The Chicago Cubs have picked up a few pitchers this week and the latest is right-handed reliever Edwin Uceta, who was claimed off waivers from the New York Mets.
Uceta, 25, has been added to the Cubs 40-man roster and has been assigned to the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A.
The right-hander has not been able to pitch much in 2023, missing most of the season so far because of a knee injury. Uceta underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee in June. He had been sidelined since April.
Uceta made one appearance with the Mets this season, pitching three scoreless innings on April 22, against the San Francisco Giants. He struck out three and walked two, while not surrendering a hit in his lone big-league game with New York in 2023.
In seven minor league outings, Uceta allowed one run on two hits in 7.2 innings, striking out a pair of hitters and walking six. His control has been a major issue throughout his career and it’s what has mainly kept him out of the major leagues. In 2022, Uceta tossed 50 innings at Triple-A, and held opponents to a .198 batting average and he struck out an impressive 70 hitters, but he also walked 50 during his 28 appearances.
His most successful in the minors was back in 2019, when he was in the Los Angeles Dodgers system. Uceta pitched in Advanced A-Ball to begin the season and then made 16 outings, including 14 starts at Double-A to end the year. Uceta posted a 2.77 ERA in 123.1 innings, striking out 141 hitters. Unfortunately, that just has not translated in the big leagues so far for the right-handed pitcher.
Prior to 2023, Uceta has pitched in the majors for two clubs, first making his MLB debut with the Dodgers during the 2021 season. He struck out 25 in 20.1 innings, but walked 12 and had a 6.64 ERA in 14 games. He then appeared in 10 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022, again with more bad results, a 5.82 ERA in 17 innings.
There is some potential in there and obviously the Cubs feel they can fix Uceta’s issues because the results have not been good at the major league level.
Of course, just how the Mets tried to pass Uceta through waivers, there’s a chance the Cubs attempt to do the same with the pitcher.
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