Chicago Cubs claim Jack Leathersich from New York Mets

In what has been a relatively quiet offseason thus far, the Chicago Cubs have claimed lefty Jack Leathersich from the New York Mets off of waivers. The move provides more relief depth for the Cubs, who are in search of perhaps stabilizing an inconsistent bullpen.

Leathersich is an interesting pickup for the North Siders, mostly because of his solid strikeout rate that he has compiled throughout his professional career. The 25 year old finally reached the big league club this year, striking out 14 in just 11.2 innings, pitching to a 0-1 record and a 2.31 ERA in 17 appearances, all out of the bullpen.

The drawbacks and concerns regarding the left hander can be traced to his abnormally high walk rate, as he also allowed seven free passes in his 11.2 innings of work. Leathersich won’t be able to see much baseball in the first half of 2016, as the 25 year old underwent Tommy John surgery in late July.

This results in Leathersich missing at least the first half of 2016, which would most likely be followed by rehabilitation stints and considerable time in the minor leagues prior to a potential promotion into the Cubs’ bullpen. Leathersich has proven to be a reliable minor league reliever, striking out 15.3 batters per nine innings pitched, a number that certainly caught the Cubs’ eye.

The addition for Chicago is one of many that Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have engineered in the past few years, aiming for harmless acquisitions that could end up providing significant help in one way or another. In Leathersich’s situation, barring further injury, it would be feasible to expect the lefty with the big league club by September 2016.