Cubs Rumors

Cubs Notes: Madrigal, Wesneski, Leiter Jr.

By Darragh McDonald | March 16, 2023 at 2:56pm CDT

Cubs infielder Nick Madrigal has only played second base in his big league career thus far, but he’s not likely to see a lot of time there this year. The club’s major investment this offseason was signing shortstop Dansby Swanson, thus pushing Nico Hoerner over to second base. That nudged Madrigal into a competition for time at third base this spring, one in which he seems to have held himself well.

“He’s got to hit,” manager David Ross tells Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. “He still has to perform. That goes for just about everybody. He has missed a lot of time, but he looks really good and his timing looks good. We’ll see how camp plays out, but I definitely think he’s answered questions at third base. There’s no hesitation to put him in there.”

For his part, Madrigal also feels good about how things are going. “I’m focused one day at a time,” Madrigal said. “I’m feeling really good at the plate. Defensively, I feel like it’s all coming together. My body’s in a completely different spot this year compared to last year. I’m just looking forward to what’s ahead.”

Madrigal was hitting .305/.349/.425 for the White Sox in 2021 when a significant hamstring injury ended his campaign. Nonetheless, the Cubs acquired him in the Craig Kimbrel trade at that year’s deadline. Unfortunately, injuries hampered him yet again in 2022, as he made multiple trips to the IL and hit just .249/.305/.282. As noted by Ross, Madrigal will have to hit to hold onto that third base job, but it sounds like the club is fine with him from a defensive standpoint. Should he struggle at the plate, he’ll likely be fending off challenges from players like Christopher Morel, Zach McKinstry and Miles Mastrobuoni. Patrick Wisdom could also be a factor, though he might be getting some more time in the outfield corners with Seiya Suzuki set to begin the season on the IL.

More news out of Cubs camp…

The Cubs will also be deciding who their fifth starter is, with Marcus Stroman, Jameson Taillon, Drew Smyly and Justin Steele taking the first four spots. It’s viewed by many to be a race between Hayden Wesneski and Adrian Sampson, but Mooney reports that Wesneski is pulling away right now. Sampson, 31, had a nice season for the Cubs in 2022, posting a 3.11 ERA in 104 1/3 innings. However, he’s struggled badly so far this spring, giving up eight home runs in 8 1/3 innings, leading to a 14.04 ERA. Wesneski, 25, has been much better, throwing 8 2/3 scoreless frames with 11 strikeouts. Spring stats tend not to mean too much in the grand scheme of things, but it could be enough to push Wesneski ahead in this case. He also has the higher upside of the two, given he’s younger, has six remaining years of club control and is generally considered one of the club’s top prospects.
Another decision the Cubs will have to make is whether or not to give right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. a roster spot. Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports that Leiter has an opt-out in his contract that would allow him to return to free agency if he’s not added by March 30, which also happens to be Opening Day. The righty has a solid season for the Cubs last year, tossing 67 2/3 innings over 35 appearances with a 3.99 ERA. However, he exhausted his final option year and had reduced roster flexibility, perhaps contributing to getting outrighted off the roster in January. He elected free agency but returned to the Cubs on a minor league deal.

Joe Pepitone Passes Away

By Darragh McDonald | March 13, 2023 at 5:39pm CDT

The Yankees announced today that former major league first baseman/outfielder Joe Pepitone has passed away at the age of 82. “The Yankees are deeply saddened by the passing of former Yankee Joe Pepitone, whose playful and charismatic personality and on-field contributions made him a favorite of generations of Yankees fans even beyond his years with the team in the 1960s,” the statement reads. “As a native New Yorker, he embraced everything about being a Yankee during both his playing career — which included three All-Star appearances and three Gold Gloves — and in the decades thereafter. You always knew when Joe walked into a room — his immense pride in being a Yankee was always on display. He will be missed by our entire organization, and we offer our deepest condolences to his family, friends and all who knew him.”

Pepitone first signed with the Yankees as an amateur in 1958 and was able to make his major league debut in 1962. He got into 63 games for the Yankees that year, hitting seven home runs and batting .239. He didn’t make any postseason appearances that year, though the Yanks did go on to win that World Series.

