Cubs Sign LHP Josh Fleming to Minors Deal
Another day, another pitching addition for the Cubs. As first reported by Marquee’s Lance Brozdowski, the Cubs have signed lefty Josh Fleming to a minor league deal after he was released by the Blue Jays over the weekend. The 30-year-old was drafted by the Rays in the fourth round back in 2017 and made his debut with them in 2020, working mainly as a starter in parts of four seasons. He’s been a journeyman since then, bouncing from the Phillies to the Pirates to the Mariners, and then to the Jays.
Fleming never suited up for the Phils in any capacity and only appeared at Triple-A for the Mariners, then made just one long relief appearance with Toronto before being cut loose. This seems to be an example of the old adage that you can hang around the game for a long time if you can throw 90 mph from the left side. Fleming has never posted strong strikeout numbers, even in the low minors, but he’s generally a strike-thrower who keeps the ball in the yard.
That comes from a mix of a 90 mph sinker, a 77 mph curve, and an 81 mph changeup. There’s also a cutter he’ll throw infrequently, with right-handed hitters seeing it much more often than their left-handed counterparts. Brozdowski noted a sweeper, which is a more apt classification of what Statcast is currently calling the curve. The pitch has nine fewer inches of depth than the average hook with a little more glove-side movement, which gives it a sweeper shape.
Regardless of what you call that particular pitch, Fleming could be an effective option as a long man or spot starter. Even if he’s just providing depth for an Iowa Cubs roster that has been decimated by injuries and matriculation to Chicago, this is just another in a long line of no-risk moves ahead of the trade deadline. There seems to be a mistaken notion that impact pitchers are just waiting around for the Cubs to pick them up, or that teams will be willing to give away big arms for nothing.
Since that’s not the case, Jed Hoyer has to keep turning over stones to see what he can find.
