Hoby Milner lands on his feet after Cubs' DFA, signs with a long-shot playoff hopeful

Hoby Milner has a new home. Days after a confusing mix of reports broke that culminated in the Chicago Cubs ultimately designating him for assignment, the left-hander signed a minor-league deal with the Seattle Mariners, officially closing the book on his brief chapter on the North Side.

Milner joins a Mariners team that needs a strong September if it wants to force its way into the playoff picture. Seattle entered Tuesday with playoff odds just north of 11 percent and are looking up at the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers in what is an admittedly soft American League West.

Mariners relievers rank 23rd in the league with a 4.44 ERA on the year, so there's certainly room for improvement in the late innings. Gabe Speier has been lights-out from the left side, posting a 2.58 ERA in 45 appearances and José A. Ferrer has also been a solide left-handed relief option.

Hoby Milner's run with the Cubs was solid, yet somewhat unspectacular

As Cubs fans are well aware, Milner's 2026 season was forced off the rails through no fault of his. He underwent an emergency appendectomy in late June and is yet to return to a big-league mound since. Prior to that, he more or less matched his career numbers, making 38 appearances and pitching to a 3.53 ERA and 1.206 WHIP.

Jed Hoyer brought Milner in last winter on a one-year deal in hopes of adding an established lefty to work alongside Caleb Thielbar, who returned after a dominant 2025 showing. Thielbar has regressed and, in Milner's absence, it's been Ryan Rolison who's really taken the reins as the team's go-to southpaw, posting a 3.08 ERA in 52 2/3 innings of work.

The front office's offseason bullpen additions have been a hot topic of conversation given the fact Hunter Harvey pitched all of four innings before hitting the shelf and Phil Maton has been near-unusable (or hurt) all season long. You can't lump Milner into the same group, but it's disappointing regardless that the Cubs got so little in return in their efforts to invest in the bullpen (at least relatively speaking) heading into 2026.

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