- Though the top four in the Cubs rotation seems set and several candidates are vying for the fifth starter’s job, Jakob Junis “recently” drew some interest from Wrigleyville, as per The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma. The depth of the interest isn’t known, though it might’ve been something of a due diligence move by the Cubs since no formal offer was made. Junis’ experience as a swingman means that he wouldn’t have necessarily even been in the rotation, so the Cubs could’ve been looking at Junis to bolster the bullpen and also add even more depth to the starting mix. In any case, Junis is no longer an option, as the right-hander signed a one-year, $7MM contract with the Brewers last week.
- In another piece from Mooney and Sharma, they look at the Cubs’ unsettled third base situation. Patrick Wisdom and Nick Madrigal seem poised to get the bulk of playing time, with Christopher Morel getting the occasional start at the hot corner, and Miles Mastrobuoni or rookie Luis Vazquez providing further depth. There’s enough uncertainty here that Mooney/Sharma feel the Cubs might again make a trade deadline move at the position, akin to their deal for Jeimer Candelario this past summer. Of course, the Cubs have also been linked to Matt Chapman this winter if the team still had a bigger-ticket free agent upgrade in mind, though a longer-term answer might block top prospect Matt Shaw, who has been working out as a third baseman this offseason.
Cubs Rumors
The Cubs’ Fifth Starter Competition
With left-hander Shota Imanaga poised to join Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon, and Kyle Hendricks in the Cubs’ rotation in place of Marcus Stroman this season after the veteran righty signed with the Yankees last month, one spot remains open in the club’s starting rotation with pitchers and catchers set to report to camp for Spring Training next week. While it’s not impossible to imagine a surprise trade for or signing of an arm such as Shane Bieber (who the Cubs were connected to earlier this winter) or Jordan Montgomery, all indications point toward the Cubs turning their attention towards a reunion with Cody Bellinger at this point in the offseason.
Should Chicago enter the 2024 campaign with only their internal rotation options, here’s a look at who could be under consideration to join the starting five:
The 34-year-old left-hander, in some ways, appears to be the obvious choice for the final spot in the Cubs’ rotation. Signed to a two-year, $19MM contract last winter, Smyly started 23 games for Chicago last year and enjoyed a great deal of success early in the season, including a 10-strikeout game in late April where the southpaw came fell just four outs short of a perfect game. Through 15 starts, Smyly had a strong 3.38 ERA and a decent FIP of 4.33, though his strikeout rate of just 19.9% raised some eyebrows.
Unfortunately for Smyly, the wheels came off from there for him. He posted a 9.00 ERA and 6.88 FIP in 35 innings of work across his next eight appearances and found himself demoted to the bullpen, where he found some solid success in short relief. In sixteen relief appearances from August 13 onward, Smyly dominated with a 1.13 ERA in 20 2/3 innings of work and a 33.7% strikeout rate. Those strong relief outings didn’t translate to better performance out of the rotation, however, as Smyly surrendered 10 runs in just four innings of work across his final two starts of the season on August 22 and October 1.
Given Smyly’s superlative results out of the bullpen late in the season and his pronounced struggles as a member of the rotation, it seems unlikely that the Cubs would offer Smyly the inside track to the fifth starter role entering the 2024 campaign, though it’s possible he could earn the role through a combination of strong performance this spring and injuries to other options.
Wesneski won a camp battle for the club’s fifth starter spot last spring, beating out veteran right-hander Adrian Sampson for the role. Wesneski’s opportunity in the rotation came on the heels of a stellar debut late in the 2022 season, shortly after Chicago acquired him from the Yankees at the trade deadline in exchange for sidearming reliever Scott Effross. In six appearances down the stretch for the Cubs that year, Wesneski dominated to a 2.18 ERA and 3.20 FIP while striking out 25% of batters faced.
