The Cubs are set to sign left-handed pitcher Daniel Norris to a Major League contract reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN.
The 28-year-old is fresh off a season divided between the Detroit and Milwaukee organizations. His work out of the Tigers’ bullpen didn’t match the success he found there in 2020, but a fluky .354 batting average on balls in play and other ERA estimators figured his 5.89 ERA with Detroit last season was more bloated than it should have been. The Brewers figured as much as well, and acquired the left-hander in a deadline deal last July.
Unfortunately for the Brewers, Norris’s run prevention skills only worsened. In 20 plus innings Norris gave up 15 runs and walks apiece, along with five home runs, all of which contributed to a 6.64 ERA with his new team. Despite a .231 batting average on balls in play after the trade, his reduced groundball, strikeout, and home run suppression abilities all resulted in a cumulative 6.16 ERA on the year that easily stands as his worst.
Even though things seldom clicked all at once for Norris in his platform year, there are still green flags in his profile. Chief among those flags are Norris’s ability to stymie left-handed batters. In 2021 opposing lefties struck out at an unappealing 29.5% rate and posted a weak .635 OPS when facing the pitcher. Furthermore, a 4.32 SIERA and other ERA estimators largely paint Norris’s end-of-season numbers as unlucky, and point to improvement should he keep his same skillset intact next season.
While no longer the high-end starter prospect who headlined the trade that sent David Price to Toronto back in 2015, the Cubs figure to have plenty of use for the modern day reliever version of Norris. Currently the only left-handed relievers projected by Jason Martinez of RosterResource to be in Chicago’s bullpen are Brad Wieck and Justin Steele. While Wieck had a 0.00 ERA through 17 innings on the year, and Steele debuted to a respectable 4.26 ERA in 57 innings (2.03 ERA in 13+ innings as a reliever), neither has a long enough track record to bank on repeated bullpen dominance.
With yet another Major League addition today it’s become increasingly clear that the Cubs are eyeing a spot in the recently expanded postseason field.
These are the kinda moves that they need to be doing. Deepen that pen, and maybe he can even be a backend starter. He was a centerpiece of the David Price trade to the Blue Jays.
Downsr30 he’s horrific. Should have been a non roster invite to spring not a major league deal. This isn’t deepening a bullpen. He will be cut by early may
Cubs will finish maybe 4 games above an awful Cincinnati and Pittsburgh teams lol
They made improvements don’t get me wrong but the bullpen is awful, and the rotation is average to below average at best
Their rotation may lack depth, but Stroman, Hendricks and Miley are not “below average”.
But first off, that’s just the top 3. You need 2 and probably seblveral more to fill out a rotation. Secondly, The Professor was awful last year. And all starters are soft tossers so opposing lineups get used to seeing the same stuff every day. It’s not good. And they have no closer. And the offense stinks. This is why retooling on the fly seldom works.
Does he still have his van ?
Yes he does. So find him a Walmart and parking spot in Cubsville
As always, we await developments.
I hope the book I bought by you is more interesting than this line you keep repeating.
I thought he parked it down by the river?
Does he live in a van down by the river?
That’s where I shot my baby.
Was really hoping he’d pitch somewhere in SoCal
When the boogie man goes to bed at night, he checks his closet for Daniel Norris.
One of my great grandmothers was a Norris. Daniel is from my local area, but we’re not related.
But I am related to Chuck!
If it runs in the family then, are you able to divide by zero?
Of course. And I was born in a log cabin that I built with my bare hands.
Homeboy makes Jeremy Bonderman look good.
What a strange offseason for the Cubs. These were the type of deals (Norris) I was expecting from the Cubs, not Stroman, Suzuki and Miley. They have definitely improved the team a lot this offseason but they had stripped the team down to basically nothing but Hendrix & Contreras (and some decent younger guys too) so it’s really tough to gauge how the Cubs will perform this year. I don’t think they have the horses to win the NL Central but if they can stay healthy, Suzuki proves he can handle major league pitching and a couple of their youngsters have career years, they could very well compete for a wild card berth. They kind of remind me of the 2013 Red Sox in some respects. They have added some youth and some tough veterans and they have a good manager/leader in David Ross who has the respect from all players in the clubhouse. The press won’t be enamored with this team out of the gates but if things break right for them, they could very well surprise a lot of people. A little more pitching would be a nice way to close out their active offseason too.
They need that Heyward deal to be over, lol.
They have a new right fielder in Suzuki. Maybe swap bad contracts with the Padres for Hosmer? Tatis is hurt, they could use an OF right now.
Heyward is only due money for the next two, Hosmer for 4. Why would the cubs want to extend the amount of time they pay a god awful contract. The end is near for the cubs for that contract and they aren’t real contenders so they don’t need to move the contract, especially if it’s for a longer deal crappier deal.
If you have a conceivable shot at finishing .500 then you are a post season contender. If you get in, you have a shot. Especially with the added post season slot.
Maybe Killian surprises. OR steele shines until Alzolays return and then he can go back to the pen? Cubs are contenders now. It will be ugly at times, but they are an intriguing team with a lot of ?’s that none of us have know the answer too on opening day in Spring Training.
The article doesn’t mention how much the Cubs will save on per diem for Norris. He sleeps in his VW Van and eats road kill for dinner.
Rod Beck used to live in an RV outside the stadium and party with fans… He also sported the mullet.
Maybe the van is his Shaggin’ Wagon.
Interesting that both Daniel Norris and Mathew Boyd (w SF) signed their FA contracts the same day. Looks like this closes the books on the Tigers deadline trade in 2015 where they traded David Price for both of these pitchers.
So in what world does he warrant a major league deal?
This guy spells in every sense of the words: minor league deal
Low hanging fruit…if he can reduce his walk rate he can be that pitcher that bridges a 6 and 7th inning gap. It’s just an arm and your not expecting miracles, so if can throw 60+ innings and keep the ERA under 4 you’d be happy.
Hey, he was a talented prospect at one time. Maybe we can get him in the pitch lab and turn him into a quality reliever. If it all works out then maybe when we’re 20 games under .500 at the deadline we can flip him to a contender for a promising A ball prospect. I’m excited.