B.J. Ryan is a Cub

The Cubs have reportedly given former Blue Jays closer B.J. Ryan a minor league contract.  Ryan had 2 saves in 25 appearances for Toronto this year, with a hefty 6.53 ERA.  He was solid in ’08 though, posting 32 saves with an ERA of 2.95.  Before that, with Baltimore and Toronto in ’05 and ’06, he had back-to-back 30-plus save seasons.  Unfortunately, he missed almost all of 2007, and underwent Tommy John surgery.

Like I said, he was solid in 2008, so his sudden loss of command is a bit puzzling.  The Cubs aren’t going to gamble by putting Ryan on the big club right away but will send him to the minors to work on his issues.  This is a low-risk, high-reward kind of deal.