Chicago Cubs: Signing Joe Nathan gets the jump on the trade deadline

With the news of the Chicago Cubs designating Neil Ramirez for assignment, the signing of Joe Nathan as he continues to work back from Tommy John surgery looms as a pivotal move as Theo Epstein looks to get a jump on the trade deadline madness.

Neil Ramirez was a player that most Chicago Cubs‘ fans were pulling for as much for his talent as they were his ability. After a strong rookie season that saw Ramirez post a 1.44 ERA in 43 2/3 innings, striking out 53 while walking just 17, Ramirez struggled with shoulder issues last season. He still hasn’t recovered the velocity on his fastball that he once had, but the Cubs were hoping he would be able to compensate with his other stuff which is still nasty.

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The injury to Jason Heyward–which won’t require a trip to the disabled list–forced the Cubs to make a decision with the bench as well as the bullpen. The decision was to recall Matt Szczur, keep three catchers and designate Ramirez. There’s a slim hope that he may slide through waivers, but I find that unlikely with his stuff. With a middle-relief core that has had its ups and down thus far, the signing of Joe Nathan looks to be an interesting and possibly brilliant proactive move.

Nathan is second on the active saves leader list with 377, trailing only Francisco Rodriguez who has 398. The Cubs have had success with “reclamation” projects, and it’s a very low risk, high reward signing. The team is not without its failures, such as Jose Veras and Rafael Soriano–but for every one of those, there’s a Ryan Dempster, Jason Motte, Trevor Cahill and Clayton Richard. And Nathan’s history is slightly more established than all of those names.

Nathan did save 35 games as recently as 2014 with the Detroit Tigers but finished with a 4.81 ERA in 51 innings. The Cubs aren’t likely to rush him to Chicago, so he’ll have some time to continue his rehab from the surgery he had in April. Unless their hand is forced prior to then, the Cubs could wait till the second half to bring Nathan up to help shore up the middle of the bullpen.

Related Story: Heyward out 3-5 days, no trip to DL

The team will undoubtedly be active at the deadline, but if Nathan progresses, he could help the team without sacrificing prospects or cash. With so many teams apparently “out of the race” already, there will be several teams with pieces they’re willing to move.