Cubs snag a much-needed bullpen depth piece off a hated rival's waiver wire

The Chicago Cubs continue to leave no stone unturned, looking for pitching help anywhere they can find it. This weekend's return of Daniel Palencia was a huge step in the right direction, but the pitching staff is still a ways off from being back to 100 percent.

With that in mind, Jed Hoyer added left-hander Luis Peralta off the waiver wire from the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, bringing in an arm that's struggled with control during his professional career and carries an unsightly 4.95 ERA in his minor league career to go along with a 6.03 mark in limited big-league action.

Peralta, 25, was DFAd by Colorado back on April 21 and spent less than a week with the Cardinals organization before the Cubs claimed him on Sunday. For now, he's headed to Triple-A Iowa, where the club will look to sort out some of his control issues.

Control issues have been a major issue for Luis Peralta in his career

At the highest level of the minors, he's walked a completely unsustainable 8.8 BB/9. The upside is he's punched out nearly 14 batters per nine, so if you can find a way to even nudge the walk numbers in the right direction, Peralta is worth rolling the dice on.

He primarily leans on a two-pitch mix, including a four-seamer that sits in the mid-90s and a curve ball that carried a 42.9 percent whiff rate last season. Neither pitch ranks particularly well in terms of movement, but the Cubs' pitching lab will see what they can do to make some tweaks with Peralta.

With Caleb Thielbar and Riley Martin, two of the team's top left-handed relief options, sidelined, Craig Counsell is leaning on Hoby Milner and Ryan Rolison for the time being. The club is hoping Thielbar will be back close to when he's eligible to return, while Martin will miss a couple of months and won't factor into things much until near the All-Star break.

Again, not a move to go too crazy over. A flyer on a depth piece with some upside. The real battle for the Cubs is continuing to get healthier on the pitching side of things heading into summer.

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