The Cubs claimed outfielder Phillip Ervin off waivers from the Mariners, as announced by both teams. Seattle designated Ervin for assignment last week.
Ervin will return to the NL Central after spending four-plus seasons with the Reds, though his final act in Cincinnati wasn’t a pleasant one. After a solid .262/.326/.438 slash line over 571 PA as a part-timer for the Reds from 2017-19, Ervin had only a .324 OPS over 42 PA for the Reds in 2020. This led to a DFA in late August and a claim by the Mariners, as Ervin hit only somewhat better (.205/.340/.282) in 47 plate appearances for Seattle.
Ervin has experience at all three outfield positions, so he could be a useful bench piece for the Cubs as they figure out their new post-Kyle Schwarber outfield. The right-handed hitting Ervin has good numbers against left-handed pitching over his career, so he could spell Jason Heyward or Ian Happ when a southpaw is on the mound. Ervin could have an advantage in the battle for backup role since he is out of minor league options, so the Cubs would have to risk losing him on waivers if they wanted to send him down to Triple-A.
Phillip… we hardly knew ye…
Trash Heapin’ Hoyer!
Garbage grabbing Jed
Junk Juggler Jed
Junkyard Jed
Sad, virgin chitown311
Cue the White Sox fans dumb comments!
What’s dumb about obvious dumpster divin’!!!!?
lol they never fail to show up, I guess their own news isn’t very exciting.
Nah, this one speaks for itself. Slow news day, month, etc. on northside.
Love how Cub fans don’t get mad at their own organization, just at CWS fans. CWS sign top international prospect Cespedes. for $2MM this morning and you guys pick up Ervin. Theo built this ship and the Titanic is going down but he left on a life boat.
what do those moves have to do with each other?
Exactly. As a Reds fan, I’ve seen Ervin a lot. He isn’t great at anything, but he isn’t terrible at anything either. He’s probably just a depth piece, but if injuries stack up, you could be happy to have him, especially if he’s deployed while on a hot streak. The way people comment, you would think it makes sense to sign superstars and no one else.
Nothing.
The Sox didn’t sign him today.
That is the Sox IFA strategy, though.
Good for them.
Hey, look, it’s Al Yellon’s son, offering his “expert” analysis!
Oh but please… Do enlighten us.. How are we supposed to react?
Should I kick my pets? Push an elderly person to the ground? Go on a hunger strike? Burn tires? Record myself screaming and crying so the video goes viral?
Please let me know how I should be reacting to these moves, I’m sure all of the above options will make the Cubs change their strategy.
As for Cespedes… You’ve never seen the guy play, give me a break… And FYI, the Cubs are tied to the #5 prospect on the MLB list. SS Cristian Hernandez.
Pretty much every MLB team will sign some of these international prospects. Cespedes can be as much of a bust as any other prospect on that list.
Whether I’ve seen him play holds no value…maybe that actual talent evaluators at MLB.com that rank him #1 would be sufficient to me to call it a good signing. Cubs tied to the #5 player that is a SS would only make sense if they plan to play him somewhere else someday.
Who are these invisible Cubs fans you’re talking about? Why are you concerned about any of this? Who hurt you?
Msq … do you have a point?
Guess the cue should have been….let’s wait for the dumb Cubs fan comments.
WHY DO YOU CARE SO MUCH ABOUT THE CUBS?!!!! ARE YOU OBSESSED?!!
I’m not obsessed…..I’m a baseball fan and the CWS are the second team in that city and the Cubs are top 5 market team that now has it’s own network, but are crying poor. If they were looking to infuse some young talent especially OF why not $2MM for a 23 year old Cespedes verses a retread that even Seattle didn’t want.
2M was the signing bonus.
Scouts also aren’t high on him which is why other teams passed on him.
Yes, it was the signing bonus. He’ll now make below minimum wage as a salary in the minors until he makes it up to the majors where he’ll make $550K. The signing bonus for rookies is basically all they make until they make it to MLB.
Easy there, Sparky. Maybe wait for the Sox to actually do something.
Last time I checked they have the same amount of rings since 2000.
Cubs already commited their international money to Christan Hernandez a long time ago. there was not enough funds to add both and others.
White Sox are also known to be a top spot for Cuban players which is big advantage they build for themselves.
Ervin is a good player who deserves a shot to play. He had some solid stretches with the Reds and will help the Cubs
He used to mash LHP with the Reds until 2020
His first season with the Reds was very impressive let’s hope there might be something in there
He hits lefties well for his career IIRC
.811 vs lefties .670-ish vs righties
Can’t we all just get along?
Apparently, no.
You could do worse for a 4th outfielder. Mind you, you could possibly do better, but you can definitely do worse.
If given a chance he might pan out. I was hoping the Orioles would have signed him to a minor league contract.
Cubs getting a servin of Ervin
Does anybody in the NL Central actually WANT to win the division? I’m not joking. This Hoyer acts like he is in the smallest market in baseball.
Cubs for sale!
Moving to Nashville.
With the possibility of not having fans again, they are all small market teams. Hospitals are blowing up all over the US as we fight to retain our individual freedoms by not wearing masks.