The Chicago Cubs have been hard at work when it comes to spending in free agency this offseason, and they could end up making some noise in the National League Central after a couple of down years. Dansby Swanson was obviously their biggest signing, but the Cubs have made several solid moves this offseason to reinforce other areas of their roster.
And the work isn't stopping for them just because free agency is largely over. The Cubs have continued to add to their roster, with their bullpen becoming a key area that they are addressing. It may not be the flashiest move, but Chicago has added to their shopping spree this offseason by signing former Minnesota Twins reliever Tyler Duffey to a minor league contract that could see him end up in the majors as a part of the Cubs bullpen.
Duffey has been a very inconsistent reliever throughout his career, trading seasons where he looks rather dominant with ones where he looks like he belongs nowhere close to the majors. After three strong campaigns from 2019-2021, Duffey came back down to earth in 2022 with the Twins (2-4, 4.91 ERA, 39 K, 1.36 WHIP) and ended up getting released by Minnesota in August as mentioned in the Tweet from above.
There is some potential upside in adding Duffey, who has proven that he can be a key contributor out of the bullpen in the right situation. There's also little to no risk in adding him on a minor league deal, so this seems like a good bit of business for the Cubs. It may not be super flashy, but signing Duffey could end up being a sneaky good move for Chicago in the 2023 season.