Cubs Select Nick Burdi, Option Hayden Wesneski
The Cubs announced a series of roster moves prior to tonight’s opener in Houston (relayed by Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune). Chicago selected reliever Nick Burdi onto the MLB roster and recalled Jeremiah Estrada from Triple-A Iowa. In corresponding moves, starter Hayden Wesneski was optioned while reliever Brad Boxberger landed on the 15-day injured list with a forearm strain. The Cubs placed Adrian Sampson on the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Burdi.
Burdi, 30, returns to the majors for the first time since 2020. A second round pick of the Twins in 2014, he preceded younger brother Zack Burdi in going from star college closer at Louisville to highly-regarded professional relief pitching prospect. Burdi never made it past Double-A in the Minnesota system thanks to injuries and strike-throwing concerns. The Pirates eventually added him (by way of trade with Philadelphia) in the 2017 Rule 5 draft.
The right-hander went on to pitch in parts of three seasons with Pittsburgh. He tallied just 12 1/3 combined innings, however, as successive Tommy John and thoracic outlet procedures mostly kept him off the mound. Burdi allowed 14 runs despite an impressive 23 strikeouts in his limited big league look and he spent all of 2021-22 on the minor league injured list.
Chicago nevertheless took a no-cost flier this offseason. They added him from the Padres — with whom he’d signed a minor league deal — in the Triple-A portion of the Rule 5 draft. He was assigned to Iowa and has pitched well in his long-awaited return to the mound. Through 10 2/3 innings, he’s allowed just four runs while punching out an excellent 19 of 49 hitters (a 38.8% clip). He’s walked five batters and hit three more but the ability to miss bats is still clearly present if he’s able to stay healthy.
Burdi racked up three years of major league service with all of his time on the IL for Pittsburgh. He still has a full slate of minor league option years remaining, so the Cubs can move him between Chicago and Iowa without exposing him to waivers. He’ll be eligible for arbitration through at least 2026 if he can carve out a lasting 40-man spot.
For now, he’ll take the bullpen spot vacated by Boxberger. The veteran right-hander has had a tough go since signing a $2.8MM free agent deal with Chicago. Through 17 appearances, he’s been tagged for a 5.52 ERA and walked just under 14% of opposing hitters. Boxberger’s average fastball velocity is down a tick from where it sat last season with the Brewers, perhaps a reflection of him pitching through some discomfort. He’ll be out of action for at least a couple weeks; the Cubs haven’t provided any specifics on his return timetable.
Wesneski is one of the top starting pitching prospects in the Chicago farm system. Acquired from the Yankees for Scott Effross at last summer’s trade deadline, he impressed over six appearances late last season. That success hasn’t yet carried over for the 25-year-old. He’s allowed a 5.03 ERA over 39 1/3 innings through eight starts. Wesneski has surrendered an untenable 10 home runs and posted a 16.7% strikeout percentage and 8.2% swinging strike rate that are each well below the league average.
It had seemed as if Wesneksi was righting the ship following a slow start to the season. He’d rattled off three straight one-run outings since April 27 before a seven-run drubbing at the hands of the Twins on Saturday. The Cubs decided to give him some time for a reset in Iowa, leaving a four-man starting staff of Marcus Stroman, Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon and Drew Smyly. Chicago is off on Thursday and next Monday, allowing them to get by without a fifth starter until the end of next week. By then, Kyle Hendricks figures to be ready for his first MLB action of the season. The veteran hurler has made four rehab starts with Iowa as he works back from a strain in his shoulder that cut short his 2022 campaign.
Sampson has yet to pitch in the majors this season. The right-hander suffered a right knee injury in Triple-A and underwent surgery two weeks ago. He’ll be out until at least the middle of July as a result. The only silver lining is that he’ll paid a major league salary for time spent on the injured list now that the Cubs put him on the MLB IL to clear the 40-man roster spot.
Cubs, Marcus Stroman Had Preliminary Extension Talks
The Cubs and Marcus Stroman explored an extension this spring, reports Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun Times. While no deal was reached, the door seems to still be open on some sort of extension coming together this season.
