Cubs could go after newly DFA'd reliever to help bullpen |
By now, it's no secret that this entire Chicago Cubs team is a mess. However, the biggest eyesore of them all is a bullpen that was not only pieced together based on hopes and dreams during the offseason but is now being pieced together with band-aids.
Since the start of the 2024 season, virtually every significant reliever the Cubs were counting on this season has hit the IL at some point. From Julian Merryweather to Mark Leiter Jr and Adbert Alzolay. Throw in Yency Almonte, Daniel Palencia, and even Drew Smyly earlier in the season, and you have a toxic situation where only Hector Neris has been the lone healthy option out of the Cubs pen this season. You have seen the Cubs make some minor moves by trading for Tyson Miller and snatching up Vinny Nittoli off of waivers to try and help the Pen. Miller has worked wonders for this team this season, but the jury is still out on Nittoli, who has less than 15 innings of MLB experience under his belt. With so many injuries to the Pen, the Cubs are going to do what they feel is right to try to counteract the injuries. There is a name the Cubs could pursue after his surprising release from the New York Yankees. His name is Victor Gonzalez. Being that he is a left-handed pitcher, the Cubs could use another lefty in their Pen, so this could be a move Jed Hoyer looks to make. Gonzalez is still only 28 years old and has been a focal point in the Yankees pen the past few seasons, although this season wasn't nearly as good as he has been. Sure, the 3.86 ERA across 27 games isn't the worst, but when he was hovering around the 3.2 and 3.3 range the last few seasons, that is an uptick that the Yankees didn't like to see. Across his 27 games this season, Gonzalez has been mostly a matchup arm as he has logged just 23 1/3 innings this season. A big reason for that is a concerning trend, as his walk rate of 13.4% is higher than his actual strikeout rate of 11.6%. For a team that already has an issue of walking guys out of the Pen, adding another guy who walks more than he strikeouts doesn't seem to be a good fit, but Gonzalez continues to be a reliable reliever from the left side, which the Cubs haven't had much luck with. ERA and command aside, look at what lefties have done against Gonzalez this season. Lefties are slashing .143/.273/.143 against Gonzalez this season, recording four hits (all singles) in 28 at-bats. With Leiter Jr, who is their primary lefty reliever due to reverse splits on the shelf, the Cubs don't have that guy who can neutralize lefties, although Luke Little has that potential. As expected, righties have hit Gonzalez a little bit better, but even they have struggled, hitting just .170 against him. Had it not been for the command issues, Gonzalez would be one of the best relievers in baseball, but the Yankees didn't want to wait for that to happen and thus sent him to waivers. Even with the struggles, Gonzalez has continued to post an elite ground ball rate at 55.1%, and with the defense of Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner behind him, those numbers would fit in nicely with this team. Although not the 95 MPH guy he once was, Gonzalez is still averaging 93.3 MPH on his heater, which is a career-low velocity. That is another reason why the strikeout numbers have continued to drop, but as long as he gets people out, it shouldn't be an issue. Gonzalez has a recent track record of having success in the majors, and with so many of the Cubs reliable relievers on the shelf, he does seem like a fit. However, as of 4 PM yesterday, Gonzalez has officially passed through waivers without a claim and has been sent to the Yankees AAA site to try and make it back to the bigs. That isn't necessarily bad for the Cubs, as they could still find a way to get him, but it would have to come via a trade instead of giving him a cheap deal. Even at that, Gonzalez wouldn't cost a ton of money, and you could essentially trade one prospect for him straight up to get him on your roster. He is a better option than most of the team's options right now and is someone you could build around due to his age and previous success.
