Chicago Cubs: 3 pitching targets after the Eduardo Rodriguez signing

Chicago Cubs could look to Dylan Bundy as a buy-low free agent target

The Chicago Cubs love themselves some spin rate and Dylan Bundy’s got that on his fastball, ranking in the top 11 percent of the league this year. But you can be sure he’s going to work through a market with pedestrian interest after he struggled again in 2021.

During the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, it looked like the former first-rounder finally put it all together, finishing ninth in AL Cy Young voting and posting a 3.29 ERA in 11 starts. That led the Angels to have a pretty good feeling about the right-hander heading into this year – only to be catastrophically disappointed.

Bundy, who ended the year on the shelf with a shoulder strain, finished the year with a 6.06 ERA. Walks were up, strikeouts were down and it was a forgettable season, to say the least. But he’s still just heading into his age-29 season – which means there’s time for him to figure it out.

Signing a guy with a career 4.72 ERA and 4.69 FIP isn’t the kind of move that’s going to get folks exciting. But, similar to how the Dodgers took a flier on Andrew Heaney on a one-year deal, Bundy could be a buy-low piece who gets a shot to crack the starting rotation next spring in Mesa.