He would go on to establish himself more firmly the next season, hitting 27 home runs in 157 games while batting .271. He would remain a fixture of the club’s lineup for the remainder of that decade, playing at least 100 games in each season from 1963 to 1969, hitting at least 13 long balls in each of those. He also won three Gold Glove awards in that stretch, one in 1965, 1966 and 1969, in addition to being selection to the All-Star game three straight years beginning in 1963.

He was traded to the Astros prior to the 1970 season and then was traded to the Cubs midway through that campaign. He’d go onto to spend roughly three years with the Cubs before getting traded to Atlanta in the middle of the 1973 season. He only played three games for Atlanta, which were the last of his major league career. He went to Japan that summer to join the Yakult Atoms, now known as the Yakult Swallows, but he hit just .163 in 14 games.

Pepitone’s major league career finished with him having appeared in 1,397 games. He racked up 1,315 hits, including 219 home runs. He stole 41 bases, scored 606 runs and drove in 721. We at MLB Trade Rumors join others in sending condolences to Pepitone’s family, friends, acquaintances and all those mourning him today.

Read The Transcript Of Our Chat Hosted By Former All-Star Second Baseman Jason Kipnis

By Anthony Franco | March 9, 2023 at 10:31am CDT

Jason Kipnis spent an hour fielding questions from MLBTR readers this morning. Read about his career below, and click here read a transcript.

Jason Kipnis was selected by the Indians in the second round of the 2009 draft. The Arizona State product reached the big leagues within two years. Kipnis collected a walk-off single for the first hit of his MLB career in just his second game. He’d go on to post an excellent .272/.333/.507 line as a rookie.

The left-handed hitter followed up with a .257/.335/.379 showing with 14 home runs and 31 stolen bases over 152 games in his first full big league season. He eclipsed 30 steals again the next year and posted a .284/.366/.452 mark with 15 longballs. Kipnis earned his first All-Star nod after winning the AL’s Player of the Month award in June 2013. He helped the Indians reach the Wild Card game and earned an 11th-place finish in AL MVP balloting.

After that season, the Indians committed to Kipnis on a six-year, $52.5MM extension. The deal, which also contained a 2020 club option, represented the second-largest investment in franchise history at the time. It cemented Kipnis as Cleveland’s primary second baseman through the end of the decade, and he responded with another handful of productive years.

While his power numbers took a step back in 2014, Kipnis stole another 22 bags in 25 attempts. He’d return to the All-Star Game for a second time during the ’15 campaign, finishing with a .303/.372/.451 slash that included the seventh-highest batting average and on-base percentage among qualified American League batters. Kipnis would pick up down-ballot MVP support for a second time as a result.

He had another very strong season in 2016, setting a career mark with 23 home runs. Through 688 trips to the dish, he hit .275/.343/.469 and swiped 15 more bases. The Indians won 94 games to claim the AL Central title and promptly tore through the Junior Circuit playoff field. After sweeping the Red Sox, Cleveland took the American League Championship Series in five games from Toronto. Kipnis was excellent in both the Division Series and a seven-game World Series against the Cubs. Cleveland came up a run short of the title, dropping one of the best World Series in recent history in the decisive extra-inning contest.

Injuries kept him to 90 games during the following season. Kipnis returned to tally 601 plate appearances of .230/.315/.389 hitting the next year, followed by a .245/.304/.410 mark in 2019. Cleveland bought out his option the next offseason, sending him to free agency for the first time. Kipnis signed a minor league contract with the Cubs — his childhood favorite team as a Northbrook, Illinois native — and made the big league roster out of camp. He locked in a $1MM base salary in so doing and hit .237/.341/.404 in 44 of the 60 games during the shortened schedule.

Kipnis returned to free agency at year’s end. He signed a minor league pact with the Braves but didn’t get a big league look on the eventual World Series champions despite a massive .290/.390/.518 showing over 59 games for Triple-A Gwinnett. That’d prove his final season as a pro player. Kipnis didn’t sign anywhere in 2022 and officially announced his retirement last month.

Overall, Kipnis logged parts of ten seasons at the major league level. He tallied just under 5000 plate appearances in 1165 games, hitting .260/.333/.416 with 126 home runs, 260 doubles, 545 runs batted in and 607 runs scored. Like his first MLB knock, Kipnis’ 1,000th hit couldn’t have come in much more dramatic fashion. He connected on a walk-off grand slam off Ian Hamilton to take down the division-rival White Sox in September 2018.

