The Padres announced that they’ve dealt reliever Tom Cosgrove to the Cubs for cash considerations. Chicago designated righty Caleb Kilian for assignment to create a 40-man roster spot. San Diego had designated Cosgrove for assignment over the weekend.
Cosgrove, 28, was drafted by the Padres in 2017. San Diego added him to the 40-man roster during the 2022-23 offseason, a testament to the bat-missing ability he’d shown in the minors. Cosgrove made his major league debut the following April and managed strong numbers as a rookie. He turned in a 1.75 earned run average through 51 1/3 innings. His strikeout and walk profile was pedestrian, but he very rarely allowed hard contact and pitched well against lefty and righty batters alike.
The pendulum swung dramatically in the other direction last year. Cosgrove gave up 19 runs in 14 2/3 MLB innings spanning 18 appearances. Opponents’ average exit velocity jumped by three ticks while his strikeout rate dropped from 21.5% to 19.7%. Cosgrove spent most of the season in Triple-A, where he posted a 4.85 ERA with an above-average 26.8% strikeout percentage in 32 appearances.
Cosgrove did not break camp after a rough Spring Training, in which he gave up seven runs through 5 1/3 frames. He has gotten out to a slow start in Triple-A as well, allowing three runs with four walks and two strikeouts in four appearances. The Cubs immediately optioned him. He’ll begin his Chicago tenure with their top affiliate in Iowa. This is his final minor league option year.
Kilian is in his last option season as well. The Texas Tech product was a decent prospect in the San Francisco farm system whom the Cubs acquired in the Kris Bryant deadline deal in 2021. Chicago also acquired outfield prospect Alexander Canario, whom they DFA and traded away a couple months ago. It’s possible they’ll lose Kilian via trade or waivers within the next week.
The 27-year-old righty never established himself on Chicago’s staff. He has made five starts and three relief appearances going back to 2022. Kilian owns a 9.22 ERA in 27 1/3 innings thus far. He has issued 20 walks while recording only 21 strikeouts. Kilian has better numbers over four seasons at the Triple-A level. He carries a 4.37 ERA with a slightly below-average 21.8% strikeout rate across 274 innings at the top minor league level. Most of that has come as a starter. Kilian has only started one Triple-A game so far this season. He was tagged for six runs on a trio of homers in 2 1/3 innings.