Add Jeremy Jeffress’ name to the list of high-potential, low-risk, bounce-back pitchers the Cubs have put together for a bullpen that could be its Achilles heel or the backbone of the team, depending on the direction of those bounces.
Jeffress, 32, whose $850,000 deal became final Tuesday, was an All-Star workhorse for the Brewers’ 2018 division winner, producing a 1.29 ERA and 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings in a career-high 73 games.
His deal includes up to an additional $200,000 in workload bonuses: $50,000 each for reaching 40, 45, 50 and 55 games pitched.
It marks the Cubs’ first non-split-contract, major-league acquisition of the offseason.