Cubs Showing Interest In Additional Late Inning Relievers

[Bertz]

The Cubs continue to cast a wide net on late inning relievers.  Hardly a surprise after how many issues the team's bullpen had in 2024.  Two separate names were mentioned Monday afternoon from the winter meetings

In between injuries, AJ Minter has been one of the best lefty handed relievers in the league the last 5 years, sporting a 2.85 ERA over 243 innings.  A hip injury which required surgery ended Minter's season in August.

Kyle Finnegan was the Nationals' closer for much of the year, though he was non tendered last month as his arbitration salary exceeded what the Nationals were comfortable paying him.

Both names are in line with Kirby Yates and Andrew Chafin, who the team was tied to last week by Bruce Levine.  Not exactly playing against type, Jed Hoyer seems to be zeroing in on relievers who have late inning stuff and experience but aren't quite in line for multi-year deals.

View full rumor

[Bertz]

I'm generally pretty cool with the relievers we're hearing about, but I'm really hoping if this is the depth we're working in that we add two of them.  I feel like that's the appropriate way to mitigate the risk/reward proposition.  Each one is probably quite good, but has a sizeable "but."  For Chafin and Yates it's age, for Minter it's his injury rehab, for Finnegan it's that he requires some pitch-lab work.

[Tryptamine]

This is going to be another year where they buy a guy with significant questions marks for like 8M when if they had just paid 10 or 11M they could have had Robertson who is solid basically every year isn't it?

[WhyCantWeWin]

I never heard of Minter before but his numbers are pretty good, he would be a solid addition 

[We Got The Whole 9]

I brought Minter up last month. Excellent power LHRP, Jed special, to get him for 1 year + an option. 

[squally1313]

3 hours ago, Tryptamine said:

This is going to be another year where they buy a guy with significant questions marks for like 8M when if they had just paid 10 or 11M they could have had Robertson who is solid basically every year isn't it?

I mean, we did sign Robertson 3 years ago. 

[Tryptamine]

Just now, squally1313 said:

I mean, we did sign Robertson 3 years ago. 

Coming off the only time he has struggled. It's like Jed just can't take talent, he has to find guys who are coming off injury, coming with major question marks, coming off down years. He just refuses to take the talent in front of him.

[Bertz]

7 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Coming off the only time he has struggled. It's like Jed just can't take talent, he has to find guys who are coming off injury, coming with major question marks, coming off down years. He just refuses to take the talent in front of him.

Hector Neris had a 1.71 ERA and was the #2 RP for a team that was one game away from the world series.

[Tryptamine]

Just now, Bertz said:

Hector Neris had a 1.71 ERA and was the #2 RP for a team that was one game away from the world series.

Yeah the guy who drastically overpitched his peripherals when he again could have paid like 1M for David Robertson whose performance was backed by better peripherals

[Bertz]

1 minute ago, Tryptamine said:

Yeah the guy who drastically overpitched his peripherals when he again could have paid like 1M for David Robertson whose performance was backed by better peripherals

So you're saying to properly evaluate relievers sometimes you have to dig deeper than topline results?  What if, maybe, they dug even deeper?  Past Ks and BBs all the way to underlying pitch characteristics.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Relievers are mostly random number generators, the idea that you can pay a few million dollars more on a 1 year deal to lock in a floor of productivity is wishful thinking.  Maybe it's partially true for that one year at the very top of the market where you also have to flip a coin for years 2, 3, 4, and beyond, but even those have a much higher failure rate than other acquisitions.

[Tryptamine]

Just now, Bertz said:

So you're saying to properly evaluate relievers sometimes you have to dig deeper than topline results?  What if, maybe, they dug even deeper?  Past Ks and BBs all the way to underlying pitch characteristics.

Then they failed, very simple. For 1 million more they could have had a guy with a much more reliable history and he didn't even require a 2nd year.

[We Got The Whole 9]

10 hours ago, Transmogrified Tiger said:

Relievers are mostly random number generators, the idea that you can pay a few million dollars more on a 1 year deal to lock in a floor of productivity is wishful thinking.  Maybe it's partially true for that one year at the very top of the market where you also have to flip a coin for years 2, 3, 4, and beyond, but even those have a much higher failure rate than other acquisitions.

Robertson has been as close to metronomic as you are likely to find on the market and he never requires a multi-year deal. He's a platonic match for Jed, I hope he signs him.

[LBiittner]

This is so weird, my news feed had a story about cubs landed carlos estevez. When I clicked on, it disappeared without a trace?  

 

[We Got The Whole 9]

1 minute ago, LBiittner said:

This is so weird, my news feed had a story about cubs landed carlos estevez. When I clicked on, it disappeared without a trace?  

 

Just another tire Jed kicked

[Hunter]

34 minutes ago, LBiittner said:

This is so weird, my news feed had a story about cubs landed carlos estevez. When I clicked on, it disappeared without a trace?  

 

This Carlos Estevez?

[LBiittner]

Just now, Hunter said:

This Carlos Estevez?

Million dollar arm , 10 cent head

 

[Post Count Padder]

2 hours ago, LBiittner said:

This is so weird, my news feed had a story about cubs landed carlos estevez. When I clicked on, it disappeared without a trace?  

 

I mean do you remember from what news source? As someone who worked in the industry, there are often pre written articles in case something goes down so maybe it was accidentally published. Or someone just posting some made up garbage and it was lost in the algorithm. 

[We Got The Whole 9]

Just now, Post Count Padder said:

I mean do you remember from what news source? As someone who worked in the industry, there are often pre written articles in case something goes down so maybe it was accidentally published. Or someone just posting some made up garbage and it was lost in the algorithm. 

Pretty sure I read it, and it just said we checked in on his availability.

[LBiittner]

4 hours ago, Post Count Padder said:

I mean do you remember from what news source? As someone who worked in the industry, there are often pre written articles in case something goes down so maybe it was accidentally published. Or someone just posting some made up garbage and it was lost in the algorithm. 

I thought The Athletic? I dont have a subscription. That's why I thought it was legit, mentioned he signed for 3 years

[NorthsideAvenger]

I saw a post on Bleacher Nation who reference a Jim Bowden article on The Athletic that connected the Cubs to Carlos Estevez. As for the Cubs actually signing Estevez, I'm have not seen anything about that.