The Cubs announced Tuesday that they’ve designated right-hander Matt Festa for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to new closer Ryan Pressly, whose acquisition from the Astros has now been officially announced by both teams.
A former seventh-round pick by the Rangers, Festa has bounced around the league in journeyman fashion over the past few years. He broke into the majors with a strong rookie showing in a small sample of 8 1/3 innings for the 2018 Mariners and posted terrific Triple-A numbers the following season while also struggling in 22 MLB frames. Tommy John surgery wiped out Festa’s entire 2020 campaign and most of his 2021 season as well.
Festa returned in 2022 to throw 54 solid innings out of the Seattle ’pen, logging a 4.17 ERA but with a terrific 29.2% strikeout rate against a solid 8.2% walk rate. He’s never been a particularly hard thrower, but that blend of inducing whiffs and limiting walks showed genuine promise. Injuries popped up again in 2023, however. Festa was limited to nine big league innings and just 34 frames in Triple-A. He walked an alarming 27.9% of his opponents in the majors, prompting him to be cut loose from Seattle’s roster at season’s end.
Festa latched on with the Padres on a minor league deal in the offseason. He wound up landing with the Mets and Rangers on subsequent minor league deals and pitching well enough to earn a decent major league look in Texas, where he tossed 22 2/3 innings of 4.17 ERA ball with a 25% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate. His lone appearance with the Mets (four runs in one inning) ballooned his ERA to 5.70 on the season, but Festa was a solid enough middle relief arm with the Rangers that the Cubs picked him up for cash earlier this winter when he was designated for assignment by Texas.
The Cubs will now have five days to trade Festa themselves. If there’s no taker, he’ll be placed on outright waivers. He’s been outrighted once in the past, so if Festa does clear, he’ll have the opportunity to elect free agency if he chooses.
Thoughts and prayers to Matt.
York – The Cubs don’t want Festa, so it’s a Festa for the resta MLB.
Bring on the Festa Pole, the Feats of Strength, the Airing of Grievances…
Come back to SD where itll be Fiesta time.
It’s his party and he can cry if he wants to (cry if he wants to)
You would cry too if it happened to you
So that was a waste of cash to the Rangers for him. But it did force the DFA of Mastercrappy so a win I suppose.
Rather have Mastrobuoni as lame as this guy is. He had no chance to make the Cubs anyway. Unless 13 guys got injured.
If he’s claimed, the Cubs could get more in return than the $25k they gave the Rangers.
For all we know they could’ve paid a dollar for him.
“Mastercrappy”. Points!
Hoping they sneak him through waivers but doubt it
Why? LOL Even IF they managed that he can refuse an assignment to the minors which he surely will.
5.70 era last season. Look out, another AA minors signing!
Dumping arias and keeping this guy made no sense. I think they still have to clear one more spot for Berti.
@Led – Guessing the next DFA is Rob Zastryzny. He has no options and they have two other LHRP.
Or Merryweather, Cowles, Hollowell, Brujan, Workman or……… But I like Zastryzny too. My pick would be Cowles. His 0 for the AFL performance sealed it for me. The Cubs have like 6 LH P’s already.
There’s no way they dfa Merryweather. They’re hoping for him to be a contributor. Weird mention.
Workman is nailed to the roster until March because he is Rule 5. He can only be traded.
Or he can just be sent back to Detroit. I don’t see him making the roster quite frankly. he won’t be here unless the Cubs work out a trade and even then I don’t know if he has any options.
I think he has to go through waivers before he is offered back, but that can’t happen until March.
I celebrated when we got rid of Zastryzny the first time and can’t wait for it to happen again.
Baseball Reference has Festa in a Padres cap and uniform. Do they know something we don’t?
They know he was with the Padres on photo day last spring!
Ok. I see. He played on their AAA team to start last season.
@Baseballisthebest
mlbtraderumors.com/2024/05/padres-release-matt-fes…
On January 26, 2024, Festa signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres. In 16 games for the Triple–A El Paso Chihuahuas, he posted a 4.50 ERA with 16 strikeouts across 16 innings pitched. On May 16, Festa was released by the Padres organization.
He played for the Pads last year
The Cubs made Matt cry Uncle.
They didn’t want to let him Festa
FESTAvus for the rest of us.
Anyone know how many times the Festa brothers have been dfa’d?
Why did hoyer obtain festa in the 1st place when they had no place. Does hoyer know what he’s doing- think not.
Bingo
I see that Shaw not on 40 man yet so they have to clear another roster spot. Jed has many options and they all carry equal dead weight.
I think hoyer’s goal is to have like 30 pitchers on his 40 man and the rest 10 position players with those being able to play multiple positions excluding pitching.
Clearing a spot on the 40 man for Shaw won’t be a problem. They will have to DFA some P’s because they have too many. Plus they could trade somebody. At least a couple of guys between Merryweather, Hollowell, Zastryzny, Vasquez, Brujan, Cowles they might all go. Berti still has to be accounted for. But there are plenty of 5th wheels here. Any of those guys might be dealt for cash just to get rid of them. Merryweather has fallen the farthest on my list. He’s been passed by Hodge, Pearson, Pressly, Morgan, Miller and maybe Roberts. That’s not even counting guys like Neely and Poteet. His Uber Driver is waiting outside.
Tough day for Mariners Legend Matt Festa