The Cubs announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Jake Woodford. Right-hander Andrew Wantz has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Wantz was just selected to the roster two days ago. He entered last night’s game and tossed the final two innings of 10-2 victory over the Cardinals, throwing 27 pitches in the process. Perhaps he wasn’t going to be available for a day or two after that. Rather than play an arm short in the bullpen, the Cubs have swapped in a fresh one.
That will send Wantz to DFA limbo for the second time this year. He made one appearance for the Rays in May and quickly got bumped off the roster in that instance as well. He cleared waivers and elected free agency, which allowed him to sign a minor league deal with the Cubs. It’s possible a similar sequence of events will play out in the coming days, with Wantz going through the waiver wire and returning to the open market.
He has 122 big league innings under his belt, which were all with the Angels except for this year’s brief stints with the Rays and Cubs. He has allowed 4.20 earned runs per nine innings in that time with a 24.9% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate. In Triple-A this year, he has thrown 48 innings with a 5.63 ERA, 21.8% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate.
Woodford has been doing long relief work for the Brewers and Cubs this year. Between those two teams, he has logged 25 1/3 innings over 17 appearances. His 7.46 ERA obviously looks unpleasant, though it may be misleading. His .393 batting average on balls in play and 61.9% strand rate are both to the unlucky side. His 18.7% strikeout rate is a few ticks below par but his 5.7% walk rate is really low. ERA estimators like his 4.18 FIP and 3.89 SIERA feel he would have done far better with neutral luck.
He will give the Cubs an arm capable of absorbing some innings for the time being. He is out of options and the Cubs are widely expected to be very active in pursuing pitching upgrades ahead of the August 3 deadline, so he may not have his roster spot for very long.
Photo courtesy of Katie Stratman, Imagn Images
