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Tyler Duffey Exercises Opt-Out In Cubs Deal

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Veteran reliever Tyler Duffey has triggered an opt-out in his minor league contract with the Cubs, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. He’s the second Cubs reliever in Triple-A to exercise a June 1 opt-out date, as Vinny Nittoli did the same this morning as well. As is the case with Nittoli, the Cubs will have 48 hours to select Duffey’s contract or release him, so he’s not technically a free agent just yet but could very likely return to the market in a couple days.

The 32-year-old Duffey has 475 innings of big league experience, all coming with the Twins, who selected him out of Rice University in the fifth round of the 2012 draft. Duffey impressed as a starter in his 2015 big league debut but struggled in that role for the next few seasons before ultimately shifting to the bullpen, where he spent a couple years as a strong setup option in Minnesota. From 2019-20, the righty pitched to a brilliant 2.31 ERA with a 34.2% strikeout rate and 6.1% walk rate, piling up 27 holds along the way.

Duffey posted quality bottom-line results in 2021 as well, recording a 3.18 ERA and a career-best 22 holds in 62 1/3 innings. However, his strikeout and walk rates dipped to 24% and 11%, respectively, and his fastball sat at 92.6 mph — a drop from its 94 mph peak. The wheels came off in 2022, when Duffey was rocked for a 4.91 ERA in 44 frames, with a particularly tough 1.64 HR/9 mark. The Twins designated him for assignment and released him.

Duffey inked subsequent minor league deals with both the Rangers and Yankees, but neither called him up from Triple-A before season’s end, at which point he became a minor league free agent and eventually signed with Chicago. Thus far in 2023, Duffey has pitched 22 1/3 innings with the Cubs’ top affiliate in Iowa. In that time, he’s recorded a 4.43 ERA with an above-average 26.1% strikeout rate but a bloated 15.2% walk rate.

Outside of excellent performances from Adbert Alzolay and Mark Leiter Jr., the Cubs’ bullpen has struggled considerably in 2023. Cubs relievers have baseball’s fourth-worst ERA at 4.60, and their primary offseason additions — Brad Boxberger and Michael Fulmer — have both fallen well short of expectations. Duffey would represent a veteran alternative or complement to the current group, but the Cubs may not want to open a 40-man roster spot to take a look. If that indeed proves the case, Duffey will hit the market and look to latch on with another club seeking bullpen depth.

Vinny Nittoli Exercises Opt-Out In Cubs Deal

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Right-hander Vinny Nittoli has opted out of his minor league deal with the Cubs, tweets Robert Murray of FanSided. He’s not technically a free agent just yet — MLBTR has confirmed that the Cubs have 48 hours to select his contract or grant him his release — but he could formally be back on the market as soon as this weekend.

Nittoli, 32, has just three innings of big league experience — coming between the Mariners and Phillies in 2021-22 — but has been sharp with the Cubs’ Iowa affiliate so far in 2023. Through his first 20 2/3 frames on the season, the journeyman right-hander has notched a 3.48 ERA with better-than-average strikeout and walk rates of 24.4% and 7.8%, respectively. He’s allowed just two home runs on the season (0.87 HR/9). Nittoli struggled in his first two seasons of Triple-A ball, but this is his second strong showing at the level; in 52 innings there last season between the Yankees, Phillies and Blue Jays, he posted a combined 3.81 ERA with a 30.8% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate.

The Chicago bullpen has the fourth-worst ERA in the Majors at 4.60. About 18 points of that ERA stem from utilityman Miles Mastrobuoni taking a beating in mop-up duty, but the bullpen as a whole has generally struggled. The Cubs have received strong performances from minor league signee Mark Leiter Jr. and former top prospect Adbert Alzolay, but no other reliever on their roster has pitched at least 10 innings and recorded an ERA south of the recently optioned Keegan Thompson’s 4.22. Offseason signings of Brad Boxberger (5.52 ERA in 14 2/3 innings) and Michael Fulmer (7.36 ERA in 22 frames) haven’t paid off. Fielding-independent metrics such as FIP (4.05) and SIERA (3.86) feel Cubs relievers are more skilled than their baseline run-prevention numbers would otherwise suggest, but the results haven’t been there yet.

