The Cubs are in agreement with veteran righty Chris Flexen on a minor league contract, report Sahadev Sharma and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The signing is pending a physical. Once finalized, it’ll presumably include a non-roster invite to big league camp for the O’Connell Sports Management client.
Flexen spent last season on the other side of Chicago. He inked a one-year, $1.75MM free agent deal with the White Sox. Flexen provided the Sox with a reliable source of innings. He led the team with 160 frames across 33 appearances. He turned in a 4.95 earned run average with a below-average 17.4% strikeout percentage and an 8.9% walk rate. While it wasn’t the most exciting rate production, there was value in taking the ball every fifth day on an otherwise inexperienced pitching staff. That was particularly true in the second half, as Chicago had traded Erick Fedde and was limiting Garrett Crochet to short starts to avoid overworking him.
The 30-year-old Flexen has topped 100 innings in all four seasons since returning to affiliated ball after a stint in Korea. He posted a sub-4.00 ERA in consecutive years for the Mariners in 2021-22. The numbers took a turn for the worse in ’23, as opponents tagged him for nearly seven earned runs per nine across 102 1/3 frames between Seattle and the Rockies.
Flexen has an uphill battle to securing a spot in the Cubs rotation. Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd have the top four spots secured. Javier Assad seems the frontrunner for the final rotation job, though he’ll face competition from Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks and potentially swingman Colin Rea. If Rea ends up in long relief, there’s limited flexibility amidst a bullpen that features a number of pitchers who cannot be optioned (e.g. Ryan Pressly, Ryan Brasier, Tyson Miller, Julian Merryweather, Caleb Thielbar, Keegan Thompson).
The Cubs could view Flexen as rotation depth for Triple-A Iowa. However, he’ll have the right to retest free agency if he doesn’t break camp. Under the collective bargaining agreement, MLB free agents who sign minor league deals more than 10 days before Opening Day have three guaranteed opt-out opportunities: five days before Opening Day, May 1, and June 1. Flexen qualifies after finishing last season on the Sox’s MLB roster.