Cubs sign lefty reliever, designate Brian Duensing |
Tony Crumpton
· · Sunday, March 24 2019
The Chicago Cubs have signed lefty reliever Tim Collins to a big league contract and designated for assignment Brian Duensing on Sunday.
The Cubs decided to grab Collins up after the Twins released him last week. Collins had s 4.91 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and 12 strikeouts in 7.1 innings of work this spring. According to multiple reports, Collins has been optioned to Triple-A to make room for him on the 40-man team. If Duensing clears waivers ($3.5 million), he could actually stay within the Cubs organization on a minor league deal. The clock (DFA) starts as the Cubs have 10 days to trade, waive, or release Duensing. The two-year, $7 million contract with Duensing will go down as one of the most terrible Cubs contracts in the last few years. During the spring, he had a 10.29 ERA in seven innings. It appears that this move will add more pitching depth in the organization and Collins could be used as a lefty specialist at some point in the season. Collins is scheduled to pitch today against the Padres. In 2018, Collins had a 4.37 ERA in 22.2 innings with the Nationals. For his MLB career, he has a 3.62 ERA and 241 strikeouts in 266 appearances. So in a year where the budget has been a big deal, the Cubs are spending 3.5 mil in dead money (Duensing) .