Unfortunately, Wesneski’s 2023 audition for a rotation job did not go nearly as well, as he allowed a 5.33 ERA and 5.96 FIP across 50 2/3 innings of work over 11 appearances (10 starts) to open the season. Wesneski was moved to multi-inning relief shortly there after and would make just one start (which lasted only two innings) the rest of the season, posting a respectable 3.72 ERA and 4.86 FIP in 38 2/3 innings of work over his final 23 appearances. It’s not hard to imagine Wesneski returning to the starting rotation at some point in the future, as the 26-year-old remains under club control through the 2028 campaign, though it appears likely he has been surpassed by other youngsters on the rotational depth chart for the time being.
The most experienced arm on this list outside of Smyly, the 26-year-old Assad made his big league debut in 2022 and pitched decently in a nine-appearance cup of coffee where he posted a 3.11 ERA and 4.49 FIP over 37 2/3 innings of work. Assad competed with Sampson and Wesneski for the fifth starter role out of camp last year, though his bid for the role was complicated by a detour to participate in the World Baseball Classic for Team Mexico.
Assad’s time in the tournament saw him dazzle with 5 2/3 scoreless innings of work as a multi-inning reliever. He struck out six on just two hits and a walk while touching 97 with his heater. The strong performance in a relief role led the Cubs to enter the season with Assad in that role, though he struggled to a 9.82 ERA in 7 1/3 innings across his first three appearances for Chicago last year, prompting the club to option him to Triple-A.
Upon returning to the majors in early May, Assad dominated out of the bullpen for the next three months, posting a 2.11 ERA in 42 2/3 innings of work across 16 appearances despite a 4.01 FIP. The Cubs then moved him to the rotation for the majority of the stretch run, and the right-hander held his own in the role with a 2.88 ERA and 4.25 FIP in 59 1/3 innings of work across the season’s final two months. Assad’s quality work in the rotation down the stretch with Chicago last summer should give him the opportunity to earn the final spot in the club’s rotation this spring, though its possible the Cubs value his versatility as a player who’s had success swinging in and out of the rotation throughout his young career.
Chicago’s first round pick in the 2021 draft, Wicks has the most impressive prospect pedigree of any of the club’s likely fifth starter options this spring. The southpaw has quickly climbed the minor league ladder and reached the majors last year with just 48 starts in the minor leagues under his belt, leading to some top 100 prospect buzz this winter with ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ranking Wicks as the #41 prospect in the entire sport, just five spots behind Kyle Harrison of the Giants. That impressive ranking is largely backed up by Wicks’ performance on the field. In 20 starts split between the Double- and Triple-A levels last year, Wicks posted a 3.55 ERA in 91 1/3 innings of work while punching out 26.5% of batters faced.
The lefty’s major league debut went nearly as well, as he posted a 3.00 ERA with a 3.95 FIP in 33 innings of work across his first six starts in the big leagues, though he struck out just 17% of batters faced during that time. Unfortunately, Wicks suffered the first blow-up start of his big league career in his final start of the season, surrendering six runs on six hits and one walk in just 1 2/3 innings of work against the Brewers. That left him with a uninspiring 4.41 ERA and 4.70 FIP across his first taste of big league action, though he did generate grounders at a solid 46.8% clip during that time.
Given the success he’s flashed in the majors and his prospect pedigree, it would hardly be a surprise to see the Cubs hand Wicks the keys to the final spot in Chicago’s rotation this spring, though its possible his low strikeout rate in the majors and ugly final start last year lead the club to believe the 24-year-old southpaw, who has pitched just 33 innings at the Triple-A level to this point in his career, needs more time to develop in the minors before joining the rotation full time.
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The aforementioned four arms appear to be the most likely internal options for the Cubs’ fifth starter spot to open the season, though there are at handful of dark horse options worth a mention as well. Top pitching prospect Cade Horton was the club’s first round pick in the 2022 draft and is generally regarded even better than Wicks after he dominated the lower minors to the tune of a 2.65 ERA in 21 starts last year. With that being said, the 22-year-old has no experience above the Double-A level, where he made just six starts last year, and has not yet been stretched out to the level required for a big league starting pitcher as he topped 75 pitches in an outing just three times last year.
