Cubs sign former A's reliever Vinny Nittoli |
Although not the biggest name on the free agent market, the Cubs once again dove into the free agent pool, where they plucked another arm out of the basket for relief help. This time, it comes as an MLB deal instead of a Minor League deal, and all it took was 19 blown saves and 43 one-run games before June 27 for that to happen.
It has been reported that the Cubs and veteran right-hander Vinny Nittoli have agreed on a brand new MLB contract for the remainder of the season. While the financials have not been released at this point, this is an excellent deal for the Cubs after he was part of their organization last year. Nittoli has been around for a long time, but has been with the Oakland A's organization this season. Although his MLB resume was a small sample size this season, he was pretty good when given the opportunity, as he posted a 2.25 ERA across eight innings before being DFAd by the A's. The Cubs are hoping Nittoli can bring something similar to Tyson Miller, who has provided a massive boost for this team. He is already with the team and will be active for their game in San Francisco on Thursday. A long-time veteran, the 33-year-old Nittoli was with the Cubs last season during the Spring and was one of the final roster cuts before the season. Given that he must be added to not only the 40-man roster, but also the 26 man roster there will be a corresponding move coming. What that move is remains to be seen, but Yency Almonte appears to be the name, given the reports that he isn't rehabbing very well right now. Not only did Nittoli come close to making the Cubs roster last season, but he has always been known as a borderline AAA/MLB guy who always pitched well enough to make an MLB roster but wasn't given a chance. Counting his workload this season, Nittoli has had limited experience over the past four years and has appeared in just 15 innings. However, with a 3.07 ERA in those 15 innings, he has shown the ability to get guys out, which is all you can ask for. Nittoli is an interesting pickup for the Cubs, but when you look at his body of work this season, he does have plenty of potential. His 2.25 ERA in the MLB was very good, as was his 2.70 ERA at Triple-A for the A’s this year, with a 36.0% strikeout rate. Those are impressive numbers across the board, and for a team that lacks true strikeout stuff in its bullpen, this could be seen as an upgrade, depending on who you ask. With him on an MLB minimum deal, the Cubs don't have to keep him if they don't want to, as it will cost them next to nothing to bring him in. However, the fact that they went out of their way to claim him off waivers and then immediately add him to their MLB roster shows what the Cubs think of him, especially after having him on their roster last season. This could be viewed as another Miller-type deal, where they brought him aboard on a flyer in hopes of giving the Cubs something better than most of their current bullpen options. Although most fans would love for the Cubs to give guys like Ethan Roberts or Hunter Bigge an opportunity, that may not happen until they decide whether to be buyers or sellers at the deadline. In the meantime, these are the types of deals we can expect this front office to make. It's not ideal, but it is a move that was made to help improve a bullpen with all kinds of issues. Welcome back to the Cubs, Nitolli.
