Cubs acquire one-time All-Star reliever

The Cubs have addressed a need in their bullpen by acquiring Andrew Kittredge from the Orioles, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Kittredge signed a one-year, $9M deal with the O’s last winter that also includes a $9M club option (with a $1M buyout) for the 2026 season. He has pitched well enough that the Cubs would likely be inclined to exercise that option, and this extra year of control made Kittredge a particularly intriguing asset in the relief market this deadline season.

A minor knee surgery during spring training kept Kittredge from making his Baltimore debut until May 21, when the Orioles’ awful start to the season had already made them seem like possible deadline sellers. Kittredge has a 3.45 ERA, 25.2% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate over 30 1/3 relief innings for the O’s, with that strikeout rate a notch above his career average from his first eight big league seasons.

Kittredge is 35, and between his age and his lack of a big fastball or big strikeout numbers, this could explain why he had to settle for a relatively modest contract despite a 2.47 ERA over 182 innings during the 2020-24 seasons with the Rays and Cardinals. Still, Kittredge brings plenty of high-leverage experience to a Chicago relief corps that has been more solid than truly reliable this season. The emergence of closer Daniel Palencia has been a huge story for the Cubs, and the team has now backed him up with a veteran set-up man.

Chicago has been looking far and wide for starting and relief options, and in addition to Kittredge, brought Michael Soroka into the fold after a trade with the Nationals. As pitchers have been flying off the market, the Kittredge/Soroka moves add depth to the Cubs’ staff while still allowing the team flexibility to land one more bigger arm before the deadline.

The Orioles have played a big role in the pitching market, as Kittredge joins Gregory Soto, Bryan Baker and Seranthony Dominguez as relievers dealt in the last few weeks. Dominguez and Soto were pretty easy calls as trade candidates since they were impending free agents, but Kittredge, Baker and infielder Ramon Urias (dealt to the Astros) all had years of control remaining, indicating that Baltimore is taking a broad approach to its deadline dealings. With several other trade chips still on the roster, Baltimore will be one of the more fascinating teams to monitor as the Orioles try to reload for 2026 after a very disappointing 2025 campaign.