The Cubs signed left-hander Austin Gomber to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Iowa. He’s on the mound tonight against Kansas City’s top affiliate in his organizational debut. The MLB.com transaction tracker indicates he signed the contract on August 26 even though it wasn’t announced until today.
That’s a relevant distinction because it keeps open the long shot possibility that Gomber could get a look in the postseason. He was in the organization before the beginning of September, so he’ll be eligible for the playoff roster even though he’s not currently on the 40-man roster. That obviously wouldn’t be Plan A for the team, but the southpaw provides rotation depth for a team that is without Michael Soroka and Jameson Taillon at the moment. The Cubs also brought in Joe Ross on a minor league deal.
Gomber was released by the Rockies last month. The soft-tossing southpaw missed the first couple months with shoulder discomfort. He was tattooed for a 7.49 earned run average in 12 starts since being activated from the injured list in the middle of June. Gomber didn’t pitch well at home or on the road. He struggled to miss bats no matter the venue, posting a career-worst 12.5% strikeout rate across 57 2/3 innings. Gomber’s fastball averaged a little over 89 MPH, down a tick from last year and three miles per hour from the first few seasons of his career. He was a passable fifth starter last year, turning in a 4.75 ERA while making 30 starts.
The Rockies are on the hook for what remains of Gomber’s $6.35MM salary. The Cubs would owe him the prorated $760K league minimum for any time he spends in the big leagues. He’ll be a free agent again at the beginning of the offseason.
