Colin Rea has been a savior for a Cubs rotation hit hard by injuries this year

There was not a ton of fanfare when veteran righty Colin Rea signed with the Chicago Cubs on a one-year, $5 million deal this offseason. Rea, 35, has been somewhat of a baseball journeyman in his professional career (including a fairly forgettable first stint with the Cubs in 2020), who was coming in with the intention of being a cheap swing depth on the staff. It's fair to say that he exceeded expectations in 2025 and he was an unsung hero for the Cubs.

Rea made his last regular season start on Friday, pitching 5 2/3 innings of shutout baseball. He finishes with a 3.95 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 4.12 FIP, 127 strikeouts and 44 walks in 159.1 innings (27 starts in 32 appearances). This was far and away his best season as an MLB pitcher, sporting an ERA under 4.00 for the first time in his career and a career-low FIP in a season in which he pitched at least 100 innings.

Are the numbers All-Star-caliber or eye-popping? No. They do, however, reflect the hard work of a pitcher who had to step in big time and give his team a chance to win. In games Rea pitched, the team went 20-12. The hope was for him not to be that big of a factor, but the Cubs saw their ace Justin Steele go down for the season in early April, as well as Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon missing notable time due to injuries. Things could look a bit different if not for Rea's efforts.

Breaking down Rea's performance throughout 2025, he got off to a really great start, teetered off a bit in May and June, and then pitched very well down the stretch. In his first 10 appearances (41 2/3 innings) he pitched to a 2.38 ERA and 3.65 FIP with the Cubs going 8-2 in those games. The next 12 appearances (64 1/3 innings) fell off with a 5.46 ERA and 5.77, but he did have three quality starts over that stretch. It was not a great stretch overall, but not totally off the rails. Then over his final 10 appearances (53 1/3 innings), he pitched to a 3.38 ERA, 2.50 FIP, and struck out 52 hitters.

In terms of quality in his appearances, in 17 of his 32 of them he went at least five innings and surrendered three or fewer earned runs. Seven of his starts were quality, which is pretty solid for a guy who averaged roughly 5.1 innings per start (not counting relief or "opener" games).

As mentioned before Rea is not going to get Cy Young votes, nor will he light up his Baseball Savant page with red bubbles, but see his value for what it is. He was just above league average in ERA (4.16), and right around average in FIP (4.17) and WHIP (1.29). That will give you chances to win, and in a league where innings are expensive, paying just $5 million for that is an absolute bargain. Heck look at Yusei Kikuchi, who put up similar ERA and FIP numbers, is getting paid $21 million.

Give Rea his flowers. He was a quiet hero on this team who did not light up highlight reels. It goes to show how one can make an impact without doing anything super fancy.