Chicago Cubs DFA Left-Handed Reliever After Rough Start To 2025 Season

The Chicago Cubs announced Saturday morning that they have designated recently signed southpaw Génesis Cabrera for assignment. The move comes just under a month after the team signed him to a one-year deal. Cabrera made nine appearances with the Chicago Cubs, pitching 9.1 innings with a swollen 8.68 ERA. The team’s need for lefties out of the bullpen was not superseded by Cabrera’s struggles, and they opted to recall Nate Pearson from AAA Iowa.

Génesis Cabrera DFA’d by Chicago Cubs

Genesis Cabrera’s stint with the Chicago Cubs came to an end today when the team announced that they were designating their recent signing for assignment. The move comes amidst Cabrera’s struggles with the north siders and Nate Pearson’s improvements at AAA Iowa. After signing Cabrera to a one-year deal on May 29, the Chicago Cubs were hoping that Cabrera could infuse some much-needed left-handed reliability in the bullpen. It took just nine appearances for Jed Hoyer and the team’s front office to determine that Cabrera did not fit the bill.

In those nine outings, Cabrera worked 9.1 innings, allowed nine runs, ten hits, surrendered three walks, and struck out three. The final straw came Friday afternoon when Cabrera pitched the top of the ninth in a two-run game against the Seattle Mariners and gave up a three-run home run to Mitch Garver to extend the Cubs’ deficit to five runs. Cabrera’s struggles with the Chicago Cubs come after he was designated for assignment by the New York Mets in May. If the 28-year-old Dominican-born pitcher clears waivers but chooses to opt out of his deal like he did with the Mets, he will be looking for his third team of 2025.

Corresponding Move

Genesis Cabrera was designated for assignment to make room for Nate Pearson on the active MLB roster. Cabrera did not have any minor-league options left, so outrighting him to AAA without designating him for assignment wasn’t an option. The choice to bring back Pearson comes after he impressed at AAA Iowa. Since being demoted in the middle of April, Pearson has been pitching well in Iowa, going 3-1 with a 2.22 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 24.1 innings across 19 appearances. In the majors so far this season, Pearson is 0-1 with a 10.38 ERA and 2.31 WHIP in 8.2 innings across eight appearances.