Cubs Non-Tendering Moves and Targets

 

Yesterday was the non-tendering deadline, and while there were several teams that did not non-tender any players, the Cubs non-tendered two players.

• Michael Hermosillo. I get this and don't get it all at the same time. Sure, he wasn't an awesome player in his time with the Cubs, but he has great power and good speed. I guess the Cubs would rather have Frazier, which is fine with me, but he'll be a good pick-up for other teams.
• Jason Adam. This was a little surprising, seeing he battled his way through an ankle dislocation to pitching with the Cubs and having great pitching outings in his final appearances. But again, another solid reliever for another team.

Source: Jason Adam is being non-tendered by the Chicago Cubs.

Adam, 30, has had a sub-3.3 ERA two of the last three years and struck out 40 over his last 24.1 IP.

— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) December 1, 2021

Willson Contreras and Ian Happ were both tendered contracts, even though both will be going through the arbitration process. So, everyone else on the Cubs roster was tendered contracts expect Hermosillo and Adam. Right now, the Cubs roster stands at 35, so some open room.

But the Cubs were not the only team to non-tender players. This year, there were a total of 41 players that were non-tendered, compared to 56 players non-tendered in 2020. Here a few possible Cubs targets among those non-tendered:

• Matthew Boyd, LHP. The Cubs missed out on Matz and Gray, and Boyd provides a tempting option similar to those two. He posted a 3.89 ERA with a 19.9% K rate in 2021, and a 30% HardH rate, which is pretty good. Again, not a high-velocity pitcher, as he averages 92.2 MPH with his fastball, but he can strikeout batters, and is not heavily reliant on groundballs.
• Richard Rodriguez, RHP. Rodriguez was non-tendered by the Braves yesterday and had some pretty good pitching stats: 2.94 ERA in 64.1 IP. 31.0% GB rate and a 16.7% K rate. He had a 93.3 MPH average fastball speed and similar splits for RHB and LHB. If the Cubs are looking to add a solid bullpen arm, Rodriguez might be a good answer.
• Phil Gosselin, UTIL. Gosselin was non-tendered by the Angels despite having a pretty good season. He batted .261/.314/.362 with a 87 wRC in 345 AB. He can play virtually any position, mainly playing 3B, OF, and 1B in 2021, but he can play 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, OF. He's an average type of hitter, but his defense and consistent hitting would be valuable.
• Colin Moran, 1B, 3B. Moran hit .258/.334/.390 with a 98 wRC in 318 AB. He had a 24.4% K rate but matched it with a 10.0%BB rate. He also had a 37.2% HardH rate, with a max EV of 110.2 MPH. With a need at third, and the depth at first can be used as DH, he might be a good fit.

This is just a few of those non-tendered that might be a good fit for the Cubs. How many signings or trades would happen today remains to be seen, seeing there probably wouldn't be enough time for physicals.

Y'all excited for lockout? Because it's going to happen...

However, I've got something exciting coming in the upcoming future, so stay tuned!