NEWSLETTER
Theo Epstein said, knowingly, that the Cubs might squeeze in another reliever this offseason, and then today the team moved Kendall Graveman to the 60-day Injured List, which opened up a 40-man roster spot. (See UPDATE, as that may not have been necessary.)
Thus … a new reliever signing:
Adding more bullpen depth, the Cubs have signed lefty Xavier Cedeño, sources told @TheAthleticCHI and @Ken_Rosenthal. Cedeño put up a 2.43 ERA in 48 appearances with the White Sox and Brewers last year.
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) February 14, 2019
The Cubs opened camp hoping to add another reliever who would fit within their budget and landed Xavier Cedeño with a $900,000 non-guaranteed deal.
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) February 14, 2019
(“Non-guaranteed” suggests it’s a minor league deal, but I wonder if it’s actually a big league deal that allows him to opt-out or allows the Cubs to cut him, or send him to the minors (but he still gets big league pay). Otherwise, why not just call it a minor league deal? You may recall that Shae Simmons got a deal like that last year.)
Although he’s not a household name, Cedeño, 32, has been quietly very good for a while now. He has a very nice 3.69 career ERA, albeit over a relatively limited 175.2 innings. Last year, he posted a 2.43 ERA (42% better than league average!) over 33.1 innings split between the White Sox and Brewers (bring us your secrets!). Perhaps more impressive were his 24.3% K rate, his 54.4% groundball rate, and 0.27 HR/9.
Interestingly, that huge success in 2018 came after an almost entirely lost 2017 season (the dreaded forearm injury – he went the PRP route rather than surgery). So there’s a very real injury risk here, but when he’s been healthy in his career, he’s been very good.
Cedeño is the third notable free agent addition to the Cubs’ bullpen – together with Brad Brach and Tony Barnette – as the Cubs look to fill things out with cost-effective options. They’ve also brought in a load of arms on minor league deals.
So why did Cedeño receive such a small, non-guaranteed deal? Well, part of it is the nature of rosters and budgets being mostly set at this point, but I suspect there is also the concern about his health and about his ability to duplicate anything close to his 2018 success. If he was perceived to be a very good bet to be that guy again, he would obviously get a much more significant contract.
Here’s hoping the situation works to the Cubs’ advantage, because adding another effective lefty into the mix – competition or otherwise – is a very good thing at this point in the year.
UPDATE: Jon Heyman says it’s a non-roster invite, which again, implies it’s a minor league deal:
Xavier Cedeno gets 900K as an NRI with 300K incentives @PJ_Mooney 1st #cubs
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 14, 2019
If this isn’t some kind of special deal, then the 40-man roster stands at 39, and the Cubs can give Cedeño a look in Spring Training and make a decision on whether to roster him only after figuring out whether he’s going to make the pen. I’m going to presume he’s got an opt-out available at the end of Spring Training.
