The Chicago Cubs have agreed to terms on a minor league deal with RHP Jake Buchanan according to Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle.
Buchanan, 26, split time between the big league level and AAA Fresno last season for the Astros, In the big league level he appeared in only five games posting an ERA of 2 in 9 innings pitched, but he walked four and only struck out five. In AAA he posted an ERA of 4.76 in 81.1 innings pitched. He gave up 101 hits while striking out only 46 and walking 22.
His only significant big league action came in 2014 for the Astros were he appeared in 17 big league games (2 starts) pitching 35.1 innings with a 4.58 ERA (3.73 xFIP). Like 2015 he struck out a low amount of batters at 5.1 per 9, primarily focusing on getting ground balls at a 59.8% rate.
According to Brooks Baseball, Buchanan's repertoire consists of a sinker, slider, curveball, and change up. His sinker has averaged 88.7 MPH, while his slider averages 82.4 MPH and he can drop in a slow curve at 76.6 MPH.
Buchanan will most likely provide organizational depth at AAA for the Cubs. The might try to develop him into a swing man out of the 'pen like they did with Travis Wood and Clayton Richard in 2015 and Carlos Villanueva in 2013 and '14.
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