:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70212363/1341911524.0.jpg)
Trevor Megill is 6-foot-8 and can throw a baseball 98 miles per hour. You’d think this might lead to success in the major leagues, but he was never able to have sustained success in several stints with the Cubs in 2021.
And now, he’ll try somewhere else:
The Twins claimed right-handed pitcher Trevor Megill off waivers from the Cubs. Megill, a 6-foot-8 reliever selected in the 2019 Rule 5 draft, posted an 8.37 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 23.2 innings with the Cubs last season.
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) November 30, 2021
The “30 strikeouts in 23.2 innings” sounds great but that also came with 36 (!) hits allowed and eight walks for a 1.859 WHIP. As a reliever that’s generally going to get you in trouble and trouble is what Megill found, serving up five wild pitches and seven home runs, for that 8.37 ERA. (And it was worse, 10.54 at the end of August).
Megill turns 28 in a few days. The Cubs will find someone else fungible to take on that sort of role in the 2022 bullpen. Perhaps the Twins can figure him out.
With Megill now off the 40-man roster, and with the officially unannounced signings of Yan Gomes and Clint Frazier, the Cubs’ 40-man roster now stands at 39 players. Before the end of the day I’d expect a couple of non-tenders might reduce that number further.