Adbert Alzolay says goodbye and thank you to Cubs fans in emotional post

The longtime Chicago pitcher signed a two-year deal with the New York Mets on Friday.

Matt Dirksen/GettyImages

Abdert Alzolay made his professional debut with the Chicago Cubs in 2013 at just 18 years old - now, after more than a decade in the organization, he's moving on after signing a two-year minor-league deal with the New York Mets.

The deal will allow Alzolay to continue recovering from Tommy John surgery this year with an eye on returning to a big-league mound in 2026. This was hardly the end anyone hoped for, with the emotional right-hander struggling badly early last season before losing the closer's job and having his year cut short by injury before losing his roster spot last fall - but that shouldn't take away from the journey.

Alzolay, a top-100 prospect heading into 2018 according to Baseball Prospectus, long wooed Cubs fans with his make-up and stuff but - for years, he couldn't translate that into success at the MLB level. Developed as a starter, the righty made 27 MLB starts, struggling to a 5.19 ERA and 1.254 WHIP across 130 innings of work.

Something clicked, though, when the Cubs converted him to a reliever - and he had quite the coming-out party during the 2023 season, when he seized the closer's job, making 58 appearances with a 2.67 ERA and career-best 5.15 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His signature roar and fist pump after locking down a win had fans fired up as the club took the regular season down its final day before finally being eliminated from the postseason picture.

Expectations were high coming into 2024 but, like I said, things went sideways almost immediately for the 29-year-old. He wound up pitching a grand total of 17 1/3 innings on the year and multiple attempts to work his way back from injury came up short, eventually leading to Tommy John surgery late in the season.

He's still young enough to hope there's more to come from Alzolay in his MLB career. Sadly, it won't be in a Chicago Cubs uniform - but he's one of those guys who will always be loved in Wrigleyville because he truly left it all on the field during his time here.

Schedule