Chicago Cubs: If Davis stays healthy, he could be a steal for the Cubs

Chicago Cubs’ closer, Davis has been one of the most dominant arms out of the bullpen in all of the major leagues in the last couple years. In 2016, before he suffered a forearm injury, he captured 27 saves in 30 opportunities and earned a spot on the American League All-Star team.

But unfortunately, couldn’t pitch in the game. The Chicago Cubs will be paying him 10 million in 2017. Could this have been a steal for the Cubs if Davis stays healthy? Let’s take a look.

When Wade Davis first came to the Kansas City in 2013 from Tampa Bay, he was a starter. After a full season in the rotation and posting a 5.32 ERA, Davis made the move to the bullpen in 2014.

That proved to turn around his career. Since 2014, the hard-throwing righty has posted a 1.27 ERA in a three-year span in the bullpen in Kansas City. In the first year in the pen, the Florida native was more the setup man for Greg Holland but still thrived in the position, striking out 109 hitters in just 72 innings pitched.

Get this: In 182.2 innings pitched out of the bullpen in KC, he only gave up an astounding 24 earned runs in that span. The 31-year old has some filthy stuff.

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In 2016, he took over the closing role after Holland went down with an injury. Davis ended up getting hurt at the start of July and unfortunately missed the rest of the 2016 season. But what he brings to the table, is no different than Kenley Jansen, and Aroldis Chapman.

Both of them just got huge contracts where they will both be paid in the area of just under 15 million over the next five years.

If Davis wound up staying healthy and didn’t suffer an arm injury, there is no doubt he could have been offered a contract like that, too. But he didn’t toe the rubber again in 2016 after the flexor strain. That made teams timid to offer him big money because it’s not known how he will respond after the setback.

Comparing the three

Aroldis Chapman throws gas. Anyone who watches baseball knows that. When you throw over 100mph, you don’t really need to mix in off-speed pitches too much. He’s got a nasty slider, that sits in the low 90’s, but doesn’t use it very often. Chapman is also a three-time All-Star.

Let’s compare the three since 2014, when Davis first transitioned to the pen. In the last three years, Chapman has posted a 1.72 ERA. In that span, the Cuban flamethrower blew away 312 big leaguers over 178.1 innings pitched.

He also captured 107 saves in that span.  So based on those numbers…yeah he deserved this big contract from the Yankees. There’s no doubt about that. the big lefty is a decade talent that doesn’t come around too often, and the Bronx Bombers made sure they could lock him up for years to come.

Kenley Jansen has been a dominant arm in the Dodgers pen in the last six seasons. Jansen boasts a mid to high 90’s heater. He compliments that with a filthy slider to put away hitters. 2016 was Jansen’s first year where he made an All-Star team, but that doesn’t reflect his performance over the last several years.

Since 2014, the Curacao native has converted for 137 saves in that span. The big righty also posted a 2.33 ERA over the past three campaigns, while sitting down 285 hitters over 182.2 innings on the mound. LA just recently locked him up for a reported 80 million over five years and based on the numbers, it’s a well deserving paycheck.

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Then there’s Davis

Wade Davis can compete with the best of them. As mentioned earlier, he has put up some very impressive numbers in the last few years since moving to the bullpen. He sits in the mid to high 90’s with his fastball, occasionally dialing it up to 99, with ease. Personally, out of these three elite bullpen arms, I think Davis has the best off-speed stuff. His curveball is down right filthy.

It has a very tight spin, and he throws it extremely hard. The deception in is delivery is something that is key, too. He hides the ball very well in his windup, which makes it tough for hitters to pick up the pitch. There’s no doubt in my mind if he stayed healthy throughout the year, he’d be getting a huge payday too.

It’s a steal for Chicago

With the acquisition of Davis, I honestly believe it’s going to work out for Chicago. Based on how much they are paying him, and it ends up working out, it’s a gigantic steal. Along with Hector Rondon and Pedro Strop in the pen as well, The Cubbies shouldn’t have any problem closing out games in 2017.