The Cubs and free agent right-hander Vinny Nittoli are in agreement on a minor league deal with an invite to big league Spring Training, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. The Gaeta Sports Management client would earn a $775K salary in the big leagues. The Phillies designated Nittoli for assignment last week and released him a couple days ago, but he’ll only have a brief stay on the free-agent market.
The 32-year-old Nittoli made his big league debut in 2021 when he tossed an inning for the Mariners, capping off an eight-year grind to the big leagues. The former 25th-rounder spent the 2022 season with three different organizations, logging time with the Triple-A affiliates for the Yankees, Blue Jays and Phillies. He reached the Majors with Philadelphia in September, tossing a pair of scoreless innings out of their bullpen in the season’s final month.
In 52 innings between those three Triple-A clubs, Nittoli turned in a 3.81 ERA with a stout 30.8% strikeout rate and a similarly impressive 6.7% walk rate. He’s not a flamethrower, as his average 93 mph heater in the big leagues has been about a half mile per hour slower than the leaguewide average. That said, Nittoli still has plus strikeout and walk rates throughout his minor league career, including parts of three Triple-A seasons. He also has a minor league option year remaining, so if the Cubs select him to the 40-man roster at any point, he can be shuttled between Iowa and Chicago in 2023 without needing to first clear waivers.
The Cubs have had a quiet offseason on the bullpen front, which is line with recent trends for them. The front office has generally eschewed large-scale, costly additions since the ill-fated signing of Craig Kimbrel. Thus far, Chicago’s lone big league addition has been a one-year, $2.8MM deal for veteran Brad Boxberger. Nittoli, meanwhile, will join a growing list of non-roster invitees hoping to win a spot in a generally inexperienced Cubs ’pen; Chicago has also added right-hander Nick Neidert and southpaws Ryan Borucki, Roenis Elias and Eric Stout on non-roster deals this winter.
OH! Vinny Nittoli ovah here!
“Hey, what are you lookin’ at? YOU, yeah I’m talkin’ to you!”
“It’s my guy, ovah here. My guy. My guy.”
They made him an offer he couldn’t refuse
Hey! It’s My Cousin, Vinny!
Underrated movie. It’s been years since I’ve seen it. Yesterday was the first time in probably 20 years I watched Twins.
Yeah I agree. Good movie.
I’m always curious when I see these minor league relievers who seem to have decent numbers but don’t get much of a shot. Is it the lack of differentiation (they’re basically generic pitchers, no high fastball, no high movement, decent but not amazing command) or is there something the numbers don’t tell? Or just bad luck?
There is much that the numbers don’t tell, exacerbated by the fact that those that are pure numbers guys are not qualified to interpret the subject matter with the larger perspective anyway. Frankly, we see that on here all of the time.
Each level up is a filter. At the major league level, the jump from AAA to the show is the biggest one of all. Even the “scrubs” that are career reserves are awesome ballplayers for the most part. The pitchers that make it in MLB have something that separates them and allows them to get the best of the best out often enough and effectively enough to become successful.
Even in AAA, a solid pitcher that knows what he is doing can have decent numbers, as the level of competition will allow for some success. A very high % of the AAA lineups are filled with players that will not be quality mlb players so even though the competition is still steep the numbers can look okay. But something more is needed at an elite level to do that consistently in the majors. Elite velo…movement…incredible command. The tools have to be available to work with, when combined with the work ethic to master the craft as well.
Can’t measure intangibles.
What is a ‘Yute’?
I approve this signing on name alone.
Yuge signing. Fuhgedaboutit!
I named my dog after you : )
Take the bump, put in Nattoli. Hopefully he doesn’t have spaghetti for an arm.
Vinny comment to the teams that didn’t sign him,
“Up your nose with a rubber hose”.
“which is line with recent trends for them”
Hire a freaking editor.
Also, stop writing like this:
“Nittoli, meanwhile, will join a growing list of non-roster invitees hoping to win a spot in a generally inexperienced Cubs ’pen””
When you can write like this:
“Meanwhile, Nittoli will join a growing list of non-roster invitees hoping to win a spot in a generally inexperienced Cubs ’pen”
Grammatical nitpicks aside—the problem with that paragraph’s beginning is that it is 100% WRONG AND FALSE.
“The Cubs have had a quiet offseason on the bullpen front, which is line with recent trends for them.”
There is absolutely no trend that the Cubs have had quiet offseasons on the bullpen front. Good or bad (mostly good) in the last few years they have signed/acquired the likes of David Robertson, Mychal Givens, Daniel Norris, Chris Martin, Sean Newcomb, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin, and more helpful pieces.
Bullpen is absolutely the one area where the front office has actually been very adept at acquiring pieces (and then trading them) and have been very, very, very far from quiet in the most recent offseasons.
Relievers are so volatile that I don’t mind shopping around in the bargain bin for relievers. Sometimes you strike gold that way. Cubs have been good at this. Plus they have a lot of young arms in the minors who I’m sure they’d like to give a look to this year.