Right-handed pitcher Brooks Kriske has agreed to a contract with the Cubs, the 30-year-old announced himself on his Instagram and X accounts. It is presumably a minor league deal, although the team has not yet confirmed the move and further details have not been revealed.
After growing up a Cubs fan, Kriske was selected by the Yankees in the 2016 draft. Although he was never a top prospect, the righty made an impressive comeback from early-career Tommy John surgery and quickly rose through the ranks of the minor leagues. In August 2018, he was still pitching at Low-A after losing so much development time to injury. Yet, by July 2020, he was pitching for the big league club. Heading into the 2021 season, he earned a spot on the Yankees prospect lists at both FanGraphs (no. 34) and Baseball America (no. 28).
Unfortunately, the big leagues have never been kind to Kriske. Over parts of two seasons in the Bronx, he gave up 20 runs (19 earned) in 11 1/3 innings, good for a 15.09 ERA. He allowed six home runs and walked more than 20% of the batters he faced. He also threw seven wild pitches – four of which came in the same inning. Following a particularly poor outing in September 2021, Kriske was optioned to Triple-A and designated for assignment a few days later.
The Orioles must have liked what they saw when Kriske held them scoreless and hitless across two appearances in 2020, striking out four of the eight batters he faced. They scooped him up off of waivers, and he pitched in four more games down the stretch. Yet, his results weren’t much better than they were in New York. While Kriske didn’t walk any batters, he gave up five runs on two homers in 3 1/3 innings of work. By the end of the 2021 campaign, he had a career 14.40 ERA, 5.11 SIERA, and -0.8 FanGraphs WAR.
Baltimore released Kriske that fall, allowing him to sign with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of NPB. A relatively successful season in Japan (21 IP, 2.57 ERA, 11.1 K/9) earned him a minor league deal with the Royals in December 2022. However, Kriske struggled upon his return to affiliated ball. He pitched to a 5.52 ERA and 4.29 FIP over 29 1/3 innings at Triple-A Omaha. His 4.05 ERA over 6 2/3 MLB innings represented an improvement, but his 16% walk rate and 5.30 SIERA showed a pitcher who was still struggling to retire major league batters. Partway through the 2023 season, he was granted his release to pursue another opportunity in Japan, this time with the Saitama Seibu Lions.
Once again, Kriske looked much sharper overseas, putting up a 1.93 ERA in 14 innings with the Lions over the remainder of the 2023 campaign. He decided to come back stateside last winter, inking a minor league pact with the Reds. However, despite a strong performance in spring training (6 IP, 3.00 ERA, 8 K, 1 BB) and solid numbers at Triple-A Louisville (49 1/3 IP, 3.10 ERA, 36.7 K%, 4.06 FIP), he never got the chance to pitch for Cincinnati at the big league level. The Reds selected him to their 40-man roster in June (presumably to prevent him from exercising an opt-out clause in his contract) but never actually called him up. They DFA’d him two months later.
For the second time in three years, the Orioles claimed Kriske off of waivers, and he finished out the 2024 campaign in the O’s organization. Across eight appearances at Triple-A Norfolk, he pitched to a 5.00 ERA and 6.79 FIP in nine innings of work. He elected free agency at the end of the season.
Although he struggled late in the year with the Norfolk Tides, Kriske still finished his age-30 season with respectable Triple-A numbers: a 3.39 ERA and 4.48 FIP over 58 1/3 innings. He struck out 34.2% of his opponents. Free passes continue to be a problem for the righty – he walked 14.8% of hitters this past season – but a high walk rate is tolerable as long as he can maintain such a high strikeout rate and keep home runs at a manageable level. He’ll provide depth for the Cubs in the minor leagues, and the fewer batters he walks, the better his chances of getting back to the big leagues in 2025.