Stroman is off to a fantastic start this season, working to a 2.28 ERA over his first eight starts. That sort of form makes it increasingly likely that Stroman opts out of the final year and $21MM remaining on his contract in 2024.
“I’ve been open with the front office here, been very vocal that I want to be here and I want an extension, that I don’t want to honestly make it to free agency,” Stroman told Lee. “The organization top down, how they handle the players, how they handle the families, how they operate, I love everything about it. So, I would love to be a Cub for, honestly, the rest of my career, and sign one more deal and be done.”
While it’s fairly common for players approaching free agency to declare an interest in a reunion, those comments from Stroman are particularly strong and do show a clear desire from his side to remain a Cub long term. While it’s unclear how far extension talks got during the spring, Lee adds that they haven’t reopened them so far this season.
Stroman joined the Cubs last year on a three-year, $71MM deal and has been a steady arm at the top of their rotation. Over 33 combined starts since, Stroman owns a 3.19 ERA, striking out 7.9 batters per nine innings and walking 2.6. He’s spent time on the Covid IL and also missed a little bit of time to shoulder inflammation last season, but has generally been a regular fixture in Chicago’s rotation.
Even with some regression from his quality start to the season, Stroman appears a very good shout to top the $21MM remaining on his deal. He’ll also be ineligible for a qualifying offer, further boosting his market opportunities. The starting pitching market is strong this year, with Shohei Ohtani, Julio Urias and Aaron Nola all headlining it, with the likes of Jordan Montgomery, Lucas Giolito, Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto all quality options. In fact, those seven players all featured on Tim Dierkes’ recent Free Agent Power Rankings. Stroman would very much fit into that mix, and would expect to do well in free agency.
As for the Cubs, they do have a fair bit of money tied up to the likes of Dansby Swanson, Jameson Taillon, Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ in 2024, with payroll commitments currently sitting at about $148MM for next season, but they’re also off to a solid start in 2023 and they’ll be expected to spend again next winter as they look to push their new core back to playoff contention.
Cubs Place Nico Hoerner On Injured List
The Cubs announced they’ve placed second baseman Nico Hoerner on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 9, due to a left hamstring strain. Utility player Miles Mastrobuoni was recalled from Triple-A Iowa to take his spot on the active roster. Chicago also reinstated reliever Brandon Hughes from the IL and optioned swingman Javier Assad to Iowa.
Hoerner has gotten off to a nice start to the year. After signing a three-year extension in Spring Training, the 25-year-old infielder has put together a .303/.348/.395 line over 164 plate appearances. He’s already stolen 12 bases in 14 attempts and has kept his strikeout rate to a customarily excellent 10.4% clip. The Stanford product has gotten typically strong reviews from public metrics for his defense at second base.
The Cubs have deployed Hoerner at the top of the lineup. Since he came up with the hamstring issue a few days ago, Nick Madrigal and Christopher Morel have gotten some looks at second base and in the leadoff spot. That’ll continue for at least the next week, with Mastrobuoni also again in the picture after hitting .291/.494/.455 over 18 games in Iowa.
Hughes, 27, figures to return to a high-leverage role out of the bullpen. The southpaw was excellent as a rookie last year, tossing 57 2/3 innings of 3.12 ERA ball with a strong 28.5% strikeout rate. He’d seen some time in the ninth inning by year’s end and picked up eight saves. He’s twice gone on the IL because of left knee inflammation thus far in 2023, though, limiting him to five MLB appearances.
Ryan Borucki Elects Free Agency
TODAY: The Cubs announced that Borucki has opted for free agency rather than accept the outright assignment.
MAY 5: Cubs reliever Ryan Borucki has gone unclaimed on waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Iowa, tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Borucki has the right to decline the assignment in favor of minor league free agency based on a previous career outright and having over three years of major league service. According to Bastian, the left-hander is still deciding whether to accept the assignment.
