According to the MLB Transactions log, the Chicago Cubs signed pitcher Blake Weiman, adding him to their roster of minor-league additions.
Weiman was assigned to Triple-A Iowa on Saturday after being signed on Friday.
The Cubs can experiment with Weiman as they prepare their bullpen for the 2024 campaign. The Cubs have confirmed their eighth inning spot, presuming that Adbert Alzolay stays as the team’s closer, with the signing of Hector Neris.
The previous two seasons, Weiman was a member of the Seattle Mariners organisation. He played all of the previous season in Triple-A Tacoma, where he finished with a 4-4 record and a 5.17 ERA after making 44 bullpen appearances.
He had been with the Pittsburgh organisation for five years before to that. He was selected by the Pirates in the eighth round of the 2017 draft out of Kansas.
He ascended through the Pirates organisation gradually, earning invitations to the 2018 Arizona Fall League, where he was selected for the Fall Stars Game, and Major League spring training prior to the 2019 campaign. He advanced to Triple-A Indianapolis later in the season, but an injury kept him out of action for the last two months.
It appeared that his advancement was hindered by the 2020 COVID suspension of minor league baseball. In 2021, he returned to Indianapolis and went 5-0 with a 4.76 ERA, but he was unable to advance to the Major Leagues. The Pirates dismissed him midway through the 2023 season, and he joined Seattle.
Weiman has a minor-league record of 21-12 with a 3.89 ERA through 197 games, 286 strikeouts, and 62 walks.