Jason, who announced his retirement last month, graciously took some time to chat with MLBTR readers this morning, talking about his favorite memories and teammates, sharing experiences from playing in the World Series, discussing his transition into broadcasting work and quite a bit more. Click here to read a transcript, and be sure to follow Jason on Twitter @TheJK_Kid.

View The Transcript Of Today’s Chat With Former MLB All-Star Pitcher Dan Haren

By Tim Dierkes | March 8, 2023 at 6:20pm CDT

Dan Haren joined MLBTR readers for a chat Wednesday evening. Click here to view the transcript. If you’re a current or former MLB player who would like to do a chat here, contact us!

Dan Haren was drafted in the second round in 2001 by the Cardinals out of Pepperdine. He reached the Majors in June of 2003, throwing a quality start against Barry Bonds and the Giants.

Haren spent the bulk of the following season at Triple-A, rejoining the big league club late in the season and moving in and out of the rotation. He wound up pitching in five games during the postseason that year, including two scoreless outings in the World Series.

After the ’04 season, the Cardinals traded Haren, Daric Barton, and Kiko Calero to the A’s for Mark Mulder. Haren quickly became a horse in Oakland’s rotation, and by the end of his first season with the A’s he signed a four-year extension covering his arbitration years worth $12.65MM. From 2005-07 with the A’s, Haren made 34 starts each year and totaled 662 2/3 innings. The 2006 A’s won the AL West and made it to the ALCS, with Haren making two postseason starts and winning one of them.

In 2007, Haren stepped into the leadership void left by Barry Zito’s departure, getting the Opening Day nod and starting for the AL All-Star team. However, after that season the A’s and GM Billy Beane went into a rebuild, shipping Haren to the Diamondbacks for Brett Anderson, Carlos Gonzalez, Chris Carter, Aaron Cunningham, Dana Eveland, and Greg Smith. Haren joined a D-backs rotation that already had Brandon Webb and Randy Johnson.

2008 was another excellent All-Star season for Haren, in which he led the NL in strikeout to walk ratio. Before that season ended, Haren signed a new extension with Arizona potentially running through 2013. His excellence continued in ’09, as Haren finished fifth in the Cy Young voting and again led the league in strikeout to walk ratio.

However, at the 2010 trade deadline, Haren was on the move in a blockbuster trade for the third time in his career. This time he was headed to the Angels for Patrick Corbin, Joe Saunders, Rafael Rodriguez, and Tyler Skaggs. He continued his dominance in 2011, leading the league in strikeout to walk ratio yet again and finishing seventh in the Cy Young voting.

After the 2012 season, Haren was nearly traded to the Cubs for Carlos Marmol, but Chicago balked and the Angels declined his club option. Reaching free agency for the first time in his career, MLBTR ranked Haren eighth on our top 50 list. He inked a one-year deal with the Nationals that winter. After a difficult season in D.C. (by his lofty standards), Haren landed closer to home with another one-year deal, this time with the Dodgers. Upon reaching 180 innings for the Dodgers, a $10MM player option vested for 2015, and Haren exercised it.

Another season with the Dodgers was not in the cards for Haren, however, and he landed with the Marlins as part of blockbuster trade number four. That was hardly Haren’s preference, but the Marlins hung onto him until they shipped him to the Cubs at the ’15 trade deadline. Rather than explore free agency again, Haren chose to hang up his cleats at the age of 35.

Over the seven-year span from 2005-11, Haren was one of the very best starting pitchers in Major League Baseball. His WAR total of 33.2 during that time ranked fourth in baseball, and his innings total ranked second. Though he typically topped out around 92 miles per hour in his prime, Haren was a master of command and an old-school horse. He pitched at least 216 innings in each of those seven seasons, and his total of 1,581 1/3 was topped only by CC Sabathia. Haren finished his career with three All-Star appearances, two top-seven Cy Young finishes, 153 wins, and a 3.75 ERA.

