CHICAGO, IL – MARCH 27: Jed Hoyer of the Chicago Cubs addresses the media after signing Pete Crow-Armstrong to a contract extension at Wrigley Field on March 27, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images)
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After a scorching start to the season, the Chicago Cubs have cooled off but remain in the National League playoff picture as they navigate some pitching injuries.
Most recently, that meant the loss of veteran starter Jameson Taillon to a hamstring ailment. And as the team considers more significant transactions ahead of the upcoming trade deadline, it quickly snapped up a veteran righty who was cut by the American League leader.
“(Andrew) Wantz signed a minor-league contract with the Cubs on Saturday,” CBS Sports reported this week. “Wantz will report to Triple-A Iowa with his new organization.”
Wantz elected free agency from the American League leading Tampa Bay Rays just a few days before joining the Cubs organization.
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Wantz’s recent journey through professional baseball has been anything but straightforward.
“The reason Andrew Wantz is available on a minor league deal here in June of 2026 is what happened after 2023,” Brett Taylor wrote for Bleacher Nation. “Wantz struggled out of the gate in 2024, ultimately hurt his elbow and had surgery, and was let go after the season. The Rays scooped him up on a two-year minor league deal back in January of 2025 (one of those rehab him and then see what happens deals).”
His departure from the Rays organization became official only days before the Cubs moved to add him.
“The Rays announced that right-hander Andrew Wantz has cleared waivers and elected free agency,” MLB Trade Rumors’ Darragh McDonald wrote last week. “Tampa designated him for assignment a few days ago. He has a previous career outright, which gives him the right to reject further outright assignments in favor of the open market.”
And that decision quickly opened the door for a new opportunity with Chicago, though the Cubs will be watching Wantz closely as he looks to put a poor start to the season with the Rays behind him.
The veteran posted a brutal 7.04 ERA across 23 innings with the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate. In a sole appearance for the Rays’ big-league club, he gave up five earned runs in just one and two-thirds innings.
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But Wantz also has some significant big-league experience to lean on as he looks to ascend with the Cubs.
He has toed the major-league rubber across five different seasons, including a four-year run with the Los Angeles Angels to start his career. All told, he has a 4.20 ERA in 120 total innings in the majors.
So, while the Cubs’ latest signing is unlikely to generate the same attention as a major trade deadline acquisition would, it reflects a familiar strategy for contenders looking to bolster organizational depth. If Wantz can regain the form he showed before his injury setbacks, the 30-year-old could eventually work his way into Chicago’s bullpen picture later this season.