Borucki signed a minor league deal with Chicago over the offseason. The Cubs selected his contract at the end of April. He was on the MLB roster for two days and didn’t get into a game before being designated for assignment. While he’s yet to pitch in the majors this season, the Illinois native reached the highest level every year between 2018-22.
The bulk of that experience came with the Blue Jays, who initially drafted Borucki in the 15th round back in 2012. Borucki had some success early in his career but has struggled in the last few years. Since the start of the 2021 campaign, he carries a 5.33 ERA with a 20.1% strikeout rate and lofty 10.5% walk percentage in 49 innings.
Borucki has been off to a rough start to the year in Iowa. Prior to his call-up, he was tagged for 13 runs (12 earned) in nine innings. He punched out 11 and induced ground-balls at a quality 51.7% clip but walked six of 49 batters faced.
Cubs Notes: Hendricks, Gomes, Sampson
Veteran right-hander Kyle Hendricks has rejoined the Cubs in Chicago to work with the coaching staff midway through his current rehab assignment, as noted by Gordon Wittenmeyer at the Chicago Tribune. Hendricks struggled mightily in two rehab appearances at the Triple-A level last week, surrendering 10 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings of work. Despite those results, though, Hendricks has seen his velocity tick up as high as 90 mph. That marks a return to form for Hendricks, who had seen his fastball velocity decline in recent years, concluding with a fastball that sat 86-87 mph last season.
Entering the 2021 season, Hendricks was not just the most reliable starter in the Cubs rotation, but among the most reliable starters in all of baseball. From 2014 to 2020, only six pitchers with at least 1,000 innings pitched had a lower ERA than Hendricks’s 3.12 figure: Clayton Kershaw, Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Corey Kluber, Zack Greinke, and Chris Sale. Despite that elite company, however, injuries and ineffectiveness have plagued Hendricks since the start of the 2021 season, as the soft-tossing right-hander posted a 4.78 ERA and 4.87 FIP in 265 1/3 innings over the past two campaigns with strikeout, walk, and groundball rates all worse than his career average.
Hendricks saw his 2022 season come to an end early as he underwent surgery to repair a capsular tear in his shoulder last July. He began the season on the injured list as the Cubs decided to take his recovery slowly, though he appears to be nearing a return, with Mark Gonzales noting the club plans for him to return to Triple-A Iowa for rehab starts on Tuesday and Sunday. Upon his return, Hendricks will factor into a rotation that currently sports Marcus Stroman, Justin Steele, Drew Smyly, Jameson Taillon, and Hayden Wesneski.
Also noted by Gonzales is that catcher Yan Gomes has resumed baseball activities. Gomes was placed on the 7-day concussion IL, who was hit in the head by a backswing last week, opening the door for catching prospect Miguel Amaya to make his big league debut. Amaya has shared time behind the plate with Tucker Barnhart while Gomes has been on the shelf, but Gomes figures to take the lion’s share of playing time once he returns from injury.
A less positive injury update came from Cubs manager David Ross regarding right-hander Adrian Sampson, as noted by Wittenmeyer. The 31-year-old journeyman underwent debridement surgery on his right knee on Friday. No timetable has been announced for Sampson’s return to action. After a solid pair of partial seasons with the Cubs that saw him post a 3.03 ERA and 4.28 FIP in 139 2/3 innings since the start of the 2021 season, Sampson was in the mix to be the Cubs’ fifth starter this spring, though he ultimately lost out on the role to Wesneski. Sampson has yet to pitch in the majors for the Cubs this season, but figures to be a depth option for them whenever he returns to the mound.
Cubs Promote Matt Mervis
May 5: The Cubs officially selected Mervis’s contract this morning, as noted by MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. In a corresponding move, infielder Edwin Rios was optioned to Triple-A Iowa. The club already had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so no additional move was required to select Mervis. Mervis will make his MLB debut in this afternoon’s game against the Marlins, playing first base and batting seventh.
Rios, 29, has struggled with the Cubs so far this season, albeit in a tiny sample of just 25 plate appearances, with a slash line of .100/.280/.300 and nine strikeouts. He figures to serve as infield depth for the club at the Triple-A level going forward.
