The Chicago Cubs have reportedly signed free agent reliever Hoby Milner to a one-year contract. Bleacher Nation’s Michael Cerami was the first to break the news of the agreement between Milner and the Cubs on Thursday, while MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand revealed that the relief pitcher will earn a base salary of $3.75 million for the 2026 season.
Milner, who pitched with the Texas Rangers in 2025, can also earn more money through incentives with the Cubs in 2026, according to Feinsand. The left-handed pitcher ended last season with a 3.84 ERA and a career high 70.1 innings pitched. It marked the fourth straight year in which Milner made 60+ appearances and threw at least 64 innings out of the bullpen.
Turning 35-years-old in January, Milner didn’t break out in the majors until his second year with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022. The lefty had a great rookie campaign with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017, but then he bounced around a handful of teams from 2018-2020, without many innings in the majors. However, after a solid year in 2022, Milner was one of Craig Counsell’s best relievers in Milwaukee during the 2023 season, when the left-hander posted a 1.82 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and struck out 59 batters in 64.1 innings.
Now, Milner and Counsell are reunited with the Cubs, who have seemingly replaced one of Caleb Thielbar or Drew Pomeranz, and potentially both. Last season the Cubs heavily leaned on those two veteran relievers from the left side out of the bullpen and were rewarded with stellar performances.
Thielbar signed a one-year, $2.75 million deal, while the Cubs acquired Pomeranz in a small trade with the Seattle Mariners in April. Thielbar had a 2.64 ERA in 58 innings of work in the regular season. Pomeranz contributed a 2.17 ERA in 49.2 innings. There’s a good chance that age may be a factor here and while Milner isn’t necessarily a youngster, Thielbar will be 39-years-old next season, while Pomeranz will pitch as a 37-year-old.
The Cubs have a solid track record of identifying under the radar relievers in free agency in recent years and Milner looks like a fine addition on paper. He had a rough month of September with the Rangers to end the 2025 season, but in his first 62 games Milner recorded a 2.73 ERA in 62.2 innings. Maybe Counsell will better utilize Milner with the Cubs and give him more rest to avoid another late-season stumble from the reliever.
This team still needs to add another high-leverage reliever, but so far fans should like the signings of Phil Maton and Hoby Milner. While the newest Cubs reliever isn’t a hard-thrower, he is a ground ball machine. Milner has a ground ball rate above 50% since 2023 and in 2025, he set a new career high at a 52.7 GB%.
That profile should fit perfectly behind a great infield defense that the Cubs feature. In the past three years Milner is one of only 15 relievers to pitch more than 190 combined innings and out of that group the left-hander ranks No. 4, with a 0.73 HR/9 rate.
No, this isn’t the most exciting free agent signing, but Milner slots in nicely into a Cubs bullpen that has several roles to fill this offseason.
