The Cubs added another arm to their bullpen pipeline at the GM Meetings, signing former Cardinals prospect Bruno López to a two-year minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training.
It’s a move that won’t change the conversation around Chicago’s pitching staff anytime soon, and it’s not supposed to. López is more of a long-term bet than an immediate answer, but the Cubs clearly see enough upside to give him an unusual multi-year commitment.
That kind of deal is rare on the minor-league side, which tells you the organization believes there’s still something to unlock. López first reached professional ball in the Cardinals’ system in 2021, when he was 19, and his development has been slowed by injuries ever since.
The biggest setback came in 2026, when elbow surgery wiped out his entire season. With spring training next year potentially impacted by the pending MLB lockout, the Cubs also make a little more sense by securing an extra year of control.
The attraction is obvious enough. López throws a fastball that can creep toward triple digits, and in 2025 he logged 21 appearances between the Cardinals’ summer league affiliate and Class-A. Over that stretch, he struck out more than 40% of the hitters he faced.
That’s the kind of profile that gets a front office interested, even if the player is still a work in progress.
Still, the signing is likely to leave some Cubs fans rolling their eyes. The club is already being linked to cautionary notes on the pitching market, with reporting that it is likely to stay out of the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes and may not want to meet Michael King’s asking price. So this latest move fits the familiar pattern: another attempt to solve a pitching issue with a low-cost project.
If Chicago reaches the start of the 2027 season without major additions to the staff, that criticism will only get louder. For now, though, López is just the kind of upside gamble teams like the Brewers have made a habit of turning into value. It may not work out, but the price tag is minimal, and the Cubs are clearly willing to take the shot.
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For a team trying to rebuild the rotation, Browns status matters because it changes the level of risk the front office has to manage. Chicago cannot afford to treat the staff as a finished project, and the latest update only reinforces the need for aggressive moves as the Cubs weigh how much help they need and how quickly they need it. [Read more 🡒]