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Chicago Cubs Sign 110-Game Starting Pitcher to Deal

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Andrew Wright | Last updated Feb 17, 2025 9:31 PM ET

In baseball, there is no such thing as having too many pitchers and too much pitching.

The Chicago Cubs are proving just that with their offseason haul of starting pitchers.

According to Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic, they added to that collection late Monday night with the signing of former Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, and Seattle Mariners pitcher Chris Flexen. It's a minor league deal.

Flexen, 30, has spent seven seasons in the major leagues and will add depth to an already loaded Spring Training roster.

In his seven seasons in MLB, Flexen has a career record of 30-49 with a 4.95 ERA.

Signing a pitcher with a record of 19 games under .500 and a near-five ERA seems a bit head-scratching, especially considering the arms the Cubs already have.

As it stands now, the Cubs could have a minor league starting rotation with Flexen, Brad Keller, Ben Heller, Jordan Wicks, and Cade Horton. The age and talent disparity in that group would be some of the most interesting in the minor leagues.

Flexen may very well go into Spring Training, have three bad starts, and be released from his deal.

Still, if things go in the other direction and he impresses during spring, he will be a good veteran presence and mentor to the young pitchers coming through Chicago's farm system.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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