Cubs claim Robert Stock on waivers from Red Sox

The Cubs entered today’s non-tender deadline day with three open spots on the 40-man roster.

They claimed righthanded reliever Robert Stock from the Red Sox this afternoon, and thus now have two open spots.

Stock has made 52 MLB appearances over the last three seasons with the Padres and Red Sox, posting a 4.24 ERA with 67 strikeouts. He was originally drafted as a catcher by the Cardinals in 2009 and converted to pitching in 2012. The Red Sox got him last summer on waivers from the Phillies, who had acquired him from the Padres the same way the previous year. He’s well-traveled in his minor-league career, also pitching in the Cardinals, Astros, Pirates and Reds organizations.

The key to this acquisition is Stock’s fastball, which has averaged 98 miles per hour in his brief big-league time, per Fangraphs. Here’s a 100 mile per hour pitch he threw in 2018:

And here’s a slider from 2019:

Here is a complete prospect report on him from soxprospects.com.

This one’s a total flyer, but with that sort of velocity, maybe the Cubs can send him to their Pitch Lab and turn him into a useful reliever. He’s 31, so not really a “prospect” anymore, but this acquisition has been made at zero cost. He’s certainly worth a spring training look.

Plus, his wife has a good sense of humor: