Cubs add reliever Cuas from Kansas City
Not long after landing third baseman Jeimer Candelario from Washington, the Cubs added an intriguing bullpen arm.
They traded for 6-foot-3 right-hander Jose Cuas, while sending outfielder Nelson Velazquez to Kansas City.
Cuas, a Dominican Republic native, made his major league debut last season. He's posted a 7-2 record with 1 save and a 4.08 ERA over the past two seasons.
The 29-year-old uses mostly a sinker and slider, with a less frequent four-seam and occasional changeup. His sinker averages 92.6 miles per hour, according to Statcast.
Fangraph's Stuff-plus metric, which looks at physical characteristics of a pitch, has Cuas' fastball ranked in the top 10 in MLB, so the Cubs clearly think there's something to work with. Opposing batters are hitting .100 off his fastball, though he's thrown it just 16.8% of the time this season.
According to his bio, Cuas was originally a position player who switched to pitcher in 2017 while in the minors for Milwaukee. After being released, he played for the Independent Long Island Ducks and delivered packages for FedEx before signing with Arizona, then the Royals in 2021.
Velazquez technically has the highest OPS of any Cubs hitter this season at .934, but he played in only 13 games, spending most of the year at Iowa. This trade could be a chance for him to get consistent playing time in the major leagues.
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