Chicago Cubs sign right-hander Anthony Bass to minor-league deal

The Chicago Cubs continued to stock up on pitching depth, signing right-handed reliever Anthony Bass to a minor-league deal earlier this week.

Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have made one thing perfectly clear already this offseason. The Chicago Cubs are focused on reloading the pitching staff – especially the bullpen.

The team continued their move-making on Wednesday, reportedly agreeing to terms on a minor-league deal with Anthony Bass. The right-hander has bounced around for years between the bigs and Japan, but is ready to make his mark on the North Side.

Bass, 30, is yet to put it together consistently here in the States. He owns a career -0.6 WAR across 131 games. His 4.28 FIP in parts of six big-league seasons certainly leaves plenty to be desired, but, as the old adage goes, you can never have too much pitching.

As far as his pitch repertoire goes, Bass features a fastball, sinker and slider. His sinker is his go-to pitch, though. He threw it some 40 percent of the time last year with the Texas Rangers. The right-hander’s heater sits somewhere in the 93-94 mph range.

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In short, this isn’t the type of move that puts the Cubs over the top. Expect Bass to spend a good chunk of the season with Triple-A Iowa. He’s the type of guy who might get a look if someone like Justin Grimm hits the DL in 2018, but otherwise, seems like a minor league arm.

If he can figure some things out, perhaps he’ll end up being a surprise addition to the Cubs’ bullpen. But with the likes of Dillon Maples already knocking on the door, I can’t see him playing a big role this year.

Other notable additions this offseason

In case you lived under a rock for the first chunk of the offseason, the Cubs have focused almost exclusively on pitching so far.

• Epstein and Hoyer sat down with free agent right-hander Yu Darvish in Texas earlier this week and reportedly had a “good meeting” that lasted nearly four hours.
• Chicago took away a big piece from the Dodgers’ bullpen from last season, signing late-inning reliever Brandon Morrow.
• In the rotation, the Cubs added two big pieces: Tyler Chatwood to a three-year, $38 million deal and left-hander Drew Smyly – who will likely miss 2018 as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. He’s viewed as a 2019 rotation option on the North Side.

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The Cubs are far from done. But adding Bass further proves that pitching will rule this offseason. These depth-type moves are critical and could pay dividends down the road. This wouldn’t be the first time Theo found a diamond in the rough.