In recent years, Haren has served as a “pitching strategist” for the Diamondbacks, in which he “provides advance scouting reports and guidance to the club’s pitchers to maximize results on the mound.” You can find him on Twitter @ithrow88. That’s exactly what we did, and Dan graciously accepted our invitation to chat with MLBTR readers. Click here to join in!

Cubs Notes: Bullpen, Happ, Hendricks

By Steve Adams | March 7, 2023 at 9:52am CDT

The Cubs remain open to adding a left-handed reliever, writes Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, though it’s not a lock that they’ll ultimately strike a deal. The Cubs are reluctant to surpass the $233MM luxury tax barrier, and an incentive-based deal for former All-Star Zack Britton could push them past that point if he’s healthy and effective. Chicago has been “monitoring” Mike Minor as well, per the report, though his struggles in recent seasons are an understandable red flag.

President of baseball ops Jed Hoyer said just last week that he “wouldn’t be shocked” to see another reliever come into camp, although the Cubs saw a pair of options come off the board over the weekend when Will Smith signed with the Rangers and Brad Hand inked a deal with the Rockies. Chicago currently sits with a projected $225MM luxury tax figure, placing them $8MM shy of penalization. Even if a deal with Britton or Minor doesn’t come to fruition, that doesn’t necessarily close the book on the Cubs making any kind of addition. Many non-roster veterans throughout the league have opt-out provisions they could trigger if told they’re not making their current organization’s roster, and there will surely be a number of arms being designated for assignment and/or placed on waivers later this month as teams set their Opening Day rosters.

The Cubs-Dodgers Outfield Swap Puts Them In Different Positions

By Darragh McDonald | March 6, 2023 at 6:35pm CDT

The Cubs and Dodgers didn’t make a trade this offseason, but a series of transactions effectively added up to one. Here’s what I mean.

August of 2022: Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer announces they will release Jason Heyward at the end of the season.
November of 2022: Heyward officially released.
November of 2022: Cody Bellinger is non-tendered by the Dodgers.
December of 2022: Cubs sign Bellinger to one-year deal.
December of 2022: Dodgers sign Heyward to a minor league deal.

Both clubs had a long-tenured outfielder that was posting disappointing results. In both cases, they could have kept the player for one more year. Heyward still had one season left on his contract while Bellinger still had one arbitration season remaining. But in both cases, the club decided to cut bait, then swooped in to collect the other team’s castoff.

Now each club is going to be trying to coax a bounceback season from their respective new outfielder. In a vacuum, the Cubs are more likely to succeed. Bellinger has struggled over the past two years, producing a dismal .165/.240/.302 batting line in 2021 and then a subpar .210/.265/.389 slash last year. However, he was above average in 2020 and was the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 2019. He launched 47 home runs in that MVP season while hitting .305/.406/.629 for a wRC+ of 161. He also stole 15 bases and was graded well for his defensive work, being deemed to be worth 7.7 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs.

Heyward, on the other hand, has never really touched that kind of ceiling, and certainly not recently. He had a strong showing at the plate in 2020 but hasn’t been an above average hitter in a full season since 2015. He hit .293/.359/.439 for the Cardinals that year, leading to a 121 wRC+. He also stole 23 bases and was strong in the field, leading to a 5.6 fWAR tally. However, he’s been well below that type of production since then, including being below replacement level last year.

Bellinger was himself below replacement level in 2021, but that was at least partly caused by shoulder issues. Both players have struggled in recent years but Bellinger was an MVP not too long ago. Heyward has never been on that tier and hasn’t been close in almost a decade. Bellinger also plays the more premier position, as he figures to be the Cubs’ everyday center fielder. Heyward has played center on occasion but has primarily been a right fielder in his career. Given that Bellinger is only 27 years old and Heyward is 33, the likelihood of a return to form would seem to be stronger with Bellinger.

The Cubs seem to have backed the horse more likely to end up in the winner’s circle, but they also have way more on the line. Heyward still had $22MM left on his deal when he was released and the Cubs are still on the hook for that. Assuming he is eventually added to the Dodgers’ roster, they will only be responsible for paying him the prorated league minimum, with that amount subtracted from what the Cubs pay.

