Chicago bolsters its roster with a familiar face, betting on a Major League contract to jumpstart the right-hander’s struggling season and stabilize a shifting bullpen rotation.
The Chicago Cubs continue to add pitchers from outside the organization.
The Cubs have signed four different pitchers in free agency over the past couple of weeks. They signed Liam Hendriks on May 16, Aaron Bummer on June 1, Drew Pomeranz on June 22, and recently Jake Woodford on July 4.
The interesting thing about Woodford's signing compared to the other three veterans is that his contract is a Major League deal. Hendriks, Bummer, and Pomeranz's signings were all Minor League deals.
Since the Cubs signed Woodford to a Major League deal ahead of Saturday’s contest against the Cardinals, the right-hander was immediately added to the active roster. He replaced Bryse Wilson, who threw 72 pitches on Friday and was designated for assignment.
So, why did the Cubs sign Woodford?
Chicago is somewhat familiar with the 29-year-old after signing him to a Minor League deal in the middle of last season. Although he only spent around four weeks in the Cubs’ organization before being designated for assignment, his short time here last year likely helped his return.
It has no doubt been a rough 2026 season to date for Woodford. He signed a Minor League contract with the Tampa Bay Rays in the offseason and was then traded to the Milwaukee Brewers before Opening Day.
Unfortunately, Woodford's poor pitching numbers led to the Brewers releasing him on July 4.
Woodford has spent time between the majors and minors this season. His last Major League appearance came back on June 4, when he allowed four runs on seven hits across three innings pitched.
He had a 6.94 ERA and a 17.9% strikeout rate across 23 ⅓ innings pitched with Milwaukee. His expected batting average against ranked in the 1st percentile (.336), and both his whiff rate (20%) and chase rate (27.6%) ranked in the bottom 25% of the league.
The former first-round pick then spent the last month in Milwaukee’s Triple-A system. He had a 9.95 ERA, 2.21 WHIP, and eight strikeouts in his first 6 ⅓ innings pitched. Those numbers eventually resulted in Woodford being released by the organization.
This signing shouldn’t excite many Cubs fans. The 29-year-old right-hander had a 7.97 ERA across nine outings in 2024, had a 6.44 ERA across 22 relief appearances with the Diamondbacks in 2025, and had a 6.94 ERA in 16 appearances this season.
However, his underlying metrics looked much better at Triple-A than in the big leagues. Woodford had an 18.2% hard-hit rate, 40.8% chase rate, a 17.9% swinging strike rate, and a 35.5% whiff rate in five Triple-A appearances before being DFA’d.
The Cubs hope to unlock something with Woodford. But the chances of him staying on the active roster for long seem unlikely.
