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The Cubs have placed veteran reliever Drew Smyly on waivers, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (X link). Smyly has not been designated for assignment and can continue to play for Chicago pending resolution of the waiver process. The placement is irrevocable, however, so Smyly would land with another team in the next two days if anyone places a claim.
In situations like this, the team is hoping that the player will be claimed to offload the salary. That’d be a big ask in this case. Smyly is playing on a $10.5M salary. There’s around $1.9M remaining. The deal also includes a $2.5M buyout on a $10M mutual option for next season. A claiming team would need to assume the entirety of that sum. It amounts to nearly $4.5M for one month plus potential playoff work of Smyly’s services.
The 35-year-old southpaw has turned in solid results in his first full season as a reliever. Smyly carries a 2.84 ERA over 50 2/3 frames. His 20.4% strikeout rate and 10.8% swinging strike percentage are pedestrian, but he has kept left-handed hitters to a .226/.293/.310 slash in 92 plate appearances.
There’s not much downside for the Cubs in gauging if a contender is willing to take on Smyly’s money to strengthen their lefty relief group. Chicago is 5.5 games out of a Wild Card spot with four teams to surpass. They’re a postseason long shot. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer confirmed last week that the team is on pace to exceed the $237M luxury tax threshold (link via Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic). It’s not clear how far over the threshold they are, but RosterResource’s unofficial estimate of the team’s payroll has them less than $500K above the line. If they could shed what remains of Smyly’s salary, it’s possible that would suffice to get underneath the CBT mark.
If Smyly goes unclaimed, the Cubs can keep him in the bullpen for the remainder of the season. They do not need to release him or attempt to outright him to the minor leagues.
More must-reads:
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For starters, Mets need more innings with Guardians up next
Sean Manaea has yet to exceed five innings or 86 pitches in any of his four starts this season. For the New York Mets, there's no better time for Manaea to change that trend than Monday night. The left-hander will attempt to provide some much-needed length when the Mets open a three-game series against the visiting Cleveland Guardians. Manaea (1-1, 2.08 ERA) is slated to oppose Guardians right-hander Slade Cecconi (5-7, 3.77). Both teams lost on Sunday afternoon. The Mets suffered a 12-4 defeat to the visiting San Francisco Giants in the rubber game of a three-game series. A ninth-inning comeback bid fell short for the host Guardians, who missed a chance to complete a three-game sweep by falling to the Minnesota Twins 5-4. Starter Frankie Montas gave up seven runs over four innings for the Mets, who haven't had a starter other than David Peterson pitch at least six innings since Clay Holmes tossed six innings in an 8-1 win at the Colorado Rockies on June 7. In that span, the Mets have lost Paul Blackburn, Griffin Canning, Tylor Megill and Kodai Senga to injuries, though Senga returned July 11. Senga, Montas and Manaea have all been on pitch counts for several weeks. Montas (lat) and Manaea (oblique, elbow) each missed most of the first half. The Mets got five innings of two-run ball from their revamped bullpen after Senga lasted four innings Saturday, but manager Carlos Mendoza went to mop-up man Austin Warren with New York down 7-1 in the fifth on Sunday. "It starts with starting pitching," Mendoza said. "We were able to match up (Saturday), ended up winning the game. But back-to-back games, that's almost impossible." Taking two of three from the Twins served as an encouraging sign for the Guardians, who tried threading the needle between selling and still attempting to mount a postseason run at Thursday's trade deadline. While the Guardians dealt former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber and reliever Paul Sewald, they held on to All-Star leadoff hitter Steven Kwan as well as popular veteran presence Carlos Santana. Even with Sunday's defeat, Cleveland is 16-7 since July 7 -- a span in which they lost closer Emmanuel Clase to the restricted list. Clase and starting pitcher Luis Ortiz, who was placed on the restricted list on July 3, are each the subject of gambling investigations by Major League Baseball. The Guardians enter Monday three games behind the Seattle Mariners in the race for the final American League wild-card playoff spot. "There are a lot of different considerations that we had to weigh around this time of year -- the unexpected developments recently were certainly one of them," Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said Thursday. "But in the end, I think we feel good about the roster that we have for the balance of 2025 and are excited about our future." Manaea didn't factor into the decision in his most recent start last Tuesday, when he gave up one run over five innings as the Mets fell to the host San Diego Padres 7-1. Cecconi also didn't receive a decision in his most recent start July 28 after allowing three runs over seven innings in the Guardians' 8-6 loss to the visiting Colorado Rockies. Manaea is 3-1 with a 2.94 ERA in 33 2/3 innings over six career starts against the Guardians. Cecconi didn't factor into the decision in his lone previous appearance against the Mets on June 1, 2024, when he allowed one run, five hits and no walks with four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings as the Arizona Diamondbacks earned a 10-5 road win.
Troubling update emerges about Joel Embiid’s health
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'Agreement in Place' - Journalist Provides Key Update on Sunderland’s New Striker Transfer
Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie confirmed that Sunderland's deal to sign Chelsea striker Marc Guiu on loan remains on track, despite doubts. Yesterday, the mentioned reporter stated that although the flight Guiu (19) was scheduled to take got postponed, the agreement for his arrival at the Stadium of Light remains valid. It was evident that with no recent updates, the press and fans would start doubting the Catalan's arrival at the club, but apparently everything is in order. The FC Barcelona academy graduate has high chances of becoming Sunderland's ninth signing this summer. Journalist provides key update on Sunderland's new striker transfer On Saturday, Downie had reported the following: "Marc Guiu will fly into the North East this afternoon to complete his move to Sunderland. 19yo striker will undergo a medical in the next 24 hours." "SAFC have agreed a season-long loan with PL counterparts Chelsea," added the journalist via his Twitter (X) account. And yesterday, Sunday, the Sky Sports reporter updated: "Little update on this: Guiu's flight was postponed today, but doesn't mean the deal is dead." "Agreement still in place and an expectation that the striker will finalise his move to Sunderland on loan for the season." Therefore, we can expect more concrete updates about Guiu's signing with the Black Cats in the coming hours. We'll see. What is certain is that Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris is frustrated with the club's transfer activity, according to the same cited journalist. Apparently, the Lads are expected to add three or four more players to their squad, with attack being one of the priority areas to strengthen. In recent hours, Sunderland have been linked with a couple of forwards, such as Galatasaray's Baris Alper Yilmaz (25) or Leverkusen's Amine Adli (25). We'll see how many of them ultimately embark on the adventure of keeping the club in the Premier League. Read More:
Dolphins lock in defensive standout to long-term extension
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