The Cubs continue to add more pitchers to their roster as they have followed up the acquisition of Daniel Norris with former Mets’ righty Robert Gsellman.
Cubs stuff: As others have reported, SS Jonathan Villar has agreed to a one yr deal for 6 M…Daniel Norris will make 1.75 m with 2 mil in incentives after agreeing yesterday…And they’ve agreed on a deal with former Met righty P Robert Gsellman, per a source.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) March 17, 2022
And hey Cubs fans, you’ll be happy to hear this, Gsellman actually throws hard. He averaged 95mph on his fastball in 2021.
So, yet another intriguing pitcher added to the mix. But you know the routine by now. Gsellman fits the mold of a guy who has had success in years past, but has suffered injuries too. There’s upside with him, but the Cubs will obviously have to work hard to get Gsellman back to being a reliable pitcher.
The 28-year-old was limited to 17 appearances in 2021. He threw 28.2 innings and finished the year with a 3.77 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. Gsellman unfortunately missed a couple months during the middle of the season because of a lat strain, an injury that he also suffered in 2019. In 2020, Gsellman only appeared in six games, slowed down by triceps soreness at the start of the shortened season and then shut down after a fractured rib in September.
While Gsellman began his MLB career as a full-time closer he has transitioned into a multi-inning reliever. The righty’s best season out of the bullpen besides 2021 was in 2018, when he made 68 appearances, recorded 13 saves and had a 4.28 ERA in 80 innings.
For his career, Gsellman has a 4.59 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in 350.2 innings.
Since the lockout the Cubs have signed the following pitchers.
Jesse Chavez
Chris Martin
Steven Brault
David Robertson
Daniel Norris
Robert Gsellman
You also begin to wonder if there are other injuries we haven’t heard of yet besides Codi Heuer and Adbert Alzolay. We’ll see as spring training games officially begin today with Opening Day only three weeks away.
We talked about other moves by the Cubs so far this offseason on this week’s Pinwheels and Ivy Podcast.
