Report: Cubs reliever will exercise player option |
The baseball offseason is in full swing and a move will reportedly go down with Cubs reliever Brandon Kintzler.
The Cubs obviously declined his $10 million option for next season but he will exercise his $5 million player option for next season with the North Siders according to ESPN's Jesse Rogers. Kintzler was not going to find any takers during free agency for a guaranteed $5 million after a rough few months last season. During his last 25 appearances, he had given up 14 runs on 27 hits with just 12 strikeouts and amassed nine walks. The Cubs will hope that he will regain his past form pitching with the Nationals, Twins, and Brewers. He has an above average sinker that usually yields groundballs in the past. For the season, he had a 4.60 ERA with two saves and 43 strikeouts. However, he was a quality reliever from 2011-2017 with a 3.16 ERA in 291 appearances. He has a 3.48 ERA with 48 saves and 251 strikeouts during his 8-year major league career.