May 4: The Cubs will select the contract of first base prospect Matt Mervis, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. He’s not with the team for today’s series finale in D.C. but will join the Cubs when they return to Chicago tomorrow to kick off a homestand with a series against the Marlins.
Mervis, 25, was a 39th-round pick of the Nationals back in 2016 but didn’t sign, instead opting to attend college at Duke. He wasn’t selected in the shortened, five-round iteration of the 2020 draft and wound up signing with the Cubs as an undrafted free agent.
That’s proven to be quite the find for the Cubs, as Mervis has laid waste to minor league pitching and established himself as one of the organization’s top-ranked prospects. Over the past two seasons, Mervis has skyrocketed from High-A to Triple-A (and now the Majors), batting a combined .305/.383/.615 with 42 home runs in 161 games across three minor league levels. That includes a torrid .286/.402/.560 slash and six home runs through his first 112 plate appearances in Triple-A this season.
Baseball America ranks Mervis fourth among Cubs farmhands, while MLB.com has him sixth. Mervis is generally regarded as an all-bat prospect, as he’s a sub-par runner and not a standout defender at first base. BA’s report on him notes that a shortened swing and refined approach at the plate unlocked a new level of performance for Mervis in 2022, and he’s clearly kept that up in 2023, given that he’s walked (16.1%) nearly as often as he’s punched out (17%). The left-handed-hitting Mervis was awful against left-handed pitchers in his first pro season, but he improved to .268/.339/.529 against southpaws in 174 plate appearances last year and is 6-for-20 with two homers, two doubles, six walks and six strikeouts in 27 plate appearances against same-handed opponents so far in 2023 (.300/.482/.700).
Mervis’ ascension to the big leagues comes at a time when veteran first baseman Eric Hosmer is struggling, having batted just .250/.294/.363 in 85 plate appearances. Cubs first basemen are still hitting .296/.331/.470 on the season, though that’s skewed by the fact that the vast majority of Trey Mancini‘s production has happened to come while he’s playing at first base rather than in the outfield or at designated hitter. Mancini is certainly capable of playing either outfield corner and has enough bat to be an option at DH, so there’s room to get both into the lineup.
Keeping Hosmer, who’s also a lefty hitting, first base-only player on the roster alongside Mervis would be trickier, though there’s no direct indication yet that Mervis’ promotion puts Hosmer’s roster spot in jeopardy. Hosmer himself recently acknowledged that may end up being the case in an interview with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, though he voiced nothing but support for Mervis.
“This is my 13th year in the league,” Hosmer told Rosenthal. “I’m not going to sit here and be bitter about a young kid coming up. That’s not right. … I was in spring with Matty. I was always trying to help, give him my two cents on what’s coming for him in the league, how you can simplify some stuff. It’s not something where I’m watching over my shoulder, or living and dying by his at-bats. When it comes that time, that’s when you can move on and do something else. I know he’s going to be a big part of this organization. I’ve got to help him any way I can.”
While future optional assignments can always impact a player’s timeline to arbitration and free agent, it’s worth at least outlining where those milestones currently stand for Mervis. If he’s in the big leagues for good from this point forth, he’ll fall shy of a full year of service in 2023 (barring a top-two finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting). That means he’d be on pace to reach free agency after the 2029 season, although an early-May call-up will surely afford him enough service time to qualify as a Super Two player. As such, he’d reach arbitration following the 2025 season and be eligible four times rather than the standard three.
If Mervis does manage to secure a top-two place in NL Rookie of the Year voting, he’d gain a full year of service and bump his free agent timeline up to the 2028-29 offseason in the process. He’d still be arb-eligible following the 2025 season, but he’d get there as a player with three years of service and thus only be eligible three times.
Roenis Elías Signs With KBO’s SSG Landers
The SSG Landers of the KBO League announced that they have signed left-hander Roenis Elías, hat tip to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net. Elías will take the roster spot of fellow lefty Enny Romero and make a salary of $540K. Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News had previously reported that these moves were close.
