The Chicago Cubs have agreed to terms on a contract with free-agent pitcher Edwin Escobar, per reports in his native Venezuela.
Escobar, a left-hander, will attempt to make a Major League roster for the first time since he pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2016.
Now 32, Escobar could be a bullpen arm for the Cubs.
He managed just 27 appearances (two starts) in two seasons in the Majors, as he broke in with Boston in 2014 and was later ended up with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Escobar has a 1-2 record with a 7.01 ERA.
He has bloodlines throughout MLB, per baseball-reference.com. Escobar is a cousin of current NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr., along with Vicente Campos, Alcides Escobar and Kelvim Escobar. He is also the son of Jose Escobar.
So where has he been? Japan. Since he was unable to make the Majors with Cleveland in 2017, he migrated over to Nippon Professional Baseball, where he threw for the Yokohama Bay Stars and Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.
In the NPB, he’s been a workhorse, as he made 395 appearances in seven seasons, logging a 3.17 ERA and striking out nearly one-quarter of the hitters he faced in 392.1 innings. Since 2019 the ERA is a crisp 2.71.
The Chicago Cubs are coming off an 83-79 season in which they fell short of making the NL playoffs in the final week of the season. The Cubs have made one big change so far this offseason, firing manager David Ross and hiring Milwaukee’s Craig Counsell and signing him to the biggest contract in managerial history.
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