Cubs Week In Review: Cubs Ink a Duo of Arms To Minor-League Deals

Starter or reliever, an MLB hurler is much akin to an NFL quarterback. They're one of the first players to touch the ball on each play, and their success can often alleviate the pressure on struggling teammates. For the best evidence of this proposition, look to 2023 Justin Steele, and 2024 Shota Imanaga, two pitchers who single-handedly kept their club close in ball games they'd eventually win—or lose, in excruciating fashion. In 2023, Steele was sensational, tallying 16 wins and a tidy 3.03 ERA. The feeling was, when he pitched, the team was likely to win. Much of the same can be said of Imanaga, who was dynamite in his rookie season. He earned 15 wins, checked in with a 2.91 ERA, and was (for a time, before hitting some speed bumps in June and July) one of the favorites to take home the NL Cy Young Award.

This is all to say that in 2025, the new-look pitching staff—featuring the likes of Eli Morgan, Matthew Boyd, and Colin Rea—will determine this squad's postseason fate, just as much as the revamped offense (with or without Alex Bregman). Both new pitchers this week, Brandon Hughes and Brad Keller, will get the chance to make an immediate impact on a pitching staff often stretched too thin by injuries last season. Keller and Hughes both signed minor-league deals, but they come to camp looking to force the issue for a much deeper group.

Each has had success in the past, but neither has achieved consistency. Each fits the obvious needs left on this staff: Hughes is a left-handed reliever who could slide into line behind Luke Little and Caleb Thielbar to shore up that half of the relief corps, while Keller brings Triple-A starting depth from the right side, in lieu of the traded Hayden Wesneski. Of course, with absolute mashers like Kyle Tucker in the lineup, there should be more games that aren't even that close, in the Cubs' favor.

The wait is almost over. This time next week, Cubs Spring Training will be underway and speculation about what this club can be will morph into cold hard evidence of our beloved baseball team's imminent triumphs—or failures. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.