Chicago Cubs: 3 cost-effective free agent starters still left on the board

Chicago Cubs: 3 cost-effective free agent pitchers to consider – #1: Danny Duffy

When the Los Angeles Dodgers traded for Danny Duffy at the trade deadline, it looked like they were getting a quality reinforcement in a heated battle for the NL West crown. Instead, the left-hander never threw a pitch for the team because of injury.

Much like Paxton, as long as everything is well health-wise, this is a guy who’s going to draw interest this winter. He got off to a scorching start early last year before that flexor tendon strain took things off the rails pretty quickly. Still, we’re talking about a southpaw who, while not an ace for a contender, is still a quality arm capable of keeping his team in ballgames.

In his career, which has been spent with just one team, the Royals, Duffy carries a 4.17 FIP and 1.316 WHIP across just under 1,200 innings of work. His 9.6 K/9 and 25.8 percent K rate last season both marked personal bests – and, again, fall into that ‘missing bats’ category we know the Cubs’ front office is focused on.

He ranked in the top third of the league in whiff rate and Statcast was high on his chase rate numbers, too. With a five-pitch mix, Duffy can keep hitters guessing – and could be a perfect buy-low bounceback candidate for Chicago to consider this winter.