Cubs take flyer on a pitcher who hasn't appeared in an MLB game since 2022

Throughout a season, a major league team will make a ton of little moves that are more about depth than finding a player that can lead a franchise like the Chicago Cubs to the postseason. Still, the signing of Jake Brentz earlier this week is officially one of those headscratchers, as there are better depth plays.

Granted, considering Hoyer's success in finding castoffs that have turned into key members of the Cubs bullpen (looking at you, Drew Pomeranz), perhaps he’s above reproach this season. Even with that magical touch, though, getting a dude who hasn’t been in the bigs for several years and wasn’t even in the minors most recently is a stretch.

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Brentz was signed from the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association. He’d been pitching there since being released by the Tampa Bay Rays earlier this year. He didn’t appear for the Rays’ minor league system, and the last time he did pitch in the minors, he was… awful, if we're putting it kindly.

Brentz spent 2024 in the Kansas City Royals organization, posting a 13.50 earned run average in eight games for Triple-A Omaha before being sent down to Double-A Northwest Arkansas. Things didn’t go any better there. In 26 appearances, he posted a 10.88 ERA. 

It wasn’t hard to deduce why the reliever was struggling, either. He walked a whopping 52 batters between the two teams in just 32 innings pitched. This season, his control issues aren’t as pronounced for the Monarchs, but five walks in 12 innings in the Independent League is not great.

The last time Brentz got even a cup of coffee in the majors was with the Royals. After a successful run in 2021, during which he appeared in 72 games and posted a 3.66 ERA, the yips apparently reared their ugly head. In 2022, he made just eight appearances and posted a 0-3 record with an astronomical 23.63 ERA. He also walked 10 batters in 5 1/3 innings.

The Cubs have had some success with wild relievers in the past, and they have become especially smitten by guys with funky deliveries or arm angles (remember José Cuas?) in the Hoyer/Carter Hawkins era. It's not impossible to imagine this working out, but its' certainly a low-risk move for a reason.

Still, Jake Brentz isn’t the bold move the Chicago Cubs need for a playoff push. It looks like Hoyer wants to see if any part of that successful reliever from four years ago is still in there, though the team will need to do much more to address its pitching needs.