"The Cubs sent cash to the A's for Ferguson, who was an up-down guy whom the A's had recently designated for assignment. Rather than try to get him on waivers, and presumably anticipating interest ahead of them in the claiming order, the Cubs made the trade to get him with a little extra money."
"Ferguson, 32, was a very good reliever for the A's back in 2024 as an older rookie, but his performance stepped back considerably last year (attendant to a decline in fastball velocity from 96 mph to 95 mph, for what that's worth), and then he'd been struggling at Triple-A this season."
"When you dig in, it's not hard to see why the Cubs would be happy to have Ferguson as extra depth, given that he can be optioned to Iowa. His results in 2025 were rough, but many of the underlying metrics actually looked pretty darn good. Combine that with how good he was in 2024, and why not take a flier to see if you can get him back on track?"
"Ferguson is a unique guy in that, although he's always been a reliever, he works with a five(!) pitch mix. The implication there is that he's a pitchability guy (lots of contact-management in his profile, too), and the Cubs love those types. They feel - often accurately - that they can get better results out of those types than the average organization (and average defense)."
The Chicago Cubs acquired pitcher Tyler Ferguson from the Athletics by sending cash and then optioned him to Triple-A Iowa. Ferguson had been designated for assignment by Oakland, and the Cubs avoided the waiver process by completing a trade, likely anticipating potential claiming interest. Ferguson previously performed well as a reliever for Oakland in 2024, but his results declined in 2025, including struggles at Triple-A and a slight drop in fastball velocity. Underlying metrics in 2025 still appeared strong, and his 2024 production supports the idea of a rebound. Ferguson is a reliever with a five-pitch mix and a pitchability profile focused on contact management, which the Cubs value for improved outcomes.
Read at Bleacher Nation
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]