The Cubs are still searching for stability in a bullpen that has been held together by necessity more than comfort, and Tyler Ferguson has quickly become one of the more intriguing arms in the mix. The sample is tiny - eight innings across eight appearances - but the early returns have been hard to ignore.
Ferguson turned in another clean outing Monday in Chicago’s 5-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles, working a scoreless inning on just eight pitches. He breezed through the frame and punched out Pete Alonso along the way. For a relief group that has needed anyone capable of missing bats, that kind of efficiency stands out.
What jumps off the page is the strikeout-and-walk profile. Ferguson has piled up 11 strikeouts without issuing a walk in his first eight innings as a Cub, and that’s the kind of development that can make a reliever matter fast.
He has allowed two home runs, including Jordan Walker’s three-run blast in Sunday’s series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field, but the overall shape of his early work has still been encouraging.
That’s especially true because walks have followed Ferguson around for much of his career. Whether in the minors or with the Athletics, he’s always had the swing-and-miss stuff, but the command has often lagged behind. His walk rate has hovered near 13%, which is exactly the sort of number that can turn a promising arm into a frustrating one.
The Cubs brought him in quietly, sending cash considerations to the Athletics in a minor trade for the right-hander. It’s the sort of move that doesn’t generate much buzz, but Chicago has already found some useful bullpen pieces this way before, and Ferguson fits that mold. The 32-year-old has only one relief appearance this season, and it was a rough one: four earned runs on four hits, including two homers, against the Philadelphia Phillies.
That ugly 27.00 ERA doesn’t inspire much confidence on its own, and his 2025 numbers were uneven as well. Still, there’s enough in the track record to explain why the Cubs took the shot. In 2024, Ferguson posted a 3.68 ERA over 51.1 innings, striking out 62 batters in 48 games while holding opponents to a .178 average.
Last season brought more turbulence. Ferguson finished 2025 with a 4.88 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 58 innings, though he opened the year in dominant fashion with a 0.52 ERA through his first 17.1 innings. He also had two outings that wrecked the line badly - five earned runs in one inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 14 and six earned runs in 0.2 innings against the Houston Astros on June 18.
Even so, he finished strong after being sent to Triple-A. From Aug. 9 through the end of the year, Ferguson put up a 1.57 ERA in 23 innings, didn’t allow a home run, and limited hard contact with a 3.6 barrel% and 26.8 hard hit% while holding average exit velocity to 86.6 mph.
The problem, again, was the free passes. Ferguson’s 25.6 K% from 2024-25 is solid, but his 12.8 BB% ranked fourth-worst among qualified relievers over those two seasons.
Even during that late-season run, he still issued 12 walks in 23 innings. The stuff plays, but the command has to tighten if this is going to last.
Ferguson throws five pitches - a four-seam fastball, sweeper, sinker, changeup and cutter - and his velocity has settled in after sitting at 96.1 mph as a rookie and living in the 95 mph range since last season. He also has a minor league option left, giving the Cubs some flexibility if they need to move him up and down.
There’s real arm talent here, plus some experience in bigger spots. Ferguson has collected four saves and 23 holds in his time with the Athletics, and his career line now sits at a 25.4 K%, 12.6 BB% and 4.47 ERA over 110.2 innings. For a Cubs bullpen trying to find any edge it can, that’s enough to keep watching.
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