The Cubs have agreed to a minors pact with one-time top prospect Danny Hultzen, as Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune recently reported. His contract provides for a $600K salary in the majors with up to $150K in available incentives, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter).
Of course, any thought of cracking a major-league roster is secondary to regaining health for Hultzen, who originally inked a $8.5MM guaranteed deal with the Mariners in August of 2011. Seattle removed him from its MLB roster after the 2015 season and he has not appeared in a professional contest since 2016.
Drafted as a polished left-handed starter out of the University of Virginia, Hultzen — who’s now 28 years of age — mostly dominated the opposition inthe upper minors. Over 169 2/3 innings of professional ball, he carries a 2.86 ERA.
Unfortunately, major shoulder injuries — including procedures in 2013 and 2016 — have totally derailed Hultzen’s career. He decided to finish off his college degree and prepare for one more attempt at a return, as he discussed his ordeal last fall in an interesting chat with Dillon Mullan of the Washington Post.
Needless to say, the Cubs won’t be counting on anything from the hard-luck southpaw. Indeed, a Mariners doctor is said to have advised Hultzen not to attempt pitching anymore as he went in for his 2016 surgery. But the talent is obviously there and it’s easy to root for a player who once seemed a sure thing to reach and a good bet to thrive in the majors.
He was awesome in college. Too bad he couldn’t stay healthy. Hopefully he can bounce back and get a shot. Shoulders injuries are bad news. Good luck
Wow. This signing was unexpected, but I really like it.
I hope he does well.
He won’t because he sucks
No he doesn’t suck, he’s actually really good, just can’t stay healthy. But judging by your name I figure you already know that.
He was good before he stopped playing due to injuries. That doesnt mean that he is presumed to be good indefinitely until he tries to play again and fails.
The other guy is closer to being right because being good enough to play in the mlb is an incredibly rare trait, so it should be assumed that everyone everyone sucks unless they are actively proving otherwise by currently playing and having success.
I hope he does well too.
Plus 1….lol
@24thekid I meant plus one….
He was good before he stopped playing…? At what level….
And with that being said, he still has had a better career than you have…
He’s better than you.
He has always been productive but hasn’t been healthy lately. Hardly accurate to say he sucks my friend.
He has always been productive?
Has not played a single MLB game, and always been productive?
You have to play games to be productive.
The man is 28, and has a history of injury. Amassed only 18 games at AAA and 43 games professionally. The player had success at 2013, and suffered long term due to injury to shoulder.
The player that was drafted and succeeded up to 2013 probably never returns. Doctors were worried enough to advise retirement, and I do not see time off for studies miraculously impacting his abilities or medical issues. Do not know how he will pass the physical, if needed for contract completion.
The 5 years of stunted development, lack luster results in minors in two years leading to another procedure, and uncertainty of regaining the repertoire should merit questioning the talent that other commentators seem to assign nonchalantly. Even with productivity and health for the rest of his career, I would strongly doubt that Danny Hultzen debut in MLB within a few years.
Not saying that the player was never gifted or saying that I possess a fraction of his current abilities. However, I would refrain from Danny Hultzen talented and I would not call him productive. Would need to see Danny Hultzen remain healthy long-term, perform against MLB caliber hitters/teams, mechanics (injury could affect arm slot or habits such as Matt Harvey/Steven Matz/etc), and deal with any changes to abilities (rather than low to mid 90’s fastballs, max out at upper 80’s…etc that could occur with long-term shoulder issues with multiple procedures).
That’s not right, he’s an incredibly talented player when he’s healthy. If he never had shoulder issues, he’d be the Mariners #2 starter right now.
Nice job you did it!
Thanks.
What a horrible signing. A real waste of money.
What’s his minors salary? $80k?
Yeah. Waste for a billion dollar organization.
Upvoted you bub, mad?
Nah, I already got the most downvotes on another comment.
Quite the collection of banged up former Mariners they have goin’ there in Chicago.
How’s Voglebach doing btw?
Yeah, and the decent player they got in addition to him (Paul Blackburn) they traded for a year of a replacement level 1B
Who cares? I’m merely pointing out that this is the 3rd former Mariner they’ve signed this offseason, all of whom are recovering from notable injuries.
…another reason why I won’t pay to see a MLB game…I worked 45 years and never made anything near the $8.5 mil paid to a guy who never even pitched in the MLB…something is really wrong with this sport.
Where is the money supposed to go if not the players? Cheaper tickets for poor selling ticket teams are a great idea, but the price point even for the Yankees who sell out of seats is outrageously high (they charge that much bc they can and will sell out). What then is your solution besides lining the pocket of billionaires?
What you got against billionaires?
I have the problem of giving them a bigger piece of pie when they have more than enough pie.
Practically everything you buy lines the pockets of billionaires. Why is everyone so turned off to do it in baseball?
If you pay for tv then you are paying to see mlb games whether you watch them or not. Do you only enjoy games on the radio?
newspaper!
