The Chicago Cubs today added to their reclamation pitcher pool (as they do every offseason! and some of them will work out!), signing former Pirates reliever Ben Heller to a minor league deal (per Andrew Destin).
Heller, 33, managed a ridiculous 40.7% K rate at Triple-A for the Pirates last year as a minor league signing, but in his time in the big leagues, that fell to closer to average, and he got blown up to the tune of an 11.25 ERA over 12.0 innings. Almost all of that damage came in two June outings, though, and he was pretty effective in his second stint with the big league team in August, which amounted to 10 good innings until his shoulder gave him troubles. That injury, officially termed shoulder inflammation, ended his season.
If you’re wondering why that story amounts to a guy the Cubs wanted to sign on minor league deal, it’s because he’s been a big-time stuff darling for years, has dominated at Triple-A for many years for many organizations (Cleveland, NYY, Atlanta, Tampa Bay), and actually had an ERA near 3.00 at the big league level before 2024. So why the journeyman journey? Two reasons that are familiar in these situations: the performance in the big leagues, although with some decent stretches of results, have come with unimpressive peripherals; and there have been injuries aplenty. Tommy John surgery, stress fracture in elbow, and the balky shoulder.
Add it all up, and you get a guy who is well known to have some great individual pitches, has consistently dominated Triple-A batters, but has never stuck as a big league reliever eight years after making his big league debut.
The Cubs love to take chances like this, because the cost is effectively nothing, and the upside is a reclaimed Julian Merryweather or Mark Leiter Jr. or Tyson Miller or Jorge Lopez or any of a dozen other reclamation relief success stories for the org over the last several years. If you’re decent at identifying the guys you can best work with, and if you take enough shots, you’ll get some hits.
Enjoy the takes, including from his work at Tread Athletics, from which you might recall the Cubs recently added pitching whisperer Tyler Zombro:
Here's Ben Heller's supination-dominant splitter grip that is absolutely filthy:Averages on the year:✅ 86 mph✅ -2.5" vertical break (!)✅ 11.2" horizontal break✅ 45% whiff%This compares to Logan Webb & Devin Williams' CH depth. pic.twitter.com/epgV8UU7tt
— Tread Athletics (@TreadHQ) December 13, 2024Ben Heller threw 5 pitch types in 2024 that fell outside the normal range of movement profiles. On a minor league deal, he'll get a chance to find which work best for him.In 33 innings last year in AAA, he had a 15 K/9. In 12 MLB innings, he had a 11.25 K/9 (but a 11.25 ERA). t.co/WYLAj1ODyT pic.twitter.com/sCL4eLd0F6
— Brendan Miller (@brendan_cubs) December 30, 2024Ben Heller's 3Ks in the 8th. Welcome back! pic.twitter.com/EmZZw93tT3
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 17, 2023 Read More Details
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