Cubs Sign Reliever Mychal Givens to $5M Deal

The Cubs just keep adding relievers, agreeing Thursday to a deal with righty Mychal Givens on a one-year deal that guarantees him $5 million and could top out at $6.25 million with incentives. The 31-year-old spent parts of five seasons with Baltimore before being traded to Colorado and then finished last season with Cincinnati. He has 29 saves over the course of his career and could get more as the Cubs don’t currently have a set closer.

Cubs in agreement with reliever Mychal Givens, per source. 1-year deal worth $5 mil. Bonuses could get him to $6.25 mil. Was with Colorado and Cin last year.

Has closing experience. Could end up in the 9th inning. They need someone for that role.

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) March 17, 2022

Mainly a fastball/change guy, Givens sits around 95 mph with the heat and dials it down to 82 on the offspeed. He used to throw the slider around 30% of the time but has nearly cut that in half as the change has really taken over. While his sidearm delivery offers a little deception, the walks and homers are a bit of a concern for a high-leverage reliever and Givens doesn’t induce many grounders. Perhaps the closer thing will just be occasional.