Veteran Left-Handed Reliever Could Be Option for Chicago Cubs

With Spring Training about a month away, the Chicago Cubs still have some work to do before the 2024 season begins.

Stars will continue to drive the topic of conversation surrounding who they could potentially add after they have not been able to land one like they had planned.

But, there are still other areas of the roster that the Cubs need to address, more specifically the bullpen that struggled late last year because of limited options.

They had some connection to Josh Hader, but a signing looked unlikely before he agreed to a contract with the Houston Astros.

Chicago was reportedly interested in right-hander Robert Stephenson, but he agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

With more and more options coming off the board, they'll need to start ramping up their aggression if they want to land the upgrades they set out to sign at the beginning of winter.

One who could be an option for the Cubs is left-handed reliever Matt Moore.

He started out his career as a starting pitcher, and even earned an All-Star selection in 2013 with the Tampa Bay Rays during his third season in the MLB. However, his ERA started to balloon following his Tommy John surgery in 2014.

Moore was converted to a full-time reliever the past two seasons and has had a career revival.

During his second stint with the Texas Rangers, he posted a 1.95 ERA across 63 appearances and 73 innings pitched. His ERA+ was a ridiculously high 205 and it created the market for him to sign a one-year, $7.55 million contract with the Angels for the 2023 season.

Moore was a great option for them coming out of the bullpen, posting an ERA of 2.66 across 41 appearances. Unfortunately for him, he was a casualty of Los Angeles cutting costs as they placed him on waivers when they were out of the playoff picture.

The left-hander has been one of the top options coming out of the bullpen the past two seasons after he fully switched roles.

Chicago should be interested.