All that said, there’s still a good chance Nittoli will wind up a free agent within the next couple days. Assuming that’s indeed the case, he’ll be able to shop his solid start to the season around to other clubs in need of bullpen help. Teams are always on the hunt for bullpen arms this time of year, so there ought to be several clubs with interest in taking a look at a new arm in that scenario.

June 1 is a popular day for opt-out provisions in contracts, including a collectively bargained opt-out date for Article XX(B) free agents (i.e. free agents with six-plus years of service time who finished the preceding season on a Major League roster/injured list but signed a minor league contract). MLBTR’s Anthony Franco looked at nine veteran players with known opt-out opportunities last night, and as Nittoli shows, there are surely quite a few more around the league who’ll be making decisions on such clauses today.

The Opener: Steele, First Base, Astros/Angels

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As the calendar flips to June, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Steele to undergo MRI:

Cubs left-hander Justin Steele exited yesterday’s start against the Rays after throwing three perfect innings due to what the team has labeled “forearm tightness.” With an off-day for the club today, Steele is scheduled to undergo testing to determine the severity of his injury. Forearm tightness is always a concerning diagnosis, given its broad range of outcomes and status as a frequent precursor to a more serious injury.

Cubs fans surely anxiously await results from today’s testing, seeing as Steele has been one of baseball’s best starting pitchers for nearly a full calendar year, with a 2.15 ERA and 2.63 FIP in 117 innings since July 2022. Should Steele miss time, the Cubs figure to rely on youngster Hayden Wesneski to cover his spot in the rotation after the right-hander pitched 3 2/3 innings in relief of Steele during yesterday’s game.

2. First basemen in DFA limbo:

A pair of veteran first basemen have recently been designated for assignment by their organization. Luke Voit, who struggled to a 54 wRC+ in 74 plate appearances for the Brewers this season, and Jesus Aguilar, who posted an 83 wRC+ in 115 plate appearances for the A’s, are both poised to look for work with new clubs going forward. While the 32-year-old Voit and 33-year-old Aguilar have both struggled in recent seasons, each was about 10% better than league average with the bat as recently as 2021, giving reason for hope that one or both could bounce back.

One potential suitor for their services of either right-handed slugger would be a Phillies club that saw corner infielder Alec Bohm, who has played first base against left-handers for the club this season, suffer a potential injury to his left hamstring and undergo imaging to determine the severity of the issue. Should Bohm miss time, the club will be exceedingly thin at first base, with Rhys Hoskins out for the season and Darick Hall not yet back from an injury of his own. Either Voit or Aguilar could make sense in a platoon with Kody Clemens, as The Athletic’s Matt Gelb notes, though Voit has been better against righties than lefties in each of the past five seasons and has been particularly unproductive versus southpaws dating back to last season.

3. Astros vs. Angels series preview:

The Angels are set to head to Houston for a four-game set against the Astros beginning this evening at 7:10pm CT. The series could have significant implications for both clubs going forward, as Houston currently sits three games ahead of Anaheim for second place in the AL West and the final AL Wild Card spot, meaning a series sweep could propel the Angels ahead of the Astros.

In addition the the standings-related intrigue, the Astros appear poised to move to a six-man rotation during the series. Chandler Rome of The Athletic notes that the club hasn’t announced its probable starters for the series, as they are waiting until they make a corresponding move to promote a sixth starter sometime today. Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, J.P. France, and Brandon Bielak are currently slated to face off against the Angels during the series, but the incoming sixth starter could slot anywhere into that mix. Regardless of the starters the Astros plan to use, the Angels figure to counter with Reid Detmers, Shohei Ohtani, Patrick Sandoval, and Griffin Canning.

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