There have been quite a number of you who have said the Cubs should put another veteran reliever in the bullpen for 2015. Monday afternoon, there's a report they have done just that:
Source-Breaking news -Chicago Cubs sign pitcher Jason Motte to 1 year deal pending physical .
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) December 15, 2014
Motte was the Cardinals' closer in 2012, recording a league-leading 42 saves while posting a 2.75 ERA and excellent 0.917 WHIP. He also closed for them during their 2011 playoff and World Series run, posting five saves then. He had Tommy John surgery in 2013 and returned to the St. Louis bullpen in a couple of different stints in 2014, making 29 appearances. Most of them were good -- he didn't give up any runs in 19 of them. A couple of bad outings skewed his ERA -- which I am aware is not the best measure for a relief pitcher.
If Motte can get anywhere close to the way he pitched in 2011 and 2012, he could be a valuable addition to the Cubs' pen as a middle-relief or setup man.
I note that Motte's baseball-reference page shows that he shares an agency (ACES) with Jon Lester, not that this really matters, only that Lester's agents might have recommended Motte to Theo & Jed. Hopefully, Cubs scouts have also done their due diligence on Motte.
There's no word out there yet on how much money this deal is for, but it seems like a fairly low-risk signing to put another veteran arm in the bullpen. Nicely done.