What, you thought the Cubs were done trying to find guys to reclaim/develop/contribute just because they’re out of the playoff race and there are but six weeks left in the season? Pfft. Never stop finding guys and seeing what happens.
The latest is a minor league signing is former Red Sox righty Marcus Walden:
Congrats to client @marcuswalden35 on agreeing to terms with the @Cubs. #Cubs #RedSox #MLB pic.twitter.com/cGXTSXyf5q
— Ball Players Agency (@BPA_Agency) August 19, 2021
Walden, 32, was a long-time minor leaguer in a handful of systems before finally breaking into the big leagues in 2018 with the Red Sox. He was a season-long member of their bullpen in 2019, posting solid results over 78.0 innings (3.81 ERA (79 ERA-), 3.69 FIP (82 FIP-), 23.2% K rate, 9.8% BB rate). He struggled badly in 2020, though, and was only mediocre at Triple-A this year. I expect the Cubs liked something specific about him that they think can be brought back out – his is the kind of profile with which they’ve had a lot of success.
It’s conceivable that he could be up with the big league team at some point this year for a look-see, but it’s just as likely that the Cubs simply wanted to get him in house now to work with him before the offseason. That way they’d get the first crack at trying to retain him on a minor league deal if the sides felt the working relationship was going well.