Yeah, this one was pretty easy to call. The Chicago Cubs have released left-handed relief pitcher Aaron Bummer, who signed a minor league deal with the team at the end of May. Bummer was with the Atlanta Braves to begin the 2026 season, but he was jettisoned after an awful showing in 19 games.
You can’t blame the Cubs for trying, but this move didn’t really inspire confidence in the fan base. At one point, Bummer was a severely underrated reliever with the Chicago White Sox, but the lefty hasn’t been productive for a handful of years, and all the signs pointed downward for Bummer.
He had a 7.63 ERA in 15.1 innings this year before the Braves finally had enough. The Cubs signed him in May, assigned Bummer to work on things down in Arizona, and then the veteran went to Triple-A with the Iowa Cubs in July. Bummer only made four appearances with the Iowa Cubs, and he allowed at least one run in three of those games. His last outing at Triple-A came on July 12, when Bummer gave up a home run in his inning of work. The Cubs released Bummer on July 16.
But it didn’t take long for Bummer to get another opportunity, as the 32-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals.
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From 2019-22, Bummer made 161 appearances with the White Sox. During those four seasons, the left-handed reliever recorded a 2.59 ERA, with a 27.2 K% and 71.1% ground ball rate. That was elite stuff from Bummer, who signed a five-year, $16 million contract that included options for 2025 and 2026.
Following the 2023 season, the White Sox continued to tear down their roster, and Bummer was traded to the Braves in exchange for five players: Michael Soroka, Jared Shuster, Nicky Lopez, Braden Shewmake, and Riley Gowens.
Bummer rebounded after a poor year and recorded a 3.58 ERA in 55.1 innings with the Braves in 2024. Following the season, he and the Braves restructured his contract, which guaranteed him $2.5 million in 2025 and $9.5 million in 2026. The left-hander had another decent year in 2025, but there were signs of decline: a 3.81 ERA and a strikeout rate of only 21.7%.
Aaron Bummer’s Decline
2024: 3.58 ERA, 2.23 FIP, 2.52 xFIP, 28.3 K%, 7.4 BB%, 59.7 GB%, 93.7mph average fastball velocity
2025: 3.81 ERA, 3.52 FIP, 3.68 xFIP, 21.7 K%, 7.2 BB%, 53.9 GB%, 91.6mph average fastball velocity
2026: 7.63 ERA, 8.62 FIP, 5.55 xFIP, 16.9 K%, 13.0 BB%, 46.2 GB%, 90.3mph average fastball velocity
No harm, no foul, I guess. The Cubs have released a handful of veterans in July in addition to Bummer, including Liam Hendriks, Kyle Wright, and, most recently, Drew Pomeranz.
