Once thought of future closer for the Chicago Cubs has a new home

Righty reliever Codi Heuer has a new home, as he has reportedly agreed to a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers organization per MLB insider Robert Murray. Heuer, 27, was released by the Chicago Cubs this offseason after spending 2022 and 2023 injured. He was one of the pieces that came to the North Side from the South Side in the Craig Kimbrel trade in 2021.

Heuer has had a really unfortunate run the past few years. When he came over to the Cubs in 2021 there was speculation he could be the future closer of the ballclub. His first season with the White Sox in 2020 as a 23-year-old was very impressive with a 1.52 ERA, 2.77 FIP, and 0.887 WHIP in 21 games. In 25 appearances as a Cub in 21' he pitched to a 3.14 ERA, 4.36 FIP, 1.15 WHIP, 5.3 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, and recorded two of five save opportunities. The fastball velocity dropped a few ticks and the strikeouts were way down from a 9.5 K/9 in 2020 and 9.1 in 40 games in 2021 with the Sox.

Former future Chicago Cubs closer Codi Heuer has found a new home.

In March of 2022, he needed Tommy John surgery which ruled him out for that season. Then while rehabbing in the minors last year he fractured his elbow which required another season-ending surgery. Two very brutal setbacks in what was shaping up to be a potentially promising career. When the Cubs acquired him from the Sox, he was still in his pre-arbitration years and had plenty of team control left. The hope was to have a solidified back-end rotation piece over the transition period into the next competitive window. It makes that trade with the Sox feel like it was ages ago.

Heuer has gone through so much, and hopefully, he can make his way back to the Majors. It is very difficult to come back from two major arm injuries but modern-day medicine and rehabilitation give him some hope. At the very least he can stay playing baseball in some capacity. Best wishes to Codi Heuer in the future.

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