The Pedro Strop era on the North Side is over.
According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, Strop has reached an agreement with the Reds on a one-year deal. It's worth $1.825 million and bonuses can raise the value to $3.5 million.
The Cubs acquired Strop and Jake Arrieta in a trade with the Orioles in 2013. Like Arrieta, Strop turned out to be a steal for the Cubs; in parts of seven seasons, he posted a 2.90 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 425 strikeouts in 373 innings. His 411 appearances are sixth in club history and he’s first in holds (120).
2019 was Strop’s worst as a Cub (4.97 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 50 games) and he was hampered by two early-season hamstring injuries. He struggled with consistency for much of the season, and flashes of his old self often dovetailed with streaks of tough outings.
Strop figured things out in September (2.00 ERA, nine innings) but he was pitching largely in low-leverage spots. Still, it offers hope he can bounce back in 2020, and he signed an inexpensive deal.
The Cubs have proven money is a factor in their maneuvering this offseason. They’ve added a bunch of relievers, but all are high-upside guys signed to low-cost deals. At present, they have 15 options, at least, fighting for five spots, with Craig Kimbrel, Kyle Ryan and Rowan Wick being the only locks for the Opening Day bullpen.
MLB
Letting Strop walk may be a sad sight for Cubs fans, but doing so means saving some money, all while giving potential future bullpen fixtures opportunities to prove themselves. He'll go down as one of the best relievers in team history, but this move makes sense.
