Cubs finally activate new acquisition Chafin
The Cubs traded for lefthander Andrew Chafin on Aug. 31, but he was out with a finger injury at the time. He finally joined the Cubs' active roster Saturday.
"I was at Arizona my whole career and I was the old guy there," said Chafin, 30. "Then I come over here and I don't know anybody very well. I almost feel like the young buck."
Chafin spent seven years with the Diamondbacks. He collected just two saves, but during the previous three seasons, he posted an ERA below 4.00 with at least 70 appearances. He was struggling this year, with an 8.10 ERA in 11 games.
"It took me probably the first three years of my career to get to the point where I could physically handle something like that (workload)," Chafin said. "Not necessarily from a physical side. More of a mental wear, getting loose in a situation where I may or may not get in.
"Instead of throwing 15-20 warmup pitches, I've learned how to knock it down to 7, 8 warmup pitches and basically just saving bullets. That's something I've learned how to be rather proficient with and it's worked out so far."