Bellinger, on the other hand, isn’t owed anything by the Dodgers since they didn’t tender him a contract for this year. The Cubs brought him aboard by guaranteeing him $17.5MM, in the form of a $12.5MM salary and $5MM buyout on a mutual option for 2024. That means that the Cubs are paying the salaries of both players, with the figures combining to be worth almost $40MM. The Dodgers aren’t really committed to either player right now and won’t even be paying meaningful money if Heyward does make the team.

Heyward’s chances of cracking the roster seem to have increased lately. With Gavin Lux potentially out for the entire season, it seems that Chris Taylor will be spending more time on the infield and less in the outfield. That subtracts from the club’s outfield depth a bit, perhaps increasing the need for a non-roster invitee like Heyward.

There’s also a bit of positive buzz around Heyward in spring so far. Last month, Freddie Freeman told reporters, including Alden González of ESPN, that Heyward had altered his stance and “might have unlocked something.” Heyward has four hits in ten at-bats so far this spring, including a pair of home runs. A few good spring games don’t mean much and it’s dangerous to draw meaningful conclusions from them, but it’s nonetheless encouraging, especially given the club’s penchant for helping journeymen find the best versions of themselves. Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote last week that Heyward is impressing L.A. officials and expected to make the team.

Again, this isn’t to get carried away. The season hasn’t even begun and a few good spring games shouldn’t make us forget about Heyward’s past six full seasons. It’s entirely possible that he continues to disappoint and this hot spring eventually becomes a footnote. But the Dodgers have little to lose in that case. It might be a bit embarrassing if Bellinger returns to form after they let him go for nothing. But at least they saved his salary, which was projected to be $18.1MM by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. They were then able to redirect that money into players like Noah Syndergaard and J.D. Martinez, who will cost $23MM combined this year.

The Cubs are perhaps facing a much more cringeworthy worst-case scenario. There is some non-zero chance that they have to watch Heyward thrive in Los Angeles while Bellinger struggles in Chicago, as they pay the salaries of both players. Time will tell whether that scenario is likely or not, but the Cubs have almost forty million reasons to hope it doesn’t come true.

Read The Transcript Of Our Chat Hosted By Former Cubs GM Ed Lynch

By Tim Dierkes | March 6, 2023 at 8:42am CDT

Former big league pitcher and Cubs general manager Ed Lynch chatted with MLBTR readers for more than two hours this morning. You can read the transcript here, and read up on his fascinating career below:

Before he became GM of the Cubs, Ed Lynch was a pitcher. He was drafted by the Rangers out of the University of South Carolina in the 22nd round back in 1977. A few years later, Lynch was traded to the Mets.

Lynch broke in with the Mets in 1980. Lynch led the Mets with 94 starts from 1981-85, working with rotation-mates such as Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, and Mike Scott. Known for his excellent control, Lynch ranked fifth in the NL in walk rate in ’83 and third in ’85.

Unfortunately, Lynch’s time with the legendary ’86 Mets was cut short, as he was traded to the Cubs on June 30th of that year. As Lynch later put it to Jennifer Frey of the New York Times, “It was like living with a family all year, then getting kicked out on Christmas Eve.” After the ’87 season, Lynch’s pitching career was over.

According to Frey, Lynch “went on to receive a law degree at the University of Miami. He was hired out of law school by Joe McIlvaine — then the general manager in San Diego — to serve as director of player development for the Padres.” After a brief stint under McIlvaine back with the Mets, Lynch was named GM of the Cubs in October 1994 at the age of 38.

Lynch’s top draft picks during his tenure as Cubs GM included Kerry Wood, Jon Garland, and Corey Patterson. One key Lynch trade, which I remember vividly reading about in the newspaper at the age of 15, was an August 1997 deal that sent Brian McRae, Mel Rojas, and Turk Wendell to the Mets for Mark Clark and Lance Johnson.

Those players were a key part of the 1998 Cubs, a Lynch team that broke a nine-year playoff drought. Led by a 66 home run season by Sammy Sosa and the typically-excellent Mark Grace, the ’98 Cubs also included Lynch pickups Mickey Morandini, Henry Rodriguez, Gary Gaetti, Kevin Tapani, and Rod Beck. Kerry Wood took home Rookie of the Year honors that season.

