Cubs interested in Andrew Chafin, Matt Moore

Cubs interested in Andrew Chafin, Matt Moore

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The Cubs continue to call for relief, and The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma says the left-hander Andrew Chafin When Matt Moore Both are on the team’s radar. It’s not clear if the Cubs are willing to honor either pitcher’s asking price. Team president Jed Hoyer has previously said his team wants the relief pitcher to sign him on a one-year contract, and the Cubs have traditionally found success by adding his pitching to relief pitchers. rice field. at a low cost transaction.

As Hoyer told Sharma and other reporters at today’s Cubs convention fan event, this past strategy is now “much more difficult” in the current free agent market. “Looking at the cost of some of the players we were able to do it, it was really low stakes as far as what we were paying them. And I think you are.making the task difficult

Of course, neither Chaffin nor Moore are low-cost players anymore, adding another wrinkle to Chicago’s interest. When he signed a one-year, $2.75MM contract with the Cubs in the 2020-21 offseason, Chaffin was actually his type of bounce back. Because the southpaw was battling the Diamondbacks in 2020 before the Cubs first acquired him in a trade. deadline.

A rough (and only 6 2/3 innings) stint at D’Back was Chafin’s only down point in the past six seasons. Last year with the Tigers, Chafin posted a 2.83 ERA in 57 1/3 innings, above average he had a 27.6% strikeout rate and a 51.3% ground ball percentage, making him a free agent to re-enter the market. gave him a solid foundation. Chafin declined his $6.5 million player option for 2023, opting to leave Detroit in search of a more lucrative multi-year offer. Chafin is certainly familiar with Wrigley Field and could theoretically be interested in a reunion.

MLBTR lists Cefin No. 39 in its ranking of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, and expects the veteran southpaw to sign a two-year, $18 million deal. Moore has only been in full-time relief work one his season, but he looked so sharp in his first year as a regular in the bullpen that it got an honorable mention on the list. A 3.69 SIERA and a .257 BABIP indicated Moore enjoyed good luck, but the left-hander with the Rangers he posted a 1.95 ERA over 74 innings.

Still, secondary metrics tended to boost Moore’s comeback. He has a strong strikeout rate of his 27.3% and has done an excellent job of hard limiting his hits. Both his hard hitting his ball and his barrel rate were above his 91st percentile of all pitchers. But Moore’s 12.5% ​​walking percentage was near the bottom of the league, and control was still a big issue.

Signing either Chaffin or Moore would add some left-handed balance to Chicago’s mostly right-handed bullpen. Brandon Hughes It appears to be the only southpaw left on the Opening Day roster for sure.Cubs strengthened his lefty depth by signing Roennis Elias, Ryan BoruckiWhen Eric Stout For minor league trading, Anthony Kay I was waived by the Blue Jays last month.

Hoyer said:bench and bullpenremains the Cubs’ target area, and Sharma said the team could be looking for a player who can act as a DH and possibly play first base. Sharma may seek to address the needs of the Zach McKinstry “It’s also a popular name when other teams call the Cubs about potential trades.” Sharma thinks Chicago could trade McKinstry to replace him from the inside. Miles Mastrobuonia similar player who still had minor league options (unlike McKinstry).

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