It’s been an offseason of moves big and small for the Chicago Cubs.
Yes, the Cubs had some big-ticket items, like signing Alex Bregman and trading for Edward Cabrera. But Chicago has also made a lot of very interesting minor-league signings, and at this point, it’s almost a guarantee based on volume that one or two of them will pay off.
Chicago’s latest pickup, another hurler on a minor-league deal, hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2021. But based on physical attributes and reported velocities, they certainly have themselves an interesting candidate to join the bullpen at some point.
According to a Monday report from Ari Alexander of WHDH-TV, the Cubs and right-hander Gabe Klobosits agreed to terms on a minor-league deal. Klobosits has spent the past two seasons in independent ball, but he throws certified gas and could be a genuine threat to take a bullpen spot at some point during the regular season.
Klobosits, 30, was a 36th-round pick for the Washington Nationals out of Auburn in 2017. Four years later, he made his major league debut and put up a 5.56 ERA in 11 appearances, striking out only five batters while allowing 13 hits.
From that point, it was a struggle to stay in affiliated ball, as Klobosits spent 2022 in Triple-A with the Athletics organization and then 2023 in Triple-A with the Blue Jays. He has since made a major impact as an independent ball hurler, with a 2.05 ERA in 70 appearances for the Gastonia Honey Hunters, High Point Rockers, and Cleburne Railroaders.
Alexander reported that the 6-foot-8, 254-pound Klobosits has been throwing up to 98 miles per hour this offseason, and in a game, that number might even tick a bit upward. There’s more to pitching than velocity, but those raw attributes suggest that the righty can compete with big-leaguers if he controls the strike zone.
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