The Cubs have signed left-hander Lucas Luetge to a minor league deal, in accordance with MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. Luetge had spent the season within the Crimson Sox group so far however opted out of that association final week.
A veteran of seven MLB seasons, the 37-year-old Luetge made his large league debut with Seattle again in 2012. The lefty spent 4 seasons shuttling between the majors and the minors with the Mariners, and through that point he posted a 4.35 ERA with a 4.27 FIP in 111 appearances within the majors with the same 4.21 ERA throughout 94 appearances within the minors. Luetge’s middling numbers and a subpar 19% strikeout price that he paired with an elevated 12.1% stroll price led the Mariners to outright him off their 40-man roster in September of 2015.
That outright kicked off a five-year stretch with out showing within the majors for Luetge. Throughout these years, the southpaw bounced between the Reds, Orioles, Diamondbacks, and Angels organizations. He struggled badly with the Reds, Orioles, and Angels however loved a resurgence on the Triple-A stage with Arizona in 2019, pitching to a 3.14 ERA in 43 innings of labor with a strong 25% strikeout price on the highest stage of the minors. The cancelled minor league season in 2020 prevented Luetge from constructing on that success, however the lefty lastly landed one other alternative within the majors in 2021 when he made the Yankees’ Opening Day roster out of Spring Coaching.
Whereas within the Bronx, the southpaw loved one of the best seasons of his profession and labored his approach into being a most popular left-handed choice for supervisor Aaron Boone whereas with the membership for the 2021 and ’22 seasons. In 129 2/3 frames for the Yankees in these seasons, Luetge dominated to the tune of a 2.71 ERA with a 2.92 FIP whereas seeing large enhancements in his strikeout and stroll charges as in comparison with his time in Seattle. He struck out 25% of batters confronted for New York whereas strolling simply 5.8%, making him one of many extra helpful relievers within the membership’s bullpen throughout his tenure within the Bronx.
On condition that standing, it was one thing of a shock when the Yankees designated him for project early within the 2022-23 offseason. He was dealt to the Braves shortly thereafter and commenced the season within the Atlanta bullpen, though that stint was pretty short-lived as he allowed eleven runs in 9 2/3 innings of labor in his first 9 appearances as a Courageous. The lefty was outrighted off the membership’s 40-man roster however remained with the group on the Triple-A stage lengthy sufficient to return to the majors down the stretch for 4 scoreless innings. The Braves didn’t retain him for the 2024 marketing campaign, nevertheless, and that led him to a minor league take care of Boston. He pitched very properly in his stint at Triple-A Worcester this yr with a 3.02 ERA and 26.7% strikeout price, however was unable to crack a reasonably deep Crimson Sox bullpen that had loads of left-handed choices.
Fortuitously for Luetge, it’s not tough to think about him discovering greener pastures in Chicago. Whereas the Cubs’ bullpen has been one of the best in baseball by ERA since June 1, the membership has solely veteran lefty Drew Smyly accessible as a left-handed choice following a lat pressure that’s prone to put fireballer Luke Little on the injured checklist for the rest of the 2024 marketing campaign. Veteran reliever Mark Leiter Jr. helped to fill within the gaps as a uncommon right-hander who pitched higher towards southpaws due to his spectacular splitter, however Leiter was dealt to the Yankees forward of the commerce deadline. That leaves a reasonably clear opening in Chicago’s bullpen for an additional southpaw, and it’s actually doable to think about the Cubs opting to provide Luetge a glance within the majors in some unspecified time in the future throughout the stretch run.
