The flurry of reliever signings seems to have arrived, as the Cubs have added another free agent arm. It started with Brad Brach and now two more minor league deals. George Kontos signed Friday and on Saturday Junichi Tazawa has reportedly agreed to a minor league deal with the Cubs too.
The 32-year-old veteran had a rough 2018, ending the season with a 7.07 ERA in 28 innings. On the bright side, the righty was picked up by the Angels and in September Tazawa only allowed two earned runs in eight innings. Tazawa pitched part of seven seasons with the Red Sox from 2009-16, and had a great run of success from 2012-14. In those three seasons he threw 175.1 innings and recorded a 2.62 ERA over 179 appearances. However, the last couple years haven't gone well for Tazawa, putting up a 5.69 ERA in 2017 with the Marlins and then a 9.00 ERA in 2018 in 20 innings before he was traded to the Angels late in the season. Low risk deal. He's proven to be a solid reliever in the past and maybe he can get back to that level. We'll find out in spring training and at the very least it's more competition for guys like Brandon Kintzler. Just keep on stockpiling these veteran arms. One of them has to work out, right? Let's hope.
