NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Cubs continue to mine for talent in independent ball, having already landed quite a few signings the last few weeks, and now adding several more.
Per the team’s official transaction wire, the Cubs have signed shortstop Edwin Figuera to a minor league deal, bringing him over from the York Revolution of the Atlantic League. There, the 23-year-old was hitting .355/.500/.516 over his first 12 games. A former Cardinals prospect, Figuera was in affiliated ball through 2019 (High-A), but must’ve been caught up in the cut down over the 2020 non-season. So he showed up for indy ball, and must have played well enough to get noticed by the Cubs. Add him to the lower-level shortstop depth in the organization.
Also per the transaction wire, the Cubs signed catcher Harrison Wenson to a minor league deal. The 26-year-old must’ve been heavily scouted as a youngster – he was drafted three times – and had been working his way up the Angels’ organization, but the bat hadn’t come along and they let him go earlier this year. He had played just a bit at Triple-A, but it looks like that might’ve been as a fill-in. Developmentally, it looks like he’d topped out at High-A, so you can add him to the Cubs’ efforts to get some mid-level catching depth (like the recent Tim Susnara signing).
Arizona Phil reports that the Cubs have also signed righty Justin Shafer and lefty Dalton Stambaugh.
Shafer, 28, actually pitched in the big leagues from 2018-20 with the Blue Jays and Marlins, but this year had been pitching in the American Association. Through five starts, the ERA wasn’t pretty, but Shafer had struck out 26 over just 19.1 innings. Stambaugh, 24, was an Orioles draft pick in 2019, signed and pitched in their org in 2019, but then was in the Frontier League this year. Not quite sure of what happened there, but he was pitching well in indy ball. Whereas you would view Shafer as a guy to see what he can do in the near-term after a Cubs Pitch Lab visit, Stambaugh is presumably more of a true prospect type.
