins/losses and effectiveness in game.
As Dan55 mentioned above, Trevor Williams is not a strikeout pitcher and over the last couple of years, his effectiveness has really declined. The juiced ball has not done him any favors either as he gave up 1.7 HR9 in 2019 and a ghastly 2.4 HR9 in 2020. Williams is going to need to figure out how to keep the ball in the park and induce more ground balls. He’s averaged a WHIP of around 1.50 the last two seasons as well so Cubs fans may have some white knuckles on the days he pitches.
Hopefully, he can get back to his 2017-2018 form. If that’s the case then this is a great deal for Chicago. By only paying him $2.5M as a veteran starter, it seems like the Cubs aren’t expecting that to happen though. Maybe the change of scenery will serve him well and he can turn things around.
That’s not Jake Arrieta!
a deferral on 2.5 mil lmao
Ol’ Garbage-Grabbin’ Jed!
Ham n eggs.
From what I read, a lot of the hitter in the NL Central are salivating over the prospect of facing this Cubs’ staff. After reading that the team was in conversation with the Blue Jays over a possible Kyle Hendricks trade, I wanted to throw up in my mouth. I made the bold prediction on my site that Zach Davies finishes in the top 8 in the NL Cy Young voting. But, if truth be told, Davies may not finish top 8 in the NL Central. Trevor Williams did lead the NL in HRA in ’20 with 15 in 55 or so IP. Secretly I wanted to believe that Williams was a LHP but I knew he couldn’t be! But for $2.5M I guess I’d take the bait.
Maybe Davies figured something out but he was never that fear-inducing when he was a Brewer. I don’t think the Cardinals have ever gotten a hit off Hendricks but nobody else on that Cubs staff is concerning to opponents.
They created a Kyle Hendricks clone army. Let’s hope their leader can mold them in his own image.
Zach Davies won’t get Cy Young votes. He is a competent middle of the rotation starter, but not the type of ace that will get Cy Young votes. I like him a lot, but I don’t see him doing that well.
Cards are going to eat that staff alive.
Lol we’ll see I’m not worried. Besides goldy and Nolan that lineup is still trash. Also yes Nolan is a very good player but all these cards fans thinking he will immediately make them some monster contender are going to be in for a rude awakening. He will probably have a fine bounce back season and produce nicely but he is not the superstar some think imho.
I’d be more worried about how terrible the Cubs staff is.
The Cards and Cubs were about equal in a four-team race to the bottom for the NL Central title. Cards are now far and away the favorites to win the division. Don’t know how they can do in the playoffs, but getting there and avoiding the WC game is probably 2/3 of the battle.
Nolan probably adds about three wins to the Cards’ projection. It’s an advantage, but it is not “far and away”.
Lol exactly. People (some delusional cards fans) think plugging him into the lineup alone will equal 20 more wins. I’m sorry it’s not. A better comp would be to try and match maybe slightly over perform ozuna’s season from a couple years ago with them.
The Cardinals will win the division because of pitching, not necessarily because of Arenado. The Cubs will not win the division because of pitching.
The Cardinals definitely have more depth at starting pitcher but can we stop pretending like that rotation is amazing. The have Flaherty who stunk last year and a bunch of 4-5 type starters.
themed has been sniffing Yadi’s cup.
Yawn.
I was disappointed the Pirates let him go. But I wish him the best of luck in Chicago. They need pitching and I hope he hits his ceiling this year
Apparently Mets were in on Williams prior to their former GM getting canned.
With the pitching the Cubs will be throwing out there, the next step would be to sign Wong to build a elite middle infield that the pitchers can trust.
Very tru, Wong and el mago up the middle will produce some crazy plays behind Kyle,Davies, and Mills.
At least Jed Hoyer is consistent. He keeps up the Cubs tradition of stacking up on pitchers who are soft tossers. While other teams sign hard throwers.
I like it, for the price, and so long as the Cubs treat him as a #5. They still need a #3/4 level SP. If they’re thinking of him as a #4, and filling in the 5-slot, they’ll be courting trouble.
My thoughts exactly. Still need Archer/Arrietta to slide into 3-4 slot
Some that loose Change Ricketts found in his dashboard ash tray yesterday when the Cubs announced they would increase payroll
I’d rather have Jake & Rich back.
Blue Jays must’ve lost interest in him in the summer when they were rumoured to be interested. What’s more fascinating is some Jays fans were more than willing to give up a prospect inside the Top 20 for him. Glad they aren’t decision makers for the squad.
Good luck to Williams, he’ll need it.
Dive, dive, dive! Who doesn’t love a good submarine yarn?
I can only assume that extreme Cubs guy 89 got himself banned from here since he never seems to post on anything related to his apparent favorite team. He’s some creepy stalker who has some strange homoerotic obsession with me or something.
And even though I always ignore him he keeps coming around like some dog that you leave in an abandoned field and always finds his way home. I don’t know whether I should be flattered or disgusted.