We know the score today: the Chicago Cubs already needed to add a lefty to their bullpen, and with Tyler Chatwood going down – thus moving Jose Quintana into the rotation – the need is overwhelming. It’s a loss of leverage, but them’s the breaks.
So I’m keyed up right now for any names mentioned, however weakly connected to the Cubs:
Several teams seek a lefty reliever and there are few good ones available so the Orioles are in a good spot with Paul Fry (1.93 ERA) and Tanner Scott (2.03). Cubs, Nats and others are targeting a lefty.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 31, 2020
(The Nationals are 12-19, the second worst record in the NL – why are they buying?)
Fry, 28, was great in 2018 and has been absolutely nails this year, but struggled in 2019. He’s not even arbitration eligible yet, so there’s a lot to like there, but the thing is, in his young career, he has MASSIVE reverse splits (lefties have hit .254/.354/.431 off of him, while righties have gone just .232/.319/.300). Unless the Cubs think they can address that immediately with an obvious fix, I don’t see Fry as the right fit.
Scott, 26, is similar to Fry in terms of being great this year, though it’s the first time he’s had success at the big league level after doing some bouncing up and down. He also comes with several more pre-arb years left, but unlike Fry, Scott has traditional splits. He’d make much more sense as a lefty target.
That said, I’m not so sure the Cubs are gonna be all about getting guys with lots of team control left – it’s not a bad thing, mind you, but they have future lefties on the way. I think they’re mostly just gonna want someone who can be a late-inning lefty option this year.