According to Zach Buchanan of The Athletic the Cubs are bringing back 30-year old LHP Andrew Chafin on a big league contract that will pay him $2.25 million in 2021 and include a $5.25 million mutual option according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
The Cubs acquired Chafin at the trade deadline for a PTBNL that eventually turned into being infielder Ronny Simon. Chafin only made four appearances with the Cubs as he was recovering from a finger sprain when they acquired him. He pitched fairly well allowing just one run in three innings while striking out three and walking one. Of course the only run he allowed was a walk off home run, but he does have a history of success in the big leagues especially against lefties. In his career lefties have posted a .230/.306/.311 line in 546 career plate appearances.
Overall his body of work for 2020 was a mixed bag, he was solid in his limited Cubs sample size, but he struggled for the Diamondbacks with the tune of a 8.10 ERA in a very small sample size of 6.2 innings pitched. One thing to pay attention to for next season is his strikeout rate as he posted the best strikeout rate of his career striking out 13 of the 45 hitters he faced.
Chafin throws fairly hard for a leftty with a four seam fastball that averages 93.6 MPH, but it wasn't a really effective pitch for him in 2020 as batters hit .375 with a 10.7 whiff percentage with the pitch. His most effective pitch has been a slider which batters have batted under .200 against his entire career and induces a whiff nearly half the time.
The money is a big larger than what you would expect, but it seems like the baseball budget has suddenly opened after what seems like a couples years of squeezing. Still though, it's nice to see the Cubs making moves that seems like they are going to attempt to win a division that they feel is winnable and before they lose some key players.
Chafin isn't a world-beater and isn't going to win any awards, but he has a track record of being an above average reliever and helps a Cubs bullpen that will definitely need a ton of depth going into the season.
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