Player acquisitions during Lynch’s tenure as Cubs GM also included Brian McRae, Jaime Navarro, Todd Zeile, Luis Gonzalez, Scott Servais, Terry Mulholland, Jeff Blauser, Jon Lieber, and Eric Young. Additionally, Lynch was Cubs GM when Ryne Sandberg came out of retirement in 1996. Lynch was also responsible for the hiring of manager Don Baylor in 1999, the first minority to hold that job in franchise history.

According to a SABR article by Jon Springer, Lynch “remained in the Cubs organization for another decade as a special assistant to the GM before joining the Toronto Blue Jays as a professional scout in 2010.” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale caught up with Lynch in February 2020, revealing that he’s now working as a realtor.

Ed is the first former MLB GM to come on for a live chat here. If any other former GMs happen to read this and would like to participate, drop us a line! You get to choose which questions to publish and answer, and it only takes an hour.

Seiya Suzuki Likely To Open Season On Injured List

By Anthony Franco | March 2, 2023 at 10:15pm CDT

Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki is “highly likely” to start the year on the injured list, writes Patrick Mooney of the Athletic. That has seemed a strong possibility in recent days after an MRI revealed a strain of his left oblique.

The team didn’t provide many specifics on Suzuki’s injury. They declined to narrow down the grade of the strain or a timetable this week, only announcing it as a “moderate strain” on Tuesday. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer stopped short of ruling Suzuki out for the start of the season today but suggested an IL stint was on the table.

“We’re not going to put any firm timetables on it, but there are general expectations of what a ‘moderate’ oblique injury is,” Hoyer said (via Mooney). “That certainly puts Opening Day in strong jeopardy. We just want to make sure we get him completely healthy. When that is, I’m not sure. But when he does come back, he’s going to be ready to go and we’re not going to be concerned about it.”

Signed to a five-year, $85MM deal last offseason, Suzuki made a solid first impression against MLB pitching. He hit .262/.336/.433 with 14 home runs in 111 games, though a sprain of his left ring finger cost him a month of his rookie year. Suzuki walked at a solid 9.4% clip and made hard contact on an above-average 40.3% of his batted balls. His 24.7% strikeout rate was a couple points north of the league average but his contact rate on a per-pitch basis was strong.

It was an altogether encouraging first look, with Suzuki showing the foundation of solid or better contact skills, plate discipline and power. His year featured some peaks and valleys — most notably when he followed up a torrid first month with a dismal showing in May — but his overall offensive production checked in 16 percentage points above league average as measured by wRC+. Paired with his .315/.414/.570 showing over nine seasons at Japan’s top level, Suzuki entered 2023 as a potential middle-of-the-lineup presence.

That’ll likely be put on hold by the oblique issue. There still isn’t much clarity about when the Cubs expect him to return, though it’s not uncommon for oblique strains to sideline players for upwards of four to six weeks. If he does start off on the shelf, it appears right field will fall to Trey Mancini in the early going. Signed to a two-year free agent guarantee this offseason, the longtime Oriole is coming off a .239/.319/.391 showing with 18 homers in 587 plate appearances.

Mancini popped 35 homers back in 2019 but that season increasingly looks like an outlier in comparison to the rest of his career. He typically produces slightly above-average offensive marks, blending solid but not standout bat-to-ball tendencies and power. Mancini has a little under 2500 career innings of corner outfield work at the major league level. Public defensive metrics have generally panned his work in both left and right field, little surprise for a player who played mostly first base in college and in the minor leagues.

While a first base/designated hitter role better suits Mancini, he’s at least capable of holding down a corner outfield spot temporarily. Playing him in right field in the short term would leave a few more first base and DH at-bats for the likes of Christopher Morel, Patrick Wisdom and Edwin Ríos. The Cubs are planning to play Eric Hosmer at first base regularly against right-handed pitching but could turn to Wisdom there against southpaws.

Morel can also factor into the right field mix, as could the likes of Nelson Velazquez and non-roster invitee Mike Tauchman. Should Mancini be pressed into regular right field duty, that’d perhaps open a clearer path for first base prospect Matt Mervis — fresh off a monster season across three minor league levels — to earn his first big league call early in the year.

