The Rundown Lite: Cubs Working Around Clock, Diamondbacks Dig Bregman, Flurry of Reclamation Moves Elsewhere

I’m working with a very tight deadline this morning, so let’s get right to it. The Cubs made their third bullpen addition of the offseason on Tuesday, re-signing lefty Caleb Thielbar to what we presume is a relatively modest one-year deal. Though he’ll turn 39 in late January, Thielbar’s fastball has remained consistent over the last several seasons. Not that his game is dependent on a blazing heater anyway.

His cut-ride four-seam is delivered from a pretty extreme over-the-top angle, creating a different look for hitters. Only three other lefties in MLB release the ball higher than Thielbar’s 56 degrees; interestingly enough, the Dodgers had three pitchers at that same angle (Clayton Kershaw, Blake Snell, and Jack Dreyer) with one higher (Alex Vesia, 58 degrees). This wouldn’t be terribly interesting on its own, but it takes on a different hue when we compare it to the recent addition of Hoby Milner.

No southpaw in the game threw from a lower angle last season than Milner’s -6 degrees, with Atlanta’s Chris Sale coming in next-lowest at 8 degrees. That means the Cubs will have the greatest variation between two lefties’ arm angles of any team in baseball next season. If you’re not going to target big velo, you have to find an advantage somewhere.

The concept of leveraging arm angles was popularized by the Rays years ago, and we’ve seen a lot more attention paid to the nuances of these different release points of late. Tyler Zombro and Tread Athletics have done a very good job of working with pitchers to maximize their repertoires based on angle and pronation/supination tendencies, so I’m willing to bet the team is hoping to better utilize that knowledge moving forward.

The Cubs now have the foundation for a reasonably reliable bullpen, so the key now is adding at least one more high-leverage arm. We’ve seen most of their would-be targets get more money than expected, so it may be a while before Jed Hoyer settles on the right reliever for what might be their last big-league deal for the pen. I’d guess they’re looking to fill the rest of the spots out from non-roster invitees, either through signings or those already in the minors.

My expectation is that they’ll now turn their primary focus to acquiring a starter, though I don’t think anything is imminent.

Bregman Reportedly Drawing Interest from Arizona

Bob Nightengale and others reported that the Diamondbacks, who have an opening at third base, have shown interest in Alex Bregman. It’s hard to imagine them spending what it’ll take to land him, so this could be a matter of planting their flag in case he has to settle for a shorter deal. It could also be a way for Scott Boras to spur activity from one of the big three that have had the clearest ties to Bregman.

The Red Sox, Cubs, and Tigers have been viewed as his most likely destinations for a while, and the back-and-forth over Boston’s willingness — or lack thereof — to do long-term contracts might be telling. They’re negotiating in the media to an extent, with Boras trying to publicly shame Bregman’s former (future?) team into ponying up on a new deal.

This dance may continue for a while, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a team come over the top for him before the end of the year.

More News and Notes

• Former Cubs lefty Drew Pomeranz signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Angels after rebuilding his value in 2025. The lefty hadn’t pitched in the bigs since 2021, but ended up opening Game 5 of the NLDS.
• Adrian Houser is another guy who rebuilt his value in a big way with a Chicago team, leveraging a strong campaign with the White Sox into a trade to the Rays and now a two-year, $22 million contract with the Giants.
• Following a brief tenure with the Cubs, Michael Soroka signed a one-year, $7.5 million deal with the Diamondbacks. He told Foul Territory that he could have gotten more total value as a swingman, but wanted to bet on himself as a starter. At just 28 years old, he could pitch himself into a much bigger salary next year.
• Ha-Seong Kim turned down a four-year, $48 million deal with the A’s to join the Braves on a one-year, $20 contract.
• More than half of the top 50 available free agents are still available.

Positive Vibes

I’ve always been pretty open about myself and my family on these pages, and I’ll continue to do so as long as I’m writing. Like when I wrote the other day about driving through a load of snow to get my son back from a baseball prospect camp at a small university that isn’t terribly far away. He ended up receiving very positive feedback from the staff there and is on their radar, which was a nice development.

While that’s nothing close to a guarantee that he’ll have a chance to play there, or anywhere, even the smallest milestones offer a chance to celebrate the journey. My hope for each of you reading is that you experience your own little moments today or at some point in the next few days. Maybe it’s finishing a puzzle or changing a car battery, anything that gives you a sense of accomplishment.

Too often, we get so caught up in the big things that we fail to recognize those little wins. I’d like to do that here if you don’t mind. Let’s share our wins and celebrate one another.