Cubs Claim Eric Orze

The Cubs announced that they have claimed reliever Eric Orze off waivers from the Twins. Chicago now has 35 players on its 40-man roster.

Orze, whom the Mets drafted in the fifth round in 2020, had a two-appearance, 1 2/3-inning major league debut with the club in 2024 and then left in an offseason trade. After the Rays acquired Orze for outfielder Jose Siri, the right-hander emerged as an effective member of Tampa Bay’s bullpen in 2025. Across 41 2/3 innings, Orze pitched to an appealing 3.02 ERA. However, he did it despite pedestrian strikeout, walk and ground-ball numbers, and he benefited from an 81% strand rate.

Orze didn’t last long with the Rays, who dealt him to the Twins for pitching prospect Jacob Kisting last November. The move didn’t go as Minnesota hoped, evidenced by the fact that the team subjected Orze to waivers a year after acquiring him. Orze’s ERA skyrocketed to 5.66 ERA in 41 1/3 innings with the Twins, though an unusually low 59.7% strand rate didn’t help his cause. While the 29-year-old continued to post below-average strikeout, walk and grounder rates, ERA estimators such as FIP (3.34), xERA (4.13), SIERA (4.50) and xFIP (4.71) suggest he should have kept runs off the board at a more respectable clip.

The splitter-throwing Orze, who doesn’t have any minor league options left, will attempt to carve out a role in the majors in 2027 with a third different team in as many years. Orze surely won’t be the last bullpen acquisition for the Cubs, whose relievers finished 13th in the game and a much shakier 21st in K-BB percentage in 2026. They have since seen Trent Thornton, Caleb Thielbar (declined option) and Hunter Harvey (declined option) become free agents.