Cubs Sign RHP Brooks Kriske

The Cubs have signed righty reliever Brooks Kriske, as he announced via social media a few days ago. It went under the radar because he’s not exactly a household name and this is almost certainly a minor-league deal. Kriske, who grew up a Cubs fan, was born in Scottsdale, AZ and later attended Palm Desert High School in California before playing his college ball at USC. A sixth-round draft pick by the Yankees in 2016, he made his MLB debut in 2020 and has thrown a total of 21.2 innings over parts of three seasons with the Yankees, Orioles, and Royals.

Excited to sign with my childhood team! Let’s go @Cubs pic.twitter.com/fupWW5aFYR

— Brooks Kriske (@brooks_kriske) November 27, 2024

Kriske sits around 95 mph with his four-seam, but he actually threw his splitter nearly 50% of the time in limited action last season. He also has a slider that makes up nearly a quarter of his offerings. He’s put up decent strikeout numbers in the bigs and has missed tons of bats in the minors, but an alarming walk rate and lots of loud contact have mitigated the whiffs.

This is a no-risk flyer on a guy who can provide a little organizational depth and might be a decent bullpen option if he can figure something out. Is that likely at his age? No, but may as well see what happens.