Ben Brown is another prospect who has gotten top-100 buzz for the Cubs. Unlike Horton, he’s already on the 40-man roster and has reached the Triple-A level, though he struggled to a 5.33 ERA at the level last year while walking 15.8% of batters faced at the level. Porter Hodge and Caleb Kilian are two other starting pitching prospects already on Chicago’s 40-man roster, though Hodge has yet to pitch above the Double-A level and Kilian has struggled to a 12.42 ERA across six appearances in the majors, leaving each far more likely to open the season in the minors.
Phillies Acquire Michael Rucker, Designate Andrew Bellatti For Assignment
The Phillies announced Tuesday they’ve acquired reliever Michael Rucker from the Cubs in exchange for cash. He’d been designated for assignment by Chicago last week. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, the Phillies designated fellow right-hander Andrew Bellatti for assignment.
Rucker, who turns 30 in April, changes organizations for the first time. The BYU product had been a member of the Cubs since they selected him in the 11th round of the 2016 draft. After a couple seasons as a starter in the minors, he converted to relief by the 2019 campaign. Lofty strikeout tallies in the upper minors in 2019 and ’21 earned him a major league look midway through the 2021 season.
The right-hander has pitched at the MLB level in each of the past three years. He has allowed just under five earned runs per nine through 123 1/3 big league innings. Rucker allowed a near-7.00 ERA as a rookie before turning in a decent 3.95 mark across a personal-high 54 1/3 frames in 2022. Things skewed back in the wrong direction last year, as he was tagged for a 4.91 figure over 40 1/3 innings.
That led the Cubs to squeeze him off the roster when they signed veteran reliever (and former Phillie) Héctor Neris to a one-year deal. Rucker’s arm strength and reasonable peripheral numbers led Philadelphia to take a low-cost look. Rucker has punched out between 21% and 24% of opponents in each of his MLB seasons. He generated ground-balls at a personal-high 51.8% clip a year ago, although he also walked nearly 11% of batters faced. Rucker’s fastball averages just under 95 MPH and he showed some swing-and-miss upside with each of his slider and cutter last season.
Rucker also has a minor league option remaining, so the Phils can keep him at Triple-A Lehigh Valley for another season. That’s not true of Bellatti, whom he replaces on the 40-man roster. Bellatti looked like an excellent find for Philadelphia on a minor league contract heading into 2022, when he turned in a 3.31 ERA over 54 1/3 innings. He didn’t find the same level of success last year, pitching to a 5.11 mark through 24 2/3 big league frames.
The 32-year-old Bellatti posted strong results while in Triple-A a year ago. He worked to a 2.42 ERA with an above-average 25.7% strikeout percentage in 27 appearances with Lehigh Valley. The Phillies have a week to trade him or place him on waivers. Bellatti has been outrighted multiple times in his career, so he’d have the ability to elect free agency if he goes unclaimed in the coming days.
Cubs Designate Michael Rucker For Assignment
The Cubs have designated right-hander Michael Rucker for assignment, per Bruce Levine of WSCR. That moves opens a roster spot for Héctor Neris, whose signing is now official.
Rucker, 29, has been on the Cubs’ roster since the end of July 2021. He stayed with the big league club for the remainder of that season and has been serving as a frequently-optioned depth arm for the past two years. In the past three years combined, he has appeared in 96 big league games and logged 123 1/3 innings, allowing 4.96 earned runs per nine. His 22.6% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 46.6% ground ball rate are all around league average.
As mentioned, he was frequently sent on optional assignments, meaning he’s also thrown 76 innings of Triple-A ball over those three seasons. He posted a 3.20 ERA at that level over that time period, pairing a 26% strikeout rate with a 7.1% walk rate, while also getting grounders on nearly half of the balls in play he’s allowed.
