Uh, what the hell was that? So, the Chicago Cubs have designated right-handed pitcher Jake Woodford for assignment following his one and only appearance with the team. It came nearly a week after the team signed him to an MLB deal, and it came at the expense of another semi-journeyman pitcher, Bryse Wilson, who was let go on the 4th of July.
The Cubs moved on from Woodford, making room for Phil Maton, who is back from his second stint on the injured list.
This isn’t to say that Wilson was guaranteed to stay in the Cubs’ bullpen long-term in 2026, but given the organization’s current internal options, he had a much better shot at it than Woodford. For one, Wilson has actually been great over a full season more recently than Woodford has, and this move looks even worse because it’s not like the Cubs were anxious to use Woodford once he signed.
Woodford took Wilson’s active roster spot and joined the bullpen in the series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 4. Wilson had two games with the Cubs, one great outing against the Milwaukee Brewers, and then a blowup against the Cardinals on July 3. So, Woodford in, Wilson out, but Woodford wasn’t used until Friday night against the Cincinnati Reds. He gave up five hits and three runs in two innings. Remember, he was on the roster the entire week, but wasn’t used.
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The Cubs could have just held onto Wilson, who was good in 2023-24, instead of letting him go for Woodford, who has an ERA nearing seven in his last 3.5 seasons.
Meanwhile, Wilson was picked up by the Brewers last week, and he’s already had two scoreless appearances with them, tossing four shutout innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
By the way, the Cubs signed Woodford after he was designated for assignment by the Brewers back in June. He had a 6.94 ERA and 1.76 WHIP over 23.1 innings in 16 games with Milwaukee. No idea what the hell the Cubs were thinking with that one.
Anyway, Maton is back, and hopefully he’s good down the stretch. If not, he’ll be another huge blunder for the Cubs’ front office, which signed the veteran righty to a two-year deal that guarantees Maton $14 million. He was the first relief pitcher the Cubs have signed a contract longer than one year since Craig Kimbrel in 2019.
