Cubs interested in lefties Andrew Chafin, Matt Moore

The Cubs continue to look for relief help, and The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma reports that left-handers Andrew Chafin and Matt Moore are both on the team’s radar. 

It isn’t clear whether the Cubs are necessarily willing to meet either pitcher’s asking price, as president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer had previously indicated that his team preferred one-year deals for relievers, and the Cubs have traditionally found success in adding relief pitching at lower-cost deals.

As Hoyer told Sharma and other reporters at Saturday’s Cubs Convention fan event, this past strategy is now “a lot more difficult” in the current free agent market. 

“If you look at the cost on some of the players we were able to do that on, it was really low stakes as far as what we were paying those guys. I do think the buy-low reliever market has been a lot higher than the past. It’s made that job difficult.”

Of course, neither Chafin or Moore are buy-low players any longer, adding another wrinkle to Chicago’s interest. Chafin was in fact a bounce-back type when he signed a one-year, $2.75M deal with the Cubs in the 2020-21 offseason, as the southpaw had struggled with the Diamondbacks in 2020 before the Cubs initially picked him up at the trade deadline.

That rough (and brief, at only 6 2/3 innings) stint with the D-backs represented Chafin’s only real down point of the last six seasons, as the lefty has been an otherwise solid and occasionally dominant relief arm. 

Last year with the Tigers, Chafin posted a 2.83 ERA and an above-average 27.6% strikeout rate, and 51.3% grounder rate over 57 1/3 innings, giving him a solid platform to re-enter the free agent market. 

Chafin declined his $6.5M player option for 2023, opting to leave Detroit in search of a more lucrative multi-year offer. Chafin certainly has familiarity with Wrigley Field, and could theoretically have interest in a reunion — especially with the Cubs now looking to contend after a short rebuilding period.

MLBTR listed Chafin 39th on our ranking of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, projecting the veteran southpaw for a two-year, $18M deal. 

Moore was an honorable mention on the list, as while he only has one season of full-time relief work under his belt, Moore looked quite sharp in his first year as a bullpen regular. 

The left-hander posted a 1.95 ERA over 74 innings with the Rangers, even if a 3.69 SIERA and a .257 BABIP indicated Moore enjoyed some good fortune.

Still, secondary metrics tended to back up Moore’s revival. He had a strong 27.3% strikeout rate and did an outstanding job of limiting hard contact, as both his hard-hit ball and barrel rates ranked above the 91st percentile of all pitchers. 

However, control was still a major issue for Moore, as his 12.5% walk rate sat near the bottom of the league.

Signing either Chafin or Moore would add some left-handed balance to a Chicago bullpen that is mostly full of right-handers, as Brandon Hughes looks to be the only southpaw assured of a spot on the Opening Day roster. 

The Cubs did bolster their left-handed depth by signing Roenis Elias, Ryan Borucki, and Eric Stout to minor league deals, while Anthony Kay was claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays last month.

Hoyer said that “bench and bullpen” are remaining target areas for the Cubs, with Sharma noting that the team could be looking for a player who can serve as a DH and possibly play some first base. 

Rather than free agency, the Cubs could potentially look to address their needs in a trade, and perhaps to this end, Sharma writes that the versatile Zach McKinstry “has also been a popular name when other teams call the Cubs regarding trade possibilities.” 

Sharma opines that Chicago could possibly trade McKinstry and replace him from within with Miles Mastrobuoni, a similar player who (unlike McKinstry) has minor league options remaining.