Report: Cubs signing former Cardinals pitcher Jake Woodford

Rick Scuteri - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 22 hours ago

Many people are unaware of the significance of June 1 in the context of a Major League Baseball season. On that date, players signed to minor league deals are given the opportunity to waive their contracts in an effort to find a better situation.

You have seen a lot of that happening over the past week, and the Cubs pounced on the opportunity to add another player, stashing them on their AAA roster. According to reports, the Chicago Cubs and former St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Jake Woodford have come to terms on a Minor League deal, and he is now on his way to Iowa.

The 28-year-old right-hander was a solid back-of-the-rotation arm for several years with the Cardinals, and it is being reported that he is not only on his way to Iowa but is expected to start on Friday. Since then, Woodford has bounced between the Pirates and White Sox organizations, filling in as a starter, swing man, and even a setup man at times.

That type of versatility is hard to come by, but it's clear that the Cubs view him more as a starter, which is why he is expected to hold down one of the holes in the Iowa rotation. Woodford was most recently with the Yankees organization up until he opted out of his deal next week. Given that Kenta Maeda was also added to the Iowa rotation less than a month ago, the Cubs are continuing to stockpile depth as they can't afford too many more injuries on the MLB front.

Woodford may only be 28 years old, but he has been around since the age of 2021 when he reached AAA that season. You got a sense of how his career was going to go as he was not only viewed as a top pitching prospect, but his performance on the field was backing that up. Woodford eventually made his MLB debut with the Cardinals in 2018, going 8-13 as a rookie with a 4.90 ERA across 142 innings.

Granted, the potential was there, but that performance was good enough to send him back to the Minors as the Cardinals wanted him to tweak a few things. It took him a while to return to the majors, as he didn't appear in another MLB game until the 2021 season, when he became a more full-time reliever.

That led to his breakout season in 2022 when Woodford appeared in 27 games and went 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA. Since then, Woodford has bounced between AAA and the majors in three different organizations, but has still managed to post a 3.64 ERA as a reliever. That isn't what you would consider a lockdown reliever, but he is someone who knows how to get outs and can give you some much-needed length if necessary.

Given his age, there is still time for him to turn his career around. For the Cubs to bring him in and give him a shot as a starter, they must see something in him. At the very worst, he turns himself into one of those depth pieces that every organization needs, and that is what the Cubs are hoping he can become for them.

Not much of a strikeout pitcher, Woodford sits around 93-94 MPH with his fastball and brings with him a great four-pitch mix. Along with the fastball comes a change-up and several other off-speed pitches, as he does a great job of limiting walks and mixing up his offerings. Even if he doesn't get the high number of ground balls you would like to see, Woodford has always managed to limit the hard contact, and that alone leads to long-term success.

If there was one concern surrounding Woodford, it would be the long ball, as he has had some issues keeping the ball in the park the past few seasons. Should he prove that he can limit the homers in AAA, you could be looking at one of those sneaky good pickups by the Cubs, as it could help them throughout the season.