The Cubs agreed to a one-year Major League contract with the right-handed Trevor Williams, Evan Altman from the Cubs Insider reports (Twitter link) The contract will become official as soon as Williams undergoes a physical examination. Williams will earn about $ 2.5 million, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, and Altman notes that a portion of Williams’ salary is likely to be delayed.
After spending all five MLB seasons in a Pirates uniform, Williams will remain at NL Central and is now looking to win a job back from Chicago. Kyle Hendricks, Zach Davies, Adbert Alzolayand Alec Mills are lined up for the first four spots, although only Hendricks and Davies actually have their spots blocked. Kohl Stewart also recently signed a contract with the big league, Shelby Miller to a minors’ agreement, and at least one more arm is on the way, as ESPN’s Jesse Rogers tweets that the Cubs are expected to launch more launches before spring training begins.
Williams opted to become a free agent instead of accepting a definitive assignment from the Pirates in November, with the Bucs’ move essentially acting as an early non-auction – Williams was projected to win between $ 3.2 million and $ 4.6 million in arbitration. He received a fair amount of interest on the open market, despite some approximate figures in 2020. Williams posted an ERA of 6.18 and only a streak percentage of 19.4 (ranking in the 25th percentile of all pitchers) at 55 1 / 3 innings. The home run problems that plagued Williams in 2019 worsened last season, when he allowed a record 15 home runs in the league.
Both the increase in the home run and the sharp increase in allowed hard contact have led to fights for Williams since the start of the 2019 season. During the 2017-18 seasons, however, Williams looked like a young man on the rise as he had 3.56 ERA in 321 entries in the Pittsburgh rotation. Williams kept the batters off balance despite the lack of a fast-burning ball or large numbers eliminated, although, as his SIERA was over 3.56 ERA, there may have been some luck involved.
Williams (who turns 29 in April) has a solid track record when it comes to eating starters, which will certainly be valuable in a Cubs team that may be juggling multiple arms at the back of the rotation. Alzolay, Mills and Stewart have only 215 combined 1/3 major league entries on their resume.