Cubs Have Shown Interest In Mike Minor

By Anthony Franco | March 2, 2023 at 7:55pm CDT

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said this afternoon the team was still monitoring the market for left-handed relief. Patrick Mooney of the Athletic adds some specificity to that search, reporting that players like Mike Minor, Will Smith and Brad Hand have all been under consideration. Mooney also adds Zack Britton — whose appeal to the Cubs has previously been reported — as a player the club has checked in on.

Interest in Smith, Hand and Britton is fairly straightforward for a club seeking southpaw help in the later innings. They’re arguably the three top unsigned relievers of either handedness. They’re all former All-Stars with strong career track records and more recent question marks.

Smith had a rocky first half of the season in Atlanta but quietly impressed following a deadline trade to the Astros. Hand allowed fewer than three earned runs per nine innings with the Phillies last season, but that came with strikeout and walk marks that were a few percentage points worse than the respective league averages. Britton has barely pitched over the past season and a half after battling elbow issues that culminated in September 2021 Tommy John surgery.

Smith has only previously been linked to the Tigers this offseason. Evan Petzold of the Free-Press reported Detroit’s interest a couple weeks back but noted that Smith was also drawing attention from clearer-cut contenders. The Cubs are coming off a 74-88 season but were well better than Detroit in 2022 and have had a far more active offseason in an effort for immediate improvement. The only other team that has been publicly tied to Hand are the Twins.

Unlike that trio, Minor hasn’t had any recent work out of the bullpen. He pitched exclusively in relief for the 2017 Royals after two seasons lost to shoulder problems. Since then, the veteran left-hander has pitched essentially entirely as a starter. He has started all but one of 119 appearances in the last five years. Minor had quite a bit of success in that capacity with the Rangers between 2018-19. Things have gone downhill in the trio of seasons since then.

Minor has allowed more than five earned runs per nine innings in each of the past three campaigns. Between 2020-21, he at least stayed mostly healthy and served as a source of back-of-the-rotation innings. That wasn’t the case in 2022, however. Minor was limited to 98 frames over 19 starts during his lone season as a member of the Reds. He posted a 6.06 ERA with a career-worst 16.7% strikeout percentage while allowing an untenable 2.2 home runs per nine.

It’s possible Minor’s struggles are attributable, at least in part, to injury. The 35-year-old began the season on the injured list with a shoulder concern and didn’t make his season debut until early June. He finished the year back on the IL thanks to renewed shoulder issues. The former All-Star hinted at potential retirement last fall but has apparently decided to give things another go. He recently held a showcase for interested teams.

Minor could appeal to teams seeking to stockpile their rotation depth, though the Cubs are presumably eyeing him as a potential relief option. Chicago has Marcus Stroman, Jameson Taillon, Justin Steele and Drew Smyly penciled into their top four rotation spots. Hayden Wesneski, Adrian Sampson and Javier Assad headline the group competing for the final rotation job to open the year. Kyle Hendricks, who’d surely get a starting job once healthy, is reportedly looking towards May for a potential rehab stint after his 2022 campaign was cut short by a capsule tear in his shoulder.

The Cubs have been linked to a number of lefty relief options throughout the offseason. Brandon Hughes is the only southpaw assured of a season-opening bullpen job. There’s room for a second pitcher, though the club has slow-played that area despite an otherwise aggressive offseason that has brought in Taillon, Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger, Trey Mancini, Tucker Barnhart and a handful of right-handed ’pen arms.

There might not be much room left in the budget. Roster Resource projects the Cubs’ luxury tax number around $225MM, $8MM shy of this year’s base threshold. Mooney writes the organization presently views that tax marker “as a soft salary cap,” limiting the amount of flexibility for Hoyer and his front office. It seems unlikely any of the remaining relievers would secure an $8MM guarantee at this point in the offseason — Minor, in particular, might be limited to non-roster offers — but most teams prefer to leave a bit of payroll space for in-season acquisitions.

Whether ownership would approve a bump above the luxury tax if the team is competing for a playoff spot in-season remains to be seen. Owner Tom Ricketts spoke vaguely about the tax in January, saying there “will be times I’m sure in the near future where we’ll go over. But we’ll always keep in mind that there’s a balance there you have to always look to manage” (link via Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune). The Cubs last paid the luxury tax in 2020.

