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3 non-tendered relief pitchers the Chicago Cubs must target in free agency
After the non-tender deadline, the Chicago Cubs have a larger pool of free agent relievers to choose from
After Friday's non-tender deadline, the Chicago Cubs have more relief pitching options available to help rebuild their depleted bullpen.
Nearly every high-leverage reliever that opened the 2024 season with the Cubs is now off the roster. Mark Leiter Jr. was traded in August, Yency Almonte elected free agency, Hector Neris was gone before the end of the season, and Adbert Alzolay was recently designated for assignment. Julian Merryweather is the only one remaining after the team agreed to a $1.225 million contract with the 33-year-old on Friday.
If he can stay healthy in 2025, Merryweather will likely be joined by newly acquired reliever Eli Morgan, former rookie Porter Hodge, and mid-season acquisitions like Nate Pearson and Tyson Miller. But after the barrage of pitching injuries sustained by the Cubs organizations last year, the team still has work to do this offseason to shore up manager Craig Counsell's bullpen. Three names who were non-tendered by their teams on Friday could be potential targets for the Cubs this winter.
1. RHP Jacob Webb
One of the more surprising arms to hit free agency is Jacob Webb, who is coming off a great year with the Baltimore Orioles. Webb struck out 58 batters in 60 appearances for Baltimore in 2024, with a 3.02 ERA (3.52 FIP) and a 1.182 WHIP. Webb doesn't throw exceptionally hard, as his fastball averaged 93.5 mph last year, so he wouldn't be an answer for the Cubs' need for a closer. But he could serve as a great middle reliever/ setup man.
The 30-year-old has had his share of high-leverage spots in his career, with 35 holds and six saves over his five seasons in the majors. Webb will also be fairly cheap given his production, as he was only projected to make $1.7 million. Camden Chat's editor, Mark Brown, thinks that the team may have let Webb walk to allow a roster spot for younger pitchers that the front office can option to the minor leagues if they need to.
Even after the contracts the Cubs tendered to their players, the team is still projected to be at least $50 million below the competitive balance tax threshold, giving them plenty of room to pursue guys like Webb. The Cubs front office loves to save money on high-upside guys like Webb so he could be a great fit to help shore up the pen. For what it's worth, Webb was drafted and developed by the Atlanta Braves and helped the team win a World Series in 2021.
2. LHP Alex Young
Alex Young is a lefty reliever who has seen a lot of success in recent years when he was healthy. Over 96 innings pitched since 2022, Young has a 3.28 ERA and 86 strikeouts. Like Webb, a deal to sign Young would also not cost the Cubs a ton of cash since he was projected to make $1.4 million. But the New York Mets decided to let Young hit free agency likely due to his injury history.
Back problems and hamstring issues have plagued Young for the last couple of years, limiting his workload. But that's why he comes cheap and the Cubs could take a gamble on Young to help address the team's lack of left-handed relievers. Young gets hitters to produce a lot of ground balls, which could bode well for the Cubs' solid infield defense. The southpaw was able to induce elite swing-and-miss rates in 2023.
Young was claimed by the Mets in July, and he pitched in a lot of vital games for New York in the final weeks of the season, when they were locked in a tight playoff race with Atlanta and Arizona. For his price, it may be worth it for the Cubs to give Young a shot on a short-term deal.
3. RHP Austin Voth
32-year-old Austin Voth was a main component of the Seattle Mariners' bullpen in 2024. Voth struck out 61 hitters over 68 appearances with a 3.69 ERA and a WHIP of 1.05. Voth also collected 15 holds and only walked 7.3% of the batters he faced in what ended up being a career year.
With a season like that, it's a bit shocking that Seattle did not give Voth a contract for 2025. He is projected to make about $2.2 million, which is still very affordable for the amount of value he provided the Mariners. Seattle Times writer Adam Jude reported that the team is facing a very tight financial situation this offseason, so Voth's contract proved to be an area where they could cut payroll.
The Mariners are non-tendering Josh Rojas, Sam Haggerty, Austin Voth and JT Chargois, club announces.
— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) November 23, 2024
Moves this week have freed up about $8M in the payroll budget, roughly doubling what the Mariners are projected to have available this offseason.
But the Cubs do not have these same restrictions right now and they could use a steady reliever like Voth to provide more structure. The Cubs have also had recent success poaching relievers from Seattle. The Cubs traded for Tyson Miller in May, and he pitched lights out for Chicago over a 50-inning stretch.
Voth is another guy who doesn't light up the radar gun (93.6 mph fastball average), but his advanced metrics were excellent in 2024. Voth did not allow a lot of hard contact and induced elite swing and miss numbers. One concern is that 2024 was the first time Voth was consistent over a full season in the Majors so there is some risk involved with the 32-year-old.
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