The Cubs have agreed to a minor league pact with free-agent right-hander Eric Yardley, per the team’s official transactions log. The former Padres and Brewers hurler, a client of CAA Baseball, was placed on outright waivers in late October and opted to become a minor league free agent after going unclaimed.
Yardley, 31, is a submariner with a massive ground-ball rate. He had some success in fairly brief stints with the Padres and Brewers in 2019-20 before being roughed up with Milwaukee this past season. In 35 innings from 2019-20, Yardley notched a 1.80 ERA (with a much larger 4.13 SIERA) and a sky-high 62.3% grounder rate. His 17.4% strikeout rate in that stretch was well below the league average, however, and Yardley’s 8.7% walk rate was solid but unspectacular.
In 2021, however, Yardley’s 87 mph sinker and 73 mph slider weren’t fooling opponents. His 3.8% swinging-strike rate was the lowest mark of any pitcher in MLB with at least 10 innings thrown, as was his 5.6% strikeout rate. Yardley still recorded a huge 58.6% ground-ball rate in 18 2/3 innings, but he also allowed three homers (1.45 HR/9) and allowed more free bases (ten walks, three hit batters) than strikeouts recorded (five).
All but three of Yardley’s 507 professional appearances have come in relief, so he’ll give the Cubs some bullpen depth to stash in Triple-A Iowa if he doesn’t win a roster spot this spring. He’s spent parts of five prior seasons at the Triple-A level, pitching to a 3.17 ERA in 184 1/3 innings with a 17.8% strikeout rate, a 5.7% walk rate and an excellent 60% ground-ball rate. Yardley has a pair of minor league options remaining, so if the Cubs add him to the big league roster at any point, they’ll be able to shuttle him between Iowa and Chicago without needing to pass him through waivers.
This guy’s a beast. You gotta love that 73-87 mph smoke.
I doubt he makes the team out of spring training
Hello Steve!
There’s a missing letter of the word ‘ad’ between the word ‘the Cubs’ & ‘him’, can you fix the spelling error/missing letter? Please & thank you!
“Yardley has a pair of minor league options remaining, so if the Cubs ‘ad’ him to the big league roster at any point, they’ll be able to shuttle him between Iowa and Chicago without needing to pass him through waivers”.
And he has 507 plate appearances in relief???
He does for his whole career, minors and college included.
The 3 hitter minimum hurts a guy like this. A submarining righty should not face lefties.
Chisek was a closer. Guys like O’day & Smith face (& get out) plenty of lefties.
Yardley fragrances are also great to gift at Christmas, or anytime.
I don’t want to smell him. I just want to see if he can get batters out.
When he’s warming up in the pen , opposing hitters get a whiff , they’re happy. We’re gonna go Yard
Yardley is the emergency depth’s depth.
Mark Eiichorn
Lots of balls going Yardley off this guy in Wrigley.
Good signing. Someone that can be brought in for a game and sent back down then brought back later if needed. An additional player can be added for a double header. This guy would work for 14th pitcher or in other words a taxi squad pitcher.
Constant name jokes while this guy has pitched a 3.5 era in his first 53 mlb innings.
When your desperate for news on MLB we get articles like this…