The Cubs have outrighted southpaw CD Pelham after he cleared waivers, the team announced and MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian was among those to tweet. That gives the Chicago an open 40-man spot to work with.
Pelham, who’ll turn 25 in February, was acquired through a waiver claim earlier in the offseason. Now, the Cubs have successfully stashed him in the ranks of the non-roster invitees.
The Cubs hope to help Pelham rediscover his form after a brutal 2019 season. He had earned his way up for a brief MLB debut in 2018, skipping over Triple-A entirely. But Pelham struggled badly in the upper minors in the just-completed campaign, coughing up a whopping 43 earned runs in 32 1/3 innings while carrying an ugly 37:40 K/BB ratio.
Those numbers obviously aren’t the ones that the Cubs were focused on when they targeted Pelham. He’s a 6’6 lefty who pumps upper-nineties heat and has a history of strong strikeout numbers in the minors. If the Cubs can help him refine his command and secondary slider,…