My google search said it would be more like 6-7
Lol, good luck in 5 years when they go under.
Still not a long time.
I hope you don’t watch any other sports because all athletes are overpaid. But so are actors, and musicians. Maybe you shouldn’t watch TV or listen to music either. Stupid comment that is so over used. If you had the talent you would demand the same high salaries that the players do.
So you’re saying you won’t pay to watch an MLB game because guys who are more talented than you get paid more?
Maybe, you should have gone into a different profession.
If I’ve never made 20 dollars an hour, does that mean everyone who has should be boycotted?
No, they just have a better union and work in an industry that almost surely generates more revenue than whatever you did. Get over yourself.
It’s called an investment. Not all work out. Happens everyday on Wall Street. The only difference is the industry.
I am going to go see a cut rate open heart surgeon cause the ones that charge full price make too much money. My Dentist does too I am looking for one that works out of the back of a van. Maybe I can find a Dr that works from a low rent apt building. All these guys make more than me and I work hard. As a welder I have gone to my fair share of schooling and still these guys make more money than me. Give me cut rate every time. I want guys that make close to what I make so they know what it is like to work for a living.
Be in the top 0.01% of the world at your job and you’ll be paid accordingly. It’s not baseballs fault you’re merely random.
“Indeed, a Mariners doctor is said to have advised Hultzen not to attempt pitching anymore as he went in for his 2016 surgery”
That seems dumb, see how well the guy recovers first before telling him that it’s hopeless.
I’m going to take the doctors opinion more seriously than that. They do screw up sometimes, but they would know what’s best for both his short and long term health
You only have one life to live. It seems he loves the game enough to give it another shot despite the health risks. Respect.
Reminds me of Burt Munro.
Dr’s told me 15 years ago that if I didn’t have a very complicated
and risky surgery, that I’d be in a wheelchair for life very soon! I didn’t
and I’m still walking upright ! They are not always right!
He did not say it was hopeless. He advised against it.
I am guessing he did out of a medically based opinion that there was a good chance he would suffer more, possibly day to day life impacting, damage.
The Cubs rotation has serious problems and this signing does not help at all. It is unlikely he makes it through spring training before he winds up the the DL.
Wait. Cubs rotation has serious problems. You should try reading up on baseball bro.
Change your handle.
What an all knowing idiot
If the Cubs rotation has serious problems, so do the rotations of 29 other teams. 1-5 they are as good as anyone.
The Cubs rotation has serious problems for the Cubs or serious problems for the other 29 teams? They have five #1’s or #2’s in Lester, Hendricks, Darvish, Quintana, and Chatwood.
great signing. now they can cut/trade lester or Q
I really hope that this is sarcastic.
I hope Hultzen does well. He was incredibly talented early in his MILB career and looked like a top 10 mlb prospect. I would really like to see him succeed at the MLB level, but due to his injury history it should be out of the ‘pen. I know the chances he succeeds are low, but then again there are countless examples of players facing long odds, then end up reaching the big leagues. I respect his motivation to finish what he started. As a Mariners fan, I even can’t even remember how many shoulder surgeries he has had but respect his commitment to the sport.
If he wins a spot on the roster and is effective out of the Cubs pen, what a great success story. The odds are against him, though, as the cases of players with extensive injuries and surgeries early in their career going on to successful careers are rare.
I for one like that the Cubs are starting to sort of stock pile arms for depth. I’d like to see more signings of minor league deals.
Lottery tickets. Hultzen and Simmons cost almost nothing. Smyly was a little more expensive, but could prove to be a bargain next season.
Former #2 overall pick because he was a polished
Former #2 overall because he was a polished LH starter….injuries derailed his progress but I think with some tweaking he can be a good value pick up….even if it’s out of the pen
annnnd it looks like the Cubs are entering a rebuild, can’t say I didn’t see this coming.
Fishing for trolls…oooohhh I caught one!
Are you insinuating this signing doesn’t indicate rebuild mode?
We are insinuating that you are a nincompoop.
How does this signing indicate a rebuild? Every team makes small moves like this.
He is just saying you are a moron FriendofBoras and you are
Just more proof that there is no such thing as a “can’t miss prospect” in baseball. Hultzen was as polished as just about anybody and still missed, even if it was not his fault. Just something to keep in mind when thinking about Acuna or any other hot shot prospect coming up this year.
Ackley was another one..
Mark Appel.
Jurickson Profar
Hell, Matt Wieters was supposed to be the biggest and best thing since sliced bread.
No guarantees.
All Milwaukee Brewers first rounders from 2008-15
It’s true. There’s no telling which high draft pick guys are going to be a superstars or duds. Sometimes, the talent in high school and college just doesn’t translate! But Hultzen got his $6.5 million when he signed. I’m sure he’ll do just fine. Why not give it a go if someone is willing to sign him, right? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Unless you are a phenom (Harper, Bryant, Correa), there is really no special formula to tell who will and won’t succeed.
Would have rather seen the cubs sign Tyler Cravey and give him a shot to dominate the brewers