Elias, 34, has made 133 major league appearances dating back to the 2014 season, spending time with the Mariners, Red Sox and Nationals. He has a 3.96 ERA in 395 2/3 career innings, striking out 19.6% of batters faced, walking 9% and getting grounders at a 42% clip.
The lefty signed a minor league deal with the Cubs this winter but didn’t make the club out of camp. He made four starts in Triple-A this year, posting a 5.48 ERA, but will now get a chance to test himself overseas, earning a larger salary than he would have garnered if he stayed in the minors.
He’ll take the place of Romero, who signed with the Landers back in December. However, he injured his shoulder back in March, per Kurtz, and hasn’t pitched in an official game yet this season. KBO teams can only carry two foreign pitchers on their roster and the Landers have one spot taken by Kirk McCarty. Romero’s unfortunate injury will open the door for Elías to get an opportunity.
Robinson Chirinos Announces Retirement
Veteran catcher Robinson Chirinos announced on Twitter today that he is retiring from professional baseball. “With a happy, yet heavy heart, I am announcing my retirement from professional baseball,” the statement reads. “After much contemplation and reflection, I have decided to close this chapter of my life. It has not been an easy decision, but I feel that it is the right one for me as I have given my heart and soul to this sport over so many years.” He then goes on to thank his family members, teammates, coaches, fans, team staff and many others who he crossed paths with over the years.
Chirinos, now 38 years old, originally signed with the Cubs as an amateur out of Venezuela back in 2000, shortly after his 16th birthday. An infielder at that time, he would toil away in the Cubs’ minor league system for a decade, starting his move to the catcher position in 2008. He was added to the club’s 40-man roster after 2010 but was traded to the Rays a few months later, going alongside Chris Archer and others as the Cubs acquired Matt Garza.
It was in that 2011 season that Chirinos was able to make his major league debut, getting into 20 games, but he had to miss the entire 2012 campaign due to a concussion. He was traded to the Rangers in April of 2013 for a player to be named later and would eventually spend six years with that club. His role was initially limited but gradually grew over time as he provided some pop behind the plate. From 2013 to 2018, he hit 67 home runs in 442 games, slashing .233/.325/.443 during that time for a wRC+ of 104. That coincided with a good stretch for the club as well, as Chirinos was able to get into four postseason games with the Rangers between 2015 and 2016.
He reached free agency for the first time after 2018 and he eventually signed with the Astros for one year and $5.75MM. He had a nice season in Houston, launching 17 home runs and hitting .238/.347/.443 for a wRC+ of 112. He would get into 14 more postseason games that year as the Astros went to the World Series, ultimately falling to the Nationals in seven games.
He would go into journeyman mode for the next few years. He returned to the Rangers for 2020 on a one-year, $6.75MM deal but ultimately hit just .162/.232/.243 in the shortened season, which included a trade to the Mets. He signed a minor league deal with the Yankees for 2021 but fractured his wrist after being hit by a pitch in Spring Training. He was released and eventually got into 45 games for the Cubs after returning to health, then got into another 67 contests with the Orioles last year.
All told, it was an unusual career for Chirinos, who seemed to do everything a little later than normal. He didn’t start playing his primary position until his mid-20s, then didn’t make it to the majors until his age-27 season and didn’t really become a regular until he was 30. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference consider his best season by wins above replacement to be 2019, his age-35 campaign.
Despite that delayed trajectory, he still managed to get into 714 major league games and make 2,457 plate appearances. He tallied 480 hits, including 95 home runs, scoring 275 times and driving in 306. MLBTR congratulates Chirinos on a fine career and wishes him the best in the next stages of his life.
Cubs Trade Luis Torrens To Orioles
The Orioles have acquired catcher Luis Torrens from the Cubs in exchange for cash, per a team announcement. Right-hander Joey Krehbiel was designated for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
Torrens, 26, signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in the offseason. He appeared in 13 games for them this season but tallied only 22 plate appearances, going 5-for-20 with a double, a walk and eight strikeouts in that time (.250/.318/.300).
