Hey, it’s another minor league signing for the Chicago Cubs, and it’s very much in the mold of all their minor league signings so far this offseason: a pitcher (mostly lefties) who can do some interesting things, and the Cubs wonder if maybe they might be able to coax a big league reliever out of him.
This time, it’s actually an old friend:
Left-hander Matt Dermody is in agreement on a minor league deal with the #Cubs, I'm told. Third Cubs stint for him. He spent last year with the Seibu Lions in #NPB.
— Steve Adams (@Adams_Steve) January 27, 2022
If the name is familiar, that’s because this is the third time the Cubs have signed Dermody to a minor league deal (and he made a one-inning appearance for the big league team in 2020). The very tall 31-year-old lefty spent the 2021 season in Japan, and it was wholly unsuccessful across the board. I expect that’s why he’s coming back to the States on a minor league deal rather than re-upping in Japan. It’s a competitive league!
Which is not to say the Cubs are signing Dermody for nothing. We got only that very brief glimpse of him in 2020, but it was easy to see why the Cubs would have interest. When it comes to reliever projects, the Cubs LOVE guys who fit the Buzzfeed test: they do that “one weird trick.” Sometimes it’s one great pitch, sometimes it’s elite spin rate, sometimes it’s the arm angle, sometimes it’s the flat pitch approach, and so on. With Dermody, at least based on that one appearance, I think it’s something funky about his delivery. It’s got a very subtle hitch that might throw off the timing of the hitter, and thus allows a 95 mph fastball right down the pipe to be swung through:
Dermody will join other minor league signees like Eric Yardley, Locke St. John, Stephen Gonsalves, Mark Leiter Jr., Jonathan Holder, and Conner Menez (minor league Rule 5) as guys trying to win a job in Spring Training, and/or heading to Iowa as depth. This is an area where the Cubs have done so well for so long that I say, whatever man, at least one of these guys will be a pleasant surprise.