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Cubs continue to stockpile bullpen depth, adding a former Dodgers draft pick

This signing constitutes a flyer if there ever was one.
Jake Misener
Jake Misener

Cubbies Crib

Kelsey Grant/Arizona Diamondbacks/GettyImages

There's no such thing as too many pitchers in Major League Baseball. That approach has worked out quite well for Jed Hoyer and the Chicago Cubs in recent years, with a stockpile of arms playing a critical role in the team's success, especially in 2025, when multiple reclamation projects made key contributions under manager Craig Counsell.

Assemble a bunch of guys and let them duke it out in camp. At least, that's how it feels at this point in the offseason. The newest name to add? Jeff Brigham, a former fourth-round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers back in 2014, who appeared in four games last year with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Before we go any further, his full name is Jeff John Brigham - so that's the confusion with Bruce Levine tabbing him as John Brigham. Regardless of which name you call him, here's what you need to know.

John Brigham is yet another depth piece for the Cubs bullpen

Brigham turns 34 next month and has all of 120 2/3 innings under his belt across parts of six MLB seasons dating back to 2018. Given his limited workload at the big-league level, there's not a ton to glean from his Baseball Savant page, but we can learn a little more about his arsenal.

The right-hander throws three pitches: a four-seamer, cutter and sweeper. The four-seamer and cutter accounted for 76 percent of his pitches with Arizona in 2025, but looking at 2023, he actually leaned heavily on his sweeper, throwing that 42 percent of the time. That season, he held opponents to a .143 average (.177 xBA) with that pitch, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Tommy Hottovy have him lean on it more heavily moving forward.

His fastball sits in the 93-95 MPH range, so nothing too overpowering there. Again, this is a roster depth move, and if he ends up playing a meaningful role for the Cubs' bullpen in 2026, consider it a pleasant surprise. Odds are, Chicago stashes him at Triple-A (where he spent much of the last four years with various organizations) - and he's a potential option when someone hits the shelf.

But, as I said. There's no such thing as too much pitching.

Jake Misener

Jake Misener

For more than a decade, Jake has been a staple in FanSided MLB - leading the Cubbies Crib team for most of that time.When he's not in the bleachers at Wrigley Field, he can be found covering all things Cubs - including the latest hot stove rumors, roster breakdowns and statistical analyses. Inducted into the FanSided Hall of Fame in 2018, Jake has 15+ years of sports journalism and blogging experience - and is now focused on teaching his daughter the ways of Cubs fandom.