The Chicago Cubs enter the offseason coming out of another 83-79 regular season that saw the team miss the playoffs for the fourth year in a row.
Bullpen issues were near the top of the list of reasons why the team underachieved and failed to qualify for the postseason, converting on less than 60 percent of the save opportunities as a team and lacking a true closer. On top of the fact that nobody emerged as the shutdown man, the unit was extremely righty heavy with no true difference making left hander.
There are options all over free agency to improve the unit, but one of them sticks out in particular as the team will almost assuredly look to save money. Atlanta Braves left handed reliever A.J. Minter had been playing some of the best baseball of his career over the last two seasons before a hip issue forced him to most most of 2024, being shut down for the year in May after what was another strong start. Due to the injury, Ryan O'Rourke of Cubbies Crib sees Minter as an excellent free agent option who can be had at a discount in the likely event the team does not want to break the bank.
"There's always going to be a concern over whether he'll be able to recapture his form even from as recent as 2023 or 2022," O'Rourke wrote. "For a Cubs team that doesn't seem willing to approach the top of the relief market, shouldering that risk might be worth it for a guy with a history of sustained success on a contending team."
In 2022, Minter had the best season of his career with a 2.06 ERA in 75 appearances with 70 innings thrown and 94 strikeouts, the only time he has ever posted a WHIP below 1.0 in his eight seasons in the big leagues. His numbers dipped slightly in 2023 with a 3.76 ERA, but he was trending back towards the low 2's in 2024 before the injury. Perhaps most importantly, if the Cubs don't want to bring in a true closer, Minter has experience in that role and has done well, utilizing a fastball that reaches into the high 90s.
Spending his entire career with Atlanta thus far, Minter has been a key piece for the Braves since 2017. Now with a chance to be a free agent, he is a name that makes a lot of sense for Chicago with what Minter has demonstrated throughout his career to be a very high ceiling.
