Drew Smyly could have a place on the 2023 team

Drew Smyly put on a solid performance against the Reds during Thursday night’s Field of Dreams game. His performance with five scoreless innings and nine strikeouts brought his season ERA down to 3.69 while posting a 1.3 WHIP, 4.27 FIP, 7.8 K/8 and 2.2 BB/ over 70 2/3 innings. 9 had. For a man who’s recently spent a lot of time working his way back from surgery at Tommy John and twirled around the league in recent years, Smyly has been a reliable presence for Chicago this season.

There has been much speculation that the 33-year-old left-hander could move to a contender by deadline day, but there didn’t seem to be much interest in him, even for depth. While not getting anything for him might seem like a “loss” for the Cubs, it could be the opportunity for him to show the organization’s staff how he can add value beyond 2022.

Cubs could potentially keep Drew Smyly next year

Smyly signed a one-year deal with the Cubs this offseason that includes a reciprocal option for 2023. There is a $1 million buyout. It’s fairly rare for a reciprocal option to be exercised, but if the Cubs see the value and Smyly wants to stay and agree to the value that would be offered to him, it could happen. Still, Chicago could like Smyly and bring him back to a new deal if he declined the reciprocal option and became a free agent.

Regardless of how it’s done, there’s reason to believe Smyly could be a nice pitching deep piece for 2023. The goal is to improve the overall staff immensely for 2023, and the veteran left-hander could be a perfect fit as a depth piece or back-. the rotational presence. Keeping him on board as a fifth starter or swingman could be an easily affordable and fairly reliable option. The Cubs would ideally like to see Caleb Kilian and Jordan Wicks in the 2023 rotation mix, but veteran depth is never a bad thing.

Is this a pivotal move for the 2023 Cubs? no If they move away from Smyly, it’s certainly not the end of the world. This is just one way they could have reliable pitching depth for veterans. Smyly has a chance to prove himself and his worth over the next month and a half. He might pitch well enough where he seeks a better deal elsewhere.

It’s easy to forget that Smyly was in the Cubs organization in 2018 but never attended a game for them. Now he’s been doing a pretty solid job for the club since his return. One can’t help but feel that this is yet another example of the organization’s pitching staff doing a good job with young and journeyman poor.