The Chicago Cubs make another underwhelming signing

The Chicago Cubs came into this off-season with a lot of hype. The word on the street was that they were going to go out and spend a lot of money in free agency to try and compete in 2023. So far, that just hasn’t happened.

Rumors of signing any two of the four big shortstops available actually had some steam. Now, only one of them remains and it is the worst of the four (although Dansby Swanson is still a very good player). Now, the signings of Cody Bellinger and Jameson Taillon carry less weight.

It is also much less exciting when they sign a reliever like Brad Boxberger. Jeff Passan of ESPN is reporting that the Cubs are bringing in the former Milwaukee Brewers reliever on a one-year contract at 2.8 million.

He is a 34-year-old right-handed pitcher but he had a pretty good 2022 season. He isn’t elite or anything like that but he is going to give you some quality innings and get out of them with minimal damage.

The Chicago Cubs signed Brad Boxberger to a one-year contract for 2023.

In 64.0 innings pitched last year, he had 68 strikeouts with an ERA of 2.95 and a WHIP of 1.234. All of his stats accumulated him a WAR of 1.1 which isn’t bad for a reliever that was used in some moderately hard situations.

He should be able to come to the Cubs on this cheap deal and provide them with some quality stuff. When they are inevitably out of it by the trade deadline, they can flip him to a contender for assets that will help them out in the future.

If the Cubs landed Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, or Xander Bogaerts, this is a signing that would be nice because adding some solid relievers when you expect to win is needed. However, nothing they have done so far will move the needle despite the hype coming into December.

Hopefully, Boxberger can pitch well so they can get something out of him. If the Cubs have a good year and win more than they lose, he will help them. If not, as mentioned before, trade him. It isn’t a bad signing at all. It is just underwhelming.