Colin Rea is exactly the sort of pitcher every team needs.
Colin Rea is exactly the sort of pitcher every team doesn’t really want to use too much.
He’s a perfect guy to be a fifth starter — if you don’t overextend him. “Sixth starter” is probably a better description. Someone like this can go back and forth between bullpen and rotation and be effective in both places. These guys used to be called “swingmen” and they did both jobs throughout a season. Many of you might remember a lefty named Terry
Mulholland, who did this very thing quite well for the Cubs in their 1998 Wild Card season.
As is the case with many guys like this, that sort of pitching goes up and down. Both last year and this year, Rea had some very good starts. He also had some outings that made us all cringe.
Overall, he is who he is — a guy who’s in the low 4’s in ERA, can eat up some innings, post a bit less than 1 WAR, and be a good teammate.
Rea was signed to a $4.25 million deal for 2025 with a $6 million option for 2026 (or a $750,000 buyout). Last offseason the option was restructured to a $6.5 million deal for 2026 with a $7.5 million team option or a $1 million buyout.
Rea turned 36 in July. He was barely used after Edward Cabrera left the rotation and David Peterson was returned to it; Rea appeared in just eight of the Cubs’ last 33 games, throwing only 12.1 innings over that span, odd for a guy supposedly available for long relief.
I think his time with the Cubs is done. They can probably find someone on the waiver wire or from non-tenders who can do this sort of thing for less money.
What say you?
