The big move for the Cubs this year was signing ace Yu Darvish for six years and $126 million. Only time will tell if the 31-year-old can carry his dominant track record into his mid-thirties and beyond. Darvish is coming off the worst season of his MLB career and did not pitch well in the World Series.
Tyler Chatwood comes to Chicago after spending the last six years with the Colorado Rockies. Like Darvish, the right-hander has already gone under the knife for Tommy John. He had gone 8-5 with a 3.15 ERA in 20 starts in 2013 to build some hype for himself as a potential arm for the Rockies to build around. Chatwood’s injury limited him to just four starts in 2014 before missing all of the 2015 season.
Chatwood is a great buy-low candidate for the Cubs, although they probably could have bought even lower had they waited out the market. The 28-year-old tripled the $12 million Lance Lynn got on his one-year deal with the Twins, and may end up doing better than Alex Cobb.
In his six years in the big leagues, Chatwood’s numbers look mediocre on the surface, but his arsenal was not a good fit for Coors Field. In his 62 games on the road, the right-hander is 21-17 with a 3.31 ERA and has held opponents to a .692 OPS. Chatwood should blossom into a solid mid-rotation pitcher in a better pitching environment.
The Cubs identified him as their man early in the offseason, and if Theo Epstein feels that confident about a pitcher, chances are it’s a solid investment.