As bullpen injuries continue to pile up, the Chicago Cubs have traded for a familiar arm.
The Cubs acquired right-hander Tyson Miller for minor league infielder Jake Slaughter. The organization is very familiar with Miller, who was a fourth-round pick of the Cubs in 2016. Miller was claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers in 2021 and has bounced around since then, with the Cubs now becoming the sixth organization he's played for in that span.
Left-hander Richard Lovelady was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.
Miller struck out 10 and walked one hitter in 11 2/3 innings (nine appearances) while posting a 3.09 ERA for the Mariners. Seattle designated Miller for assignment Friday. Miller, 28, does not have any minor league options remaining.
"Obviously we know Tyson well," president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Tuesday on WSCR-AM 670. "He turned into a really good righty specialist, he kills righties and has a really good slider.
"It made sense to grab him given some of the bullpen injuries we have. … We have a lot of injuries right now and just have to grind through it."
The Cubs lost right-hander Adbert Alzolay to the 15-day injured list Monday with a right forearm strain. Alzolay had imaging done and the team won't have an update on the severity of his arm injury until the results come back. He is the fifth reliever on the IL and leaves the Cubs with only three remaining from their opening-day roster: Mark Leiter Jr., Héctor Neris and José Cuas, who was recalled to replace Alzolay.
Slaughter, 27, didn't have a clear path to the majors for the Cubs, allowing them to reallocate their resources and depth. He had a .297 average, 879 OPS and 11 extra-base hits in 32 games this season with Triple-A Iowa.
