We don’t have much in the way of details just yet, but some good news to share on the minor league pitching depth front:
Allen Webster signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs
— Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) December 20, 2018
You may recall that Allen Webster, a former top starting pitching prospect who fell off the radar and then had to work his way back, came back late from injury last year as a reliever and put up excellent numbers in a very small minor league sample. He got a three-inning appearance in the big leagues with the Cubs, too, before they non-tendered him earlier this winter – clearly, the Cubs wanted to keep the 28-year-old righty, but no at the expense of an over-the-offseason 40-man roster spot.
Assuming this deal is confirmed, Webster will assuredly come to Spring Training to compete for a bullpen job on the big league team before most likely heading to AAA Iowa to open the season. If he looks good and stays healthy, he figures to among the guys to get a call up at some point to fill in, as that will happen many, many times over the course of the season in the bullpen.