Chicago Cubs Rumors: Free agent Jarred Cosart could be a buy-low option

Oft-injured right-hander Jarred Cosart recently elected free agency and could make sense as a depth piece for the Chicago Cubs this offseason.

For much of Theo Epstein’s tenure at the helm of the Chicago Cubs’ baseball operations team, buy-low reclamation projects played a role with the big-league club. It started with guys like Jake Arrieta and continued even into the 2017 season with the signing of left-hander Brett Anderson.

So with two big names – Arrieta and veteran John Lackey – likely leaving via free agency this winter, it’s hard to imagine Epstein not taking a chance on at least one unproven arm. If he proves his recovery is going well, right-hander Jarred Cosart might be that guy.

Cosart, still just 27 years of age, is yet to live up to the hype that once surrounded him. In 2013, he broke onto the scene with the Houston Astros, pitching to a 1.95 ERA in 10 starts. Since then, though, his career has been marred by injury and missing the mark year after year.

Houston sent him to Miami in the deal that brought Jake Marisnick and Colin Moran to Texas – but the results were mixed. Since 2015, between the Astros and Padres, he carries an eye-popping 5.14 earned run average across 150 2/3 innings of work.

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The peripherals aren’t any more encouraging, either. He owns a 4.93 FIP and 1.10 strikeout-to-walk ratio and, simply put, hasn’t been what the Marlins – or his most recent club, the Padres, had hoped.

His 2017 campaign also ended in injury. He underwent arthroscopic elbow surgery – his second cleanup procedure in the last two years. That alone will scare off a good many potential suitors. But the Cubs may go for another incentive-laden deal similar to what they offered Anderson last offseason.

Time for a change – in role and scenery

Of his 74 career appearances, Cosart made 72 starts. But after a near-endless string of arm issues, it’s time to put a plug in his starting career.

He relies heavily on his fastball, which he throws roughly 40 percent of the time. Last season, he mixed in a slider for the first time in his big-league career to go along with a curveball and changeup.

With the Padres last year, his fastball velocity took a dip – all the way down to 93.4 MPH. That’s down from a peak of 95 back in his Astros days. Perhaps a middle-inning relief role would allow Cosart to recapture some of the heat on that fastball and get back to the basics – getting guys out.

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I’m not saying you sign Jared Cosart and hand him the keys to the ninth inning. But you have nothing to lose by bringing him onboard and letting Jim Hickey work with him. At a relatively low cost, you might just catch lightning in the bottle.