JUST IN: Chicago Cubs Officially Announced The Signing Of James Karinchak, RHP Into The Minor League

Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer has had some success, in the past, signing pitchers who have had rough years, or injuries, or both, and rehabbing them into useful relievers. Julian Merryweather was one of those, at least until he was injured again in 2024. Hoyer signed David Robertson, who had pitched only 19 games between 2018 and 2021, and turned him into Ben Brown. Andrew Chafin brought Daniel Palencia, who still might become a decent MLB reliever.

The Cubs are past that sort of “sign this guy and flip him” signing, or at least they should be.

But one of the things that hurt the team last year was a bullpen that couldn’t lock down anyone until late in the season.

I looked through the list of non-tenders and minor-league free agents and have identified five pitchers who are free agents who might be able to help the Cubs going forward. Some of these guys have been quite successful in the past and been derailed by injuries or other issues.

All of them, I believe, would be worth a minor-league deal to Spring Training. Let’s have a look

James Karinchak, RHP

Karinchak threw well for Cleveland from 2020-23, with a good K rate (though also a high walk rate). Then he suffered a shoulder injury and didn’t pitch in the major leagues at all in 2024, his only action coming in seven games for Triple-A Columbus (2.08 ERA, again a high K rate and high walk rate).

This article says the Guardians wanted to keep him, but he refused an outright assignment to the minor leagues and became a free agent. Caveat: His velocity was down a bit last year.

He has an option year remaining, which could make him attractive to the Cubs. He’s 29.

Patrick Sandoval, RHP

Sandoval was a very good starter for the Angels in 2021 and 2022, not as much in 2023, and had Tommy John surgery in July 2024, which means he’ll miss at least half of the 2025 season.

Given his previous success and that he’s only 28, a minor-league deal for 2025 with a possible MLB deal for 2026 might be worth it. Sandoval had a 3.3 bWAR season in 2022.

Hoby Milner, LHP

Milner had two very good years with the Brewers in 2022 and 2023, then his performance declined in 2024. He turns 34 in January, which is probably why the Brewers decided to move on.

One of the best things about Milner is that he just doesn’t walk guys. In his four years in Milwaukee he walked 45 of 891 batters faced, or 5.05 percent.

This is someone Craig Counsell is quite familiar with, and the Cubs just don’t have many lefthanders available for the pen. I think he’d be worth a minor-league deal.

Brandon Hughes, LHP

Hughes, a former Cub, was non-tendered by the Diamondbacks last week. You likely remember that Hughes was a conversion guy, drafted as an outfielder in 2017 and converted to pitching two years later.

He threw well at times, especially in 2022 with the Cubs, but the results since then have not been good.

Still, again — lefthanded. He turns 29 on Sunday. He still lives in Chicago — why not give him a Spring Training NRI? If he’s still no good he could just be released.

Colin Poche, LHP

Poche’s numbers were decent for the Rays in 2024, though he missed some time with a pair of injuries — one to his back, another to his shoulder.

He turns 31 in January. Again, good lefthanders can be hard to come by. A guy like this might well be worth a NRI.

None of these guys is going to move the needle much, but could possibly provide some depth. I’d say one or more would definitely be worth a minor-league contract.