Despite those generally solid results, he’s been nudged off the club’s roster this winter. The Cubs added Michael Busch and Yency Almonte in a trade with the Dodgers and have also signed free agents Shota Imanaga and Neris.
They will now have one week to trade Rucker or attempt to pass him through waivers. He could garner interest from other clubs based on his track record and roster flexibility. He still has one option year remaining and won’t need to be carried on an active roster. His service time clock is also just shy of two years, meaning he’s at least a year away from qualifying for arbitration and could be retained well into the future. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he could stick with the Cubs as non-roster depth.
MLBTR Podcast: The Jorge Polanco Trade, Rhys Hoskins and the Blue Jays’ Plans
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The trade sending Jorge Polanco from the Twins to the Mariners (1:10)
- The Brewers sign Rhys Hoskins (8:25)
- The Diamondbacks sign Joc Pederson while the Blue Jays sign Justin Turner (12:05)
- The Tigers sign prospect Colt Keith to an extension (20:30)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Is Cody Bellinger unsigned because of his asking price? Will the Cubs sign him or do they not want to block their outfield prospect? (27:35)
- Should the Mariners sign Blake Snell? Will they? Can they? (31:40)
Check out our past episodes!
- The Broadcasting Landscape, Josh Hader and the Relief Market – listen here
- The Cubs’ Activity, Marcus Stroman And Jordan Hicks – listen here
- Teoscar Hernández Signs With L.A. And The Move-Making Mariners and Rays – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Joe Smith Announces Retirement
Veteran reliever Joe Smith announced his retirement on Wednesday, calling it a career after spending parts of 15 seasons in the Major Leagues. Via his representatives at Excel Sports Management, Smith issued a lengthy statement thanking the Mets, Guardians, Angels, Cubs, Blue Jays, Astros, Mariners and Twins organizations in addition to his coaches, teammates, trainers and family for supporting him throughout his career.
Selected by the Mets in the third round of the 2006 draft, the now-39-year-old Smith was in the majors less than one year later and practically never looked back. That’s in large part thanks to the fact that Smith established himself as a quality big league reliever right out of the gate, pitching 44 1/3 innings of 3.45 ERA ball with a 22% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate as a rookie.
That set off a remarkable run of 13 straight seasons with an ERA of 3.83 or better for Smith — including five years with a sub-3.00 mark and two with a sub-2.00. While the sidearming Smith was rarely thrust into the ninth-inning spotlight (30 career saves), he’s one of the most consistent and prolific setup men in the game’s history. Since holds began being tracked, Smith’s 228 rank him in the top five all-time. His blend of durability and consistently strong performance kept him in leverage spots for more than a decade.
Smith wasn’t on the 2016 Cubs’ World Series roster after missing most of the final month of the season due to injury, but he did take home a ring that year and pitched in parts of five other postseasons (including in 2019, when he pitched in the World Series as the Astros finished runner-up to the Nationals). As was the case during his regular-season performances, he remained quite strong in October. In 14 career playoff innings, Smith yielded only four earned runs on eight hits and three walks with 13 strikeouts (2.57 ERA).
All told, Smith will walk away from the game with 762 1/3 innings of 3.14 ERA ball under his belt. In his career, he pitched for eight MLB clubs, notching a 55-34 record with 30 saves, 228 holds, a 21.1% strikeout rate and an 8.1% walk rate. Smith didn’t post an ERA over 4.00 until his age-37 season in 2021, and in 15 MLB seasons he never had a single year where he ERA climbed to 5.00 or higher. He picked up more than 13 years of Major League service time and earned more than $51MM in salary over the course of a quietly excellent career. Best wishes to Smith and his family in whatever lies in store for his post-playing days.
Cubs, Richard Lovelady Agree To Deal
Free agent reliever Richard Lovelady is signing with the Cubs, as announced by Driveline Baseball (on X). Lovelady confirmed the news on his own X account. It’s presumably a minor league contract with a Spring Training invitation. Chicago also agreed to a minor league deal with right-hander Sam McWilliams this afternoon, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (X link).
