The Cubs are “deep in discussions” with free agent Drew Smyly, reports Bruce Levine of 670 The Score (on Twitter). If a deal were to get across the finish line, it’d technically mark Smyly’s second stint as a Cub. The left-hander signed with Chicago over the 2017-18 offseason, but he missed the entire season due to injury and was traded to the Rangers the following winter.
Smyly has bounced between four clubs in the three years since. He split the 2019 campaign between Texas and Philadelphia. After a terrible start to the year with the Rangers, he bounced back to provide the Phils with capable back-of-the-rotation production. The Giants signed Smyly that winter, and while he only worked 26 1/3 innings during the shortened schedule, he struck out an incredible 37.8% of opposing hitters.
That small-sample performance intrigued the Braves enough they rolled the dice on an $11MM guarantee for Smyly last offseason. He didn’t sustain the huge spike in whiffs, though, as his strikeout rate fell to a slightly below-average 21.4% mark. That was much more in line with his career rate, and Smyly struggled to keep the ball in the yard en route to a 4.48 ERA. He did make 29 appearances (including 23 starts) for the World Series champs, absorbing 126 2/3 innings.
There hasn’t been much buzz since Smyly hit the open market this time around, but he’s one of the more accomplished arms remaining in a free agent rotation class that has thinned out. The 32-year-old owns a 4.18 ERA in 837 1/3 innings over parts of eight big league seasons. He’s a generally productive back-end starter who has shown flashes of mid-rotation or better upside during his career. The Cubs don’t have a ton of certainty in the rotation beyond the top trio of Marcus Stroman, Kyle Hendricks and Wade Miley — particularly with righty Adbert Alzolay missing at least the first two months of the season.
Be interesting to see what he gets in terms of $.
As always, we await developments.
Rather have Smyly than Mills. Whenever I see Mills I think of the Goalie from Slapshot. Achh, The hair here make we wanna puke, Agggghhhh
Who are you talking about? Mills’ hair is close cropped and he has minimal facial hair. As for performance, when he is on, he’s on. That no-hitter was a great game.
Wow. I can’t believe what i just read. Translation: You never saw Slapshot. The Goalie was Canadian. Hair here is Canadian for Air. They played for the Charlestown Chiefs- A steel mill town. So pollution, Get it? As for Mills he blows. He makes me wanna puke.
no thank you
The Cubs are “deep in discussions” with free agent southpaw Drew Smyly, reports Bruce Levine of 670 The Score…
Art history?
12th century architecture?
How to create offramps for Putin in Ukraine?
The merits of daylight savings time?
NFL free agency?
They’ll sign him almost certainly. They had him a few years ago and paid him to rehab. I think they released him and he eventually landed with Atlanta
And iirc, they paid him quite a lot to rehab
They did pay him a lot to rehab. He was actually traded to the Rangers for a PTBNL. Don’t recall hearing who they actually got.
It was to offset exercising the option on Cole Hamels, the buyout was structured in the trade the previous season to be paid by Texas.
11-4 with a 4.48. How is that a no thank you?
He’d rather add another bullpen arm. lol
Yeah you can’t get choosy at this point.
And his xfip and Sierra pretty much match his era..hard hit rate seems good too.
Guy Smyly
came here for this
Fantastic screen name.
Deep discussions? Like about the meaning of life?
Crinkle or curly fries.
it’s good to spice it up and swap em from time to time.
Toilet paper out the back or pulled from front..or as they say in Vegas: over/under
I wouldn’t mind seeing him come back to Detroit for the 5th starter role.
He wouldn’t be a bad signing for the cubs. He wasn’t a terrible 5th starter for atl.
Miley & Smyly in the same rotation?
I sort of wish there was a Cyrus floating around the league somewhere…
Now they need to trade for Austin Riley.
Dang that sounds serious. Deep discussions. It’s just mumbo jumbo by a writer. ⚾️
Will he sign a two year contract? One year to get paid and the other to make up for the year the paid him and he never ended up playing for them?
Excuse me, but this should read Mariners Legend Drew Smyly
Cubs hit rock bottom?
They realize how raw & young their pitching core is. They’re just trying to add veteran depth pieces.
This is a long discussion. Probably has something to do with March Madness.
Smyly better than Mills