The Cubs and veteran lefty Ty Blach are in agreement on a deal, as first reported by Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register. The Semper9 Sports client is headed to Triple-A Iowa. It’s a minor league pact, MLBTR has confirmed, and Blach has already joined the team on its road trip in Columbus. He’s expected to pitch Saturday, whether in a start or long relief.
Blach, 35, has pitched in parts of seven big league seasons. The bulk of his major league work has come with the Giants, for whom he tossed 299 1/3 innings of 4.36 ERA ball from 2016-18. He also spent three years with the Rockies organization from 2022-24, where he worked as a swingman but stumbled to an ERA north of 6.00 in 193 2/3 frames. That 2024 season with the Rockies was Blach’s most recent big league work. He spent most of the 2025 season with the Rangers organization and notched a solid 3.54 ERA in 56 minor league frames.
Blach has never been a hard thrower or missed many bats. He’s averaged 90 mph on his sinker in the majors and sat at 89 mph with that two-seamer during last year’s stint with the Rangers’ top affiliate. The 6’1″ southpaw has only fanned 13% of his major league opponents, but he’s regularly shown strong command (7% walk rate) and above-average groundball tendencies (45.6%). Blach did a nice job of dodging hard contact during his time in San Francisco but took a step back in that regard during his three seasons with the Rox.
The Cubs have been hit hard by pitching injuries, so it’s not a surprise to see them bring in some multi-inning depth. Cade Horton is the most notable loss for Chicago. Last year’s Rookie of the Year runner-up is headed for surgery to repair his right elbow’s ulnar collateral ligament and will be sidelined well into the 2027 season. The Cubs also have lefty Matthew Boyd on the 15-day IL due to a biceps strain, and top starter Justin Steele has yet to return from his own UCL surgery, which was performed about one year ago. He’s on the 60-day IL and likely out until early summer.
At present, the Cubs’ rotation includes Edward Cabrera, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Javier Assad and Colin Rea. Assad opened the season in the minors and was hit hard in his his second start of the season this weekend. Rea re-signed as a free agent and opened the year in the ‘pen, as expected for the veteran swingman. But much like the 2025 season, when he unexpectedly finished second on the team in starts and innings pitched due to various injuries around the roster, he’s been thrust into the rotation and seems likely to stick there for the time being.
On the bullpen side of things, the Cubs are without Phil Maton (knee tendinitis), Porter Hodge (flexor strain), Hunter Harvey (triceps inflammation), Jordan Wicks (nerve irritation in his forearm) and Ethan Roberts (laceration on his pitching hand). The Cubs have five lefties in the big league bullpen at the moment: Caleb Thielbar, Hoby Milner, Riley Martin, Luke Little and Ryan Rolison. A sixth, Charlie Barnes, is on the 40-man roster down in Triple-A. Chicago certainly isn’t hurting for southpaw depth, but with Rea in the rotation, they’ll bring in an experienced swingman to stash in the upper minors.
