The Cubs added to their relief corps by acquiring Andrew Kittredge, a former All-Star reliever, from the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.
The late-night deal comes less than 24 hours before Thursday’s 6 p.m. ET trade deadline.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post was first to report the news on Twitter/X.
Kittredge, a 35-year-old right-hander, is 2-2 with a 3.56 ERA in 30 games with Baltimore this season, and 25-14 with a 3.45 ERA in 285 career games with the Tampa Bay Rays (2017-23), St. Louis Cardinals (2024) and O’s.
Kittredge will become the second veteran pitcher acquired by the Cubs as the deadline approaches. Right-hander Michael Soroka went from the Washington Nationals to Chicago in exchange for shortstop Ronny Cruz and left fielder Christian Franklin earlier Wednesday.
The Cubs trail the Milwaukee Brewers by one game for the National League Central lead after beating them 10-3 Wednesday. With two months left in the regular season, they’re in the pole position for the NL’s top Wild Card berth.
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Chicago signed president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer to a contract extension Monday. He’s hoping to assemble a team that will end the Cubs’ eight-year playoff drought, if not win their first championship since 2016.
Kittredge could play a small but important role in helping them get there. Cubs relief pitchers have a 3.86 ERA this season,13th in MLB. But several of their high-leverage right-handers have not performed as expected.
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Porter Hodge had a 6.85 ERA in 26 appearances before he landed on the injured list because of a shoulder issue. Veteran Ryan Pressly, acquired in an off-season trade with the Houston Astros that also brought star outfielder Kyle Tucker to Chicago, lost the closer’s job early in the season and has allowed runs in each of his last three outings.
Right-hander Daniel Palencia (14 saves) has acclimated to the closer’s job well, but the Cubs understandably want insurance for their 25-year-old pitcher for the stretch run.
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Enter Kittredge, who was a workhorse (74 games, 70.2 innings) in 2024, his only season with the Cardinals. The Orioles signed him to a one-year, $10 million free agent contract in January.
Kittredge’s sinker/slider repertoire is typically associated with inducing ground balls, but he also boasts a respectable 25.2 percent strikeout rate in addition to stifling power (.399 opponents’ expected slugging percentage, per Statcast).
More to come on this story from Newsweek Sports.
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