The Cubs have made a pitching addition today, though it’s probably not among the names you had on your radar for a significant move.
It’s old friend Colin Rea:
Free agent right-hander Colin Rea and the #Cubs have agreed to a one-year, $5MM deal, I’m told.
— Steve Adams (@Adams_Steve) January 10, 2025
The Cubs have an agreement with righty Colin Rea, a source confirms to ESPN. He pitched for them in 2020. And for Craig Counsell in Milwaukee in 2021 and 2023.— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) January 10, 2025
I don’t have a problem with the Cubs bringing in additional pitching depth, and their familiarity (Cubs org and Craig Counsell) with Rea is a plus.
… But a big league deal, for real money, without the flexibility of any minor league options? This is an odd one. Maybe we’ll find out later that it’s a minor league deal with $5 million in the big leagues? Because if this is just a full-on, starting pitcher, $5 million signing, that may well be it for the rotation.
Since his brief time with the Cubs in 2019 and 2020, Rea has been with the Brewers, save for a one-year stint in Japan in 2022. His last two seasons are the most salient here, since he was pretty much a full-time starting pitcher for the Brewers: 4.40 ERA over 292.1 IP (49 starts, 9 relief appearances), 4.82 FIP, 1.6 total WAR.
He was about 4% worse than league average by ERA- those two seasons, which is actually perfectly fine for a 5th starter, though the peripherals leave you a little wary that he could keep it up again in 2025, especially without elite contact management metrics (Statcast in 2024):
Even if you were getting a league-average, back-of-the-rotation starter in this move, I’m not really sure that’s what the Cubs need, given their depth in that area among the young pitchers. Rea on a minor league deal makes a lot of sense. Rea as an immovable guy you’re immediately putting in the rotation or even in a swing role makes less sense for this particular team.
Let me put it another way: if this is the last starting pitching move the Cubs make (since they’re likely missing out on Roki Sasaki), it calls into question just how tight the baseball budget is going to be this year. Because, in theory, the Cubs have upwards of $50 million to go under the luxury tax, and they ain’t spending that much on the bullpen and the bench …
Or, hey, maybe you want to get crazy optimistic and say the Cubs are planning to do some seriously crazy stuff with their starting pitching strategy, and they need six+ starting pitchers on the roster at all times!
UPDATE: Rogers says it’s a one-year deal with a team option for 2026, so yeah, this is just a straight-up, full-on, can’t-be-sent-to-the-minors arm for the pitching group.
It also means the Cubs will need to open up a 40-man roster spot for Rea to make the deal official.
