Chicago Cubs may have lucked into the perfect bullpen pickup

The Chicago Cubs may have just had a viable, healthy bullpen option practically dumped into their laps.

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Veteran lefty and former Cub Andrew Chafin has opted out of his deal with the Cincinnati Reds, per MLB insider Jon Heyman, and is now a free agent.

The availability of an experienced bullpen arm with a proven track record of success should be a big deal for a Cubs team hobbled by a rash of pitching injuries.

Although Phil Maton and closer Daniel Palencia have returned from their IL stints, relievers Hunter Harvey, Caleb Thielbar, Riley Martin, and Ethan Roberts are still not back with the squad. Emerging ace Cade Horton, meanwhile, is out for the season following elbow surgery and returning ace Justin Steele’s recovery from elbow surgery last season has suffered a setback.

The injuries have been so debilitating that the Cubs have had to rely on offseason minor league pickups Corbin Martin, Ryan Rolison, Charlie Barnes, Vince Velasquez, and Yacksel Rios to fill gaps and provide innings.

Andrew Chafin, back to the Cubs?

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Chafin could be slotted right in as a short-relief lefty arm, covering right now for the loss of both Thielbar and Martin.

The 35-year-old was signed to a minor league contract by the Reds this past offseason and has been very good with Triple-A Louisville, posting a 0.96 ERA through 10 appearances.

Over the course of his 12-year major league career—spent with 8 teams—the southpaw has a 3.35 ERA over 643 games and 542 innings pitched with 591 career strikeouts. Last year, he delivered a 2.41 ERA over 33.2 innings with the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels.

With the Cubs, Chafin posted a 2.13 ERA from the tail end of the 2020 season to the 2021 trade deadline where he was dealt to the Oakland A’s for Daniel Palencia and Greg Deichmann.

For the last couple of seasons, rumors have popped up about a reunion between Chafin and the Cubs, who always seem to be looking for bullpen arms, preferably of the discount or reclamation project variety. The 2026 Chafin certainly represents both discount and reclamation.

Risk vs. Reward

His career 3.89 walk rate per nine innings is concerning and is trending upward. Through the 2024 and 2025 seasons, his combined 5.00 walk rate is well past what should be tolerated from a late-inning reliever, even one with an elite strikeout rate those last two seasons of 10.6 per nine innings.

Picking up Chafin would no doubt be a gamble, but it would be a low-risk/low-cost gamble with a possible huge upside. Even under a worst case scenario, adding the veteran to the bullpen gives the Cubs a quality arm with a long history of success who would, at least, be an upgrade over the minor league offseason pickups they’ve recently been relying on to fill holes.

Paired with another former Cub back on the market, Carl Edwards Jr., the Cubs might do well to explore reunions as a temporary fix to this recent tidal wave of pitching misfortune.

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Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-andrew-chafin-bullpen-reunion/