Contreras and the Cubbies

Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago reports today says that the Chicago Cubs are looking at free agent pitcher Jose Contreras. Contreras would be looked at as a back end of the rotation and/or long reliever. All of which makes sense at this point of his career.

Contreras had a rocky 2009 with the other Chicago team, going 5-13 over 21 starts with a 5.42 era. His season turned around thou after being traded to the National League and the Colorado Rockies. With the Rockies he went 1-0 over 17 innings with a 1.59 era and 17 strikeouts.

What got into him, was it another case of a borderline scrub pitcher turning his career around in the weaker hitting NL? Nope, it’s called less work load for a guy who is listed as 39, but may be closer to 45. Contreras made only two starts with the Rockies, one for six innings and everything else in relief.

Even with the minuscule earned run average and increased strike ratio, I didn’t see an improvement. Looking deeper into the stats hitters had a .308 average against Contreras during his stint at Coors Field. In addition to that he still allowed too many walks, giving up eight.

Basically to me it looks like he was lucky not to give up more runs then he did. Regardless this could still be a solid pickup for the Cubbies.

With Ted Lilly out for the first month of the season he can provide some depth and if he proves himself can be a veteran arm at the back end of the rotation. If he’s just pitching alright he could be bullpen help and a spot starter.

Probably not the type of pitcher Cubs fans want to see signed but hey they are working with a tight budget.

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Tags: Chicago Cubs, Jose Contreras, MLB