Cubs bolster bullpen with Boxberger addition originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Cubs bolstered their bullpen on Thursday with the addition of Brad Boxberger.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported the Cubs have agreed to a one-year, $2.8 million deal with the veteran reliever.
The bullpen stood among the Cubs’ offseason needs, certainly after trading away four key relievers at the deadline last season. Boxberger adds a reliable presence for manager David Ross in the later innings.
“You always want to have some stabilizers in the bullpen, for sure,” team president Jed Hoyer said in October. “I’d love to think that we can get to a point as an organization where we can almost entirely build our bullpen internally.
“We’re not there yet, and we’re not going to be there next year. So that will be a focus.”
Boxberger, though, is also a potential flip guy if the Cubs fall out of contention by the summer and are sellers at the deadline once again. They signed veterans David Robertson, Chris Martin and Mychal Givens last offseason and flipped them at the deadline.
The 34-year-old is coming off a good season with the Brewers, posting a 2.95 ERA in 70 appearances (64 innings). He averaged 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings and 3.8 walks per nine.
The 11-year veteran has a career 3.44 ERA between the Padres, Rays, Diamondbacks, Royals, Marlins and Brewers and was an All-Star with Tampa Bay in 2015.
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