The Chicago Cubs have made a trade with the Texas Rangers, acquiring right-handed pitcher Matt Festa for cash considerations. The other notable news coupled with the move is that left-handed hitting utility player Miles Mastrobuoni has been designated for assignment to make room for Festa on the 40-man roster.
ESPN's Jesse Rogers reported the roster moves on Thursday.
The Cubs have acquired reliever Matt Festa from the Rangers for cash, per the team. Miles Mastrobuoni has been DFA'd to make room on the roster.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) January 9, 2025
Festa, 31, made 18 appearances with the Rangers in 2024. The right-hander recorded a 4.37 ERA in 22.2 innings. He struck out 23 batters, walked seven and posted a 1.06 WHIP.
Overall in his career, Festa has a 4.60 ERA in 117.1 innings. He pitched in parts of four seasons with the Seattle Mariners from 2018-2023, with his best year coming in 2022. The righty had a 4.17 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 54 innings with a 29.2 K%.
Festa does not have any minor league option years remaining, so it's possible the Cubs try to pass him through waivers later on this offseason. He was recently DFA'd by the Rangers.
As for Mastrobuoni, he just never found consistent success with the Cubs. He had one good stretch in the second half of the 2023 season, when he batted .324 (23-for-71) coming off the bench. In 2024, Mastrobuoni slashed .194/.245/.224, which resulted in a 36 wRC+ in 106 plate appearances.
In 2024, the Cubs had 5 position players that ended up with a negative WAR with at least 90 plate appearances. With Mastro DFA'd, they're all gone.
— Corey Freedman (@corey_cubs) January 9, 2025
Gomes, Madrigal, Mastro, Wisdom, Morel.
Despite only playing in 50 games, Mastrobuoni was worth -0.4 fWAR for the Cubs in 2024.
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