Lovelady, a 28-year-old southpaw, has pitched in parts of four MLB campaigns. A former 10th-round pick of the Royals, he debuted with Kansas City in 2019. Lovelady struggled in 26 appearances between 2019-20 before an impressive small-sample showing in ’21. He worked to a 3.48 ERA over 20 2/3 innings that year. Lovelady punched out an above-average 27.2% of opponents while running an excellent 56.6% grounder percentage.
Unfortunately, his time in K.C. was cut short by injury. A UCL sprain in his throwing elbow was a precursor to Tommy John surgery. He spent the following season rehabbing and was traded to the Braves in Spring Training last year. Lovelady never made an MLB appearance with Atlanta, who tried to sneak him through waivers in mid-April. The A’s stepped in to make a claim.
Oakland manager Mark Kotsay called on Lovelady 27 times. The Kennesaw State product allowed 4.63 earned runs per nine. He punched out a quarter of opponents with a 47.5% ground-ball rate. Those are reasonable peripherals but down from the numbers he showed in 2021. His average fastball speed was down to roughly 91 MPH after sitting in the 93 MPH range before the surgery. There wasn’t as dramatic a dip in his slider velocity, which was only marginally down from 86.6 to 85.9 MPH.
Injuries again ended Lovelady’s season and, ultimately, his tenure with the organization. He was shut down around the All-Star Break after being diagnosed with a pronator strain in his forearm. Lovelady finished the year on the injured list. Oakland waived him at season’s end and he became a minor league free agent.
Driveline included video of Lovelady throwing a recent bullpen session at their training facility. That’s a positive indicator for his arm health and seems to suggest he’ll be ready for game action this spring. Chicago is very light on left-handed bullpen options. Drew Smyly is likely pushed into relief after struggling as a starter. Luke Little and Bailey Horn, neither of whom have much MLB experience, are the only other lefty relievers on the 40-man roster.
McWilliams, 28, has spent time on the 40-man rosters of the Mets and Padres in his career. He has yet to make his major league debut. Sky-high walk rates in the upper minors kept him from getting a look in the majors. The 6’7″ hurler sat out last season before a return in the Mexican winter league this year. Over 25 1/3 frames there, he owns a 3.55 ERA with a 28.4% strikeout rate but a 13.7% walk percentage.
Cubs Sign Hector Neris
The Cubs have signed right-hander Hector Neris to a one-year, $9MM contract, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (via X). There is a $9MM club option attached for the 2025 season, and that vests into a player option if Neris makes at least 60 appearances this season. Between that option and additional incentive bonuses, the deal could be worth as much as $23.25 over the two seasons. Neris is represented by Octagon.
Best known for his time as the Phillies’ closer, Neris has spent the last two seasons in Houston, and is coming off (technically) the best year of his decade-long Major League career. Neris posted a 1.71 ERA over 68 1/3 innings out of the Astros’ bullpen, with an excellent 28.2% strikeout rate and some of the best soft-contact numbers of any pitcher in baseball.
There were a few red flags, however, which is likely why the righty landed what is officially just a one-year guarantee. Neris’ fastball velocity dropped to 93mph in 2023, rather markedly down from the 94.3mph average of his first nine seasons. He also had an 11.4% walk rate, marking the third time in the last four seasons that Neris’ walk rate has sat within the bottom 23rd percentile of all pitches. With a tiny .219 BABIP and a big 90.5% strand rate also aiding his efforts, Neris’ 3.89 SIERA was over two runs higher than his real-world ERA.
It’s fair to assume that some regression is in order, and these troubling secondary metrics aren’t exactly a great sign for a pitcher who turns 35 in June. However, even if Neris’ 2024 ERA is closer to that 3.89 figure, he still figures to bring value to Chicago’s relief corps in terms of both results and durability. Neris has a league-best 307 appearances since the start of the 2019 season, and a stint on the COVID-related injury list in 2020 marks the only time Neris has ever appeared on the IL during his big league career.
