On his own, Chicago Cubs pitcher Colin Rea had a good day on Saturday.
Rea made his second start for the Cubs in spring training, this time against the Cleveland Guardians. After giving up a one-out double to Tyler Freeman in the first inning, he retired seven of the next hitters he faced.
He pitched three innings, giving up only one hit and no runs. He walked two and struck out two to trim his ERA to 1.93.
Those are good developments for the Cubs and for Rea. He missed all of 2019 season after Tommy John surgery and spent 2022 in Japan. He’s only emerged as a consistent starter in the Majors the past two seasons, as he worked two solid seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Brewers declined his option after last season, during which he went 12-6 with a 4.29 ERA. The win total was the best of his career. In January, the Cubs swooped in and signed him to a $5 million, one-year deal with a player option in 2026.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell managed Rea in 2021 and 2023.
But the same day Rea made his start the Cubs announced that one of last year’s starters, Javier Assad, would not be ready for opening day.
Assad is dealing with a left oblique strain and Counsell acknowledged that the right-hander will need more build-up time to be ready for the regular season. The Cubs ruled Assad out to start the season to give him time to recover.
Assad has become a quality option as a starter since he converted to the role midway through the 2023 season. Last year he went 7-56 with a 3.73 ERA in 147 innings, with 124 strikeouts and 63 walks. He’s not an ace, but he tends to take the ball every turn in the rotation.
Rea was already a candidate for one of the final spots in the rotation coming into spring training. The 34-year-old right-hander was seen as competition for two of the organization’s young stars, Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks. Both have starter experience.
Rea has experience as a starter and as a reliever. As he told MLB.com, he added a sweeper to his pitch arsenal last season and it had good results, as batters hit .159 against. He’s now tinkering with a different slider.
Much of that came together in Saturday’s start.
“I think every year you come into Spring Training and you’re like, ‘Can I still get guys out?’” Rea said. “But seeing the results we’ve had so far this Spring Training and how I feel body-wise and the way my stuff is, I feel like we’re in a good spot.”
He might be in the right spot to earn a rotation spot later this month.
