Cubs Place Brennen Davis on 60-Day IL, Claim ‘Human Glitch’ Jimmy Herget
The Cubs announced Friday that they have recalled outfielder Brennen Davis in order to place him on the 60-day IL with a fractured left ankle. That frees up a spot on the roster for righty Jimmy Herget, who was claimed off waivers from the Braves and optioned to Triple-A Iowa. Herget is a lanky fella at 6-foot-3 and 170 pounds, and he’s got a funky delivery with a backwards repertoire.
His curveball makes up nearly 40% of his pitches, with the sinker coming in around a quarter of the time and the four-seam accounting for less than 20% of the mix. Herget will use a slider and changeup as well, and both have worked fairly well in limited usage. The slider was his best pitch by far during his breakout campaign with the Angels in 2022 when he put up a 2.48 ERA over 69 innings.
In addition to his low arm slot, what really makes Herget stand out is his 1st-percentile extension. It’s like he’s flicking a bottlecap from his hip or something. Imagine Chris Sale in a mirror, just with a foot and a half less extension and no issues with throwback jerseys.
Jimmy “The Human Glitch” Herget, Wicked Curveballs. ? pic.twitter.com/RZ1aR1EYoe
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 10, 2023
This is easily one of the most interesting pitchers I’ve ever seen, both due to the funk and also the funky stats. Herget’s 4.38 ERA isn’t special by any stretch, but his 2.82 xERA and .344 BABIP against suggest there’s a strong measure of bad luck involved. He’s also pitched only 12.1 MLB innings, so there’s a whole bunch of noise here. He’s bounced around between several teams over the last six seasons and hasn’t found any measure of consistency, but I feel like there might be an unlock somewhere.
It’s worth seeing if the Cubs can find the key, though I’m not sure how much sense that makes considering what else they could have done with that open 40-man spot. Then again, it’s not like adding Owen Caissie or Matt Shaw and then leaving them in Iowa would be a smart thing to do.