This kind of durability holds particular appeal for a Cubs team that was hit hard with bullpen injuries down the stretch, which contributed to Chicago’s 12-16 record in September and subsequent near-miss of a wild card berth. The Cubs were naturally known to be looking for relief help, though president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has traditionally been wary about committing big money to the pen given the year-to-year volatility of many relievers.
In that sense, Neris’ contract represents more aggression even if it remains a one-year deal, considering that the Cubs haven’t gone beyond $5MM on a relief pitcher since signing Craig Kimbrel in June 2019. Should Neris eat his usual amount of innings, hitting the 60-appearance threshold shouldn’t be too much of an issue, and thus he would top the two-year, $15MM deal that MLBTR projected for the reliever at the start of the offseason. Neris ranked 46th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents.
Neris has a similar clause in his previous deal, a two-year/$17MM pact signed with Houston in the 2021-22 offseason. The Astros held an $8.5MM club option ($1MM buyout) on Neris for 2024 that vested into a player option if Neris both passed a physical after the 2023 campaign, and if he made at least 110 appearances over the course of the two seasons. Neris ended pitching in 141 games, and then opted to decline his player option to re-enter the market in search of a richer deal.
Adbert Alzolay blossomed as the Cubs’ closer in 2023, and Neris will now step right in as Wrigleyville’s top setup option. Neris joins Yency Almonte as newcomers in the relief corps, and it can’t be assumed that the Cubs are now done with their bullpen shopping. Adding another veteran on at least a minor league deal seems like a possibility, and if Neris represents a bit of a splashy spend, perhaps Chicago could look for another reliever on a guaranteed deal within that sub-$5MM comfort zone.
The Cubs’ payroll now sits at roughly $196.3MM, and there’s still plenty of room to go before Chicago hits the $237MM luxury tax threshold. A big-ticket signing like Cody Bellinger could naturally absorb a lot of that remaining space, but there’s still plenty of flexibility for Hoyer during what has been a pretty quiet winter overall for the Cubs. The Shohei Ohtani pursuit carried a lot of the team’s attention in the offseason’s first month, though the Cubs have since added Shota Imanaga and Neris in free agency, while also adding Almonte and Michael Busch in a trade with the Dodgers.
The Astros, Cardinals, Mets, Rangers, and Yankees were all linked to Neris at various points this offseason. Earlier this month, it seemed as if the Rangers and Yankees were looking like the favorites to sign the right-hander, but Chicago ended up emerging to win the bidding.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Cubs, Carl Edwards Jr. Agree To Minor League Deal
The Cubs are bringing back free agent reliever Carl Edwards Jr. on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (X link). He’ll be in MLB camp as a non-roster invitee.
Edwards returns to the organization with which he made his MLB debut in 2015. The former Rangers draftee was dealt to Chicago as a prospect in the 2013 deadline swap sending Matt Garza to Arlington. Edwards moved to the bullpen by the time he got to the big leagues.
The lanky right-hander opened his MLB career with a few solid seasons on the North Side. While he only made five appearances in 2015, he pitched to a 3.75 ERA over 36 outings the following year. Edwards collected a World Series ring as part of the curse-breaking championship club. He continued pitching well over the next couple seasons, posting a sub-3.00 ERA in consecutive years from 2017-18.
Edwards struggled early in the 2019 campaign. That kicked off a nomadic stretch of his career. Chicago dealt him to the Padres at the deadline. He landed with the Mariners briefly in 2020 and made cameos with the Braves and Blue Jays the next season. A minor league deal with the Nationals during the lockout set the stage for Edwards’ best work in a few years.
He made the MLB roster by the middle of May. He pitched well enough to hold that spot all season, eventually logging 62 innings with a 2.76 ERA. The Nats tendered him a $2.25MM contract for his last year of arbitration. He was reasonably effective when healthy but limited to 32 appearances. Edwards had worked to a 3.67 ERA across 31 2/3 frames despite a subpar 16.9% strikeout rate and an alarming 12% walk percentage. Those peripherals likely would’ve muted trade interest at the deadline regardless, but a late June diagnosis of shoulder inflammation took a trade firmly off the table.