Cubs Still Open To Signing Left-Handed Reliever

By Steve Adams | March 2, 2023 at 2:10pm CDT

Spring training is well underway, but the Cubs’ offseason work might not yet be complete. Patrick Mooney of The Athletic tweets that Chicago is still talking to some of the available left-handed relievers remaining in free agency, and president of baseball ops Jed Hoyer tells Mooney that he “wouldn’t be shocked” if he ended up bringing another arm aboard. Whether that’s on a big league or minor league deal remains to be seen.

At the moment, the only left-handed reliever on the Cubs’ roster is 27-year-old Brandon Hughes — a former 16th-round pick who wound up closing for the Cubs down the stretch on the heels of a strong debut campaign. The southpaw tossed 57 2/3 innings of 3.12 ERA ball, fanning a strong 28.5% of his opponents against an 8.8% walk rate. Hughes logged eight saves and four holds, seeing time in higher-leverage situations as the season wore on. With no set closer in place for the Cubs, he’s one of several arms who could again be in the mix for saves during the upcoming 2023 season.

As we’ve written on multiple occasions, the lone segment of the free-agent market that still has some remaining depth is left-handed relievers. Each of Zack Britton, Will Smith and Brad Hand remain unsigned, as does veteran swingman Ross Detwiler. (Lefty Jose Alvarez is also a free agent, but he’s recovering from Tommy John surgery performed last September and thus won’t pitch in 2023.) Britton recently worked out for six clubs, and the Cubs were among those in attendance.

The field for Britton might be even narrower than that sextet would suggest; since the former Orioles closer held that showcase, the Angels (who were also in attendance) have signed Matt Moore. Meanwhile, the Mets (another attendee) reportedly prefer relievers who can yet be optioned to Triple-A. The Yankees, also in attendance, are loath to add further payroll commitments and step into the fourth tier of luxury penalization. The Dodgers and Rangers were the other two clubs present for Britton’s workout.

It’s been a quiet offseason with regard to Hand, though his hometown Twins have reportedly shown some degree of interest. Hand, 33 in a couple weeks, posted a 2.80 ERA in 45 innings with the Phillies last year, although as MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald recently explored, a lot of the secondary metrics underneath that ERA stand out as red flags. Hand’s velocity, strikeout rate, walk rate, swinging-strike rate and opponents’ chase rate all clocked in at their worst levels since he became a full-time reliever, for instance. The broader track record is plenty appealing, but it’s been a couple seasons since he was a dominant late-inning force.

It’s a similar tale with Smith — another 33-year-old southpaw whose performance has dropped off in recent years. Smith’s three-year deal with the Braves didn’t go as Atlanta hoped — though he was a key figure in their ’21 World Series run — as he posted a solid but unspectacular 3.87 ERA in 121 innings after putting pen to paper on a contract that guaranteed him $40MM. His 2022 season in Atlanta was particularly shaky, as Smith walked 12.3% of his opponents en route to a 4.38 ERA, losing his grip on the closer’s role along the way.

Smith, however, enjoyed a strong rebound effort following a trade to the Astros, who made slight alterations to his release point and pitch selection (as we outlined here a couple months ago). The Detroit Free Press’ Evan Petzold reported last month that the Tigers had some interest in Smith but added that other clubs with greater postseason aspirations had also inquired on the lefty. The Cubs aren’t necessarily a clear-cut contender, though they stand a better chance of reaching the playoffs than a still-rebuilding Tigers club that’s recently undergone a front office overhaul.

At this juncture of the offseason, any of the remaining relievers would fall into what’s become the Cubs’ sweet spot for bullpen acquisitions. Since their ill-fated signing of Craig Kimbrel to a lucrative three-year pact, the Cubs have shied away from multi-year deals and hefty salaries for bullpen arms. Dating back to the 2019-20 offseason, they’ve signed veterans like Mychal Givens, David Robertson, Ryan Tepera, Brad Boxberger, Chris Martin, Daniel Norris, Brandon Workman and Trevor Williams in free agency — but all have been on one-year deals with guarantees randing from $1.75MM to $5MM. With limited demand for free agents on MLB deals, it seems feasible that any of Britton, Smith or Hand could be had for something in that general price range.

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