Well, the Chicago Cubs were reportedly interested in left-handed pitcher Hoby Milner and a reunion with his former manager Craig Counsell could have been in the cards, but that possibility is no more. According to MLB.com reporter Mark Feinsand, Milner has agreed to a one-year deal with the Texas Rangers.
LHP Hoby Milner has agreed to a one-year deal with the Rangers, per source.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 20, 2024
Although Milner’s results looked bad in 2024 with the Brewers, the lefty was still getting weak contact, held a solid strikeout rate and was barely walking anyone. He had his best seasons once he joined the Brewers and Milner’s most successful season came in 2023, Counsell’s last year with Milwaukee.
The Cubs have been searching for bullpen help this offseason and that’s included specifically looking to add a left-handed reliever. Former Cubs bullpen arm Andrew Chafin and longtime Atlanta Braves reliever A.J. Minter have booth been connected to the Cubs during the past few weeks in free agent rumors.
One name that has loosely been linked to the Cubs, more speculation than concrete interest, has been free agent closer Tanner Scott. The lefty remains the top available closer on the free agent market and as of now the Cubs still have not added a proven arm to come in and lock down the closer spot. Scott is projected to get a four-year deal worth around $60 million. Will Jed Hoyer get that aggressive for the top bullpen arm this winter?
Now that Milner is off the board the Cubs will pivot elsewhere. They have also shown interest in veteran closer Kirby Yates.
You can add another pitcher who is on the Cubs radar this offseason as the team is reportedly interested in reuniting a former Milwaukee Brewers reliever with Craig Counsell. According to a report from The Athletic, the Cubs have shown sincere interest in left-handed reliever Hoby Milner.
The 33-year-old pitcher was non-tendered by the Brewers back in November following a down year from the lefty. Milner has pitched for four teams throughout his MLB career, but he’s been with the Brewers since 2021, compiling 220 of his 292 appearances out of Milwaukee’s bullpen.
Via The Athletic.
There is a need for more certainty when it comes to their left-handed relievers. Sources said one reliever who has received real interest from the Cubs is former Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Hoby Milner.
Milner spent the last four seasons in Milwaukee, where Counsell was his manager for three years. Milner worked at least 64 innings in each of the last three seasons with remarkably similar peripherals — a strikeout rate just under 24 percent and a walk rate just over 5 percent. His best season was in 2023 when he had a 1.82 ERA with a 0.96 WHIP.
At first glance you think signing Milner isn’t much of an upgrade based on his 2024 season as the lefty had a 4.73 ERA in 64.2 innings. However, he had a solid 1.19 WHIP, maintained his career 23% strikeout rate and also kept his walks in check only allowing 1.95 BB/9.
I know some fans don’t like the word luck, but it sure does seem like Milner didn’t catch many breaks in 2024 because his hard contact rate against him wasn’t much different from his best seasons and the 2.7% barrel percentage was the lowest of his career in a full season.
Milner is a ground ball pitcher with a career GB% of 46.3. That rate has been closer to 50% in the past three seasons and actually reached a career high 51.9% in 2024. The red flag may be his shoulder injury, which sidelined Milner for a few weeks in August, before he eventually returned for the final month of the season.
Overall in his career Milner has recorded a 3.82 ERA and 1.23 WHIP, averaging 3.6 strikeouts for every walk.
The Cubs have been linked to a few other left-handed relievers this offseason. As of now we know that the team has had some level of interest in Andrew Chafin and A.J. Minter.
In 2024, the Cubs mainly relied on righty Mark Leiter Jr. to come in and get left-handed hitters out. Once he was traded the team did not have a good option to face lefties in late-inning situations.
Luke Little was coming into his own, but the rookie suffered an injury that cost him the final 2.5 months of the season. So, the intention seems clear this offseason as the Cubs are pursuing left-handed relievers as well as veteran closers to hopefully add more stability to the bullpen in 2025.