Edwards would spend the rest of the season on the injured list. He attempted to rehab in August but was diagnosed with a stress fracture after feeling continued shoulder soreness. He surpassed six years of MLB service and hit free agency at season’s end.
With the injury cutting short his ’23 campaign, he’ll now have to work his way back to an MLB roster. His fastball velocity was down slightly last season. The heater sat at 93.5 MPH on average, a little below his typical 94-95 MPH range. It’s possible he regains an extra tick or two if he’s able to put the shoulder pain behind him.
The Cubs had a league average relief group in 2023. Adbert Alzolay, Julian Merryweather and Mark Leiter Jr. are locked into season-opening roles, while lefty Drew Smyly seems ticketed for long relief after struggling as a starter last year.
Chicago recently acquired the out-of-options Yency Almonte from the Dodgers, suggesting he’ll secure an Opening Day spot. Pending further acquisitions, that leaves two or three jobs up for grabs among the likes of José Cuas, Daniel Palencia, Keegan Thompson and swing types like Hayden Wesneski and Javier Assad. Edwards joins Colten Brewer as non-roster veterans in camp.
Cubs, Red Sox Have Shown Reported Interest In Ryne Stanek
The Cubs and Red Sox are among the teams that have shown interest in reliever Ryne Stanek, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (X link). MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand also tied the right-hander to the Mets earlier this week.
Stanek, 32, profiles as a rebound candidate. He’s coming off a pedestrian season with the Astros. Over 50 2/3 innings, he turned in a 4.09 ERA with a league average 23.9% strikeout percentage. He issued walks at a slightly elevated 9.9% clip and surrendered 1.42 home runs per nine innings.
That platform showing paints Stanek as a fairly nondescript middle reliever. There’s more intrigue in both his pre-2023 performance and his velocity. He’d turned in a brilliant 1.15 ERA over 54 2/3 frames two seasons ago. While it’d have never been reasonable to expect him to maintain that kind of run prevention, Stanek’s overall production between 2018-22 was strong. Over that five-year span, he managed a 3.16 ERA while punching out more than 28% of opponents between the Rays, Marlins and Astros.
There’s reason to believe Stanek can recapture that form. The 6’4″ hurler remains one of the hardest throwers in the game. His fastball sat above 98 MPH last year, as it has for the bulk of his career. While that didn’t result in his customary strikeout tally, he still remained tough to hit on a pitch-for-pitch basis. Stanek induced a swinging strike on 14.7% of his offerings, placing him among the top 50 relievers in MLB (minimum 30 innings) in that regard.
Stanek’s age and mid-level results last season should limit him to a two-year deal at most. That’s part of the appeal for both Chicago and Boston. The Cubs haven’t been keen on significant bullpen investments in recent years. As shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, Chicago hasn’t signed a single reliever to a multi-year contract since their three-year deal with Craig Kimbrel halfway through the 2019 season. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer recently spoke generally about the risk in investing heavily in the bullpen because of the volatility associated with many relievers.
Boston hasn’t been as averse to spending on the relief crops, although new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow comes over from the Cubs front office. The Sox are seemingly working with financial limitations at this point of the winter. A deal for Stanek shouldn’t be prohibitive for either team.
The Cubs arguably need to add to the relief corps more than the Sox do. Chicago’s bullpen is led by Adbert Alzolay, Julian Merryweather and Mark Leiter Jr. While the group turned in roughly average results last season, it’s a potential weak point on an otherwise well-rounded roster. Boston has a pair of effective veterans at the back end in Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin, while John Schreiber joins Rule 5 pick Justin Slaten and a handful of starter/reliever hybrids as options for the middle innings. Jansen has been the subject of recent trade speculation (as has Martin to a lesser extent), but there’s no indication Boston is on the verge of a deal.