Prior to that brief run in Chicago, Torrens spent two years with the Mariners after coming over alongside Ty France and Andres Munoz in the trade sending Austin Nola, Austin Adams and Dan Altavilla to the Padres. In 799 Major League plate appearances, he’s a .227/.289/.352 hitter with 19 long balls, a 26% strikeout rate and a 7.8% walk rate. While he wasn’t especially productive in his time with Seattle, he did make a fair bit of hard contact, averaging 91 mph off the bat and putting 45.7% of his batted balls in play at an exit velocity of at least 95 mph.
Defensively, Torrens has drawn below-average grades from Defensive Runs Saved and most pitch-framing metrics. He has a career 21.7% caught-stealing rate that’s below the league average, and he came up empty in his only attempt to throw a runner out with the Cubs. He did throw out nine of 28 attempted thieves (32.1%) as recently as last season.
Torrens is out of minor league options, so the Orioles will carry him on the big league roster. That’ll give them three catching options, as he’ll join 2022 Rookie of the Year runner-up Adley Rutschman and veteran James McCann on Baltimore’s roster.
Krehbiel, 30, hasn’t pitched in the Majors this season but logged 57 2/3 innings out of Baltimore’s bullpen in 2022, notching a solid 3.90 ERA with a below-average 18.4% strikeout rate but a sharp 7.4% walk rate. Overall, her has a 3.78 ERA in 69 Major League frames between the D-backs, Rays and O’s.
The 2023 season has been rough for Krehbiel, however. While he’s sporting a 2.00 ERA in nine Triple-A frames, he’s also walked more batters (seven) than he’s struck out (six) and has plunked another hitter. That’s nearly 22% of Krehbiel’s opponents that have either drawn a free pass or reached via hit-by-pitch. Even beyond those command woes, Krehbiel’s broader numbers in Triple-A (5.34 ERA in 175 1/3 innings) are actually worse than his big league output.
The Orioles will have a week to trade Krehbiel or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. He’s been outrighted once before, so even if he goes unclaimed, he’d have the right to elect free agency if he chooses.
Cubs Designate Ryan Borucki For Assignment
The Cubs have made a couple of roster moves today, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. They have recalled catcher Miguel Amaya and designated left-hander Ryan Borucki for assignment.
This series of moves was prompted by an injury to Yan Gomes, who was hit in the head by a backswing yesterday and removed in the second inning. That left Tucker Barnhart as the only healthy backstop on the roster, which led the Cubs to call on Amaya.
The 24-year-old has had a long journey to get here, having been signed as an international amateur out of Panama back in 2015. He’s been considered one of the club’s more notable prospects for quite some time, with Baseball America ranking him #2 in the system in 2019. He was added to the club’s 40-man roster at the end of that year in order to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.
The minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic in 2020 and then Amaya only played 23 games in 2021, eventually requiring Tommy John surgery that wiped out a lot of his 2022 as well. Due to those factors, he’s only played 76 minor league games since the end of 2019, missing out on a big chunk of development time.
He’s off to a great start here this year, having hit .273/.411/.659 in 13 Double-A games. The injury to Gomes will give him a chance to skip Triple-A, at least for the moment, and make his major league debut as soon as he’s put into a game. Gomes is still under evaluation, per Montemurro, and the extent of his injury will likely impact how long Amaya is up in the majors.
As for Borucki, he was just selected to the club’s roster on the weekend and now gets designated for assignment without even getting into a game. A former starter with the Blue Jays, he’s converted to relief in recent years with mixed results. He had a 2.70 ERA in 2020 but that jumped to 4.94 and 5.68 in recent years as his strikeout rate dipped in kind, going from 28.8% to 21.4% and 18.9%.
The Cubs will have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers though the interest might be muted given his struggles in recent years. He’s also posted an ERA of 12.00 in Triple-A so far this year. In the event he clears waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency, both on account of having a previous career outright and having more than three years of major league service time.